Rep John Conyers (D-Michigan) has subpoenaed former Bush Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove over his alleged involvement in the firings of US Attorneys and the Justice Department's railroading of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Rove, of course, has been subpoenaed before and ignored it. But Michael Mukasey, the unindicted co-conspirator who ran the Justice Department until last Tuesday, is gone now, so there's a hope that rule of law might be at least partially restored.
[ Raw Story ]
Conyers is also proposing an extension to the statute of limitations on war crimes, torture, and domestic surveillance, in light of some observers' claim that Bush's crimes will move past the current five-year statute of limitations in less than two months. Conyers, though, is
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."
Martin Luther King
hard to take seriously -- he's an odd Congressional animal who often says the right thing but rarely does it. Right up until the 2006 election he frequently spoke and wrote about the grounds for impeaching George W Bush, but after Democrats took the House in 2006, and Conyers became chair of the House Judiciary Committee with the authority to actually start impeachment proceedings, he did nothing. His inaction prevented the crimes of the Bush administration from being publicly aired, and to my thinking, that makes Conyers guilty of obstruction of justice.
[ The Public Record ]
The National Security Agency, we are told, was "closely monitoring the 9/11 hijackers as they moved freely around the United States and communicated with Osama bin Laden's operations center in Yemen." The NSA never told anyone outside the agency what they knew, a rather startling detail that the official investigation of 9/11 blatantly ignored. Is it any wonder that people have a hard time accepting the official story of 9/11? Oh, and for doing nothing and telling no-one as terrorists went about their work, the Director of the NSA, Elmer Fudd lookalike Michael Hayden, was promoted and made head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
[ Raw Story ]
For his first media outing since becoming President, Obama went on an Arabic-language television network you've never heard of but millions and millions of Muslims watch. He said a lot of the right things to that audience -- that he has Muslims in his family, that the "war on terror" is an especially stupid turn of phrase, and that it's not a war on Islam either. What he didn't say that needs to be said out loud by an American President is, "We're sorry."
[ Financial Times ]
Contrary to the conventional wisdom about what Americans believe, this Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that a near-landslide of Americans (58%) believe that the US should never use torture, "no matter what the circumstance". A narrow majority (50%-47%) back investigations into the Bush-Cheney administration's "detention" and "interrogation" policies. And of course, these absolute mainstream positions are perpetually portrayed in most media reports as far left fringe thinking.
[ Salon ]
5,400,000 dead in the Congo over the past ten years, but they're black so it's never really newsworthy. If the UN put, say, 5% of the money America's spent killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan into quelling the conflict, it might work, might not, but it would make the whole developed world look a little less hypocritical.
[ Int'l Rescue Committee ]
The US Supreme Court has decided that cops, after stopping a vehicle for a traffic violation, have a right to frisk passengers if the cop has a reasonable suspicion of something nefarious. And in a separate decision, the Supremes decided that prosecutors and prosecutors' supervisors who use dubious tactics to send innocent people to prison cannot be sued. In the frisking decision, I can see how the friskee might be furious, for it's certainly an intrusion, but, tough tuna -- a cop's reasonable concern for his/her safety trumps that intrusion, in my opinion. The prosecutorial decision seems much more wrong-headed, especially in a case like this one -- the prosecutor used a jailhouse snitch's testimony, which is virtually always unreliable. But the decision was at least in keeping with the Court's (in my opinion) dumbass already-established immunity for judges and legislators.
[ SCOTUS Blog ]
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is promising that his country's war criminals from the Gaza slaughter will be protected from prosecution. At least in Israel (unlike America) they'll admit such things right out in the open.
[ Democracy Now ]
Congressman John Lewis (D-Georgia) has been given an apology, for the beating he took in a bus station in South Carolina 48 years ago. It took me two tries to read this. On the first try, there were too many tears to see the words by the time I got about 2/3 of the way through.
[ Rock Hill (SC) Herald ]
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has launched a political action committee, SarahPAC, that looks like a warm-up for a 2012 Presidential run. Don't laugh, though. She's not stupid, just un-polished, and in four years she could be a formidable force.
[ Washington Post ]
It made me stop and think
"If we fail to hold the elites who seized the presidency in a 2000 judicial coup d'état to account, if we say torture is no big deal, if we don't imprison men who lied and conspired to murder more than a million Iraqis and Afghans and Americans and countless others, if we let these individuals golf and fish and deliver lectures to young people as if they have done nothing wrong, then such horrors will happen again and again. ... If we don't prosecute Bush and Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld and Yoo and Condoleezza Rice and Powell and scores of other top Bush officials who took part in the destruction of fundamental American values, there will be nothing -- not even an idea -- left of the United States."
[ Ted Rall ]
"If I seem incredulous at that argument, that's because I am. They never taught me that one in law school. 'Look, your honor, we know my client committed this crime, we've already caught him and the victim is already dead. So, let's just move on already!' To say Bush's defense is that his opponents want 'political vengeance' is a non sequitur. Couldn't every trial in the country be characterized as some sort of 'vengeance' based on this logic?"
[ Cenk Uygur ]
"No government is likely to declare how many strategic nuclear warheads it has, but the US and Russia are thought to possess at least 5000 apiece. The 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty required each nation to have no more than 2200 "operationally deployed" strategic warheads by 2012, yet this represents no real progress towards disarmament, as the target number is essentially identical to that proposed at the 1997 summit on nuclear arms reduction between Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin in Helsinki, Finland. As we object to Iran's apparent efforts to join the club of nuclear weapons states we should remember that the US, Russia, France, the UK and China have failed to meet their obligations to disarm, some four decades after they all signed the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
[ Lawrence Krauss ]
Richard Cohen is strangely pigeonholed as a liberal columnist, and I love liberal columnists but I almost never read Cohen's tedious blather. Now he's written that it's absurd to dream of prosecutions against anyone in the Bush-Cheney administration, in a column that reads more like PR fluff for the previous administration than anything a journalist would write. And Cohen does his business in the pages of our nation's second best newspaper, the Washington Post.
[ Salon ]
Halliburton has agreed to pay $382-million to the Justice Dept and $177-million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In exchange, the government agrees not to prosecute the company or its executives for bribery. Of course, such settlements always look exactly like bribery, because that's what they are, so basically Halliburton is paying a $559-million bribe to get officials to look the other way on their previous bribery.
[ Reuters News Agency ]
Condoleezza Rice is returning to Stanford, absent any better job offers. Aware of her involvement in approving torture as American policy, thoughtful folks at Stanford are rightly concerned about her presence in their community.
[ The Stanford Progressive ]
This thoughtful overview/review of Steven Soderbegh's Che doubleheader held my attention all the way through. Recommended for readers interested in good movies and good writing, plus I had a headache before I started reading and it was gone by the end so the article may have medicinal powers. Still, much as I love political movies and I've always liked Soderbegh's less Oceans Eleveny films, I don't have any real desire to sit through Che myself. Four and a half hours, plus popcorn? No friggin' way.
[ No Supper Tonight ]
A Michigan man, 93 years old, froze to death in his home after Bay City Electric Light & Power cut off his electricity. Marvin E. Schur owed more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills, and paid with his life.
[ Associated Press ]
Unemployment is now at 17%, if it's calculated the way they used to do the math before the formula was altered by political tinkering. [Video file]
[ C-Span ]
Banks that got the ongoing bailout billions have reduced their lending more than banks that didn't get squat.
[ Reuters News Agency ]
Citigroup has decided not to buy another $50-million corporate jet after all, a moment of common sense brought about only through a phone call from President Obama.
[ ABC News ]
The government of Iceland has been brought down by the ongoing financial collapse.
[ BBC News ]
Hmmmm. A homeless guy robs a bank of just $100, declining three stacks of cash, and gets away ... but then has regrets and turns himself in. And he's sentenced to 15 years in prison. We're not told anything about the perp's prior convictions, so maybe there's a plausible explanation, but I doubt it. Much more likely, you know it as well as I do, this minimalist bank robber is black, and the judge is a mean old white bigot.
[ KTBS-TV (Shreveport, LA) ]
A human rights lawyer was shot dead in Moscow on Monday, along with a reporter who tried to prevent the murder. This is the routine fate of those who speak out against the Russian government.
[ Washington Post ]
It took eight years for Brandon Zucker to die, after his gruesome injuries at the magic kingdom, Disneyland. His family had to sue, and had to agree to keep the settlement secret, to get a dime from Disney.
[ Los Angeles Times ]
Illinois's goofy Governor Rod Blagojevich seriously considered naming Oprah Winfrey to the Senate.
[ Chicago Sun-Times ]
That little padlock symbol that means you're shopping or banking at a secure site? It might not be the symbol of security you've been told it is.
[ Washington Post ]
Dick Cheney has found a new undisclosed location, so we the people can now see the Vice Presidential mansion.
[ Los Angeles Times ]
Please send your news tips, comments, and criticisms to <unknownnews at inbox.com>. If that address ever fails, check our contact page for our alternate email addresses.
Excerpt: A federal judge has decided not to grant an injunction sought by the Western Shoshone Tribe and four other plaintiffs to stop construction one of the largest open pit gold mines in the United States - the Cortez Hills Expansion Project on Mt. Tenabo.
Barrick Gold based in Canada, the world's largest gold mining company, has been granted a permit to construct and operate the mine in an area that the tribes' lawsuit states is "located entirely within the territory of the Western Shoshone Nation."
(Excerpt: The US government still claims jurisdiction over 80-90% of the original 60 million acres of Newe Sogobia. The Western Shoshone never have received royalties for the extraction of natural resources. Today, only .1% of Newe Sogobia is controlled by the Western Shoshone. These lands comprise the third largest gold-producing area in the world and also have been cited as the next "Saudi Arabia" of geothermal energy production. Further, the US Department of Defense has targeted Western Shoshone lands for renewed nuclear weapons testing and waste storage.)
This is not a "responsible adult" thing to say, but I'm not very good at being a responsible adult. When justice is this extravagantly unjust, it's an open invitation to take matters into one's own hands. And of course, that's what having government is supposed to prevent, not encourage. Infuriating.
(Also note: 1/4th of US jobs pay less than $8.85 per hour. The idea that these workers should be at the mercy of the market for healthcare insurance is ludicrous -- to say nothing of the rest of Americans, since generally COBRA plans are unaffordable to laid off workers. The simplest option is to make Medicare available to everyone and to subsidize payments for the poor/lower-middle class people.)
I hope Obama stands by his campaign promise to stop giving tax breaks to corporations who ship US jobs overseas. The impetus of the current recession will inevitably lead to more job layoffs here now and many of those jobs won't be coming back. To be fair, a multinational corporation who produces where it sells is totally justified in doing so -- but offshoring by US corporations for importation back to America is unacceptable...
And we're going to need totally free college education at public universities. It isn't sensible to have millions of kids go deeply in debt for engineering or science degrees and then find themselves underbid by people in India -- and then to find that their student loan debts cannot even be written off in bankruptcy, but instead follow them to the bitter end and are ultimately deducted from social security payments...adding injury to insult to injury... this is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Amber Perez
I would only add an exclamation point for all of the above, especially for free college tuition. And the forgiveness of outstanding debt for college loans.
Helen & Harry Highwater
#1/31/2009:
There in only one way to turn the economy around immediately. Debt forgiveness on school loans and medical bills ... would instantly increase consumer spending. Subsidized Healthcare and College would create jobs.
Mr. Flesh
#
These are peanut butter criminals. Over a period of two years "Peanut Corp. of America" in Georgia discovered salmonella contamination in their peanut butter 12 times. THEY SHIPPED IT OUT ANYWAY AND TOOK NO STEPS TO ADDRESS CLEANING.
Other outrage: FDA says this is a "violation of the law" but not necessarily a "criminal act".
Well... over in China they just sentenced two people to death for adulterating milk with melamine, which sickened thousands of children. Corporate executives of criminal corporations must do hard time. No more simply fining corporations who commit crimes! We need rich white guys in prison by the thousands until the white collar crime wave is broken up and CEO's sh*t themselves in fear every time a delivery truck driver so much as gets a parking ticket.
Excerpt: Michael Rogers, FDA director of field investigations, led inspectors who conducted tests at the Blakely plant beginning Jan. 9. The probe involved taking microbiological samples and examining company records of tests performed by private laboratories. It was those records that showed evidence of contamination dating back two years.
"The team identified approximately 12 instances in 2007 and 2008 where the firm identified some type of salmonella ... in environmental samples," Rogers said yesterday, noting PCA still sent peanut butter and paste to customers, who unwittingly used them in ready-to-eat products.
Excerpt: Peanut butter and peanut paste manufactured by the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) has been tied to the salmonella outbreak that has sickened 501 people in 43 states and is believed to have contributed to eight deaths.
Mary Ann M.
If it's true, as officials say, that the Peanut Corporation of America knew its peanut butter was salmonella-contaminated but shipped it out anyway, I want the company's management behind bars. And if it's true, as the article says, that Stephen Sundlof, director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, can't say whether PCA's actions are criminal, then Stephen Sundlof needs to be fired and replaced by someone who recognizes criminal activity when he sees it.
I mean seriously, WTF? Is Sundlof under the thumb of Big Peanut or what?
Helen & Harry Highwater
#1/29/2009:
Years ago I worked at a research institute in Kansas City, and came across a publication that listed the amounts of "filth" (their words) permitted in peanut butter products. Included were not just parts of bugs, but entire roaches... some things never seem to change, nor do the culprits.
If you're arguing blacks are currently not applying themselves academically as much as whites, and yet are able to score equal to whites, then you must conclude that either blacks are smarter than whites and the difference will show once blacks apply themselves or that applying oneself academically is a waste of time because it has no effect on test results. Which conclusion is correct? The first conclusion promotes racism, the second demotes education.
Cordially, I'm content with what I typed Monday morning, and re-reading it I'm just baffled at your weird response.
H&HH
I'm not able to understand the reasoning presented in the New York Times article. They argue the test results could encourage blacks to higher academic performance. Seems to me the test results are showing no difference between white and black performance as things now stand. All that happens is poorer test results when blacks are reminded at the beginning of the test of their race. The study measures test taking performance, not scholastic achievement. I'm not seeing how the two are necessarily connected. The test results say there is no racial difference thanks to the Obama effect. Then how could anybody possibly expect BETTER performance if blacks apply themselves unless they are inherently smarter than whites? For if they are now equal to whites and are able to increase that score by better educational achievement, then they would be scoring better than whites. Isn't claiming better performance for one race over another racist?
It's not racist if it's factual, and it's factual that whites generally outscore blacks on tests.
I hadn't read the whole New York Times piece, just that blogger's excerpt, and the NYT's first paragraph there seems to imply that it's an overt inspirational effect. If there's anything to the study's findings, I'd expect it's more a subconscious effect, not a 'gosh darn it I'm going to pull myself up by my bootstraps' thing.
H&HH
The coach wasn't fired for running up the score. He was fired because he disagreed with school administrators. Had he been fired for running up the score, his firing would have happened not twelve days after the event, but much sooner. It would have coincided with the posted apology on the school's website, not with the day the coach sent an e-mail to the local paper disagreeing with his bosses.
The opposing team is winless in four years. The lopsided result of this game was a foregone conclusion. The asses who agreed to this mismatch deserve to be fired.
I'm surprised you support the firing of someone for disagreeing with his superiors.
SirJ
I didn't say he was fired for running up the score. He was fired, according to the article, "when he decided that no apology was in order" -- which means he was fired for being a lousy coach, because an apology is certainly in order. Coaching kids is supposed to involve something more than winning and losing -- sportsmanship and character are also in play, along with adult supervision, and this guy's a failure in such categories.
Helen & Harry Highwater
OK, if you're buying the line he was fired for being a bad coach by not apologizing,
that's fine. To me it's pretty clear he was fired because he didn't do what his bosses
wanted him to do. Or to put it another way: he was fired for not being politically
correct. I reach that conclusion based on the timing of when the firing took place. It
took place after it became public knowledge he wouldn't apologize. The school
administrators should have already known he was not going to apologize and fired him at
that point IF the reason for firing was a lack of willingness to apologize.
As someone who sucked at all sports and was on a winless softball team, I would have to
say there is some merit in the coach's argument he doesn't need to apologize. The losing
team hasn't won a game in four years. That is four long years of having other teams beat
up on you. By that time, it no longer matters whether you are beaten by 25 to 0 or 1,000
to 0. You know you will lose. You play for other reasons than to win. One thing you
definitely do not want to happen is to believe your opponents were handicapping
themselves. I'd rather know the reality of how bad I was than carry doubts that I might
be even far worse than I thought! So from a Christian standpoint, you most likely aren't
hurting the losing team's feelings by playing hard and trying to score as many points as
you possibly can. If you aren't hurting their feelings, then there is no need for an
apology.
Whoever matches up the teams needs to do a rethink. Possibly there is no way to have that
losing school compete with other high schools in any realistic way. If so, then they
would be a better match in one of the other high schools' intramural leagues.
SirJ
Your first paragraph -- I just disagree, but there's nothing wrong with your perspective. Second paragraph, ordinary sportsmanship says that when one team is ahead by a safe margin they're supposed to pull the starters, play the bench, and not try to run up the score. You're supposed to play to win, not to humiliate your opponents. Third paragraph, the smaller school is too small to play intramurals only (they're barely able to field one team, let alone two) so they have to play other tiny schools. Even their opponent that ran up the score was a pretty tiny school.
Helen & Harry Highwater
#1/29/2009:
The coach and his team have replied to the accusations on this page:
Excerpt: After 3 minutes into play, we had already reached a 25-0 lead. Like any rational thinking coach would do, I immediately stopped the full-court press, dropped into a 2-3 zone defense, and started subbing in my 3 bench players. This strategy continued for the rest of the game and allowed the Dallas Academy players to get the ball up the court for a chance to score. The second half started with a score of 59-0. Seeing that we would win by too wide of a margin, running down the clock was the only logical course of action left. Contrary to the articles, there were only a total of four 3-point baskets made; three in the first quarter, and only one in the third quarter. I continued to sub in bench players, play zone defense, and run the clock for the rest of the game. We played fair and honorably within the rules and in the presence of the parents, coaches, and athletic directors for both Covenant School and Dallas Academy.
His first year as coach for the school was four years ago. During that first year, his team was on the losing end of an 82-6 game.
If -- and it is a big if -- his version of the events of the game is objectively correct and not slanted, then I'm at a loss as to see what he would have to apologize for. I'm sticking to my analysis that he was fired not because he was a poor coach, he was fired because school administrators can't stand controversy and bad publicity. They will sacrifice a lot just for a little peace and quiet.
SirJ
Your opinion becomes more firm when there's a dispute over the facts of the matter? Mine becomes less certain, and I'll wait to read what the parents, coaches, players, and others who were present have to say. Maybe the game's on video. Probably it'll end up in court.
Helen & Harry Highwater
#1/30/2009:
Good point about the video. It probably was taped. Per flightbasketball.com: "We don’t have a home gym so we rent out facilities or gym space in the community so we can practice, and then watch game film at the home of one of the players."
If it was taped, the coach would be aware of that and would risk getting caught lying if his version of the facts varies with the tape. Unknown spectators risk nothing by puffing up the facts or having a flawed recollection.
Some Christians adhere to the Bible admonition not to sue one another found in 1 Corinthians 6:1-8.
The coach was most likely hired "at will" which means he can be fired for any reason or no reason. There may not be much cause for a lawsuit, though a creative lawyer would most likely come up with one or multiple injustices which need remedying. They always do. :-)
He would most likely qualify for unemployment benefits arguing he wasn't fired for "cause." The typical requirement to fire for "cause" someone who is not doing their job is a couple of verbal warnings to shape up or lose the job and a final written warning. He didn't get any warning.
The news is no longer fresh and the press doesn't like a "messy" storyline which is at variance with their version of the facts. I doubt we'll hear anything more about it. But I could be wrong [audio file] ...
SirJ
The school's so small, I'm wondering whether the coach was even a paid employee ... Nothing much left to disagree with there, and dang me that's an effin' funny video.
Helen & Harry Highwater
At my high school the coaches were also teachers. E.g. the football coach taught history, the basketball coach taught mathematics. Another history teacher was the bus driver! So possibly the coach got fired from his coaching job and continues to work there in whatever other capacity he might have filled.
"Let's just say that, that, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, is brought to the United States to be tried in a federal court in the United States, under a federal judge, and we know what some of those judges do, and on a technicality, such as, let's just say he wasn't read his Miranda rights. ... He is released into the streets of America. Walks over and steps up into a US embassy and applies for asylum for fear that he can't go back home cause he spilled the beans on al Qaeda. What happens then if another judge grants him asylum in the United States and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is on a path to citizenship."
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa)
Oh, wait, he's a Republican. So of course he's out of his mind.
Cindy B.
#"Let me ask you something, for which I don't know the answer with any certainty: When a missile is fired from Gaza into Israel and we're told on every channel and in all western media that Hamas is responsible, is that (a) asserted only by Israel (b) asserted by impartial yet knowledgeable observers or (c) factual? Or asking the same question a different way, is there honest, serious evidence or just Israel's say-so, that Hamas owns and orders or facilitates the firing of these rather primitive rockets, instead of what seems the plausible notion of free-lance radical groups or lone extremists purchasing/assembling and shooting off garage missiles?"
Firstly, within a few days of the ceasefire, all articles to Unknownnews bitterly chastising Israeli's have stopped. Why!? Is the subject not worthy of attention anymore? Or, as I suspect, our social attention deficit disorder has made us "change channels". Is it any wonder why I am so jaded?!
Israel has slowed down on its war crimes, so the coverage and criticism has slowed as well. Killing people makes news, not killing people makes less news. But if it's bitter chastising you yearn for, you don't have to ask twice. Israel is run by savages and murderers who belong at the Hague. That's neither unknown nor news.
H&HH
On to your questions....
Gaza is under the control of Hamas. Nothing of consequence happens in Gaza without Hamas
knowledge. There exists plenty of serious evidence that Hamas directs and controls the
fabrication, targeting and firing of missiles. Rather than write a briefing style note for
you, I decided it was faster to simply provide articles, which I think are relatively
accurate, as references on this topic. I also chose sources which are inherently pro &
con of each other's POV, but actually corroborate each other's facts (if not their
interpretation of those facts).
In addition to anti-air, anti-tank and other ground offence weapons fabricated by Hamas,
there are generally 2 types of missiles fired from Gaza into Israel. The first series of
rockets are relatively low-tech, "home-made" missiles (Nasser, Qassam. Kafah, Aqsa). With
technical assistance from friendly nation-states, relatively more high-tech missiles
"Quds/Quds-2" were fabricated based on the Russian GRAD (aka Katyusha) design. There are
varied opinions on the extent to which Hamas has independently improved their missile
technology. Most analysts assert that Hamas' present missile development progress is
founded upon both organic invention and inorganic mimicking of technology/training provided
by supportive nations who possess advanced weaponry. Some of these weapons are directly
smuggled into Gaza and assembled thereafter for use.
Please follow the attached links for further technical detail about Hamas fabricated
missile technology:
I shall trawl through these links when there's time, perhaps this evening. Have to say, though, I'm not optimistic. I've never visited longwarjournal.org without being propagandized, and DEBKAfile usually gives me the same urge to shower that I get watching Fox News. Those are links I wouldn't click for anyone but you, but click them I shall.
Helen & Harry Highwater
Of course. Longwar journal is right-wing Americana, and Debka is a psyops tool of the IDF. Geez, that much is obvious.
But, as I stated, editorial be damned, the facts are usually correct.
On the subject of the US Navy intercepting an Iranian ship....
Although you don't like Debka, the fact is that they originally reported the story on Jan 23rd...2 days before CNN and the rest of the world.... They had a follow-up story on Jan 25th.
I'm not sticking my finger in your eye, just defending the use of a source of fact and not their interpretation of the facts or website motivation.
The Canadian
#1/29/2009:
I read the Popular Mechanics piece recommended by The Canadian. It set off my bullsh*t alarms in the first few paragraphs and sharply reduced my opinion of Popular Mechanics. It had hardly anything to do with mechanics, it's mostly a military analysis -- from the Israelites' perspective -- of the attack. A sickening propaganda piece.
Barney A.
#1/29/2009:
So you picked out the Popular Mechanics piece to read. Of course it is opinionated. As soon as you see anything quoting a rep from RAND Corp, you just know there is serious bias. I never said I agreed with the motivation of the article, I just wanted to draw Helen and Harry's eyes to this particular section below.
Skip the B'shit factor and just focus on the weapons named. Besides, I thought Helen had seen this article already when she specifically asked if the missiles were "garage missiles".
The sophistication of Hamas' anti-armor technology is unknown, but advances would be unveiled when and if the Israeli Merkava tanks roll. Hamas may have guided anti-tank weapons, like the Russian Kornet shoulder-fired missile, according to rumors, but, for the most part, Bhalla says that Hamas "is very low-tech. We're talking about entrenchments and homemade rockets built in garages."
The rockets Hamas shoot at Israel-the stated cause of this latest war-are being scrutinized, mostly because some are imported and others are homemade in Gaza. "There is a very critical distinction between the more widely-known Qassams and the relatively recent emergence of the Grad artillery rocket-a proper, manufactured artillery rocket," says Bhalla.
The rockets are either smuggled to Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt or are assembled in Gaza, Long says. "Training has been reported to come from Iran but, really, Hamas has been at this awhile so they have developed indigenous capability to at least some degree."
Besides I already stated, "I decided it was faster to simply provide articles, which I think are relatively accurate, as references on this topic. I also chose sources which are inherently pro & con of each other's POV, but actually corroborate each other's facts (if not their interpretation of those facts)." I am not stupid, there is a slant to everything written. That's why it's called an editorial...
So what are your thoughts on the other articles? And please, I already know they are inherently biased, but the point is there are kernels of truth in each one of them and they do corroborate each other on many of the facts regardless of the writers political slant or the websites political slant: right, left, moderate, American, British and Arabic.
The Canadian
If the subject is slanted reporting, I'll confess I'm no more patient than Barney. It doesn't even matter what the slant is -- a lefty slant (like my own) turns me off almost as quickly as a tilt starboard. When I'm reading an editorial I expect a slant, that's the deal, and of course I want a slant or I wouldn't read something calling itself an opinion piece. But when something's purporting to tell me the facts and a slant becomes noticeable, I stop reading. I've got zero tolerance for Fox News, and if there was a left-wing lying news source I'm sure I'd have zero tolerance for that as well.
But that's not applicable to the conversation at hand. I'm making a special exception as I read the articles you suggested :) because hey, I asked and you answered, thanks. I've read about half those articles so far, and I'm still planning to read the rest. There's good info there, slant or no slant.
Helen & Harry Highwater
#1/30/2009:
Thanks. I think differently than most people; as such I take responsibility for the fact that I do not always communicate the context of my thoughts clearly.
To me, it's not important to get the right answers. I think it is more important to ask the right questions.
The Canadian
#1/30/2009:
The Canadian says "Firstly, within a few days of the ceasefire, all articles to Unknownnews bitterly chastising Israeli's have stopped. Why!? Is the subject not worthy of attention anymore?" I checked back as far as the 16th, and didn't find a day where Gaza wasn't mentioned at Unknown News, except the days you didn't publish.
Excerpt: Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz threatened to assassinate Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders, as Kadima kicked off its election campaign in Sderot Monday.
Why peace in Middle East is not going to happen. It's the politics in Israel that will prevent any Obama initiative.
As long as Israeli demands are able to pressure international mediators to do its will there is no possibility of rapprochement with the PA or Hamas. It's something like the idea that Obama will be able to get bi-partisan agreement with the Congressional Republicans by acceding to their demands.
How can I disagree when you're so obviously right?
H&HH
Excerpt: And if both groups in fact share common biblical ties, then it begs the question of why the entirety of what was Palestine under the British mandate should remain a refuge for people of one religion instead of being a country in which Jews and Arabs are guaranteed equal protection -- equal protection under the laws of a state whose legitimacy would never again be open to question.
Perhaps the solution for the Palestinians is casinos like the American Indians have used to come to terms with their displacement. But then again the Israelis would usurp them on the grounds that terrorists aren't allowed to have a means of surviving.
== == ==
FYI. An interesting piece of analysis. Israeli insistence on no international presence in the PA areas has always been the main stumbling block.
As one of the last "bleeding heart liberals" I'm inclined to be suspicious of campaigns to malign someone being crucified by the political and media elite. The boisterous condemnation unleashed by a federal prosecutor going public with charges not made in a court of law gives me pause to join the bandwagon. To me the Illinois legislative body's impeachment is another example of the kangaroo justice that has become the rule today. If the governor is guilty in the minds of the Illinois voters the way to oust the governor is by a recall petition that the legislature would then be able to justify entertaining methods of removal.
Wig
Agreed entirely. And since you've said it well about Blagojevich, I'll say a few words about the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald. He is -- inexplicably to me -- held in high esteem by many progressives, but this is the guy who led the investigation into the Bush-Cheney administration's deliberate unmasking of a covert CIA agent, and secured no convictions, no prosecutions for that crime (he nailed Scooter Libby, but that was for perjury and obstruction of justice). There was never any real doubt about what happened to Valerie Plame and little doubt about who ordered it, but Karl Rove was allowed to come back twice to "clarify" his sworn testimony! And Fitzgerald's conduct in the Blagojevich matter has been simply bizarre -- why is he holding press conferences about what he says the evidence is, instead of filing charges and presenting that evidence in a court of law?
Helen & Harry Highwater
As I've said previously it seems that we've evolved into a kangaroo judicial system where prosecutions are made in the media and the media pundits are judge and jury.
I'll go you one better: I'd like to see the laws changed so that the President, V.P., Supreme Court Justices, and all members of House and Senate while in office had to live on the same annual income and benefits package as an average American household. By golly, I guarantee you we'd see some big changes in the country then! And virtually overnight!
And the enacting of universal healthcare would likely be the very first new program instituted.
Love it. Call it the "average income and benefits" clause. And as long as we're dreaming, high-level government employees should also be barred from receiving income from any source other than their government paychecks -- most of them would quit within a few weeks, and average Americans might finally have a chance at that "self-government" we've heard so much about but never seen.
H&HH
This may be the most coherent and comprehensive explanation of Twitter from a third party that I've seen so far. One thing I didn't realize is how Twitter messages may be being automatically integrated into a far wider messaging system then the world wide web and internet email represent -- which means a twit might get through when nothing else does.
That being said, the 140 character limit seems horrendous, which I discovered emailing my nephew info I thought he'd find interesting, by replying to a chat type message he'd first sent me. Turned out his end had the 140 char limit while mine didn't, so he just got the first few words of my message, after which it was cut off. As even most web site URLs these days are longer than 140 characters, my nephew had to give me an old fashioned email address to actually get anything of value from me. For I'm not going to go the additional step of using an URL-shortening service for stuff like this... computers are supposed to serve us; not the other way around.
If the twit fad ultimately ends up with people sending messages in hexadecimal -- or worse, binary -- we'll know for sure humans are no longer in charge.
There's an easy fix to these problems: do what virtually all the other nations with our level of technology and money have done: enact universal healthcare, and have government negotiate down the price of medicines. DUH!
So long as they believe they have a stranglehold on the mainstream media, the Republicans will remain belligerent. For they know it'll only be a matter of time before the media beats down the Democrats enough, and elections hand power back to the Republicans again...
It's Obama who doesn't have time on his side, in the face of present mainstream media conditions.
This seems to say that aspirin might protect some folks from the liver damage too much Tylenol can cause. This could be HUGE news, since it's very, very easy to get liver damage from Tylenol.
Aspirin is amazing. We're already taking one a day for the hearts, and it remains my drug of choice for a headache. Seems like every other drug, further research generally reveals further problems, but with aspirin further research often reveals further benefits.
H&HH
The more you research the history of agencies like the CIA and the NSA, the less reason there seems to be for their existence, unless you actually want to waste great gobs of money on many matters which often do more harm than good to the country. The Pentagon would have only a very slightly better record -- if their budget was equivalent to that of organizations like the CIA and NSA. But it's not. It's much, much bigger. And so definitely makes the Pentagon still worse, by a mile.
Excerpt: President Obama's goals for health-care reform are similar to Massachusetts'. The Administration should take a good look at what is and isn't working ...
The disingenuousness here is palpable. Why look to our own broken system at all for lessons, when there's so many un-broken universal healthcare systems overseas, which have functioned better and cheaper than ours for (in some cases now) decades?
But our mainstream media (due to their greedy corporate owners, apparently) don't want us to consider such systems -- because switching to something like those would cut the profits American corporations make off the enormous waste and inefficiencies in our present-day patchwork system. Never mind that such a switch would save thousands of American lives, boost our standard of living, and likely increase US productivity (making us more competitive). And so enhance our national security too (even if you ignore the added protection it'd give us against biological outbreaks stemming from lab or industrial accidents, or natural, military, or terrorist causes).
So basically, when our mainstream media tries to misdirect the debate and discussion with articles like these, it would seem somewhat treasonous of them.
And if you think treasonous is too strong a term, CHECK THE DEFINITION.
'Treason' is one of my favorite words, often misused, but not here, not by you.
There's money in all those ads for hospitals and purple pills, so you'll never see a for-profit news source give a fair shake to the notion of universal health care. And this is America, where 99.99% of the news is presented for profit. The obvious answer to the health crisis (and to a large degree, the economic crisis) is universal health care, and the lack of it kills probably hundreds of Americans every day, but the people in charge -- Republicans and Democrats alike, and the corporations that own them -- don't give a damn about that.
Helen & Harry Highwater
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I've recently joined the swelling ranks of the unemployed. Distressing, of course, but I figure, it took the Depression to revolutionize our concept of government and state in the New Deal. I think we're due for an another equally drastic change in direction. (So when do we march on Washington?)
Michael M.
My condolences about the unemployment. I'm fearful that I'll be joining you in the unemployment line, and worried further that Obama's half-hearted response to the economic meltdown will add to the national agony instead of making anything better. We frickin' need a new New Deal rather desperately, and Obama just wants to give us a pep talk and hand billions more to the bankers.
Obama's pep talks are all based on the theory that hope will translate into action. He seems to be singing the lyrics of that old ditty from Damn Yankees
You gotta have heart, All you really need is heart, When the odds are sayin' You'll never win That's when a grin Should start. ... You gotta have hope, Mustn't sit around and mope, Nothin's half as better as it may appear Wait'll next year And hope. ... When your luck is battin' zero, Get your chin up off the floor. Mister you can be a hero You can open any door, There's nothin' to it, But to do it. ... You've gotta have heart, Miles 'n' miles 'n' miles of heart, Oh, it's fine to be a genius of course, But keep that old horse before the cart, First you've gotta have heart. ...
Wig
One of the few classic American musicals I've never seen, but I loved the book and I like the song.
Like the URL says, this website is about "unknown news". It's a thrice-weekly round-up of reports we think merit more attention, from mainstream, professional journalists, or (rarely) other sources we trust entirely.
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We believe in questioning ourselves, our assumptions, each other -- and we especially believe in questioning authority (the more authority, the more questions). We believe obedience is a fine quality in dogs and young children, but not in adults.
Like America's right-wingers, we believe in
individual responsibility,
hard work to get ahead,
and stern punishment for serious crimes.
We believe big government should not be blindly trusted.
But unlike most right-wing leaders, we mean it.
Like America's left-wingers, we believe in
equal treatment under law,
war as a last (not first) resort,
and sensible stewardship of natural resources.
We believe big business should not be blindly trusted.
But unlike most left-wing leaders, we mean it.
Like libertarians, we believe it's wrong and reprehensible to arrest people for what they think, believe, look like, wear, eat, smoke, drink, inhale, inject, or otherwise do to themselves.
But unlike many libertarians, we're not obsessed with the gold standard, we don't believe incorporation is humanity's highest achievement, and we don't believe everything in life comes down to dollars and cents. We've read and enjoyed Ayn Rand's novels, but we understand that they're works of fiction.
We're skeptical, and we're sick of so-called 'journalists' who aren't skeptical at all.
A reader asks, what are our solutions? We propose no solutions except common sense, which is never common. We like the principles of democracy, and the ideals broadly described as 'American'. The US Constitution is a fine and workable framework for solutions, when it's actually read and thoughtfully understood by intelligent statesmen and women. So, no manifestos from us. We don't dream that big, and if there's one thing the world doesn't need it's yet another manifesto.
Our suggestion is: think. A fact-based instead of faith-based approach leads to solutions for most of the recurring issues of our time, from abortion to global climate change, pollution to universal health care, careful but real regulation of industry and economy, hunger, war, terror, human rights for humans not for corporations, science not religious doctrine in public schools, equal protection and prosecution under law, etc. Approach problems without glorifying stupidity, without demonizing intelligence, and answers usually come into focus.
These pages are published by Harry and Helen Highwater, happily married low-income nom de plumes and rabble-rousers from Madison, Wisconsin (with a few friends scattered around the world helping out).
We try to spotlight news that hasn't gotten enough (or appropriate) attention in American media, along with our opinions and yours.
We bang our keyboards against the wall, because it doesn't hurt as much as banging our heads.
Excerpt: ... the conservative drumbeat over the Fairness Doctrine is much ado about nothing. It's fearmongering -- which may be good for fund-raising. Conservatives claiming that the Obama administration will mean the death of right-wing radio seem to forget this fact: Limbaugh and other conservative talkers thrived during the Clinton years.
Excerpt: Democrats in the US House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts -- including 401(k)s and IRAs -- and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.
Comment: Relax, this report is just another flat-out lie. The proposal comes from exactly one economist you've never heard of, Teresa Ghilarducci of Notre Dame (not New College, as the article falsely reports). She's one among dozens of economists who briefly testified in low-level Congressional hearings in early October, and she's the only one who made this proposal, and there's been not a peep of interest in the idea from any member of Congress. The claim that Congress is "conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts" is more Republican fearmongering, from the liars who brought you "Obama is pallin' around with terrorists" and "the Democrats will confiscate your guns".
Excerpt: The imagery sure doesn't sell me a soda, which would be the top priority of an ad for Pepsi. Seems much more likely it's someone's idea of an joke. It's a blog post, and it links back to another blog called "Feminist Law Professors" by Ann Bartow, a real law professor who writes an interesting blog, but her source is a blog about advertising, which cites another blog which posts a wide assortment of images and very few words, and where a site-specific search led to all three of Pepsi images. That whole blog seems to be artistic imagery, and much of it's actually quite good, but there's no claim that it's a Pepsi ad, and a quick web search yields nothing as yet to validate any claim that it's a real Pepsi ad.
Excerpt: Three of our readers have sent us this link to this news, but we're not convinced. The author's remark is based not on fact but on long-simmering rumor that Track Palin was prosecuted for vandalism and/or drug dealing, and offered a choice by the judge -- join the Army, or face a jail stint. Problem is, the record is sealed because Track Palin was a minor, so there's no knowing whether it's true.
Excerpt: What customers of what bank in Florida are going to accept Ameros, the fictional currency of the fictional North American Union? At what business can Floridians spend these Ameros?
Excerpt: It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Sarah Palin is a racist. She's a Republican in a position of power, so I'd be a little surprised if she wasn't a racist. But before we can put it in the news section on our website, we'd need to hear about her racism from a more reliable source than "Dick & Sharon's LA Progressive" quoting "a waitress" and "an insurance agent" and "Juneau observers" -- a bunch of anonymous Alaskans who may or may not exist.
Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution expressed a desire in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several states as Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures to be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution. viz: Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress and Ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Of course not. Nobody will know the answers until there's an open and honest investigation.
But anyone courageous enough to think can see that the pertinent questions for any serious "investigation" were never asked, let alone answered, by the official investigators.
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