WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The UPI think tank wrap-up is a daily digest covering brief opinion pieces, reactions to recent news events and position statements released by various think tanks.
National Center for Public Policy Research
(NCPPR is a communications and research foundation dedicated to providing free market solutions to today's public policy problems, based on the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility. NCPPR was founded to provide the conservative movement with a versatile and energetic organization capable of responding quickly and decisively to late-breaking issues, based on thorough research.)
CHICAGO -- Ten-Second Response: Associated Press Misleads Public With Headline Saying "Study: Drilling Threatens Wildlife"
Background: An Associated Press story by Josef Herbert with the headline cited above spends 15 paragraphs explaining how a U.S. Geological Survey study shows how oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would threaten wildlife there. It is only in the 16th and 17th paragraphs, at the end of the story, that the AP publishes the accurate conclusions drawn by the study, saying:
"In a memo to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Charles Groat, said he wanted to 'clarify certain aspects' of the report, including that the research also showed 'with mitigation the effect of human development could be minimal' where most wildlife are concerned.
"But Groat acknowledged that adverse risks to the Porcupine caribou would depend on the type of development and where the development occurred."
Ten-Second Response: The study by the U.S. Geological Survey is entirely consistent with what proponents of exploration have said all along. The AP story is a distortion of the report.
Thirty-Second Response: When reports by government agencies present a balance of alternative actions and results, it is wrong for reporters to sensationalize certain aspects to suit what are apparently preconceived notions and views then throw in at the end a Gilda Radneresque, "Never mind." It should be remembered that even Bill Clinton's own energy department found oil exploration could be environmentally friendly and opened more of Alaska's North Slope to drilling.
Discussion: To learn more about what the Clinton administration said and did regarding oil exploration, and pick up useful quotes, read Ten-Second Response "Bill Clinton's Department of Energy on Record: Oil and Gas Exploration is Environmentally-Friendly" by Tom Randall at: http://www.nationalcenter.org/TSR21302.html.
(Tom Randall is the director of the John P. McGovern, M.D., Center for Environmental andRegulatory Affairs at the National Center for Public Policy Research.)
CHICAGO -- Ten-Second Response: Teamster chief James Hoffa warns politicians in both parties not to stand in the way of oil exploration in Alaska
By Tom Randall
Background: On the issue of oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa told the National Center for Public Policy Research, "ANWR provides expanded energy resources and increased job opportunities for Teamster members and their families. We cannot understand how so-called friends of working families can stand in the way of responsible job creation like ANWR, which already has bipartisan support to pass on a straight up or down vote."
"Teamster members will 'Remember in November,'" Hoffa told the NCPPR, "and hold those politicians accountable for their actions which hurt working families. We can do no less."
Ten-Second Response: Teamsters President Hoffa and his fellow Teamsters have been strong supporters of President Bush's energy plan, as have other labor union leaders and members. They deserve the nation's thanks.
Thirty-Second Response: Teamsters President James Hoffa is absolutely right to point out the importance oil exploration in ANWR has to job creation nationwide. The proposal to explore there is a key part of President Bush's energy plan, for which Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., refuses to schedule a Senate vote. Hoffa's statement to the National Center for Public Policy Research appears to be a clear message to members of both parties about how the Teamsters unions will expend their efforts in this fall's elections.
Discussion: Oil exploration in ANWR could produce oil equal to half of all U.S. imports from Persian Gulf countries for 30 years. If we had opened the area for drilling years ago, there would be less concern about the possibility of our war on terrorism in Gulf region disrupting energy supplies.
Institute for Public Accuracy
(The IPA is a nationwide consortium of policy researchers that seeks to broaden public discourse by gaining media access for experts whose perspectives are often overshadowed by major think tanks and other influential institutions.)
WASHINGTON -- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Interviews Available
* Chris Toensing, editor of Middle East Report. Toensing talked on Monday morning with Boston Globe reporter Anthony Shadid, who was shot on Sunday. Shadid has written for Middle East Report.
"The bullet missed Anthony's spinal cord by a centimeter. The talk of him being 'caught in the crossfire' is misleading. The circumstantial evidence is that an Israeli sharpshooter hit him. His jacket clearly said 'TV' on both the front and back. The Israelis slowed his treatment by trying to prevent his Palestinian translator from leaving Ramallah with him. Israel has demanded that all journalists get out of Ramallah. This morning at least one journalist was injured in Beit Jala."
* Allegra Pacheco, a Jewish Israeli-American human rights attorney, Pacheco is in the West Bank.
"Bush says he respects the right of Israel to defend herself, but this isn't a matter of self-defense, but rather aggression, oppression, power and dispossession. Here in the West Bank, I am experiencing the fruits of U.S. military aid to Israel -- F-16s flooding the skies overhead, spreading fear and trepidation in all of us."
* Kathleen Christison, author of the just-released "Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy" and a former CIA political analyst.
"A common refrain is that we are in this situation now because Arafat turned down such a great offer at Camp David. While it was better than previous Israeli offers, it did not offer the Palestinians a legitimate, contiguous state. We have not faced exactly what the occupation has meant to the Palestinians and the level of frustration brought by Israeli confiscation of land, increased settlements, checkpoints ..."
