SALIH BOOKER Booker, the executive director of Africa Action, said today: “While Bush has made much of his commitment to fighting AIDS in Africa, this is becoming a cruel hoax… The president requested no new money this year and only $450 million in new money for 2004. He has virtually sidestepped the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, thus undermining the most important vehicle in the war on AIDS in Africa.” More Information MARA VANDERSLICE Vanderslice is the program director of Jubilee USA Network. She said today: “We are glad that President Bush is traveling to the continent of Africa. However,…

CECILIA O’LEARY Associate professor of history at California State University at Monterey Bay and author of To Die For: The Paradox of American Patriotism, O’Leary said today: “Under the banner of patriotism, the right has successfully institutionalized repressive policies and justified an occupation of Iraq with no end in sight. Aspirations for American empire are not new, nor is the use of state-sponsored campaigns to limit political dissent. At the previous turn-of-the-century, the U.S. became a colonial power on the world stage when it occupied the Philippines. Less than 20 years later, during World War I, a ‘my country right…

ELLEN FRANK Professor of economics at Emmanuel College in Boston and author of the forthcoming Money Illusions: The Rise of Finance and the End of Economic Policy, Frank said today: “The fact that this Fed has cut rates this low indicates that they are concerned about a prolonged economic slump setting off deflation. If prices start declining, this would exacerbate the economy’s weakness by making it very difficult for people to repay their debts. While the Fed’s action is welcome, the federal government’s policy has not been helpful, for example letting the states sink. Globally, there’s a dearth of international…

CHUCK COLLINS Today the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a permanent repeal of the estate tax. Collins is co-founder of United for a Fair Economy and co-author, with William Gates Sr., of Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes. Collins said today: “The bill to permanently repeal the federal estate tax will reduce federal revenue by almost $1 trillion over the next 20 years. The estate tax currently affects only millionaires — people with the richest 2 percent of estates. Nearly half of all estate taxes are paid by the wealthiest 0.1 percent of…

CHRIS TOENSING CATHERINE COOK Toensing and Cook are with the Middle East Research and Information Project based in Washington. They can discuss the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. More Information BRIAN AVERY An activist with the International Solidarity Movement, Avery has just returned to South Carolina. Two months ago in the West Bank, he was shot in the face by the Israeli military with a machine gun as he tried to guide two children to safety. Currently, his jaw is wired shut and scars line his face as he awaits more surgery. More Information More Information More…

RAHUL MAHAJAN Mahajan is the co-author of an op-ed published today in USA Today titled “End the Deception” and author of the forthcoming book Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond. He was featured in an IPA news release on March 18, 2003 titled “White House Claims: A Pattern of Deceit,” which noted a series of fabrications by the administration which were clear before the invasion of Iraq: The Al-Samoud 2 missiles, which Ari Fleischer claimed Iraq denied having, were in fact disclosed in Iraq’s December 7, 2002 declaration; the aluminum tubes cited by President Bush in his…

SAMIH FARSOUN Author of Palestine and the Palestinians and professor of sociology at American University, Farsoun is available for interviews about Bush’s trip to the Mideast, as well as the region’s political and economic development. SIMONA SHARONI Sharoni is professor of peace and conflict studies and Middle East politics at Evergreen State College and executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association. She is participating in a series of events with other groups in and around the United Nations this Thursday, marking the 36th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These groups will…

SALIH BOOKER Booker, the executive director of Africa Action, said today: “In the G8 Summit, Africa will come up once more to be used for purposes of spin — to make the claim that rich Western countries are compassionate and caring. Unfortunately, the track record suggests this is unlikely to be anything more than a public relations exercise. While the United States and the G8 engage in feel-good talk, Africa’s illegitimate external debts are draining $15 billion from the continent’s poorest countries each year — this is greater than the amount of aid or new direct investment or new loans…

JANINE JACKSON Jackson is program director of the media watch group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting), which has objected to the FCC’s proposed rule changes, scheduled to be voted on June 2. The FCC proposals would allow further media consolidation, including cross-ownership between newspapers and TV stations in the same market. More Information ROBERT McCHESNEY Author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy and research professor in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, McChesney recently wrote the article “The FCC’s Big Grab.” More Information More Information DANNY SCHECHTER Currently executive director of MediaChannel, Schechter was…

ROSS POURZAL A Washington-based political analyst who is active with the Alliance of Progressive Iranians, Pourzal said today: “A reduction in Iran’s adventurism, evidenced by closer ties to the European Union, has met with increased U.S. extremism, driven by the Pentagon. This is persuading Iran that it needs a nuclear deterrent. The White House is portraying Iran as having hostile intentions towards the United States. They said the same thing about Iraq, and there’s been no evidence of that in either case. Iran has regional interests, but it’s never been in an attack mode against the United States. It’s actually…