News Releases

  • Iraq Bombing: Interviews Available

    BISHOP THOMAS GUMBLETON A Catholic Bishop from Detroit, Gumbleton has just returned from Iraq. More Information ERIK GUSTAFSON A U.S. soldier during the Gulf War and now the executive director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center, Gustafson said: “The people of Iraq are not their government. Dictators are answerable to no one. And yet, it is the blood of innocent Iraqi civilians that has already begun to flow.” KATHY BERGEN A specialist on the Middle East for the American Friends Service Committee, Bergen said: “On the eve of momentous religious holidays for all three Abrahamic faiths, the U.S.…


  • Iraq and Impeachment: Interviews Available

    MICHAEL RATNER An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ratner is author of a forthcoming American Journal of International Law article titled “Bypassing the Security Council: Use of Force and the Iraqi Inspection Regime.” On Wednesday afternoon, Ratner said: “Clinton’s repeated attacks on Iraq and his bombing of a pharmaceutical plant in the Sudan are impeachable. They violate the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to declare war, and the War Powers Resolution. Also, the U.N. Security Council has not given any authority to bomb Iraq for allegedly violating the inspection regime. A bombing would violate our Constitution —…


  • Other Voices on Impeachment

    ALAN HIRSCH The author of For the People: What The Constitution Really Says About Your Rights, Hirsch has just written A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment. Says Hirsch: “The guide is not intended to make the case for or against impeachment, but to help people follow and understand the process. It also discusses a range of scenarios. For example: Can a subsequent House rescind articles of impeachment adopted by a previous House? May the Senate convict the President but decide not to remove him from office? Can the Senate convict on grounds not stated in the House’s articles of impeachment?” STANLEY…


  • Available for Comment on Pinochet Decision

    JOYCE HORMAN Horman is the widow of American Charles Horman, whose execution by Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s forces in the days after the 1973 coup was the subject of the film “Missing,” starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek. Ms. Horman has continued to pursue the case legally. MICHAEL RATNER An attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the Horman family, Ratner said: “This is a watershed victory for human rights and for the people of Chile. We should now examine the role of the CIA in Pinochet’s crimes. Everyone, including world leaders, whether in the U.S. or other…


  • Three Perspectives on Impeachment Uproar

    GWENDOLYN MINK “The president and his defenders cry ‘sexual McCarthyism’ as a defense against charges that he perjured himself in a sexual harassment case. These appeals to sexual privacy are both damaging to women and hypocritical,” says Mink, a professor of politics at the University of California at Santa Cruz and author of Welfare’s End. She adds: “‘Privacy’ is precisely the mantra that has been used against women to keep our issues — from harassment to incest to domestic violence — out of the purview of justice. We all cherish our privacy; but we also know that privacy does not…


  • Analysis of Clash Between IMF and World Bank

    A new report by the World Bank is sparking controversy because of its criticism of the IMF’s policies related to the Asian economic crisis. Among those available for comment are: ROBERT NAIMAN A research associate at the Preamble Center who specializes in assessing the impacts of economic globalization, Naiman said: “The good news is that the World Bank admits that punishingly high interest rates have destroyed these economies and that nations need controls on capital flows. The bad news is that it still funds IMF bailout packages that impose impossibly harsh austerity conditions on developing countries.” More Information CATHERINE CAUFIELD…


  • Critics Denounce Exxon-Mobil Merger

    Responding to today’s announcement that Exxon has agreed to purchase Mobil, critics say that the merger of the two oil giants would mean a vast consolidation of economic power and a serious threat to the global environment. The proposed Exxon Mobil Corp. would be the largest energy company in the world. Among the researchers and policy analysts available for interviews are: WENONA HAUTER Hauter, director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy Project, said: “We’re talking about putting back together Standard Oil, which was broken up 90 years ago. Consumers are eventually going to pay the price for this since it…


  • Available for Timely Interviews This Week

    About IMPEACHMENT: ROBERT PARRY A former Newsweek correspondent and the current editor of I.F. magazine, Parry has been examining the Clinton scandals, the Starr investigation and the way the special prosecutor system has evolved. More Information About IRAQ: BISHOP THOMAS GUMBLETON A Catholic Bishop from Detroit who has been to Iraq and will be going again next month, Gumbleton has opposed U.S. militaryaction against Iraq and the U.S./U.N. economic sanctions on Iraq. More Information PHYLLIS BENNIS A fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s U.N., Bennis has just returned from…


  • Health Activists Blast Proposed Tobacco Settlement, Denounce Failure to Deal With Expansion Overseas

    WASHINGTON — While attorneys general from some states are touting a tentative deal with the tobacco industry, opponents say that one of the biggest problems with the proposed settlement is that it completely ignores the international operations of cigarette companies. Among the tobacco foes available for interviews are: ROSS HAMMOND Hammond, an economist and author of a new report on the international tobacco industry, said: “Big Tobacco has gone global to make up for declining sales in the United States. These companies now sell more cigarettes abroad than they do in the United States. Largely because of this overseas expansion,…


  • Iraq Analysts Available

    JOHN QUIGLEY Professor of Law, Ohio State University. Specialist in the Mideast and in international law. “There is no basis in any Security Council resolution for unilateral military action by the U.S.” BARBARA LUBIN Executive director, Middle East Children’s Alliance More Information JEFF GUNTZEL Traveled recently to Iraq with Voices in the Wilderness, delivering medicine in open violation of the sanctions. Another delegation now on its way to Iraq is reachable via above number. More Information RANIA MASRI Coordinator, Iraq Action Coalition GORDON CLARK Executive Director, PeaceAction More Information EDMUND GHAREEB Co-author of War in the Gulf 1990-91: The Iraq-Kuwait…


  • A Message to the Iraqi National Assembly from the Honorable Nick Rahall

    I want to thank you for the traditional Iraqi hospitality that our delegation has received since coming to Baghdad. We are all aware of the grave crisis presently facing our two countries, the United States and Iraq. I am concerned about the effects that a new war would have on both our countries. For that…

  • American Delegation En Route to Baghdad

    An independent American delegation to Iraq, led by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and former Sen. James Abourezk, is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Friday night (Sept. 13). The delegation also includes James Jennings, president of Conscience International, an Atlanta-based humanitarian aid and human rights organization, and Norman Solomon, executive director of the Institute for…

  • The United States, the World and War

    SUSAN WRIGHT Wright is co-author of Preventing a Biological Arms Race and of the forthcoming Biological Warfare and Disarmament: New Problems/New Perspectives. She said today: “If Saddam Hussein has had any inclination to wage war against other Middle Eastern states, deterrence seems to have worked — as it worked between the United States and the…

  • Independent American Delegation to Baghdad

    An independent American delegation, led by Rep. Nick Rahall and former Sen. James Abourezk, is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Friday night (Sept. 13). Rahall, of West Virginia, is currently serving his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Abourezk represented South Dakota in the United States Senate. The delegation also includes: James…

  • Sept. 11 Events Calling for “No More Victims”

    Many communities throughout the United States and the world are planning events to honor the people who were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. The following organizers, seeking to help create a world with “no more victims,” are available for interviews: DAVID POTORTI David Potorti, who lost his brother James at the World Trade Center,…

  • Powell in Africa: Interviews Available

    BILL FLETCHER Executive director of TransAfrica, Fletcher said today: “Bush not being at the Earth Summit in South Africa is extremely symbolic. It is a reflection of the arrogance of this administration and its unilateralism. The Summit is perhaps most noteworthy for the events of the popular organizations and NGOs which are trying to address…

  • Interviews Available: “EarthSummit.biz”?

    There will be major protests and a march on Saturday at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The following activists are available for comment: ANTONIA JUHASZ Juhasz is a project director for the International Forum on Globalization, which represents over 60 organizations in 25 countries. She said today: “The absence of President Bush should…

  • Interviews Available on Global Corporate Crime: Earth Summit, Bhopal

    As the Earth Summit — or World Summit on Sustainable Development — continues to meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, many nongovernmental organizations are calling for increased corporate accountability and protesting against corporate control of the Summit itself. Yesterday, a court in Bhopal, India, rejected the Indian government’s application for a reduction of criminal charges against…

  • War Against Iraq — Who Should Decide?

    The lead headline in this morning’s Washington Post is: “Bush Aides Say Iraq War Needs No Hill Vote.” In contrast, Wayne Morse — one of only two Senators who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution used by the Johnson administration to escalate the Vietnam War — argued that declaring war is the responsibility of…

  • Earth Summit: Another Global Snub by the U.S.?

    The Earth Summit — or World Summit on Sustainable Development [see www.johannesburgsummit.org ] — begins on Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa. The following analysts are available for comments: COLLEEN FREEMAN A policy analyst with Friends of the Earth, Freeman said today: “Clearly, the promises of the Rio Earth Summit of 10 years ago have not…

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