BRENDA EKWURZEL Ekwurzel is a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, which recently released a report titled “Smoke, Mirrors and Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco’s Tactics to ‘Manufacture Uncertainty’ on Climate Change.” The report states: “ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy…

MILAN RAI Rai wrote a recent briefing paper titled “IED Lies: The U.S. claims that Iran supplies Improvised Explosive Devices to Iraqi insurgents. No serious evidence has been provided[PDF].” Rai is author of the book 7/7: The London Bombings, Islam and the Iraq War. More Information STEPHEN ZUNES Professor of politics at the University of…

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting today: “The Army court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, which ended in a mistrial Wednesday, may have stranger turns ahead: Prohibitions against double jeopardy may keep prosecutors from having a second trial, his lawyer and another legal expert say.” Lt. Watada is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders…

BEN COHEN WARREN LANGLEY President of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, Cohen said today: “Spending on weapons rose nearly 20 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, and President Bush is continuing to demand more funding for exorbitantly priced Cold War weapons. It’s time to provide a strong foundation for growth for the American…

In a story headlined “Watada lawyer rebukes judge,” the Seattle Times reports today: “First Lt. Ehren Watada’s court-martial verdict could hinge on the Fort Lewis officer’s own testimony when he takes the stand later this week to testify about why he refused to go to war.” The following veterans and military family members are among…

As President Bush submits his budget today, various peace groups are launching what they are calling the “Occupation Project,” an eight-week-long campaign to end funding for the Iraq war. This will include citizens around the country nonviolently occupying their representatives’ offices. Among the organizers of this campaign available for interviews are: GAEL MURPHY Co-founder of…

MARJORIE COHN Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Her most recent piece is “Cruise Missile Diplomacy: Bush Targets Iran,” which states: “Bush is rattling the sabers and opting for gunboat diplomacy by pledging to ‘seek out and destroy’ Iranian networks ‘providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies’ in Iraq. But…

“The U.S. government agreed to drop two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer from its case against the Army lieutenant who called the Iraq war illegal and refused to deploy,” the Associated Press reports. “1st Lt. Ehren Watada, whose court-martial is scheduled Feb. 5, still faces a maximum of four years imprisonment if he is…

ANTHONY ARNOVE Arnove, the author of the recent book Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal, spoke yesterday on Capitol Hill at a forum of the congressional “Out of Iraq” Caucus. “There are differences between Vietnam and Iraq,” he said. “But there are all too many similarities. I fear we are in a moment analogous to the…

GARETH PORTER Author, most recently, of the book Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, Porter said today: “If Bush were really focused on the problem of worsening sectarian violence in Iraq, he would have learned that continuing to make war against Sunni insurgents while supporting a largely Shiite…