News Releases

  • Pinochet’s Release

    JOYCE HORMAN Joyce Horman is the widow of Charles Horman. Along with another U.S. citizen, Frank Teruggi, he was detained and murdered in September 1973 in the days following Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s bloody military coup backed by the U.S. government. She has worked to uncover the facts about his murder for more than 26 years. Today she said: “With this decision to allow Pinochet to go to Chile rather than face justice in Spain, it becomes even more important to press the U.S. intelligence agencies to release the remaining documents they have on the cases of Charles Horman and Frank…


  • Religion and Politics

    REV. JIM WALLIS Editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine, Rev. Wallis said: “Al Gore and George W. Bush have talked about how much Jesus influenced them. The question has been whether that’s an appropriate thing for a candidate to talk about. It is very appropriate for a candidate to speak of their personal faith — if they say what it means in relation to public policy issues. So what would Jesus say about poverty in the midst of prosperity? What would Jesus say about 44 million Americans without health insurance?…. Talking about whether Bush’s speech at Bob Jones University will affect how…


  • Bradley and McCain: Insurgents?

    MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD Editor of The Progressive, Rothschild said: “Bradley doesn’t represent a real alternative to Gore or McCain or Bush. He supports the death penalty. He favors tougher sanctions on Iraq. Along with Gore, he has been a leading proponent of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization; and he, like Gore, has carried water for the pharmaceutical companies. Bradley’s health plan is a far cry from universal care, and he leaves the insurance companies firmly in command. He voted for aiding the contras in 1986. Bradley — like Gore, McCain and Bush — is for bloated Pentagon spending and has…


  • Scientist’s Resignation Raises Questions About Nuclear Policy

    A month ago, Andreas Toupadakis held a classified position at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. But he resigned his post, voicing criticisms of U.S. nuclear policy. Interviews are available with Dr. Toupadakis and other nuclear policy analysts: ANDREAS TOUPADAKIS Prior to joining the staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s “Stockpile Stewardship” program on nuclear weapons, Toupadakis worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Shortly after resigning, he issued an open letter which reads in part: “I have seen how easy it is for nuclear contamination to occur, and how hard it is to clean it up…. Do nations possess nuclear, chemical…


  • Rising Cost of Oil… And Embargo

    WENONAH HAUTER During the last year, gasoline prices have gone up from about 90 cents a gallon to $1.36, while crude oil has gone from $12 to $30 a barrel. Hauter, director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy Project, said today: “Throughout the history of the oil industry, it has been plagued with sharp peaks and valleys in oil pricing. The recent rise in oil prices is completely predictable. Most of the time, oil interests are able to collude and keep prices high. But, occasionally, like last year, their cooperative — some would say non-competitive — efforts fail and prices…


  • Still “Missing”: Truth About Chile

    A front page New York Times story reported Sunday on passages of State Department documents which show that the U.S. government knew far more than it acknowledged about the murder of two U.S. citizens in Chile. Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, who supported the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, were detained and murdered in September 1973 in the days following Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s bloody military coup backed by the U.S. government. Their execution was the subject of the film “Missing.” The following people are available for interviews: PETER KORNBLUH National Security Archive senior analyst Kornbluh, who has led the…


  • Pharmaceutical Drugs: Mergers and Medicare

    Pfizer Inc. announced today that it plans to buy Warner-Lambert Co. for $90 billion in stock in a deal that creates the world’s second largest pharmaceutical company. Meanwhile President Clinton and others are putting out proposals on Medicare. The following analysts are available for interviews on these and other subjects related to the pharmaceutical industry: SIDNEY WOLFE, M.D. Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, Dr. Wolfe said today: “This would be the 29th significant merger in the pharmaceutical industry in the last decade. There is no evidence that the economies of scale have resulted in price savings to consumers…


  • Major Foreign Policy Issues: Austrian Neo-Nazis, Sanctions on Iraq, NATO and War Crimes, Israeli Nukes

    MARTIN A. LEE The author of “The Beast Reawakens,” a recent book about neofascism and right-wing extremism in Europe and the U.S., Lee said today: “The inclusion of Jorg Haider’s Freedom Party, a movement with openly fascist roots, in the national governing coalition in Austria is one of the most dangerous developments in contemporary European politics. Holocaust-deniers and neofascist ideologues are influential figures within the Freedom Party, and its dramatic rise to power has coincided with a sharp increase in racist violence in Austria, where shocking levels of anti-Semitism persist. There is reason to be concerned about a spillover effect…


  • New Hampshire: Battle of the Big Bucks

    On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, some analysts argue that money has largely determined the front runners. GEORGE W. BUSH Raised in this race: $57,120,597. Top career patrons: Enron Corporation (natural gas), $555,275; Sanchez family (banking, oil and gas), $322,400; Vinson & Elkins (law firm), $316,950; Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (a leverage buyout firm; its founder bought the Texas Rangers from Bush and his partners in 1998), $305,150; Bass family (financed Harken Energy’s drilling in Bahrain in 1990 when Bush was a Harken director), $273,927; The Sterling Group (merchant bank), $259,000; MBNA Corporation, $244,416; Pilgrim’s Pride (poultry),…


  • State of the Issues

    The following analysts are available to comment on President Clinton’s policies and his State of the Union address: KAREN DOLAN Coordinator of the Progressive Challenge project, Dolan said: “The economic boom has bypassed millions of Americans; there’s been a widening of the gap between rich and poor. We need more progressive taxation… Clinton has missed an incredible historic opportunity to reduce the military budget and shift spending to pressing human needs.” More Information EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Author of “The Crisis in Black and Black,” Hutchinson said: “The government has not lived up to its promises in ’empowerment zones.’ You see…


  • Is Israel Using Nuclear Blackmail Against the U.S.?

    Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said over the weekend: “If (Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front — Tehran will burn.”      Steinbach said: “This is clearly a nuclear threat. Israel has a nuclear weapons arsenal of 90-400 nuclear warheads, though discussion of it has been avoided as it has…

  • Trump’s Intensified Militarism

    The U.S. Army estimates the cost of President Trump’s military parade last Saturday at as much as $45 million, including $16 million to repair damage done to city streets by heavy military equipment. The National Priorities Project writes about 10 things the government could have funded instead of the military parade. 

  • As Israel Attacks Iran, U.S. Vets Warn of Past Deceits as they March to Gaza

    Former UN official Craig Mokhiber stated: “The Israeli regime is now attacking Iran, in a blatant act of aggression. The world must unite to isolate and contain the Israeli regime, which, drunk with U.S.-guaranteed impunity, armed to the teeth by the West, and driven by a deeply racist and fundamentally violent ideology, is leaving a blood-soaked…

  • “No Kings Day”

    On June 14, organizers anticipate that 1,800 local demonstrations around the United States will challenge President Trump’s autocratic policies while a military parade in Washington marks his birthday. June 14 is also Flag Day and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary celebration. The campaign is calling for demonstrators to carry American flags at “No Kings Day”…

  • Gaza: UN Vote Today; Israel Cuts off Internet

    Today the UN General Assembly votes on a Uniting for Peace resolution on Gaza that reportedly: “Demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. … Strongly condemns any use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. … Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately end the blockade. … Stresses the need for accountability in order…

  • Mental Health Misinformation

    Investigative reporting by The Guardian found that more than half of the top 100 mental health TikTok accounts contain misinformation. Experts established that 52 out of 100 videos about trauma, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, and severe mental illness contained misinformation. 

  • Israel-Backed Gangs with Ties to ISIS Kill Palestinians Seeking Aid

    “Israeli forces and an Israeli-backed gang fired on Palestinians near an aid distribution point in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Monday, killing 14 people, The Associated Press has reported. The report cited witnesses to the massacre who said gunfire came from a gang led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a criminal who has been…

  • Militarized Police Often Train in Israel

    “Thousands of law enforcement officials have traveled to Israel to learn new repression strategies and surveillance techniques from the Israel National Police, Israel Defense Forces, and the Shin Bet, who inflict violence, crowd control, and surveillance onto Palestinians.”

  • Israel Attacks Gaza Aid Boat, U.N. Action “Long Overdue”

    “The Israeli regime has just attacked and commandeered the humanitarian ship #Madleen, in blatant violation of international law.” Mokhiber lists a litany of other illegal acts by Israel and states: “The UN has a duty to respond to threats to international peace and security and to defend human rights. Expel, isolate, embargo, and sanction the regime now. #UnitingForPeace.”

  • CUNY Hunger Strikers: Divest from Israel

    Eight CUNY (City University of New York) students, staff, and faculty, began their “hunger strike on the steps of the CUNY Graduate Center demanding the university divest” from Israel ten days ago. See their most recent news release. The group states: “The hunger strike, which has occupied the main entrance to the CUNY Graduate Center…

Mastodon