News Releases

  • Targeting the Post Office

    “President-elect Donald J. Trump has confirmed the incoming administration’s interest in exploring privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Privatization would repudiate the Postal Service’s public service mission. The public postal system exists to serve all, delivering such critical items as medications and lab tests, not to turn a profit. No profit-making company would provide universal service to all corners of the nation on a daily basis. Millions of Americans receive daily deliveries because the Postal Service is not a for-profit company. In fact, such private delivery companies as FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) use the Postal…


  • Israel’s Impunity Extends to Destroying Syria’s Ability to Defend Itself

    “Regardless of who ultimately controls a future government in Damascus, Israel exploited the chaos following Assad’s fall to make sure that Syria does not retain the military capacity to defend itself. And Israel did so with the tacit support of Joe Biden and his administration, who repeated Israel’s argument that it was acting pre-emptively in self-defense against potential threats from Syrian rebels and jihadists. A country invading its neighbor and destroying most of its military within 48 hours would usually be considered an act of aggression under international law. But over the past year, we’ve seen that the international community…


  • Genocide Denial

    “Imagine for a moment that a magnitude 8 earthquake occurred somewhere in the world, and the Western corporate media refused to use the word ‘earthquake’ in reporting it, instead talking ambiguously of a ‘tectonic incident’ that had caused buildings to collapse and people to die.”


  • Espionage Act Defendant Asif Rahman Will be Held in Pre-Trial Detention

    “Based on pure speculation the government claimed Rahman was ideologically motivated and therefore more dangerous than other defendants. If taken to its logical conclusion, it would mean the government believes whistleblowers who act out of the public interest are a greater threat than spies who betray their country for financial gain.” 


  • Trying to Make Sense of RFK Jr.

    “It’s absolutely true that RFK Jr. is an unusual political figure. But it’s also true that he has deep roots in our politics going all the way back to his uncle, John F. Kennedy. The Kennedys have always been present in our political system because mainstream Democrats have tried to recapture the political magic of this charismatic figure who was able, both in life and in death, to capture the affection of a lot of people in both parties. A similar story played out with RFK Sr., who seemed to advance the progressive promise even more. There’s a lot of…


  • Israel Bombing Gaza, Lebanon, Syria

    “HTS has every reason to approach the UN Security Council and to charge Israel with aggression, both for Israel’s encroachment on territory of Syria beyond the illegally occupied Golan Heights, and for Israel’s bombing of Syria’s naval fleet and other military sites.”


  • Insurance CEO Shooting Highlights Street Crime vs Corporate Crime Contrast

    “We often view street violence as a moral failing deserving punishment; in the corporate world, we often view decisions that cause harm as unfortunate but necessary byproducts of business. But the public’s shocking reaction to Thompson’s shooting suggests that people are interpreting the ruthless tactics of private health insurers as forms of violence akin to street violence, which sharply cuts against how we typically view business malfeasance in the U.S.”


  • Threats to Regulation of Formaldehyde

    New reporting from ProPublica found that under the incoming Trump administration, regulations to curb formaldehyde are under threat. Formaldehyde is one of the most widespread toxic pollutants and causes more cancer than any other air pollutant. Under President Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency will release its final health assessment of formaldehyde by the end of this month. The EPA is expected to use that assessment for creating new rules that could restrict formaldehyde. 


  • Syria’s Future: Democracy or Subservience to U.S., Turkey and Israel?

    “The Israeli bombardment of Syrian military facilities had weakened the Syrian armed forces’ logistical and ordinance capabilities. These attacks had been sustained and painful for the Syrian armed forces…. The nearly three years of conflict in Ukraine had certainly denied Syria the ability to call upon further Russian assistance for the protection of Damascus or for the Russian naval base in Latakia.”


  • “Israel is an Apartheid State Responsible for Genocide”

    “You have crossed all lines and nurtured the most vile of human impulses, but the world is finally glimpsing the terror we have endured at your hands for so long, and they are seeing the reality of who you are, who you’ve always been. They watch in utter astonishment the sadism, the glee, the joy, and pleasure with which you conduct, watch, and cheer the daily details of breaking our bodies, our minds, our future, our past.


  • A War Chest Against AIDS in Africa?

    This morning, President Bush, joined by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, announced $200 million for a new global “war chest” to fight AIDS around the world. Many activists and analysts familiar with the situation were immediately critical; some have been protesting in front of the White House this afternoon. Among…

  • Judicial Nominees: Implications as Federalist Society Supplants ABA

    As President Bush makes appointments to federal courts, the following analysts are available for interviews: JULIE GERCHIK Assistant director of the Institute for Democracy Studies and co-author of the recently-released report “The Federalist Society and the Challenge to a Democratic Jurisprudence,” Gerchik said today: “Behind the tidal wave of new judicial nominees are key organizations…

  • Rumsfeld: Lost in Space?

    This afternoon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is announcing plans for a major boost in the importance of space for U.S. military strategy. The following analysts are available for interviews: KARL GROSSMAN Author of the forthcoming Weapons in Space, Grossman is professor of journalism at the State University of New York. He has just completed…

  • Energy Policy

    WENONAH HAUTER Director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, Hauter said today: “The Bush administration’s proposal to urge federal agencies to conserve electricity is a sham, because Bush’s previous commitments to slash energy efficiency and conservation efforts in the private sector will overwhelm any gains made in the public sector…. The year…

  • Social Security Panel

    Today, President Bush named members of a new White House panel aimed at overhauling Social Security. Among those on the commission are individuals associated with AOL Time Warner, Reliant Equity Investors, Fidelity Investments, the World Bank and the American Enterprise Institute. The following analysts are available for interviews: DIANA ZUCKERMAN President of the National Center…

  • Major Military Issues: Bombing Vieques, National Missile Defense, Terrorism Report

    ROBERTO RABIN Director of Vieques Historic Archives and a spokesperson for the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, Rabin said today: “The people of Vieques, with the wide support of the Puerto Rican community, have mounted an intense campaign to end 60 years of U.S. Navy presence, exercises and destruction of the island…

  • Interviews Available: What Kind of Globalization?

    The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are holding their spring meetings in Washington. The following critics of those institutions are available for interviews: NJOKI NJOROGE NJEHU Director of the 50 Years Is Enough Network, a coalition of over 200 U.S. grassroots groups dedicated to transforming the World Bank and the IMF, Njehu testified before…

  • On Bob Kerrey and Vietnam

    Former Sen. Bob Kerrey’s public statements during the last day — prompted by revelations about to be reported by the New York Times and “60 Minutes II” about a raid he led that killed unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War — have raised important issues. This afternoon, the following statement comes from Brian Willson, a…

  • Peru Plane Downing: Broader Issues

    A front-page article in today’s Washington Post reports that the CIA was late in warning the Peruvian military not to fire on the civilian airplane carrying missionaries. The following analysts are available for interviews on broader U.S. policy questions: CECILIA ZARATE-LAUN Co-founder and director of the Colombia Support Network, Zarate-Laun said today: “The downing of…

  • FTAA: Liberty or Oppression?

    As he left the U.S. for the Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Quebec today, President Bush said that the goal was to create a “hemisphere of liberty” and fight against “poverty, disease and ignorance.” Interviews are available with the following analysts who have a different assessment of the FTAA: CAROL PHILLIPS Director…

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