SHEILA COLLINS Professor of political science at William Paterson University in New Jersey and a member of the National Jobs for All Coalition executive committee, Collins is coauthor of Washington’s New Poor Law: Welfare ‘Reform’ and the Roads Not Taken, 1935 to the Present. She said Friday afternoon: “The official rate announced today is 6 percent. That’s 8.6 million people, up by half a million people since last month. The official numbers grossly understate the number of unemployed and underemployed people. There are 4 million people who only work part-time because they cannot find full-time work and another 4.5 million…

BARBARA EHRENREICH Ehrenreich is a columnist for The Progressive and the author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. She said today: “In the ‘job-readiness’ programs routinely inflicted on welfare recipients since 1996, poor women have it drummed into them that by getting a job they will win ‘self-esteem’ and, at the same time, finally be able to provide a suitable ‘role model’ for their children. Stigmatizing unemployment, or, more accurately, unpaid, family-directed labor, obviously works to promote the kind of docility businesses crave in their employees. Any job, no matter how dangerous, abusive, or poorly paid,…

KATHY KELLY, JEFF GUNTZEL Members of the activist humanitarian group Voices in the Wilderness, Kelly and Guntzel recently got back from Israel and the Occupied Territories. Kelly, the group’s co-founder, said today: “We returned from the Jenin camp with ample evidence that the Israeli government ordered Israeli occupying forces to attack and destroy a civilian neighborhood in the Jenin refugee camp. We would never want to see a single civilian in Israel punished because of their government’s actions. Yet we must ask why the United Nations continues to uphold a dangerous and repugnant double standard by imposing lethal punishment on…

On Monday evening, the U.S. government succeeded in ousting Jose Bustani, the director-general of the international Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In today’s Christian Science Monitor, a French ambassador says that a potential “chain reaction risks leading to the destruction of the multilateral system.” The following analysts are available for interviews: GEORGE MONBIOT In a column published by the British Guardian newspaper on April 16, Monbiot wrote: “On Sunday, the U.S. government will launch an international coup … to unseat the man in charge of ridding the world of chemical weapons.” Monbiot, author of Captive State and visiting…

MARTIN LEE Author of The Beast Reawakens: Fascism’s Resurgence from Hitler’s Spymasters to Today’s Neo-Nazi Groups and Right-Wing Extremists, Lee said today: “Le Pen’s electoral breakthrough is less a threat to democracy than a reflection of the lack of a healthy democracy in France. Right-wing extremists such as Le Pen have benefitted from foraging on a political terrain where the ideological distance between the mainstream parties has shrunk. This has propelled the growth of neofascist parties in Western Europe, which appeal to disillusioned voters by assuming the mantle of the opposition and stoking resentment against remote and unresponsive governing elites.…

“The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist. McDonald’s cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas… And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley’s technologies to flourish is called the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.” — Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree NJOKI NJOROGE NJEHU, SOREN AMBROSE Njehu is director of the 50 Years Is Enough Network, which scrutinizes the policies of the IMF and World Bank. Ambrose is the group’s senior analyst. They are in contact with analysts and activists from around the world in Washington this…

DOMINIC NUTT An emergencies officer for Christian Aid, Dominic Nutt is currently in Bethlehem. More Information MARK ZEITOUN Zeitoun, who is an international aid worker and a water engineer, is in the West Bank. He said today: “In almost all the cities that the Israel Defense Force has occupied, there has been severe damage to the water infrastructure through systematic targeting and sabotage. The destruction is done either by digging up the water pipes or by destroying the electrical lines to the water pumps. Most attempts to repair the infrastructure or to deliver water to the curfewed residents are blocked.…

SARAH ANNE MINKIN JOSHUA RUEBNER A member of Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Minkin will attend the National Rally in Solidarity with Israel today in Washington at the Capitol. She said today: “There is a growing Jewish movement in this country and around the world working for justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians.” Ruebner, co-founder of the group, said today: “As Jews who love justice and peace, it’s offensive to us that, in our name, Israel is pursuing policies completely out of line with the truths of Judaism.” More Information KATHY KELLY, JEFF GUNTZEL Members of Voices…

BILL ALLISON Co-author of The Cheating of America: How Tax Avoidance and Evasion by the Super Rich Are Costing the Country Billions — and What You Can Do About It, Allison is managing editor at the Center for Public Integrity. More Information SCOTT KLINGER (via Betsy Leondar-Wright) Co-director of Responsible Wealth and a chartered financial analyst, Klinger is the author of United for a Fair Economy’s new report “Titans of the Enron Economy: The 10 Habits of Highly Defective Corporations.” He said today: “Enron’s profits in the five years ending in 2000 were $1.8 billion, which would mean $625 million…

DIAA HADID Hadid, an Australian citizen, is assisting Ittijah, a Haifa-based network of Arab associations. With many phone lines in the West Bank cut, Ittijah is connecting media to Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. More Information NAJEH JARRAR Professor of sociology at An-Najah National University, which is in Nablus, Jarrar is currently in Jenin. He said today: “For 10 days, we’ve been under curfew, no electricity, no water, a shortage of food. The Israelis conquered the city four days ago and searched the houses one by one. Today they forced out the residents of the refugee camp. Some of…