Newsday has reported that “President George W. Bush rebuffed a plan last month for a Muslim peacekeeping force that would have helped the United Nations organize elections in Iraq, according to Saudi and Iraqi officials.” The paper reported: “As a result, the UN continues to have a skeletal presence in Iraq, with only four staff members working full time on preparing for elections set for the end of January. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has refused to establish a new UN headquarters in Baghdad unless countries commit troops for a special force to protect it. … Diplomats said Annan accepted the…

PRATAP CHATTERJEE Chatterjee is author of the new book Iraq Inc. and has traveled to Iraq twice. He said today: “Nineteen months after the invasion, most services [in Iraq] have not been restored, the bills have reached astronomical proportions and Iraqis have very few jobs. Iraqi security guards get less than 1 percent of their foreign counterparts for the same work, the average Iraqi worker is paid $100 a month while truck drivers from the United States are paid $8,000 for work with similar skills by Halliburton, and American consultants provide grants of less than $100,000 for Iraqi organizations for…

WILLIAM BOONE Boone is a professor of political science at Clark Atlanta University. He said today: “In this election cycle many problems remain unresolved — and many of those problems disproportionately impact African-American and Hispanic communities. One major problem is the confusing patchwork of rules and regulations governing the restoration of voting rights of ex-felons. In some states this is not possible at all, causing permanent disenfranchisement. In others, there is a convoluted process that would allow for restoration, but an affirmative attempt is not made by officials to inform or help the ex-felon navigate this road. Also, another major…

WILLIAM SPRIGGS An economist and editor of the book The State of Black America 1999, Spriggs said today: “Bush says that he plans to cut the budget deficit in half. For this fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office projects a deficit of $415 billion. That’s slightly more than the entire non-military, non-homeland security discretionary budget (of $391 billion). Bush says he’s going to keep all the tax cuts. So how does he plan to cut the deficit in half? Does he plan to target specific programs? Or is he going to cut every item — from Small Business to Agriculture…

JULIE BROWN Brown is the campaign director for Make Your Vote Count, a Colorado group supporting Amendment 36, which would proportionally allocate Colorado’s nine electoral college votes. She said today: “In 1893, Colorado defied the critics and became the first state to give women the right to vote. On Nov. 2, Colorado has the opportunity to take the next step by becoming the first state to actually enshrine the principle of one person, one vote into the presidential election. Amendment 36 would change the way Colorado allocates its electoral votes for president. The outdated ‘winner take all’ system would be…

LEE FARRIS Farris is the senior organizer on tax policy at United for a Fair Economy. She said today: “This new round of corporate tax cuts comes at a time when our country has a record $415 billion deficit, and when many of the largest and most profitable corporations already are not paying their fair share of taxes — and in some cases, not paying any tax at all. There’s pork for everyone: $28 million for cruise ship operators, $101 million for race track owners, and $44 million for importers of Chinese ceiling fans. Worst of all, there’s $27.9 billion…

A news conference includes Mike Hoffman and Fernando Suarez del Solar next to the Arizona State University debate location at 10 a.m. local time today. The news conference is at the Twin Palms Hotel, 225 East Apache, Tempe (S.W. corner of Apache Blvd. and Mill Ave.), across Apache Blvd. from the ASU debate location and media tent. MIKE HOFFMAN Co-founder and national coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War, Hoffman said today: “The picture we’re getting from Iraq is largely limited to what’s going on in the ‘green zone,’ the U.S.-controlled area in Baghdad. Our group has members who are…

Professor Wangari Maathai of Kenya has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004. She is founder of the Green Belt Movement. More Information NJOKI NJOROGE NJEHU Njehu is director of the 50 Years Is Enough Network and worked with the Green Belt Movement for several years. Professor Maathai is both a mentor and a close family friend. [Njehu’s mother, Lilian Njehu, who will be arriving in the U.S. this weekend, is on the board of the Green Belt Movement and will be available for a limited number of interviews through translation.] Njoki Njoroge Njehu said today: “This award provides…

JACQUELINE JOHNSON Johnson is the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. She said today: “In South Dakota’s June special election, erroneous signs were posted at the polls where Lakota people were voting in a special Congressional election. The signs read, ‘No ID, No vote.’ Many would-be voters went home feeling intimidated by election monitors who did not inform them of their right to complete an affidavit, which, even with no ID, would allow them to cast a ballot.” More Information JANET RYDER Ryder is the Philadelphia Voter Protection Coordinator for the AFL-CIO. She said today: “There has…

PHYLLIS BENNIS A fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, Bennis is author of the book Before and After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis as well as the article “Veto” about the U.S. government’s repeated use of its veto of U.N. Security Council resolutions critical of Israel. She said today: “The U.S. veto yesterday is only the latest example of a long history of U.S. protection of Israel’s occupation and Israeli violations of international law and UN resolutions. During the vice-presidential debate, it was clear that both Cheney and Edwards, and their respective parties, are trying to…