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News Releases

  • Military Spending Claims Draw Fire

    WASHINGTON — Projections for the Pentagon budget by one of the nation’s most prominent think tanks drew criticism today from several specialists in military spending. The Heritage Foundation’s new report, “Current Budget Priorities May Have Serious Defense Consequences,” was faulted for its claim that by 2020, “the downward trend in defense would result in the virtual elimination of defense spending.” Among those available for comment are: WILLIAM D. HARTUNG A Senior Fellow of the World Policy Institute at the New School for Social Research, Hartung said: “A similar projection based on the first four years of the Reagan military buildup…

  • Whitewash of IMF Role Charged

    WASHINGTON — A new report on the Asian economic crisis, put out by Washington’s best-known think tank on international economic issues, is drawing fire for its favorable assessment of the International Monetary Fund. Released by the Institute for International Economics, the report is titled “The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Systemic Implications.” It has come under swift attack from economists who question why IMF bailout policies — including high interest rates, spending cuts, and mass layoffs — were let off the hook in the report. Among those available for comment are: MARK WEISBROT Research Director of the Preamble Center…

  • Debate Heats up on Social Security and Savings

    WASHINGTON — On the eve of the National Summit on Retirement Savings, some analysts are denouncing new efforts to tilt the debate on savings and Social Security. The Heritage Foundation released a report Tuesday, entitled “How Government Policies Discourage Savings,” calling for privatization of Social Security. But scholars and other researchers said today that such policy prescriptions would do irreparable damage to Social Security rather than save it. Among those available for interviews are: JANE D’ARISTA A lecturer in the International Banking and Financial Law Studies Program at Boston University School of Law, D’Arista said: “We have a dual system,…

  • Arms Experts Warn Against Missile Defense Push

    India-Pakistan Nuclear Escalation Deemed No Excuse for New SDI WASHINGTON — Some arms experts expressed concern today over efforts to revive a new version of the Strategic Defense Initiative promoted during the 1980s by the Reagan administration. A recent report from the Heritage Foundation following nuclear tests in South Asia declared that President Clinton “should respond immediately by committing the United States to the development of an emergency missile defense program and to early deployment of a global missile defense system.” But a variety of policy analysts said that such “missile defense systems” are dubious at best. Among those available…

  • Pakistan’s N-Tests Heighten Concerns of U.S. Nuclear Survivors

    Atomic Veterans and Downwinders Speaking Out on Pakistani Blasts After today’s nuclear detonations by Pakistan, some Americans who have experienced atomic testing firsthand are stepping up their efforts to warn against fueling a nuclear arms race. While commentators from think tanks join with U.S. government officials in assessing the Pakistani tests, more acute concerns are being expressed by Americans who have seen mushroom clouds rise. Among those available for interviews are: WILLIAM BIRES In 1951, Bires — then a 22-year-old private in the U.S. Army — witnessed several aboveground nuclear bomb tests at close range in Nevada. Now, Bires expresses…

  • Supporters of Test Ban Denounce Efforts to Stall Treaty

    India’s Nuclear Blasts Being Used as Excuse, Critics Charge WASHINGTON — Efforts are underway to scuttle the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty under the guise of urging a go-slow approach by the Senate in the wake of India’s nuclear tests, some experts said Friday. Citing a new statement from the Heritage Foundation titled “India’s Nuclear Tests Show Folly of Rushing Test Ban Treaty,” critics said that such declarations are part of an emerging effort to kill the test ban on Capitol Hill. Among those available for comment are: SAM DAY Day, former editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said:…

  • Social Security Panel Attacked as “Dangerous Farce”

    Critics Blast “Poisonous Recipe” For Retirement Policy WASHINGTON — A national consortium of public-policy experts denounced proposals released today that would transform Social Security by setting up individual investment accounts and hiking the retirement age to 70. The proposals came from a private panel of politicians, economists and business executives called the National Commission on Retirement Policy. The commission was handpicked by a conservative think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The commission is a dangerous farce,” said the Institute for Public Accuracy, a nationwide consortium of policy experts. “From the outset, the panel was rigged. It purposely…

  • As G-8 Leaders Gather, “Free Trade” Arguments Rage in U.S.

    Critics Say That Even Prominent Foes of IMF Fail to Grasp Problem WASHINGTON-While President Clinton and leaders of seven other industrialized nations gather in Britain, debates over key global economic issues continue to rage back in the United States. On the eve of the annual G-8 summit, which will consider the International Monetary Fund’s role in the economic crisis roiling Indonesia and other Asian countries, the Heritage Foundation released a position paper urging Congress to block further appropriations for the IMF. The influential think tank contended that the IMF has “failed to demonstrate the ability to promote economic stability and…

  • Study Finds Conservative Think Tanks Prevalent in 1997

    Brookings, Heritage, AEI and Cato Are Most Often Cited WASHINGTON-A study released Thursday found that conservative think tanks dominated much of the national debate last year. The joint study-conducted by sociologist Michael Dolny for Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) and the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)-found that in 1997, right-leaning think tanks accounted for 53 percent of media citations, while progressive or left-leaning ones received 16 percent. Of the 25 leading think tanks studied, three of the top four had a conservative slant. The centrist Brookings Institution (2,296 cites) was the most frequently mentioned, followed by the conservative Heritage…

  • Full Disclosure Urged for ACLU’s Ties With Tobacco Firms

    Spotlight on Donations Earmarked for Smoking-Related Issues WASHINGTON ­ New questions are emerging about financial ties between the tobacco industry and the American Civil Liberties Union. An article in the latest Nieman Reports, published by Harvard’s Nieman Foundation, cites internal ACLU documents that shed light on contributions from cigarette makers Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds to the national ACLU, its affiliates and the ACLU Foundation. The article, by former Washington Post reporter Morton Mintz, says that most of the money ­ totaling more than $1 million since 1987 ­ was earmarked for a national ACLU task force advocating “smokers’ rights.”…

  • * Omnicide Joe? * Pakistani Movement for Democracy

    “While it should be obvious to all that no one is going to survive a nuclear confrontation, the U.S., UK and some NATO countries continue playing with fire and irresponsibly escalating the Ukraine war, instead of looking for ways to end the conflict by diplomacy and negotiation. This is yet another reason why the Global…

  • Israel’s Dahiya Doctrine in Action: “This Is My Home Burning”

    “The Dahiya Doctrine is an Israeli military doctrine that calls for the use of massive, disproportionate force and the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

  • Will Rep. Massie Move to Impeach Biden on Ukraine?

    “Biden is risking provoking Russia to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war by green-lighting unrestricted use of our long range ballistic missiles by Zelensky. Nukes would threaten species existence worse than Hitler. Impeach Biden instantly.”

  • Should Rahm Emanuel Be the New DNC Chair?

    In recent days, Democratic Party strategist David Axelrod has urged that Rahm Emanuel become the chair of the Democratic National Committee, which will elect its new leader early next year. Today, The Hill published a piece headlined “Rahm Emanuel Is a Terrible Choice for DNC Chair,” warning that “if the Democratic National Committee is trying to find…

  • “At Long Last” ICC Arrest Warrant Issued for Netanyahu

    “At long last, ICC arrest warrants have been issued for Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity. All states must now cooperate in their arrest. The western-built wall of impunity constructed around this genocidal apartheid regime is crumbling. We must all now work together to ensure that justice is done.”

  • Legal Moves on Israel at UN and Congress

    The Intercept reports that “The House is set to vote … on a bill that would let the administration destroy nonprofits it claims support terrorism.” The legislation is reportedly being put to a vote this week. Udry is executive director of Defending Rights & Dissent.

  • What Trump Can’t Do to Immigrants

    In the wake of Trump’s first election to the presidency in January 2017, activist David Bacon wrote about the economic context of immigration policy and what Trump could and could not do to shape immigration for Dollars and Sense. The piece was republished after Trump’s reelection.

  • “Kamala Harris Lost Because of the Ukraine War…”

      Kamala Harris lost because of the Ukraine War — but not for the reason you think. … Foremost, Biden’s decision to impose a broad array of sanctions on Russia in 2022″ did “not hamper Russia’s illegal invasion. Instead, they led to a Wall Street-fueled commodity bubble that sent inflation soaring. That turned the national…

  • With Further Israeli Atrocities, Is Congress Finally Acting?

    At the same time, the Biden administration has approved over $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, fueling this conflict and further destabilizing the region. … But Congress has not authorized this weapons transfer.

  • Is Biden Allowing Ukraine to Strike Deep in Russia the Latest Provocation?

    “Earlier this year, President Biden gave Ukraine the greenlight to strike Russian border regions with U.S.-provided weapons, including shorter-range rockets fired by the HIMARS. A few months later, Ukraine launched its invasion of Kursk, and Ukrainian officials began pushing hard for the U.S. to support longer-range strikes inside Russia.

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