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: “Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany is a deeply troubled nation, vexed by high unemployment, a stagnant economy, acrimonious relations between eastern and western residents, a charged politics of ethnicity, and an unfulfilled quest for a ‘normal’ identity. Influential German officials, eager to deflect attention from their own policy failures, continue to scapegoat foreigners and stir up xenophobic fears that are fueling neo-Nazi and anti-immigrant attacks. At the same time, a conservative…

Federal Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled on Friday evening that Microsoft is a monopoly. The following analysts are available for interviews: JAMIE LOVE Director of the Consumer Project on Technology, Love said: “Judge Jackson took a large step toward reining in Microsoft, the company that exercises huge power in markets for software for personal computers. The decision is a significant victory for the Department of Justice and for the public. The court has determined that Microsoft engaged in a litany of anti-competitive actions, bullying PC computer manufacturers and engaging in numerous actions of technological terrorism against Microsoft’s competitors. Judge Jackson’s…

When the World Trade Organization global summit gets underway on Nov. 30 in Seattle, President Clinton and other top officials will be confronted by large protests there. Among the WTO critics now available for comment are: JULIE LIGHT “While 134 governments make up the WTO, it is transnational corporations that increasingly influence and benefit from international trade policy,” says Light, managing editor of the Internet magazine Corporate Watch and co-host of World Trade Watch, which will provide daily live nationwide radio coverage of the WTO summit. (The broadcasts are a co-production of Corporate Watch, the National Radio Project and the…

PAUL HUDSON Paul Hudson is executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, which last week issued a statement entitled “Skies Less Safe” accusing the FAA and DOT of “actively engag[ing] in major programs and actions aimed at reducing existing levels of safety and security.” That statement specifically cited “FAA failure to act to eliminate or substantially reduce the risk of center fuel tank explosions… FAA failure to require fire suppression or fire detection systems in all areas of airliners inaccessible to flight crews… FAA failure to require modern black boxes on U.S. aircraft that record longer periods of cockpit…

The Clinton administration, the Republican congressional leadership and the financial services industry all seem to agree on the Gramm-Leach Act. If it becomes law, the legislation would abolish restrictions on banks, securities firms and insurance companies instituted in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Critics charge that — like the Telecommunications Act of 1996 — it will not provide the promised benefits to consumers, but will result in massive mergers and inadequate regulation. Among those available for interviews are: RALPH NADER Consumer advocate Ralph Nader called the proposed legislation “anti-competitive, anti-consumer and anti-community. It creates new risks for the nation’s…

WASHINGTON — While the White House and Congress struggle over the federal budget, some policy analysts are questioning key assumptions in the debate. Sociologist Abby Scher and economist Jared Bernstein are available for interviews to discuss underlying issues: ABBY SCHER “Since the late 1970s, Congress has directed more of the federal budget away from social investment,” Scher says. “The 1997 budget caps and current negotiations are only accelerating that trend. Corporations, meanwhile, will continue to receive their welfare payments in this budget.” Scher is co-editor of Dollars and Sense magazine. More Information JARED BERNSTEIN “In an ideal world, the debate…

Wall Street is continuing a downward slide this fall, and some economists believe that policymakers in Washington are remaining unrealistically upbeat. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Dole’s withdrawal from the GOP presidential race has sparked more debate on campaign finance issues. The following policy analysts are available for interviews. Wall Street: Realism Needed DEAN BAKER “The stock market has been hugely overvalued since 1996,” said Baker, an economist and senior research fellow at the Preamble Center in Washington, D.C. “At its peak earlier this year it may have been overvalued by more than 50 percent. To make this determination it is only necessary…

Speaking at a news conference this afternoon, President Clinton said that he is not concerned about the massive protests planned for the World Trade Organization global summit when it convenes in Seattle in late November. The following policy analysts who support those protests are available for comment: SARAH ANDERSON “It’s great that he’s welcoming protesters outside the ministerial meeting, but it would be more meaningful for him to actually push for civil society to have a place inside, at the negotiating table,” said Sarah Anderson, an economic analyst and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. She…

GORDON S. CLARK The executive director of the grassroots American organization Peace Action, Clark said Wednesday: “The military coup in Pakistan dramatically underscores the need for the nuclear test ban treaty. Will we be more secure or less secure with countries like Pakistan developing nuclear weapons? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if the U.S. rejects this treaty, and this treaty is only the beginning for the Republicans. George W. Bush, among others, has already said he favors abandoning the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which would without question cause Russia to increase its reliance on nuclear weapons. Is…

TED TAYLOR Former deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency in the Pentagon, an architect for decades of the U.S. nuclear program and now an independent consultant on nuclear issues and critic of U.S. nuclear policy, Taylor said: “I’m strongly in favor of the treaty, but not the Clinton administration interpretation of what it allows. The administration views the treaty as a way to stop other countries from doing what we did: develop a nuclear arsenal by depending on full-scale nuclear tests. The administration is trying to get around the comprehensive nature of the treaty by claiming that its…