An array of high-profile Americans — including Rev. Jesse Jackson, feminist Gloria Steinem, Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, leaders of the ACLU and the Newspaper Guild, and artists such as Sean Penn, Bonnie Raitt and Martin Sheen — released a joint statement Thursday (Jan. 29) in support of Katharine Gun, a British whistleblower. Ms. Gun faces two years in prison in England for alerting the public about U.S. spying on United Nations diplomats aimed at securing U.N. approval for war against Iraq. The initiator of the statement is Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 leaked the Pentagon Papers exposing decades of deception…

JIM NAURECKAS David Kay testified today in Congress about his inability to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Naureckas is editor of Extra!, the magazine of FAIR, which has published numerous pieces on the “missing” weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Naureckas said today: “Media are puzzling over how the intelligence could have been so wrong about Iraqi weapons. The administration and the media both ignored the main message of Iraq’s most important defector, Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law Hussein Kamel: He told the U.N. and the U.S. in 1995 that all of Iraq’s banned weapons had been destroyed. Press and…

The Center for Public Integrity has released The Buying of the President 2004: Who’s Really Bankrolling Bush and His Democratic Challengers –and What They Expect in Return. Among the findings: GEORGE W. BUSH: The top career donor for Bush is the scandal-ridden Enron Corp. The President’s campaign has already raised more money than any other candidate in history in the year before the election, $85.2 million (numbers are as of Sept. 30, 2003). His personal assets are $8,837,079 – $21,936,000. Bush, who has signaled an interest in Social Security privatization, numbers financial firms Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse First…

While many have called on President Bush to offer an explanation for his false claims about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, several Democratic presidential candidates have made similar claims. Here are candidate statements made before the occupation of Iraq: JOHN KERRY: “Why is Saddam Hussein attempting to develop nuclear weapons when most nations don’t even try? … According to intelligence, Iraq has chemical and biological weapons … Iraq is developing unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering chemical and biological warfare agents…” (Oct. 9, 2002) [See: www.commondreams.org/views03/0826-03.htm, www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2002_1009.html] WESLEY CLARK: “He [Hussein] does have weapons of mass destruction.” When asked,…

NANCY LESSIN A founding member of Military Families Speak Out, Lessin organized a protest last night outside the Capitol as President Bush gave his State of the Union address. She said today: “Bush says ‘No one can now doubt the word of America.’ But from his distortions about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, to his claiming to care about our soldiers in Iraq while not providing them with basic necessities in a war that they shouldn’t even be engaged in, he’s shown that his word cannot be trusted.” More Information More Information MIKE GRAVEL While in the U.S. Senate, Gravel…

Breaking a silence shared with almost all major U.S. media outlets, the New York Times on Monday (Jan. 19) for the first time informed its readers about Katharine Gun — thanks to a column on its op-ed page. As the British press began reporting two months ago, Gun is a former UK intelligence agency employee now facing charges that she violated the Official Secrets Act. “Katharine Gun has a much better grasp of the true spirit of democracy than Tony Blair,” writes Times columnist Bob Herbert in today’s piece. “So, naturally, it’s Katharine Gun who’s being punished.” Herbert’s column, titled…

President Bush is expected to make a statement Wednesday regarding U.S. government plans for space. The following analysts are available for interviews: BRUCE GAGNON Director of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and author of the recent article “Bush Plays with Fire: Launching a Dangerous Space Policy,” Gagnon said today: “The U.S. never signed the 1979 Moon Treaty that was created at the United Nations to prevent a rush of land claims and military bases on the moon…. Scientists have discovered valuable resources on the moon including helium 3, a fuel that is seen as a…

KEVIN GRAY A contributing editor to Black News in Columbia, S.C., Gray is author of the forthcoming book The Death of Black Politics. He said today: “The Democratic Party needs to consider a different ‘Southern strategy.’ In South Carolina, there are 800,000 eligible black voters and 575,175 registered black voters; only 282,000 voted in 2002. It’s not just a matter of registration; it’s a matter of turnout. You need to go door to door in low-income areas. The black community can be energized around economic issues as well as the occupation of Iraq.” JOE VELASQUEZ STEVE COBBLE Authors of the…

With a meeting scheduled next week between President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico, the following analysts are available for interviews about Bush’s new proposal on immigration: RAUL YZAGUIRRE, [via Lisa Navarrete] Yzaguirre is president of the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. He said: “The president’s proposal is limited to creating a potentially huge new guestworker program for immigrant workers with no meaningful access to permanent visas or a path to citizenship for those working, paying taxes, and raising their families in the United States. Immigrants would be asked to sign…

Syrian President Bashar Assad told the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph this week that elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the Mideast should include Israel’s nuclear arsenal. [Information on Israel’s arsenal is available at: www.msnbc.com/news/wld/graphics/strategic_israel_dw.htm.] The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, has recently urged Israel to follow the example of South Africa and dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The following nuclear policy analysts are available for interviews: JACQUELINE CABASSO Executive director of Western States Legal Foundation, Cabasso speaks and writes widely on nuclear weapons issues. She said today: “Although Syria didn’t make it into Bush’s…