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.

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • 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.

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  • 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:

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  • 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…

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  • 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…

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  • On Israel and Saudi: Biden Admin “Normalizing Atrocities and Apartheid”

    “Though the Biden administration has placed a huge premium on getting the deal done, it raises huge questions about the commitments it is making to an autocratic monarchy, whose ruler has murdered opponents like dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

  • Updated CDC Mask Guidance for Healthcare Workers

    Draft CDC guidance recommends that healthcare workers wear surgical masks when treating patients with endemic respiratory infections, like flu. Workplace health and safety experts are concerned. 

  • Did U.S. Ukraine Policy Help Crush Pakistani Democracy?

    “The protests are the latest chapter in a year-and-a-half-long political crisis roiling the country. In April 2022, the Pakistani military, with the encouragement of the U.S., helped organize a no-confidence vote to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan. Ahead of the ouster, State Department diplomats privately expressed anger to their Pakistani counterparts over what they called…

  • Illinois Becomes First State to End Money Bail

    “As Illinois reduces the number of people incarcerated in county jails, it is essential that we work together to ensure that any economic benefits from these changes are passed on to the communities most harmed by pretrial jailing. Across Illinois, Black people have been disproportionately jailed by unaffordable money bonds.”

  • New Push to Reduce Injuries Among Warehouse Workers

    A coalition of labor organizations, small businesses and community organizations in New York is pushing for the state to pass legislation that would help prevent occupational injuries for warehouse workers.

  • UN Meeting

    “Already in 1997 U.S. Ambassador George Kennan wrote an op-ed in the New York Times entitled ‘A Fatal Error,’ in which he warned against NATO expansion, because it would be perceived as an existential threat by many countries, including Russia and Belarus — and ultimately by China.”

  • UAW Strike as Big Three Post $21 Billion in Profits

    “The UAW is calling its strategy the ‘stand-up strike,’ a nod to the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 that helped establish the union.”

  • With Biden Polls Low, Step Aside Joe Campaign Urges: “Face Reality”

    The indictment of Joe Biden’s son Hunter on gun charges this afternoon is another setback for the president’s re-election prospects. Hours before the indictment was announced, the Step Aside Joe campaign issued a statement today calling for Biden to “make way for an open primary process that could place a stronger candidate at the top…

  • Ahead of UN Meeting: Earth Constitution Solution

    “Interest in our work is accelerating due to the UN’s collapse in the face of unsolved maladies like climate change and futile conflicts such as the war in Ukraine,” said Martin. “Our legitimacy springs from our status as a grassroots organization with fervent activists worldwide who are publically calling for constitutional world democracy.”

  • Oslo at 30: How it Undermined International Law and Perpetuated Occupation

    “After 30 years, we have Gaza separated from the West Bank, Gaza and the West Bank separated from Jerusalem, ethnic cleaning for Palestinians and judaization of Jerusalem, willful killings, land confiscation, house demolition, criminal illegal blockade on Gaza, war crime and crimes against humanity, collective punishment and the civilians in the eye of the storm.”

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