News Items

  • Election Reforms: Falling short

    WASHINGTON — Proponents of progressive election reform gave cautious approval to the recent report issued by a commission assigned to investigate the improvement of federal elections. Many critics, however, point to several obstacles that remain in the way of free and fair elections throughout the United States. The report, issued by the National Commission on Federal Election Reform headed by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, was presented to President Bush. Among its recommendations are provisions regarding increases in equipment standards and stepped-up federal funding for the administration of elections.

    Read more »


  • Son of Star Wars: Another arms race?

    WASHINGTON — Reports emerging from the Pentagon about plans to test a “Space Bomber” are drawing accusations that the U.S. government is attempting to engage in another arms race. The bomber, a spacecraft reportedly capable of destroying targets on the other side of the globe within 30 minutes, is a key component of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s plan to modernize U.S. weaponry. The satellite is currently under production by NASA and Lockheed Martin, a leading military contractor. Pentagon claims that the bomber can cause greater and deeper ground damage from a virtually unassailable height have many critics questioning it as…

    Read more »


  • ExxonMobil: Facing a boycott

    ExxonMobil, one of the biggest corporations on the planet, is now facing a boycott spearheaded by activist groups protesting the company’s policies at home and abroad. The boycott was launched by PressurePoint, a grassroots organization looking to “take real action on climate change and corporate influence,” according to Chris Doran, campaigns director for the group. “The U.S. government’s climate change policy is the ExxonMobil policy,” Doran says. “What sort of democracy do we have when one company can buy off our political process for its own gains?” ExxonMobil is a charter member of the Global Climate Coalition, an influential industry…

    Read more »


  • Beyond the Ford-Firestone Uproar: Critics blast lack of regulation, accountability in SUV safety

    WASHINGTON – Recent congressional hearings probed the accountability of Ford and Firestone in many incidents where car or tire malfunctioned, causing injury or death. The hearings also questioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal government’s chief regulator of automobile safety, and its role in providing the public with adequate information. While the blame-placing among corporate executives and congressional subcommittees occurred on Capitol Hill, several analysts decried the lack of accountability being demanded of the corporations involved. Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, pointed to a lack of regulation of sport utility vehicles and rollover standards.

    Read more »


  • NEWS BRIEFING WITH LAWRENCE SUMMERS, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY RAYMOND OFFENHEISER, PRESIDENT, OXFAM

    Questions from IPA appear below in bold HEADLINE: NEWS BRIEFING WITH LAWRENCE SUMMERS, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY RAYMOND OFFENHEISER, PRESIDENT, OXFAM DEBT RELIEF TO POOR COUNTRIES AND OXFAM EDUCATION NOW AWARD INTRODUCTION: MARTA ARIAS LOCATION: NATIONAL PRESS CLUB, WASHINGTON D.C. BODY:

    Read more »


  • Ten Real Reasons To Impeach Clinton

    We all seem to have lost our sense of proportion. Why are the political leaders of the United States and the major media talking of impeaching Bill Clinton for lies about sex, surely not the most important sins of his administration? If Clinton is to be impeached, why do it for frivolous reasons? I can think of at least ten reasons to impeach him, for acts far more serious than his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky or his lies to Kenneth Starr. I am speaking of matters of life and death for large numbers of people. 1. Clinton approved, very early…

    Read more »


  • Autopsy Of A Disaster: The U.S. Sanctions Policy On Iraq

    For a shorter version of this timeline, click here. Myth: The Sanctions Will be Lifted When Iraq Complies with the U.N. Inspections April 3, 1991: U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 687 which states that upon “the completion by Iraq of all actions contemplated in” specific paragraphs of the resolution, “the prohibitions against financial transactions … shall have no further force or effect.” The paragraphs cited have to do with weapons inspections. Other paragraphs in the resolution have to do with “return of all Kuwaiti property seized by Iraq” and Iraqi liability for losses and damage resulting from Iraq’s occupation of…

    Read more »


  • Congress Conflates Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism

    “It is now less credible to think of Israel as a safe place for Jews as Jews, in an ironic twist. And the more extreme measures Israel wreaks on Gaza, supposedly for Israel’s safety, the more imperiled by association Jews outside Israel will be.”

  • Pay Gap for Scientists with Disabilities

    Scientists and engineers with PhDs who have long-term disabilities earn, on average, $10,580 less per year than their non-disabled peers.

  • Escalating Disease Coming from Israel’s Assaults: “Predictable”

    “In early 2023, an estimated 97 percent of water in the enclave was unfit to drink, and more than 12 percent of child mortality cases were caused by waterborne ailments. Diseases including typhoid fever, cholera, and hepatitis A are very rare in areas with functional and adequate water systems. …   “We can’t help but…

  • Israel says Self-Immolator is Driven by Hatred, Wants Funding for Ethnic Cleansing, Biden Sends Israel More Deadly Weapons

    RICHARD SILVERSTEIN,  [email protected], @richards1052       Silverstein writes at Tikun Olam. He recently wrote the pieces “Israeli MKs, Messianic Evangelicals Lobby Congress for Ethnic Cleansing,” “Netanyahu Plan to ‘Thin Out’ Gaza Population to ‘Bare Minimum’” and “Israeli Claims of Hamas Sexual Assaults Lay Its Credulity on the Line: Rape claims part of anti-Hamas propaganda campaign.” In his most recent piece, Silverstein writes:…

  • Pro-Peace in Palestine Protests in Biden Hometown

    Following talks with Blinken, Israel has resumed bombing of Gaza, including the south, where Israel told Palestinian civilians to go in what UNICEF spokesperson James Elder is calling “a war on children.” An Israeli spokesperson states its forces are unleashing “the mother of all thumpings” on Gaza. The Israeli +972 Magazine published the piece “‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of…

  • Pro-Israel Lobby and “Ethnic Cleansing” in the West Bank

    Netanyahu met with AIPAC leadership in Jerusalem, prompting former Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner to comment: “It’s wild that this is allowed.” Israel has gotten wide support for its attack on Gaza from the vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. See list on X/Twitter. MAZIN QUMSIYEH, [email protected], Skype: mbqumsiyeh Qumsiyeh is a professor at Bethlehem University.…

  • Does Israel Recognize International Law?

    G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday proclaimed: “We emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, in accordance with international law, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the October 7 attacks.” MICHAEL LYNK, [email protected], @MichaelLynk5    Available for a limited number of interviews, Lynk served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights…

  • Team Biden Goes From Denial to Panic

    “The bleak poll numbers might actually understate the problem, as they measure only voter discontent and not activist discontent. For months next summer and fall, Democratic activists will be needed to win over undecided voters and mobilize occasional voters.”

  • Is South Africa Vulnerable to Israel Lobby as Well?

    “The question now is whether Pandor and Dangor can draw energy and momentum from last week’s overwhelming parliamentary vote — 248-91 — endorsing expulsion (albeit temporarily) of the Israeli ambassador from Pretoria. Pandor is also asking — alongside foreign ministries in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti, Colombia, Algeria and Turkey — the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Benyamin Netanyahu.…

  • Report: Israel Knew Real Hamas HQ; Lies Enabled “War of Obliteration of the Population”

    “The IDF and the Israeli government already knew when they launched their propaganda campaign about al-Shifa that Hamas had no military command and control facility hidden there because it had already found the complex kilometers away.” Porter gives details about the actual Hamas HQ, citing a leak to the Jerusalem Post.”

Mastodon