News Releases

  • Palestinian Groups on Famine, Call for International Protection

    “The systematic destruction of food systems, restrictions on the entry of aid, chaos perpetuated through continuous displacement orders, widespread bombardment, cooperation with and arming of gangs that loot aid and prevent its reach to affected populations, and the militarization of humanitarian aid (by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) are all explicit manifestations of genocidal intent.”


  • DNC Will Vote on Resolutions About Gaza and Israel This Week

    Three national activist organizations — Progressive Democrats of America, RootsAction and Our Revolution — have announced their support for a resolution for “an immediate ceasefire, an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel” that is set for consideration by the Democratic National Committee this week.


  • Famine Declared in Gaza, Stepping up Calls for Peacekeepers

    He states: “They have the majority of votes, and most importantly, millions of people are demanding this. Ordinary people are trying to break through an illegal blockade to deliver humanitarian aid, to implement international law their governments are failing to do. Why else do we have peacekeepers if not to end genocide and prevent starvation?”


  • Unpacking the Narrative of AI Job Loss

    Writing for FAIR, Conor Smyth argues that corporate media––including The Atlantic, ABC, PBS, CBS, the New York Times and Axios––has spun an exaggerated narrative that artificial intelligence is tanking the job market for new college graduates. AI, he writes, is stealing far fewer jobs than the public might believe, and this narrative serves as a grand distraction from the effects of the Trump administration’s policies driving down entry-level hiring.


  • HHS Reinstates Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines

    Under pressure from anti-vaccine activists, the Department of Health and Human Services has reinstated the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, claiming that the committee will “improve the safety, quality, and oversight of vaccines administered to American children.” The Task Force was disbanded in 1998. 


  • The Case for Military Intervention to Stop the Gaza Genocide

    Noor⁩ has been warning that France and Saudi Arabia “will hijack momentum for a military intervention and instead call for a ‘stabilisation force’ to effectively perpetuate the conditions of occupation and apartheid.” See video. 


  • NIH Is Sowing “mRNA Distrust”

    The director of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, stated on Steve Bannon’s podcast that contracts for mRNA research were being canceled because the public lacks trust in the technology. Bhattacharya blames declining uptake of the mRNA Covid-19 boosters on lack of public trust in the technology. But experts say that the public does generally trust mRNA vaccines. In May, a KFF poll found that only 16 percent of Americans do not trust mRNA vaccines, while 52 percent would like more information. Scientist and clinician Ferric Fang calls this an “educational opportunity, not a justification to terminate research. [It’s]…


  • Embargo Against Israel

    Hever has worked with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement and recently testified at the UN Palestine Committee on its behalf. See his speech: “The Nakba Has Never Ended.” He said that a full global military embargo is “the bare minimum required by international law.” He drew parallels with sanctions placed on apartheid South Africa. See a recent report from them on a military embargo against Israel.


  • Encouraging Healthcare Workers to Resist ICE

    Writing in The Nation, social psychiatrist Eric Reinhart urges healthcare workers to resist the expansion of ICE into hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, as well as the war on medical science and federal health programs for vulnerable U.S. residents. The Trump administration is “transforming medicine into a tool of authoritarian repression,” Reinhart contends. He writes that healthcare workers should engage in resistance training and teach-ins, use disobedient documentation and subversive record-keeping, and help educate community members to create a lay caregiving force. 


  • Mental Health Practitioners in Gaza

    As of late 2024, across Gaza and the West Bank, 800,000 people had received some sort of mental health or psychosocial support for their trauma. For The New Yorker, Mohammed Mhawish chronicled the work of mental health clinicians attempting to offer these services in Gaza. He spoke with the Institute for Public Accuracy about the difficulty of reporting on the story. 


  • Pro-Bush Forces Working to Help Nader in Push to Get on Oregon Ballot

    The Oregonian newspaper reported Friday that “groups allied with President Bush are encouraging their conservative members to do the seemingly unthinkable: attend a convention Saturday to help put left-leaning independent candidate Ralph Nader on the Oregon presidential ballot. The groups — with the encouragement of some Republican political operatives — are telling their members that…

  • * Cost of Iraq War * Negroponte’s Record in Honduras * Bush’s AIDS Claims * Survivors of Torture Speak Out * Regime Change in Guatemala: 50 Years Later

    PHYLLIS BENNIS, [via Emily Schwartz Greco] A fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Bennis is the primary author of the just-released report “Paying the Price: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War,” which is available at the above web page. More Information LARRY BIRNS Birns is director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which…

  • Clinton’s Domestic Legacies

    IDA HELLANDER, M.D. Executive director of Physicians for a National Health Program, Hellander said today: “The HMOs — which rose during the 1990s — are, in effect, practicing medicine by deciding which tests and treatments will be covered. They skimp on coverage to maximize their profits. When they deny medically necessary care for patients, they…

  • Electronic Voting — Danger for Democracy

    DAN WALLACH Wallach is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Rice University in Houston specializing in building secure and robust software systems for the Internet. Along with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Wallach co-authored a groundbreaking study that revealed significant flaws in Diebold’s AccuVote-TS electronic voting system. He said today: “Neither the source code [for…

  • Military Contractors in Iraq: Privatizing Unaccountability and Torture?

    PRATAP CHATTERJEE Program director for CorpWatch, Chatterjee is the author of the recent articles “Controversial Commando Wins Iraq Contract” and “Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraib, Iraq.” He said today: “Occupation authorities in Iraq have awarded a $293 million contract effectively creating the world’s largest private army to a company headed by Lieutenant Colonel…

  • Why Is Dick Cheney Still Lying About Iraq and 9/11?

    “The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported Wednesday there was ‘no credible evidence’ that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda target the United States.” — Associated Press, June 16 www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0616-01.htm Vice President Richard Cheney on Saddam Hussein: “He had long established ties with al-Qaeda.” — Associated Press, June 14 www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/06/14/cheney.terrorism.ap ANDREW RICE COLLEEN KELLY BOB McILVAINE…

  • “A Nation of Laws”? Presidential Authority, Immunity and Torture

    REED BRODY “The torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was the predictable result of the Bush administration’s decision to circumvent international law,” Human Rights Watch said in a new report. Brody is special counsel with Human Rights Watch and author of that report, titled “The Road to Abu Ghraib.” He said…

  • * G-8 Summit Backstory * Iraq Resolution

    NEIL WATKINS, [in Georgia], MARIE CLARKE, [in Georgia Watkins is the outreach coordinator for Jubilee USA Network. He said today: “In this critical moment, Jubilee USA Network calls for … 100 percent cancellation of the debts of all impoverished nations without harmful conditions, not piecemeal and partial relief…. Jubilee USA Network recognizes Iraqi debt as…

  • Reagan’s Foreign Policies: Beyond the Myths

    BILL FLETCHER President of TransAfrica Forum, Fletcher said today: “Reagan had this ability to project warmth and compassion while implementing incredibly draconian foreign and domestic policies. One example of this was his stubborn resistance to sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa.” More Information JOSEPH GERSON Director of the American Friends Service Committee’s Peace…

  • From Reagan to Now: Assessing Domestic Policies

    JILL NELSON Author of the book Straight, No Chaser: How I Became a Grown-Up Black Woman, Nelson is critical of “the current orgy of accolades” for Reagan. She said today: “On civil rights Reagan was a complete disaster. He tried to gut the Civil Rights Commission, to stop the extension of the Voting Rights Act…

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