With Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan now a prisoner in Turkey, the global spotlight is on the Kurds. In the United States, interviews are available with these analysts who can shed light on Kurdish perspectives: VERA BEAUDIN SAEEDPOUR Founder of the Kurdish Library and the Kurdish Museum, and editor of Kurdish Life and International Journal of Kurdish Studies, Ms. Saeedpour said: “While the U.S. is attacking Iraq almost daily in its self-declared `no-fly zones,’ saying that it does so because it cares about the Kurds, it is backing Turkey in its attacks against the Kurds. Turkey has destroyed, drowned villages with…

KIT GAGE National coordinator of the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Gage said: “The President’s lawyers said it was fundamentally unfair that they were asked to defend him having seen only a small portion of the thousands of pages of testimony. This was secret evidence. They are right, but it is also secret evidence that Clinton’s Department of Justice is using to deny bond and deport several dozen immigrants without due process. These individuals have been jailed for years while fighting deportation and yet they are not charged with any crime.” She added that “no one, not the President,…

WASHINGTON — Hours after Vice President Al Gore announced a new White House anti-drug plan Monday, critics renewed their calls for fundamental changes in federal efforts to curb drug use. Those critics included a former counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, a prisoner who publishes a newspaper, and a sociologist. They are available for interviews: ERIC STERLING President of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, Sterling oversaw federal anti-drug efforts from 1979 to 1989 as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee. He helped write the law creating drug czar Barry McCaffrey’s office. Today, Sterling said: “Large city police chiefs, almost 3…

WASHINGTON — Although the Clinton administration is hailing its new budget for record levels of spending on environmental protection and new clean air initiatives, critics said Thursday that many budget priorities actually encourage pollution and undermine a clean environment — while fleecing taxpayers. Environmentalists are sometimes accused of being “big government” boosters, but these experts are calling for budget cuts: LEXI SHULTZ Staff attorney for U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) and co-author of “Green Scissors ’99,” Shultz said: “We are disappointed that President Clinton continues to support polluter pork subsidies to multibillion-dollar corporate polluters, including his request for an…

GREG SPEETER The executive director of the National Priorities Project, Speeter said: “The fact that we’re looking at increasing the Pentagon budget by $110 billion over the next five years, at a time when it ought to be going down, is ridiculous. Our domestic needs are increasing. We have a child poverty rate of 20.8 percent according to the Census Bureau. Drinking water systems that serve more than 50 million Americans violate health regulations and standards. The GAO says that 30 percent of our schools are in need of extensive repairs. Over 40 million Americans have no health insurance. We…

As the Senate trial of President Clinton continues, here are the perspectives of some analysts — available for interviews — outside the crossfire of Republicans and White House allies. TED GLICK The national coordinator of the Independent Progressive Politics Network, Glick said: “We hear a lot about polls and what people think of Clinton and the Republicans, but how many people feel that neither party truly offers a genuine choice worth voting for? This country desperately needs an independent, grassroots movement of the people, those who don’t vote (over half the population) and those who do while holding their noses.…

By now, the public is very familiar with the partisan arguments over whether the Senate trial of President Clinton should continue. This week, loyal Democrats and Republicans are spinning as fervently as ever. But some other positions don’t fit into the partisan trenches. The Institute for Public Accuracy offers different perspectives on impeachment and the Senate trial. While these views vary, all are outside the standard partisan boxes. The following analysts are available for interviews: CLARENCE LUSANE Professor of political science at American University and author of “Race in the Global Era: African Americans at the Millennium,” Lusane said: “Much…

Some researchers said Wednesday that President Clinton’s proposal to provide a tax credit for parents who stay home to care for their children is based on a double standard. The specialists contended that Clinton’s new plan is at odds with his welfare reform policy. Among those available for interviews: MIMI ABRAMOVITZ A professor of social policy at the School of Social Work at Hunter College, Abramovitz said that “the $250 tax credit proposed by the president for stay-at-home parents — mostly mothers — usefully recognizes the value of women’s work in the home as does the popular income-tax deduction for…

With President Clinton’s State of the Union address focusing attention on such issues as Social Security, education and health care, the following policy analysts are available for interviews: SOCIAL SECURITY MARK WEISBROT Economist and research director at the Preamble Center, Weisbrot said: “Social Security never did need saving; proposals to `reform’ the system are driven by politics and Wall Street’s enormous interest in privatization, and not by any problem with the program’s finances. The reason that this charade has lasted so long is that so many of the major players have an interest in pretending that there is a problem…

With all eyes now on the Senate, advocates of campaign finance reform are pointing to the vast amounts of money that were required for the 100 senators to win their seats. Among those analysts available for interviews are: GWEN PATTON Archivist of the Montgomery Pioneer Voting Rights Activists at Trenholm State Technical College in Alabama, Patton said: “Getting money out of politics is the unfinished business of the voting rights struggle. The money barrier is a device to keep poor and black people from running. That in my opinion is the main obstacle today. We must have a fair, level…