News Items

  • Affidavit by Daniel Ellsberg for Plowshare Activists Being Allowed a Defense of Necessity

    In 1971 I gave the U.S. Senate, the New York Times and the Washington Post copies of what have come to be known as The Pentagon Papers. I was arrested on twelve felony counts. My trial was dismissed because of government misconduct which figured in the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon…These considerations bear on two other elements of the necessity defense, the “lack of legal alternatives” and the “imminence” of the harms to be averted. Again, I speak from my own experience, but not only mine, in saying that it is the perceived insufficiency of other means, by themselves not…

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  • A Long List of Democratic Candidates Requires a Large Catalog of Their Funders

    By Sam Haut: As the first debates for the Democratic primary begin, and the list of candidates has grown to 24, it can be difficult to contextualize where each candidate has received funding from over the course of their time in office. What follows is a list of the Democratic candidates and the top sources for how much money they’ve made and where those top sources come from.

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  • NATO and US Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead

    RootsAction.org held a news conference Thursday on “NATO and U.S. Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead” hosted by the Institute for Public Accuracy. Speakers include former State Department officials Matthew Hoh, Ann Wright, as well as Martin Fleck. The event was moderated by Norman Solomon.

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  • Media Advisory: “NATO and U.S. Foreign Policy: Dangers Ahead”

    At 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the National Press Club: On the same day that President Trump is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House, this news conference will focus on the U.S.-NATO relationship. Speakers include former State Department officials Matthew Hoh and Ann Wright.

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  • Statement by Floyd Abrams in response to Attorney General nominee William Barr’s remarks on the First Amendment

    “It’s one thing to say that there could be circumstances in which a journalist’s need to protect her sources could lead to a potential finding of contempt of court if she refused to obey a court order requiring such disclosure. But the notion that a journalist could properly be jailed for publishing material that the government thinks could ‘hurt the country’ is something else entirely and would be deeply threatening to First Amendment norms in general and journalistic freedom in particular.”

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  • Statement on NAFTA’s “Kafkaesque” Turn

    The supposedly concluded renegotiation of NAFTA has reached a Kafkaesque stage. As the United States Trade Representative has stated: “The United States and Mexico have reached a preliminary agreement in principle, subject to finalization and implementation.” Not only the negotiations have not been finalized, and without Canada, but the texts remain hidden from the public.

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  • What’s the Cost of Medicare for All?

    Even a Koch-backed think tank finds Medicare for all would cut health care spending. In a report released by the Mercatus Center, a single-payer health care system would offset costs with even greater savings. The Intercept and other media reporting on this are citing the work of Drs. David Himmelstein and Steffie Woolhandler. They are distinguished professors of health policy at the City University of New York at Hunter College and lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School. They have written an analysis of the work of the Koch-backed think tank, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which is…

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  • Trump Team Hired Israeli Spy Firm Used by Harvey Weinstein to Attack Obama Officials on Iran Deal

    “Aides to Donald Trump, the U.S. president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a ‘dirty ops’ campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, the Observer can reveal. People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to ‘get dirt’ on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal.”

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  • From the desk of Noam Chomsky

    From the desk of Noam Chomsky

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  • 15 Years Later: The Whistleblower Who Almost Blocked the Iraq War

    Media Advisory: Press Conference to Mark 15th Anniversary Of Leak by GCHQ Translator Katharine Gun Revealing US “Dirty Tricks” at UN for Iraq War When:  Thursday, 1 March 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Where:  Head office, National Union of Journalists Headland House, 72 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NB Who:  Katharine Gun, Thomas Drake, Matthew Hoh, Jesselyn Radack This press conference will take place the day before the 15th anniversary of the Observer’s publication of the explosive March 2, 2003 story “US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war” — based on a leak by GCHQ translator Katharine Gun — revealing the US National Security Agency’s UN surveillance memo that aimed to grease the way for the…

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  • Pentagon Protests

    On Thursday, McGovern spoke at and moderated the event “Press Briefing: Imminent Threat — or Ruse? Intel on Iran a Flashback to Iraq?“ organized by the Eisenhower Media Network at the National Press Club. He was a top CIA analyst for decades and a founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Thursday evening, he went…

  • Subimperial” BRICS: “Talk Left, Walk Right”

    “Subimperial BRICS bloc is the rabies-addled ‘dog that didn’t bark,’ when confronted by even Trump’s excesses of imperialism and Netanyahu’s genocide. But occasionally when some in the pack do bark left, we should not be distracted or surprised when – as any Palestinian knows — they simultaneously bite right.”

  • Did Iran Attack Diego Garcia?

    “The mysteries surrounding the alleged missile attack on Diego Garcia could be clarified if the U.S. government provides evidence about the missiles involved, their trajectories, and thus their potential firing range. Until government or independent evidence emerges, observers should avoid repeating unverified claims and drawing conclusions based on statements from governments that stand to benefit…

  • President Jared Kushner?

    “On March 9th, 2026, Donald Trump told reporters that his decision to strike Iran was informed by Jared Kushner. Kushner had warned the president that Iran was about to attack the United States. The Pentagon briefed congressional staff the exact opposite. Trump’s own appointed director of the National Counterterrorism Center subsequently resigned, writing in his resignation…

  • Israel Kills 1,000, Striking Over 100 Medical Facilities in Lebanon

    AntiWar.com reports: “In the course of prosecuting the ongoing invasion of southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced that he is ordering the destruction of every bridge across the Litani River, raising doubts over whether the hundreds of thousands of people they ordered evacuated from south of the river will ever actually be…

  • Netanyahu and Trump Following Neocon “Creative Destruction” Plans

    “This idea did not emerge overnight. It was articulated most clearly in a 1996 policy paper titled ‘A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm,’ prepared for then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a group of U.S. neoconservative strategists, including Richard Perle.” 

  • “Empire’s Genius” — From Iran to Pakistan and Beyond

    “The billions of dollars’ worth of weapons left behind after the American withdrawal did not dissolve into poetry. They entered a region already saturated with proxies, covert channels, ideological militias, and states that have perfected the art of denying authorship while enjoying the consequences. Empire’s genius, if one must flatter it, lies not in choosing one…

  • What Joe Kent’s Resignation Means About the Iran War

    “The reality is that for every person like Joe Kent, who speaks out and resigns over policy, many do not. Kent’s criticism that the war on Iran is an unnecessary war driven by Israeli interests is a view that many within the U.S. government likely hold as well. It certainly is a view held by…

  • State “Defend the Guard” Movement Gains Momentum Nationwide

    “In recent years, Defend the Guard bills have been introduced in a majority of states, and the bill has passed the New Hampshire House, Arizona Senate, Virginia House of Delegates, and Idaho Senate. The proposal has drawn support from an unusual coalition of veterans, families of National Guard members, constitutional scholars, peace advocates, and civil…

  • Gulf Countries Crackdown

    “Since the beginning of the war on Iran, GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries have launched a sweeping crackdown on freedom of expression. The most concerning escalation is happening in Bahrain, where DAWN has confirmed that authorities have arrested at least 148 people for peaceful protest and online expression. They have charged activists with treason and…

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