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4, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =1111111111= --> <A NAME=osc-1158></A><!-- == --> <i>TPM Muckraker</i> is reporting that Karl Rove will cooperate with the House subpoena compelling his testimony in the US Attorney scandals. Sometimes you just have to pause and ponder the ludicrousness of it all -- it's now headline-worthy news when some treasonous schmuck has his lawyer say that he'll finally, actually respond to a subpoena. <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="298" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/protest28.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="224"><p> "If you stop struggling, then you stop life." <DIV align="right"><i>Huey&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Newton</i> &nbsp; </div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/attorney_rove_will_cooperate_with_doj_probes.php">TPM&nbsp;Muckraker</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-912></A><!-- == --> Remember Maher Arar, a Canadian kidnapped by American operatives who then renditioned him for months of torture? His name came up at the kangaroo trials in Guantanamo last week, when an FBI interrogator (whose name remains secret) testified that Omar Khadr, one of the alleged terrorists this FBI "interrogator" interrogated, had said (under torture, almost certainly) that Arar stayed at a terrorist "safe house" in Afghanistan during late September or October 2001. That's horsepucky, of course, since Arar's whereabouts on and after <nobr>9/11/2001</nobr> has already been established to a <i>real</i> court's satisfaction. It's just another attempt to smear Maher Arar, because to many people the more he's smeared the less what was done to him matters. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/579576">Toronto&nbsp;Star</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-837a></A><!-- == --> Why are reporters so relentlessly un-interested in the fact that they were spied on by the Bush-Cheney administration? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/01/ta_012909.html">Center&nbsp;for&nbsp;American&nbsp;Progress</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=economy-osc></A><!-- == --> IBM is offering to help pay relocation costs for its laid-off employees -- if they'll move to India, China, Brazil, or other developing markets, and apply for work at IBM offices there. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/outsourcing/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000389">Information&nbsp;Week</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-648></A><!-- == --> General Motors and Chrysler are using a portion of their bailout billions to sue the Obama administration over his decision to allow California and other states to enact more serious fuel standards. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2009/02/02/gm-chrysler-suing-taxpayers-with-taxpayer-money.aspx">MSNBC&nbsp;MoneyBlog</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-721></A><!-- == --> Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) wants that annoying "buy American" provision stripped from the stimulus bill, and advocates instead a program that <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/02/demint-stimulus/">would cost 3&#189; times</A> what Obama's program would cost. Republicans, it seems, require stupidity as well as straightforward evil from their leadership. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/uspoliticseconomytrademcconnell;_ylt=AkOBbRqPMpe436srC8vv15oDW7oF"><nobr>Agence France-Presse</nobr></A>&nbsp;] <A NAME=fools&liars></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/foolsnliars.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>Fools and liars</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/pinocchio.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="42"></TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902020002?f=h_latest">On <i>Meet the Press</i>, host Gregory falsely claims Social Security will "pay out more than it's taking in by 2010"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/02/limbaugh-bush-hated/">Limbaugh: Bush wasn't partisan</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/oreilly-declares-war-new-york-times-">Fox's O'Reilly declares war on the <i>New York Times</i> after it calls him out on immigration</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/cbo-report-debunks-gops-stimulus-talking-point.php">CBO report debunks Republicans' stimulus talking point</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902030008?f=h_latest"><I>Washington Post</i>'s Kagan falsely claims OMB "has ordered a 10 percent cut in defense spending"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/03/joe-the-economist/">Republicans turn to Joe the Plumber (who's not a plumber) for economic advice on stimulus bill</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/there-should-be-penalty-armeys-sexist-c">Expect no penalty for Dick Armey's sexist comment on-air</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902030003?f=h_latest"><i>Wall Street Journal</i> ignores reality in claiming US corporate tax rate "is higher than in all of Europe"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/02/02/fox_news_chooses_tax_delinquent_dick_morris_to_criticize_tom_daschles_tax_problems.php">Fox News chooses tax delinquent Morris to criticize Daschle's tax problems</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/02/steele-government-jobs/">Steele's uninformed new talking point: No government has ever created a job</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/02/02/someone_didnt_get_the_memo.php">FOX Business is still misrepresenting the CBO analysis of Obama's stimulus plan</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902020014?f=h_latest">Fox's Beck mocks government acronym that doesn't exist</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902020010?f=h_latest">ABC's Tapper ignored CBO report, advanced Republicans' claim that recovery bill is "not a stimulus plan"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200902020009?f=h_latest"><i>Washington Times</i> echoes recovery bill falsehoods on undocumented immigrants, ACORN</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table><BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-751></A><!-- == --> Banks and lenders are cutting Americans' line of credit, even (or especially) for customers who pay on time. And the giant corporations that have received huge government bailouts with no strings attached are apparently leading the way at cutting credit. It all adds up to more reasons to nationalize the banks, and install bank managers who are (here's an idea) competent at running banks. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/01/31/lenders_abruptly_cut_lines_of_credit/?page=full">Boston&nbsp;Globe</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-622></A><!-- == --> The Obama administration, though, is "tying itself in knots" to avoid nationalizing corpse banks. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://freer.com/bits/2009/02/02/money-for-nothing/">New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Times, distilled&nbsp;by Bits&nbsp;and&nbsp;Pieces</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-1042></A><!-- == --> Let the banks that deserve to fail, fail, says Joseph Stiglitz. I'm getting tired of seeing Stiglitz waving his Nobel Prize all over tarnation, but when the guy is right he's right. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/4424418/Let-banks-fail-says-Nobel-economist-Joseph-Stiglitz.html">Daily&nbsp;Telegraph&nbsp;(London,&nbsp;UK)</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-1014></A><!-- == --> The economy is collapsing in China, too, though that totalitarian government desperately doesn't want to admit it. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5627687.ece">London&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-516></A><!-- == --> If you use your American Express card at Wal-Mart, they'll recalculate your credit score and possibly lower your credit limit or cancel your card. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/01/todays_two_minutes_hate.html">Mother&nbsp;Jones</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-825></A><!-- == --> In Pennsylvania, at least two judges took part in a kickback scheme, pocketing millions in under-the-table payments from privately-operated juvenile prisons in exchange for incarcerating alleged juvenile delinquents. Judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan sent hundreds of children to prison, often against the recommendations of juvenile authorities, and often for trivial charges that don't even sound like crimes, like the kid who got 90 days in prison for publishing an on-line parody of school official. The <I>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> runs an editorial that's appropriately shocked that these corrupt judges got only a seven-year sentence, without naming the private prisons that paid the kickbacks, without explaining what charges the operators of <A HREF="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202427800493">Pennsylvania Child Care and its sister corporation Western Pennsylvania Child Care</A> might face, and without wondering how this scandal went un-noticed by the <I>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> for eight years. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20090128_Editorial__Judges_Sentenced.html">Philadelphia&nbsp;Inquirer</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <!-- =2222222222= --> <A NAME=jrm-707></A><!-- == --> A study from Peru shows that even where abortion is severely restricted, making the operation illegal and thus much more dangerous, the abortion rate remains as high or higher than in nations where it's legal and safe. So it appears prohibition of abortion is similar to prohibition of alcohol or marijuana -- it tends only to make matters worse rather than better, and causes a myriad of other problems to boot while giving criminal enterprises a new way to grow and prosper and endanger society. <nobr>--JR Mooneyham</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/cmaj-pss012709.php">Canadian&nbsp;Medical&nbsp;Association&nbsp;Journal; distilled&nbsp;by&nbsp;Eureka&nbsp;Alert</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <!-- =3333333333= --> <A NAME=osc-1127a></A><!-- == --> You probably won't be surprised to learn that Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, reports that Iraq-level waste and fraud is happening in Afghanistan, too. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102225.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;] <A NAME=cops></A><A NAME=cops-box></A><!-- =cops= --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/policelog.html" width="100%" height="475" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-1040></A><!-- == --> And deep inside Bowen's report, we finally get an official number from the US military, on how many Iraqis have been killed in the disastrous war and occupation. 95,236. And I&nbsp;don't believe it -- the number is wildly, implausibly <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/casualties.html">low</A>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2009/02/02/95236/">Rolling&nbsp;Stone</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-1127></A><!-- == --> The American military in Afghanistan is having difficulties with its supply line, and running low on all manner of essential sundries from soap to aspirin to Vaseline. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.military.com/news/article/us-supplies-shrinking-in-afghanistan.html?ESRC=eb.nl">Chicago&nbsp;Tribune</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-1107></A><!-- == --> Ironically, obtaining supplies through Iran may prove a workable remedy to the Americans' and allies' supply problems in occupied Afghanistan. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.military.com/news/article/afghan-war-supplies-may-come-via-iran.html?ESRC=eb.nl">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-1126></A><!-- == --> Gaza gets $20-million in emergency aid from the Obama administration. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/relief_for_gaza/">whitehouse.gov</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-221></A><!-- == --> The US sold Israel phosphorus artillery shells, the same kind of weapons used against Gazans in unambiguous war crimes. <i>That's</i> why they hate us, if anyone's still asking that nonsensical question. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m51461&hd=&size=1&l=e">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-1129></A><!-- =DC= --> The US House of Representatives is again pondering a four-month delay in the analog-digital TV switchover. As a humanitarian gesture, I'll spare you <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0901-30.html#rh-538">my almost daily rant</A> about this. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173524-Waxman_Boucher_Push_DTV_Date_Change_Bill_To_Colleagues.php">Broadcasting&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Cable</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <!-- =4444444444= --> <A NAME=gu-416></A><!-- == --> One of the Bush-Cheney administration's last-minute rule changes allows drugmakers to more easily peddle their medicines for "off-label" -- un-approved -- uses. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.theygaveusarepublic.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2132">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers, distilled&nbsp;by They&nbsp;Gave&nbsp;Us&nbsp;A&nbsp;Republic</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-1220></A><!-- == --> The FTC is suing Solvay Pharmaceuticals for paying its competitors not to produce generic versions of its drugs. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020202968.html?wpisrc=newsletter">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-712></A><!-- == --> The South Korean government will spend an estimated $24.6-billion to build a better internet infrastructure, so that every South Korean can have 1 Gbps service by 2012. That's about 96 times faster than the 3-10Mbps service that's considered top notch (and top price) in America. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://techfragments.com/news/359/Tech/All_Koreans_to_Have_1Gbps_Broadband_by_2012.html">Tech&nbsp;Fragments</A>&nbsp;] <A NAME=think></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thinker.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>It made me stop&nbsp;and&nbsp;think</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quesplanation.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR>"Obama needs to wise up, totally withdraw from both Iraq and Afghanistan, withdraw from the US Empire, and dramatically slash the US defense budget. The US needs to take this revolutionary tack as one step toward renewing what is still the world's largest economy -- that on which all indices of US national power ultimately depend. The US can still be an economic superpower and have much influence in the world, but the days of being a globe-girdling military power are over. The US foreign policy elite just hasn't accepted it yet." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.antiwar.com/eland/?articleid=14168">Ivan&nbsp;Eland</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <BR>"It is hard to imagine any sector of the American economy more driven by ideology, delusion, and propaganda than the armed services. Many people believe that our military is the largest, best equipped, and most invincible among the world's armed forces. None of these things is true, but our military is, without a doubt, the most expensive to maintain. Each year, we Americans account for nearly half of all global military spending, an amount larger than the next 45 nations together spend on their militaries annually." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/workplace/124881/america_is_completely_broke%2C_and_here_we_are_funding_fantasy_wars_at_the_pentagon/?page=entire">Chalmers&nbsp;Johnson</A>&nbsp;]<BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-648></A><!-- == --> The 9-1-1 computerized caller-ID system is easy as pie to subvert with an internet-based phone service for the hearing-impaired. Human ingenuity is limitless, I&nbsp;swear&nbsp;... &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-IMPACT-SWAT-teams-deployed-apf-14218686.html">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-915></A><!-- == --> AT&T passes along fraudulent billing by third-party or fake phone companies, so you might want to check your bill closely. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://consumerist.com/5144607/check-your-att-bill-for-fraudulent-charges">consumerist.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <!-- =5555555555= --> <A NAME=ft-1254></A><!-- == --> Eric Holder is now the US Attorney General. As yet there's no word on whether he had to agree not to prosecute Bush-Cheney war crimes, as the often-unreliable <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0901-30.html#rh-1122"><i>Washington Times</i> reported last week</A>, but time will tell and it won't take long to know. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HOLDER_CONFIRMATION?SITE=WIMAD&SECTION=HOME">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-16></A><!-- == --> Speaking of preposterous deal-<BR>making, President Obama has named a cro magnon Republican, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, as Secretary of Commerce. The deal calls for New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, to name a Republican to Gregg's Senate seat. I&nbsp;don't get it. Why does Obama want a dim Republican bulb like Judd Gregg, who once <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/03/judd-gregg-commerce/">voted to abolish the Department of Commerce</A>, running the Department of Commerce? If Democrats don't even get a Senator out of the deal, can someone explain to me why this isn't as stupendously stupid as it looks? And as a secondary question, if it's illegal for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to <i>talk about</i> making deals before making a governmental appointment, will anyone raise an eyebrow as the President, the Seantor, and the Governor consumate a three-way? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-03-gregg_N.htm">USA&nbsp;Today</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-11552></A><!-- == --> Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraq war veteran and a decent human being, will be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gkHODPqlR1Wehk04UjzHRx45h1WAD96461T00">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-1248></A><!-- == --> Nancy Killefer had to drop out as Obama's "Performance Czar" because she evaded paying taxes. That's <i>three</i> Obama nominations who tried cheating on their taxes. Tell me again about Obama's elaborate vetting process? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96463C80&show_article=1">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;] <A NAME=health></A><A NAME=science></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/medicine.gif" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>Health&nbsp;and science&nbsp;corner</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/science.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/ace-zsd012609.php">Zinc supplements during pregnancy may counteract damage from early alcohol exposure</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090202.wcollegeradio0202/BNStory/Technology/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090202.wcollegeradio0202">Canadian students call space station with home-built radio</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4434400/Chinese-earthquake-may-have-been-man-made-say-scientists.html">Chinese earthquake may have been man-made accident, say scientists</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/nu-iia012909.php">Insulin is a possible new treatment for "third form of diabetes" -- Alzheimer's</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61350.html">Bone treatments leading to growing dental problems</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/03/mitigate-heartdiseas.html">Mitigate heart-disease risk by exercising for seven minutes a week</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-1041></A><!-- == --> Tom Daschle was a <i>terrible</i> choice for anything to do with addressing the health care crisis. Howard Dean would be a much better choice if Obama wants an actual solution to the problems, but let's be realistic: A President who would appoint Daschle to address the health care crisis isn't looking for a solution. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2009/02/12111_the_daschle_deb.html">Mother&nbsp;Jones</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-1129></A><!-- == --> US District Judge Marcia Cooke, demonstrating a keen grasp of common sense and the Constitution, has ruled that the city government of Miami can't shut down a porn website as a violation of local zoning laws. Sigh. Hey, city of Miami, why not embrace freedom of speech, instead of spending tax dollars trying to stifle it? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61346.html">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-1009></A><!-- == --> Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says that with his prodding, MySpace has identified 40,000 more convicted sex offenders on its website, in addition to the 50,000 already fingered. Blumenthal is, of course, out of his mind and in need of a serious mental health evaluation. There aren't 90,000 "convicted sex offenders" easily identifiable on MySpace unless that includes huge numbers of people whose crimes were insignificant -- 40-year-olds who boinked 15-year-olds when they were 19, etc. Sex offenders walk among us, live among us, and hang out at MySpace among us. Get used to it, because the only way to prevent it is to have everyone who's a "convicted sex offender" hung at dawn, which is no doubt what Blumenthal wants. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aGTa7.Srvj3c&refer=canada">Bloomberg&nbsp;News&nbsp;Service</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=gu-443></A><!-- == --> I&nbsp;guess there's millions of dollars of endorsement cash at stake, so Olympic swimmy-boy Michael Phelps felt he had to apologize for being photographed inhaling marijuana from a bong. Oh, the horrors. Wouldn't it be nice if someone who's rich and famous enough to afford the fight <i>didn't</i> apologize, but instead said, "Hell yeah, I&nbsp;smoke doobie. And I&nbsp;won eight gold medals, so f*ck off." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/02/michael-phelps.html">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=zzz-ANCHOR></A><!-- == --> But wait, there's more. The local sheriff says he wants to have Phelps prosecuted for his notorious pot smoking. Well, have at it, sheriff. Millions of non-celebrity Americans have been incarcerated or have career-threatening police records because of pot prohibition (and I sure hope the sheriff's son or daughter is soon among them), so why shouldn't celebrities have to deal with the same insane penalties for doing something harmless? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thestate.com/local/story/672148.html">The&nbsp;State&nbsp;(Columbia,&nbsp;SC)</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-124></A><!-- == --> A hacker says he can easily read personal data off your RFID-encoded passport. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/02/us-passports-can-be.html">BoingBoing</A>&nbsp;] <A NAME=watching></A><A NAME=movies/TV></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><br><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="45" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/film_sprockets.gif" border="0" width="45" height="27"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>We've been watching&nbsp;...</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="45" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-icon.jpg" border="0" width="42" height="42"></TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <i>Happy Go Lucky</i> is an enjoyable hour and a half in London, with a woman who has an almost perpetually positive outlook and a big ol' smile, no matter what. I've known people just like her, and that's what I&nbsp;love about Mike Leigh's films -- they're full of people who seem really real. The chipper leading lady is occasionally annoying but she's funny and tough and you'll give a damn about her by the end of the movie. The movie's politics are subtle but sharp -- we hear an unanswered rant against multi-culturalism from an angry character, but his anger is matched against the main character's happiness with her obviously opposite perspective. Fair warning: I&nbsp;lost about 20% of the dialogue due to its thick British accents and rapid-fire delivery -- subtitles would have helped. Still, well worth a matinee ticket.<DIV align="right"><i>H&amp;HH &nbsp; </i></div></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><BR><BR> <A NAME=ft-146></A><!-- == --> It's a little sad that Roger Ebert is known mostly for his thumbs-up and thumbs-down movie reviews on television, commentary that could've come from virtually any reasonably intelligent humanoid. He's actually an insightful critic when he's <i>writing</i> (not talking) about movies, and he's a very good <i>writer</i> in general, a skill utterly wasted in his television persona. Anyway, today he's going on about the joy of reading a newspaper, and along the way he effectively dismantles the shillery of <i>The Huffington Post</i>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/02/im_reading_newspapers_again.html">Roger&nbsp;Ebert's&nbsp;Journal</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <A NAME=osc-725></A><!-- == --> On last weekend's <i>Saturday Night Live</i>, Pepsi paid to make itself the punchline in three different "MacGruber" sketches, one of which aired as a commercial during the Super Bowl the following day. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/entertainment/2009/02/02/D963R26O0_fbn_super_bowl_snl_ad/index.html">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR><BR> <BR><center>Recommended sites for gathering unknown or underreported news:<BR> &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://mediamatters.org/">Media&nbsp;Matters</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.propublica.org/">Pro&nbsp;Publica</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://thinkprogress.org">ThinkProgress</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.truthout.org/">TruthOut</A>&nbsp; </center> <BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-02.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/leftarrow.jpg" border="0" width="75" height="11"><BR>Older entries</A> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="54%" class="fonta"> Compiled by Helen&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Harry&nbsp;Highwater<BR>for&nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">www.unknownnews.org</a></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-06.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/rightarrow.jpg" border="0" height="10" width="75"><BR>Newer entries</A></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=D-04></A><A NAME=dialogue></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="14%" bgcolor="dddddd" class="fonty"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#D-04"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="75" height="75"></A></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="86%" bgcolor="dddddd" class="fonta"><A HREF="#D-04"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <BIG><B>Readers' comments</B></BIG><BR><BR> <small><i>Please send your news tips, comments, and criticisms to &#60;<A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com">unknownnews at inbox.com</A>&#62;. If&nbsp;that&nbsp;address ever fails, check <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">our contact page</A> for our alternate email addresses.</i></small></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=04OB1035></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#04OB1035"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/03/joe-the-economist/">Republicans turn to Joe the Plumber (who's not a plumber) for economic advice on stimulus bill</A><BR><BR> The Republicans' fascination with this bald, ignorant "everyman" is fascinating to me, like a train wreck that bursts into flames behind a reporter and singes his suit. Holy crap what a moron, and the Republicans just luva luva luva him! I&nbsp;hope he ends up as Sarah Palin's running mate in 2012. Yeah, that's the ticket&nbsp;... <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Obese Ballerina&nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=04PC1035></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#04PC1035"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; I found another thing for <i>Unknown News</i> to be <A HREF="#nothanks"><FONT COLOR=blue>officially uninterested</FONT></A> in: Planet X.<BR><BR>My new roommate is addicted to <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Planet+X%22&sourceid=mozilla&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8">Planet X information</A> and loves to talk about it, regardless of the interest of the listener...<BR><BR>Unfortunately, <i>NewScientist</i> just <A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126932.200-is-there-a-planet-x.html">legitimized Planet X's possible existence</A> , though not the metaphysical implications <NOBR>:-)</NOBR> Here is an example of the insanity:<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.planet-x.150m.com/">Planet X and the Pole Shift</A> &nbsp; (the fact that the predicted magnetic pole reversal did not occur does not deter Planet X fans...)<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.exitmundi.nl/Planet-X.htm">Planet X: the facts, the myths</A> &nbsp; ("And now, eons after it left our world behind as a smoking, lifeless mess, the dreaded Planet X is about to reenter our solar system and mess up our world&nbsp;...")<BR><BR>Google has more than 2 million hits for "Planet X". Area 51 has 7 million, so Planet X is a strong contender. I&nbsp;wonder if there is a government X-files conspiracy to hunt out lunatics and keep them involved with Planet X, so that they don't get involved with other things, such as civil rights, universal healthcare, etc. As long as millions of people are working out the implications of Planet X they are too busy to get involved with actual, real problems and their solutions -- which nearly all involve changing our entrenched leadership in D.C.&nbsp;... <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Pavel C. &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Per your request and with great enthusiasm, I'm adding Planet X to the list of topics we're disinterested in. Sorry about your roommate. I&nbsp;had a roommate, years and years ago, who had much more interest in role-playing games than in his own real life, so yeah, I&nbsp;can relate. The net effect of all these distractions, from Planet X to </i>American Idol<i> to the Super Bowl, is that so many millions of us become hypnotized, comfortably numb to what's happening around us.<BR><BR>That said, like anyone else I&nbsp;need a break now and then, and sometimes it's </i>Star Trek<i> or </i>Mad Magazine<i> or on-line video games, but I&nbsp;do try to keep it in perspective and limit myself to wasting not more than a few hours a week&nbsp;... </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=04JRM542></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#04JRM542"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/02/03/kagan/index.html">The "defense cut" falsehood from the <I>Washington Post</i> and Robert Kagan</A><BR><BR> It's now official: Obama doesn't know what the hell he's doing. Even doing this merely as a slick political ploy of some kind couldn't possibly benefit the nation sufficiently to be worthwhile. I&nbsp;suppose he considers it a part of his stimulus package, but if so, he's sadly misinformed on the effectiveness of military spending on boosting the economy. The same spending put instead on healthcare would provide far bigger bang for the buck, in improving everything. And in the end, deficits do matter, despite what Dick Cheney said. So MORE big bucks spent on an already obscenely obese Pentagon are definitely bad bucks. <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0209/Rove_now_with_Justice_Dept.html">Rove now cooperating with Justice Dept.</A><BR><BR> So says the headline, but in the details it appears Rove is only cooperating with the friendliest Republican lawyers he can find. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">JR Mooneyham &nbsp;(<A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">www.jrmooneyham.com/</A>) &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=04MK538></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#04MK538"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i>Keynesian solutions in the US -- get an encyclopedia:</i>&nbsp; I'm getting REALLY tired of all of the articles that suggest that the current "said to be" solutions to the economic crisis are Keynesian. Come on, get an encyclopedia before you throw around this idea. Yes, I&nbsp;know -- I&nbsp;recently started the piece on socialism in the US the very same way.<BR><BR> Wikipedia offers this explanation of Keynesian economics: "Instead of the economic process being based on continuous improvement in potential output, as most classical economists had believed in from the late 1700s on, Keynes asserted the importance of aggregate demand for goods as the driving factor of the economy, especially in periods of downturn. From this he argued that government policies could be used to promote demand at the macro level, to fight high unemployment and deflation of the sort seen during the 1930s. ... Keynesian economics markedly differs from, and sought to provide solutions to what some economists believed to be the failure of laissez-faire economic liberalism (which advocates that markets and the private sector operate best without state intervention)."<BR><BR> At that time "many economists insisted that business confidence, not lack of demand, was the root of the problem, and that the correct course was to slash government expenditures and to cut wages to raise business confidence and willingness to hire unemployed workers." As for creating demand, non-Keynesians thought that "adjustments in prices would automatically make demand tend to the full employment level."<BR><BR> Keynes also believed in government policies "which acted against the tide of the business cycle." If there is inflation in boom times, its suppression was possible by increasing taxes or cutting back on government outlays. On the other hand, in a recession or when unemployment is high, just the opposite would work. Of course, by cutting taxes and increasing spending the government is likely to have expenditures greater than its tax revenues. Keynes saw this as a short term problem which perhaps in the 30s it was.<BR><BR> The current situation involves the US government's expenditures being already HUGELY greater than its revenues. So using Keynes's policies (see below) could sound like a bad idea. In addition, the government is already spending a great deal in its bank bailout effort. Then, the idea was to just wait out the problems. Keynes said, "in the long run, we are all dead." Perhaps, the idea today is that if we don't spend more, "we are all dead." Of course, we could save some if the bailouts and spending on illegal wars were ended.<BR><BR> ACTUALLY, Keynes's idea of government spending was related to ending unemployment and bringing back demand. It had NOTHING to do with bailing out banks or even failed businesses. These are probably the sorts of government spending that Keynes would consider WASTEFUL. The sort of spending he recommended was government investment in "public goods" of the sort profit-seekers will avoid. This would be "government spending on such things as basic research, public health, education, and infrastructure" all of which could "help the long-term growth of potential output." In other words, "Keynesian policy is not merely spending." That means that setting up a universal health care system, expanding public services, and repairing and improving the US's infrastructure WOULD be good ways to create jobs.<BR><BR> Considering the '30s Great Depression and today's "recession," they both followed upon a period where a huge gap between the rich and the poor existed. Then as now the rich had been allowed to borrow huge amounts of money with little down. Then, the money was used on the stock market. This time it was used for credit default swaps, etc. In both cases, when losses started occurring, no one was able to pay back the banks so they began failing. Then, there were bank runs and hoarding. This time we have greater indebtedness, so spending has been curtailed. This starts the snowball effect of businesses losing business and then cutting jobs.<BR><BR> Since the US government is failing to stop the job cuts AND since it is NOT creating jobs or providing relief to We the People such as was created by the First New Deal and Second New Deal (see Wikipedia -- New Deal), things just ARE going to get worse before they get better.<BR><BR> I hate to mention this, but the Turkish government is trying hard to prevent the snowball from really rolling. It HAS provided financial support to private companies tied to their NOT cutting jobs. It has enabled shorter working hours in some cases to prevent job cuts. It has also increased or at least maintained its hiring of government employees. Utilities related tax increases have been reduced. I&nbsp;believe there are also efforts to replace the losses in trade with the European Union with trade to Africa and Turkey's regional neighbors.<BR><BR> Meanwhile in the US and Europe where a great deal of neo-liberalism and fascism (corporate control of governments) have been instituted, the corrupt financial sector top management is trying to grab all of the government funds. Have they used ANY of this money for the maintenance or creation of ANY jobs? Have they used ANY of it to prop up companies in other sectors or bring them back to the US? Have they used ANY of it to halt job cuts? I&nbsp;don't see it. In Europe, at least the people are protesting. However, the US and European elites are still stuffing their pockets full of money while snowballs roll all over the place in the "developed" countries -- soon to be LESS developed than the developing countries. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Marie K. &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03KF1051></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03KF1051"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=13319">Bailed out Bank of America sponsors Super Bowl fun fest</A><BR><BR> There were some pretty spectacular parties before Rome fell! <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Kathy Fisher &nbsp;(<A HREF="mailto:klfisher@webtv.net">klfisher@webtv.net</A>) &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03HB946></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03HB946"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; There appears to be a growing consensus that President Obama has surrounded himself with economic advisors who are either part of the problem or who have previously proven themselves to be unequal to the task of assessing and diagnosing America's problems in <i>real time</i>.<BR><BR>It is my belief that President Obama's desire to lead from the middle, producing a bipartisan consensus, cannot solve America's economic problems. Aiming for the middle now cannot work because it includes a 50% error to the left and a 50% error to the right -- and then claims statistical accuracy.<BR><BR>Instead Obama needs to find advisors who can divine the correct answer(s) to our problems and then implement them, regardless of which lobbyists and industry groups are outraged and express their feelings by vowing to support Republicans next go round. To continue misallocating public resources will not only prolong our problems but may even preclude any satisfactory solutions from being implemented -- the feasible options are probably few and far between, and every day that passes narrows the launch window!<BR><BR>In fact, I&nbsp;firmly believe that we are in the midst of the long feared, most dreaded, <a href="http://www.kwaves.com/kond_overview.htm">Kondratieff Winter</a>. During the Winter phase a long, long depression ensues in which old, unpayable debts are eventually written off. Always. Many of the American financial system's massive liabilities must be simply <i>written off</i> as losses to be borne by the lenders, and the sooner that President Obama recognizes that fact the sooner the healing process can begin.<BR><BR>It is unreasonable for the US government to stand behind an incalculable amount of over the counter derivatives -- on top of all of the basic mortgage, credit cards, auto loans, student loans, medical debts, etc. The US is bankrupt, it just is not yet insolvent because it has printing presses and computers generating new "money".<BR><BR>Here is a sampling of related articles with selected excerpts:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.kitco.com/ind/sobolev/feb022009.html">Fed monetizes debt, investors buy gold</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The governments around the world are trying to take initiative while private capital is sitting on the sidelines, preferring the safety of government bonds and precious metals.<BR><BR>Investors typically do not trust the governments to implement any effective economic solutions. Moreover, this lack of faith in central planning continues to grow since the US government has no other plan of action than to save the old, compromised and untrustworthy financial system.<BR><BR>What the Federal Reserve together with the Department of Treasury has shown is that they will inject a vast amount of newly created money into a hugely ineffective financial system.<BR><BR>While in the fall of last year, in fear of devastating deflation, analysts were competing in downward projections for the price of gold, now the competition is to estimate the amount of losses incurred by the financial institutions around the world. The maximum assessment is now at $4 trillion, with Nouriel Roubini coming in close second at $3.6 trillion.<BR><BR>But the main problem is not so much in the amount of credit losses or the amount needed for recapitalization efforts but in that the new government is committed to continue to transfer huge capital into the hands of the same group of people who were largely responsible for the world financial crash in the first place. Wall Street, though transformed, will remain in control.&nbsp;...</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/4424418/Let-banks-fail-says-Nobel-economist-Joseph-Stiglitz.html">Let banks fail, says Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "The UK has been hit hard because the banks took on enormously large liabilities in foreign currencies. Should the British taxpayers have to lower their standard of living for 20 years to pay off mistakes that benefited a small elite?" he said.<BR><BR>"There is an argument for letting the banks go bust. It may cause turmoil but it will be a cheaper way to deal with this in the end. The British Parliament never offered a blanket guarantee for all liabilities and derivative positions of these banks," he said.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A HREF="http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2009/02/era-of-american-leadership-is-over.html">The era of American leadership is over</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Obama's economic appointments are just as discouraging. Obama chose as his Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the man who helped Bush's Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, engineer the $700 billion dollar rip off of the US taxpayer, money that was gifted to the crooked banksters who destroyed Americans' pensions, jobs and health care coverage.<BR><BR>These banksters, and the negligent federal regulators that enabled them, should be put in prison, not handed hundreds of billions of dollars.<BR><BR>Instead, Obama has appointed one of the chief orchestrators of the rip off to the helm of the Treasury. Obama's National Economic Council is just as depressing. Clinton's Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers, is its head. Summers recently declared that he had no inkling that a financial crisis was about to hit. Why did Obama put a person without a clue in charge?<BR><BR>Summer's colleagues are just as bad. Obama has appointed Diana Farrell, lead author of a phony study that claimed offshoring of American jobs is a win-win game for Americans, as deputy director of the National Economic Council. Farrell is affiliated with McKinsey & Company, a firm that helps American corporations offshore their operations. In his book, Outsourcing America, economist Ron Hira tore Farrell's McKinsey report to shreds.<BR><BR>Why not appoint Ron Hira and Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the crisis, to the National Economic Council?&nbsp;...<BR><BR>The discouraging fact is that even when faced with crisis in the economy and in foreign policy, the American political system is incapable of producing any leadership. Here we are in the worst economic crisis in a lifetime, perhaps in our history, and on the brink of war in Pakistan and Iran while escalating the war in Afghanistan, and all we get is a government made up of the very people who have brought us to these crises.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>Putin reminded the World Economic Forum that "just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasized the US economy's fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist. In just 12 months, they have posted losses exceeding the profits they made in the last 25 years."<BR><BR>Putin made his case that the existing financial system based on the US dollar and American financial hegemony has failed.<BR><BR>Putin showed that his economic understanding was superior to that of the Obama team when he said that creating more debt on top of the "hopeless debts," as Obama is doing, would "prolong the crisis."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR><DIV align="right">Hazel Burke &nbsp; </div> <BR>PS. It appears that Justin Raimondo is on the same page as I&nbsp;am. His most recent essay provides more excerpts from Comrade Putin's speech at Davos along with Raimondo's helpful interpretations and colorful language):<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=14178">Putin to the West: Take your medicine, and don't go socialist</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> In short, the malinvestment engaged in during the bubble years must be liquidated. The longer we try to conserve enterprises supposedly "too big to fail," the more painful and prolonged will be the process of economic recovery. This is precisely what libertarians such as Ron Paul and analysts such as Peter Schiff have been saying all along.<BR><BR>Unlike Barack Obama and his advisers, whose faith in government action is near religious, Putin warns against "excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state's omnipotence." It may be a "natural reaction" to turn to an increased state role in such times as these, yet "instead of streamlining market mechanisms, some are tempted to expand state economic intervention to the greatest possible extent. The concentration of surplus assets in the hands of the state is a negative aspect of anti-crisis measures in virtually every nation."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03Wig919></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03Wig919"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/01/AR2009020102225.html">Iraq auditor warns of waste, fraud in Afghanistan</A><BR><BR>Of course now the Republicans are back as the "party of fiscal responsibility" and we need not fear. <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="http://www.military.com/news/article/afghan-war-supplies-may-come-via-iran.html?ESRC=eb.nl">Afghan war supplies may come via Iran</A><BR><BR> This may be a good way to start a rapprochement with Iran that would lead to further diplomatic initiatives. It's time that the US went back to a policy of not trying to interfere with another country's internal politics. We won't tolerate another country trying to stick its nose into our government to try to influence any faction in an effort to encourage dissent to disrupt or topple it. It's one thing to have the CIA gathering intel to aid in our foreign policy decisions; it's another thing to engage in covert operations to topple a government that doesn't suit our ideas or concepts. <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="Ending 'The War On Terror'">Obama abandons 'War on Terror' catchphrase</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Indeed, a Pentagon-funded study last year <A HREF="http://pr.thinkprogress.org/2008/08/pr20080801">recommended</A> that the United States do away with the terminology because the strategy behind it was "<A HREF="http://www.rand.org/news/press/2008/07/29/">not successful</A> in undermining al-Qaeda's capabilities.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> So a change in "terminology" brings success? Obama has shown a propensity for a change in terminology, while still maintaining the illusion that the Bush policies go on. Oh -- but he's going to organize "task forces" to study the policies to see if they can be better utilized. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03VR1123></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03VR1123"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; (Provided for entertainment only, use your own judgement. the author accepts no responsibility for what you do, and is pretty irresponsible himself...)<BR><BR><i>Heads up alert:</i>&nbsp; First, big picture look at impending doom for the US Empire ... hint: Obama appears to be taking the politically expedient route of continuing to bail out banks while leaving the incompetent executives in place and leaving the taxpayers facing a black hole of liabilities -- as opposed to swiftly taking over the insolvent institutions, zeroing out the shareholders, and spinning off sound institutions under new management. Thus, it is my opinion that the ongoing disasters will continue, due to uncertainties about when the F someone will end this thing (until then private capital cannot involve itself much more because the rules of the game keep changing whenever a politician needs a few votes.)<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-1">Paul Krugman: Bailouts for bunglers</A><BR><BR>Also, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, etc. are not winding down. The Empire will not willingly allow the peoples of these places to live free of the hobnailed boots of Washington D.C. Unfortunately, continuing the militaristic empire in this way will -- therefore -- continue to bankrupt the US.<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-0">Chris Hedges: It's not going to be OK</A><BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45640">US-IRAQ: Generals seek to reverse Obama withdrawal decision</A><BR><BR>So ... we like gold and silver as "money". But the purpose of this note is to point out that oil is now extraordinarily cheap in terms of gold:<BR><BR><a href="http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?c=GLD:uso,uu%5Bh,a%5Dwacayiay%5Bdf%5D%5Bpc40%21b65%5D%5Bvc60%5D%5Biut%21Ub14%21Lg%5D&pref=G">gold/oil ratio, 3 year chart</a><BR><BR>Notice that the RSI (Relative Strength Indicator) has exceeded 70 for months now, which is an extraordinary length of time for an "overbought" (read "high priced") situation to continue. In a bullish market environment one might expect the cheaper thing to rise in value, but in a bearish environment a likely outcome is that the expensive thing becomes cheaper so as to restore the price ratio of the two things.<BR><BR>That said, oil looks cheap now and gold looks a little bit pricey (taking a wee bit of gold profits from trading accounts might be ok to do, that's my thinking, with the idea of buying back as soon as necessary -- so if you can't be nimble then probably just hold fast.)<BR><BR>As far as oil goes, the "USO" ETF is a little bit tricky. Easier, but still hard involves buying oil companies. Something to look into is that the British Pound has been very, very weak, as has the Euro recently. That means that share prices for companies which mostly trade in these currencies are EXTRA depressed; so once the dollar gets weak these things can rebound fast. And they pay +5% dividends.<BR><BR>Something to look at (don't blame moi if you lose money on these turkeys!):<BR><BR><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BP,RDS-b,TOT&d=s">BP,Shell,Total</a><BR><BR><DIV align="right">Vickie R. &nbsp; </div><BR>(P.S. The US Empire is based on a heathen G.O.D. = Gold, Oil and Drugs...)</TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03SB426></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03SB426"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; I&nbsp;am going to have to go on a news break again. Obama has been in office exactly 13 days (counting weekends) and there is a LOT of negativity being spouted. Bush sat on his ass for 8 years and actively destroyed this country with the kisses of the media and the "hope" that he would change. Obama gets blamed for everything but the ice age. Now a politician is a politician but COME ON -- 13 days in office? He doesn't get the benefit of the first 100 days because Americans sat on their asses and watched while Bush pulled away their liberties?<BR><BR>I really, really am feeling like becoming a hermit these days. You know how people say if you don't like America leave it? I&nbsp;am seriously contemplating it. Seriously.<BR><BR>Arrgghhh <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Sherri B. &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> You make me smile and shake my head, in a good way. It might take months, possibly years, before any of us are likely to experience first hand the results of anything Obama's done. Or it might be clear by tomorrow afternoon. Either way, I&nbsp;plan to keep complaining (it's my nature) but there won't be any quick fixes, and patience is a necessity. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=05W512></A> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#dddddd" class="fonta"> <A HREF="#05W512"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>2/5/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; You seem to forget that Obama spent two years or more on the stump telling us that he was going to bring "CHANGE" to Washington. And not having voted for Obama because I didn't (and still don't) think he had the experience for the job I'm reluctant to be overly critical of his performance thus far (I'll leave that to you and his ardent supporters). However, I have to say there's a lot to be overjoyed with these 13 days performance. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03AB133></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0902-04.html#03AB133"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Re <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0901-30.html#ot-1127">Republican obstructionism</A><BR><BR> You don't understand the Republicans' constipation-style blockage of anything Obama proposes? It's pretty obvious, I&nbsp;think. The more Obama is successful, the bigger the landslide for Democrats in the mid-term elections, and the worse Obama's policies do, the better Republicans will do. There's no up-side if Republicans cooperate and Obama's policies are successful. Republicans' <i>only</i> upside is in doing everything they can to make sure Obama fails in every way possible, and to constantly distinguish themselves by opposing him in every way possible. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Michael Bonghuffer &nbsp; <A NAME=5W513></A> </div> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#dddddd" class="fonta"> <A HREF="#5W513"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>2/5/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; True enough. But now you have to convince Obama of it. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=recent></A><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="50%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"><BR> &nbsp; <I>Recent entries:</I><BR><BR> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dailylog.html" width="295" height="104" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonty"> </TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="49%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"><BR> &nbsp; <I>Earlier entries:</I><BR><BR> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/monthlylog.html" width="295" height="104" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD></TR></TABLE> <center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><BR> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/support-wide.html" width="600" height="550" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD></TR></TABLE></center> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="50%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/blogroll.html" width="295" height="495" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe> <DIV align="right"><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/kissback.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><B>unknownnews.org/kissback.html</B></FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonty"> </TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="49%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/recentthanks.html" width="295" height="495" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe> <DIV align="right"><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/credits.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><B>unknownnews.org/credits.html</B></FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><center>|&nbsp;&nbsp; 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</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="96%" class="fonty"> © 1999-2008 by Helen & Harry Highwater and the individual authors.</center> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="2%" class="fonty"><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"startspan ALT="Site Meter"--><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript">var site="sm4unknownnews"</script><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/js/counter.js?site=sm4unknownnews"></script><noscript><A HREF="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=sm4unknownnews"target=_top><img src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=sm4unknownnews&refer=&hours=8&minutes=53&rtype=4"border=0 title="Site Meter" height="10" width="10"></A></noscript><!-Copyright (c)2000 Site Meter --><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"Endspan --></TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="310" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="1%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="57%" class="font14"><BR> <!-- Translation--> <form action="http://www.google.com/translate" ><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write ("<input name=u value="+location.href+" type=hidden>") // --></script> <input name="hl" value="en" type="hidden"> <input name="ie" value="UTF8" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ar" title="Arabic" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagArab.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|zh-CN" title="Chinese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagChina.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|fr" title="French" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagFrance.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|de" title="German" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagGermany.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|it" title="Italian" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagItaly.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"><BR> <input name="langpair" value="en|ja" title="Japanese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagJapan.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ko" title="Korean" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagKorea.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|pt" title="Portuguese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagPortugal.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|es" title="Spanish" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagSpain.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> </form> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="42%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font13"> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/RSSfeed.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/RSS-button.gif" alt="Subscribe to our RSS feed" border="0" width="72" height="54"></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=today></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="300" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" class="fonty"> 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.<BR><BR> Here's a bit more about <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">who we are</A> and <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/bighowdy.html">what we're doing</A> and here's some <A HREF="#unymhm"><FONT COLOR=blue>unknown news you might have missed</FONT></A>. </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=casualties-box></A><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=black WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/casualtieslog.html" width="100%" height="115" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=unymhm></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="300" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" class="fonty"> <center><A HREF="#unymhm"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <BIG><B>Some unknown news you&nbsp;might&nbsp;have&nbsp;missed</B></BIG></center><BR> <A NAME=side projects></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="3%" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="TOP" width="97%" class="fonty"> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/0331-1.html">9/11 victim's wife asks questions</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/04121402abstinence.html">"Abstinence only" teaches lies</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/040206secretjustice.html">Acquittal as US hides 9/11 evidence</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/Turley14Aug2002.html">A.G. proposes concentration camps</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/070313-warcrimes.html">Americans held in secret prisons</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/outsourcerama.html">America's outsourced economy</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/030812vanimpe.html">Apocalypse preacher advises Bush</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/homophobia.html">Are you afraid of homosexuals?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/2000-1.html">Army PSY-OPS infiltrated CNN, NPR</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/OsamaInterview.html">Bin Laden denies 9/11 involvement</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/041029911.html">Black boxes found in WTC rubble</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0626-2.html">Boycotting Israel is illegal?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/insanity2.html">Bush considers God a political ally</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/bush1941.html">Bush family's Nazi connections</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/inspectors.html">Bush's recurring lie about Saddam</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/insanity7.html">Bush says he speaks for God</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/casualties.html">Casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/p102102-1.html">Cheney is blocking 9/11 investigation</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/CIA-Media.html">The CIA and the media</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html">Cops you won't see on TV's <I>Cops</I></A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/camps.html">Detention camps in America</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; The <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/diy.html">do-it-yourself page</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/election2000.html">Election 2000: Counting the vote</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/0601240119binLaden.html">Expert skeptical about bin Laden tape</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/050426a-hh.html">Getting to know Pope Benedict XVI</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/insanity7.html">God told Bush to strike al Qaeda?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/google.html">Google refuses our ad</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/graffiti.html">Graffiti written on our walls</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/suicides.html">Guantanamo suicides: an ongoing lie</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Our <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/usforeignpolicy.html">guide to US foreign policy</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0509160909gunsandgo.html">Guns confiscated in New Orleans</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/2001-1.html">G.W. Bush & bin Laden's brother</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Our <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/hatemail.html">hate mail</A> collection<BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0509300925Dolphins.html">Hurricane freed US killer dolphins</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0604180417lostluggage.html">Identifying the 9/11 hijackers</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/bushaintnochristian.html">Is George W. Bush a Christian?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/insanity.html">Is George W. Bush insane?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/030917a-hh.html">Investigating 9/11, or not so much</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/040202child.html">Julia Child's letter on McCarthyism</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/0222-1.html">Justice Dept. lied about terror cases</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/katrina.html">Katrina: A criminal catastrophe</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/031106a-hh.html"><i>Los Angeles Times</I> fudges the truth</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/logoflies.html">Log of Bush-Cheney lies</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mythofthespat-uponveteran.html">The myth of the spat-upon veteran</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Some <A HREF="#debunk"><FONT COLOR=blue>news we doubt or debunk</FONT></A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/010924911.html">Officials canceled trips on <nobr>9/10/2001</nobr></A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Our <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/reference.html">on-line notebook</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/060214a-Barrett.html">Phony 'Osama bin Laden' tapes</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/p090402-1.html">Plans for Iraq attack began on 9/11</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/070406-tomatoraid.html">Police raid tomato growing operation </A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Some <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/comics.html">political comics we've enjoyed</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/030817pedopriests.html">Pope ordered pedo priest cover-up</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/fairuse.html">Pre-9/11 warnings "suppressed"</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/RepublicanFamilyValues.html">Republican Family Values</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/030817apoc.html">Rice briefs 'Christian Zionists'</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/saddam.html">Saddam: America's man in Iraq</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/SmedleyButler.html">Smedley Butler's page</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/Moon2003.html">Sun Myung Moon & the Republicans</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/010726911.html">"Threat assessment" before 9/11</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Some <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/911.html">unanswered <NOBR>9/11</NOBR> questions</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/unblock.html">Unblocked internet access</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; Our <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/unknownhonors.html">unknown honors</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/p0808-4.html">US uses napalm in Iraq, lies about it</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/Guardian13Jun2004.html">US runs network of secret prisons</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/0722-1.html">Warning on depleted uranium</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/warlies.html">Wars based on lies</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/tqp053102.html">Was 9/11 "another Pearl Harbor"?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/waco.html">What happened at Waco?</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/hh030102.html">Why Daniel Pearl is dead</A><BR> &bull;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/wow.html">Words of wisdom from our 'leaders'</A><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE><A NAME=thebasics></A><BR> <B><I>If you're new to Unknown News,</I></B>&nbsp; here are some answers to <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/faq.html">frequently asked questions</A> about the site, and <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">answers to questions we wish you'd ask instead</A>. Here's <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/RSSfeed.html">our RSS feed</A>, here are some quick links to <A HREF="#recent"><FONT COLOR=blue>recent and not-so-recent entries</FONT></A>, and here's <A HREF="#disclaimer"><FONT COLOR=blue>our disclaimer</FONT></A>. If you'd like to say hello or add a comment, here's <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">our email address</A>. And yes, <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html">we <i>do</i> sell bumper stickers</A> and <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html#stuff">stuff</A>. <BR><BR> We assume our readers are well-<BR>informed before they click here, so we focus on news that's generally unknown or under-reported. We don't usually mention the murders, kidnappings, house fires, auto wrecks, celebrity crap, wacky fluff, and other nonsense that's pushed <i>real</i> news right out of the newscasts. <A NAME=nothanks></A><BR><BR><B><I>We're not at all interested</I></B>&nbsp; in Area 51, the Bilderberger Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, eyeballs inside pyramids, flying saucers, FreeMasons, Paris Hilton, "Holocaust revisionism," the Illuminati, JFK's assassination, Vince Foster's suicide, the North American Union or its alleged Amero, Planet X, <i>Protocols of the Elders</i>, the Rockefellers, Rosicrucians, Rothchilds, Skull & Bones, space aliens, technologies supposedly suppressed, the Trilateral Commission, or theories you don't really understand about the collapse of the World Trade Center.<BR><BR> We'll never link to 'news' from unreliable sources such as americanfreepress.net, Art Bell, cloakanddagger.ca, Tom Flocco, David Icke, Lyndon LaRouche, <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/WayneMadsen.html">Wayne Madsen</A>, Henry Makow, Al Martin, <i>Prison Planet</i>, Sherman Skolnick, Edgar Steele, Webster Tarpley, or your brother-in-law. <BR><BR> <B><I>We try to avoid</I></B>&nbsp; linking to sites that require registration, so if you click any links here that ask for registration or a password, please let us know and we'll try to find a not-so-nosey link to similar coverage elsewhere.<BR><BR> <DIV align="right"><i>H&amp;HH</i> &nbsp; </div> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=wdwb></A><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <center><A HREF="#wdwb"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <BIG><B>What we believe</B></BIG></center><BR> We believe in liberty and justice for all, so of course, we oppose many US government policies. This doesn't mean we're anti-American, redneck scum, pinko commies, militia members, or terrorist-sympathizers. It means we believe in freedom, as more than merely a cliché. <BR><BR> We believe you have the right to live your own life as you choose, and others have the equal right to live <I>their</I> lives as <I>they</I> choose. It's not complicated.<BR><BR>We believe freedom leads to peace, progress, and prosperity, while its opposite -- oppression -- leads to war, terrorism, poverty, and misery. <BR><BR> We believe it's preposterously stupid to hate people because of their appearance, their race or nationality, their religion or lack of religion, how they have sex with other consenting adults, etc. There are far more apropos reasons to hate most people. <BR><BR> 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. <BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> But unlike most right-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR>But unlike most left-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> Like libertarians, we believe it's wrong and <I>reprehensible</i> to arrest people for what they think, believe, look like, wear, eat, smoke, drink, inhale, inject, or otherwise do to themselves. <BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> We're skeptical, and we're sick of so-called 'journalists' who aren't skeptical at all. <BR><BR>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 <i>doesn't</i> need it's yet another manifesto.<BR><BR>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. <BR><BR> These pages are published by <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/bighowdy.html">Harry and Helen Highwater</A>, happily married low-income nom de plumes and rabble-rousers from Madison, Wisconsin (with a few friends scattered around the world helping out). <BR><BR> We try to spotlight news that hasn't gotten enough (or appropriate) attention in American media, along with our opinions and yours. <BR><BR> We bang our keyboards against the wall, because it doesn't hurt as much as banging our heads. <BR><BR><center><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/bighowdy.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/Highwaters-oldtime.jpg" border="3" width="199" height="277"></A></center><BR> <DIV align="right"><i>Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</i> &nbsp; <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;(from <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">About <I>Unknown News</i></A>)&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> </TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <A NAME=debunk></A><A NAME=falsenews></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="300" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <center><A HREF="#debunk"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <BIG><B>Some news we doubt&nbsp;or&nbsp;debunk</B></BIG></center><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; Robert Reich has never said "white males should be excluded from any taxpayer funded construction projects". He's never said anything remotely like that. Reich is just about the only major political voice who seriously gives a damn about working people, so it's very much to the right-wing bastards' advantage to smear him, and that's what they've done. <A HREF="http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/open-letter-to-rush-limbaugh-sean.html">He's denied it</A>, but it was a pretty obvious lie even before the denial.<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; Democrats aren't plotting the return of the Fairness Doctrine. Claiming that Obama would bring back the Fairness Doctrine was one of the minor lies of Republicans during the 2008 campaign, and after the election it became a cornerstone right-wing lie, repeated everywhere. It's our opinion that the Fairness Doctrine should be restored with teeth <nobr>--</nobr> with sharpened titanium fangs in place of the dentures it had decades ago <nobr>--</nobr> but our opinion matters little in the real world, where there's simply no groundswell for restoring the Fairness Doctrine. It's simply not on the agenda. There's no serious discussion of the idea among any Democratic office-holders, no legislation has been drafted or introduced, and nobody who's anywhere near the reins of power is talking about this (except right-wing liars).<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; Democratic leaders in the US House are not discussing the confiscation of 401(k)s and IRAs. Reports like <A HREF="http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=5081">this one</A>, claiming that Democrats are plotting such seizures, are hysterical over-reactions that amount to a 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.<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; Pepsi hasn't prepared an ad making light of rape. Please stop sending the link to <A HREF="http://thecurvature.com/2008/10/17/rape-culture-in-unexpected-places-new-pepsi-ad/">this blog post</A>, or <A HREF="http://feministlawprofs.law.sc.edu/?p=4209">this one</A>, or <A HREF="http://pzrservices.typepad.com/advertisingisgoodforyou/2008/10/vb.html">this one</A>. The images aren't ads, they're <i>art</i> from <A HREF="http://www.scaryideas.com/print/8946/">this graphic design blog</A>. And next time, try a little common sense: Why would Pepsi run ads that would alienate at least half their customers?<BR><BR> <B><I>There's no evidence</I></B>&nbsp; that Sarah Palin's son entered the military as punishment for drug dealing. Three of our readers have sent us <A HREF="http://www.wowowow.com/post/loud-mouth-and-loose-lipped-palin-owes-obama-apology-one-margo-howard-117251">this link</A>, but the author's remark is based not on fact but on a 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, it's just another rumor. The record is sealed because Track Palin was a minor, so there's no knowing whether it's true.<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-29.html#bc290125">there's no Florida cash machine dispensing Ameros</A>. 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? It's a canard.<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0809-07.html#CM7">Sarah Palin probably didn't use racial slurs to describe Obama and Eskimos</A>. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Palin is a racist <nobr>-- </nobr> she's a Republican in a position of power, so I'd be a little surprised if she <i>wasn't</i> 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.<BR><BR> <B><I>No,</I></B>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/070827a-hh.html">Karl Rove is not the spawn of Nazis</A>, or the grandspawn of Nazis. His grandfather was not Carl Röver, Karl Rovener, or Karl Roverer, and was not the Gauleiter of Oldenburg, a high-ranking Nazi Party official, or the senior engineer in the Roverer Sud-Deutche Ingenieurburo A. G. Engineering, the firm built the Birkenau death camp. That's an internet legend, and it's not true.<BR><BR> <DIV align="right"><i>H&amp;HH</i> &nbsp; </div> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="275" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" valign="middle" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor="#FFCC66" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor=white class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="265" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" valign="middle" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor="#FFCC66" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor=white class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="4" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="255" class="fonty"> <center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><BIG><b><i>Our mystery&nbsp;links</i></b></BIG></A><BR>(mostly just for fun)</center><BR> <FONT COLOR=red>Links in red are not safe for work</FONT>, and <FONT COLOR=magenta>links in pink include audio and/or video.</FONT> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/myslinks.html" width="275" height="225" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;More:&nbsp;</SPAN> <DIV align="right"><SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><B>unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html</B></FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <A HREF="https://secure.aclu.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2125&2125.donation=form1&s_src=UNW080001C00&s_subsrc=getinvolvedmenu_join_hp&JServSessionIdr006=wnbcqvc7x1.app20a"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/aclu_logo.gif" border="3" alt-"American Civil Liberties Union" width="190" height="74"></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR> </TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="50" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <A HREF="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=36"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thumbtack.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></A> </td></tr></table><BR> <A HREF="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=36">Help ACORN fight Republicans' lies</A></TD></TR></TABLE> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="49%" class="fonty"> <A HREF="http://article31.org/"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/article31.gif" border="1" width="148" height="70"></A> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="4%" class="fonty"> </TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="37%" class="fonty"><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="50" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <A HREF="http://www.actblue.com/"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thumbtack.jpg" border="0" width="40" height="40"></A> </td></tr></table><BR> <A HREF="http://www.actblue.com/">Act Blue</A> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor=black class="fonttnr"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor=white class="fonttnr"> <center><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/bill-of-rights.jpg" alt="U.S. Bill of Rights" border="0" width="280" height="157"></center><BR> <!-- 300x168 --> <b>The preamble</b><BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment1></A><BR> <b>Amendment I</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment2></A><BR> <b>Amendment II</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment3></A><BR> <b>Amendment III</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment4></A><BR> <b>Amendment IV</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment5></A><BR> <b>Amendment V</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment6></A><BR> <b>Amendment VI</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment7></A><BR> <b>Amendment VII</b><BR><BR> 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. <BR><A NAME=Amendment8></A><BR> <b>Amendment VIII</b><BR><BR> Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. <BR><A NAME=Amendment9></A><BR> <b>Amendment IX</b><BR><BR> The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. <BR><A NAME=Amendment10></A><BR> <b>Amendment X</b><BR><BR> 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. </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <A NAME=columnists></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="280" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="270" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="260" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" valign="middle" WIDTH="250" class="fonty"><BR> <b>Columnists<BR>at <I>Unknown News</I></b><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-SherriB.html">Sherri B.</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-HazelBurke.html">Hazel Burke</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-PavelC.html">Pavel C.</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-TheCanadian.html">The Canadian</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-MrChuckles.html">Mr. Chuckles</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-ChrisD.html">Chris D.</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-Mahdi.html">Mahdi Abdul Finkelstein</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-KathyF.html">Kathy Fisher</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-LeonF.html">Leon Fisher</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-Happy.html">HappySysiphus</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-hh.html">Helen & Harry Highwater</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-JSMagruder.html">JS Magruder</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-JRMooneyham.html">JR Mooneyham</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-DrRuhs.html">Herb Ruhs, MD</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-Panther.html">Underground Panther<BR>in the Sky</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/archive-MadelineZane.html">Madeline Zane</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/previously.html"><I>Unknown&nbsp;News</I> archives</A> <BR><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">Latest <I>Unknown News</I></A><BR><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <A NAME=listenup></A><A NAME=radio></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="290" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=white WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="114" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR><BR> <A NAME=ANCHOR></A><A HREF="#radio"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio.jpg" border="0" width="94" height="161"></A> </td></tr></table> <BR><I>&nbsp;&nbsp;On the radio,<BR>we never miss ... </i><BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://airamerica.com/listen"><B>&nbsp;Rachel Maddow&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Mon-Fri &nbsp; 6-8PM CT)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://dialup.novamradio.com:8000/live.m3u"><b>&nbsp;Mike Malloy&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Mon-Fri &nbsp; 8-11PM CT)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://archive.wort-fm.org/xml/mf.xml"><B>&nbsp;Mel &amp; Floyd&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;And we often listen to ... </i><BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/logs.html"><B>&nbsp;As&nbsp;It&nbsp;Happens&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Monday-Friday)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://airamerica.com/ondemand/show/6630"><B>&nbsp;David Bender&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.green960.com/podcast/peterbcollins.xml"><B>&nbsp;Peter B. Collins&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Monday-Friday)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=dun"><B>&nbsp;Kathleen Dunn&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Monday-Friday)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=5"><B>&nbsp;CounterSpin&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.democracynow.org/"><B>&nbsp;Democracy Now&nbsp;</B><BR>with Amy Goodman<BR>&nbsp;(Monday-Friday)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.whiterosesociety.org/content/hartmann/hartmann.xml"><B>&nbsp;Thom Hartmann&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Monday-Friday)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://airamerica.com/listen"><B>&nbsp;Ron Kuby&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Mon-Fri &nbsp; 2-5PM CT)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/"><B>&nbsp;Media Matters&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.poliscifiradio.com/"><B>&nbsp;Poli Sci Fi Radio&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://politicsinmusic.podbean.com/feed/"><B>&nbsp;Politics in Music&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://radicalradio.org/"><B>&nbsp;Radical Radio&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://dialup.novamradio.com:8000/live.m3u"><B>&nbsp;Randi Rhodes&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(Mon-Fri &nbsp; 2-5PM CT)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.ringoffireradio.com/shows.asp"><B>&nbsp;Ring of Fire&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?show=128"><B>&nbsp;Sunday Sedition&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://www.harryshearer.com/news/le_show/"><B>&nbsp;Harry Shearer&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #FFFADC"><A HREF="http://whiterosesociety.org/Werbe.html"><B>&nbsp;Peter Werbe&nbsp;</B><BR>&nbsp;(weekly)&nbsp;</A></SPAN> <BR><BR> <DIV align="right"><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd" class="font11">&nbsp;&nbsp;<A HREF="#radio"><FONT COLOR=blue>PERMANENT LINK</FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="1" WIDTH=300 border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH=300 BGcolor=darkred class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor=ivory class="fonty"><B> Do we know the answers to <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/911.html">these questions about September 11?</a><BR><BR>Of course not. Nobody will know the answers until there's an open and honest investigation.<BR><BR>But anyone courageous enough to <I>think</I> can see that the pertinent questions for any serious "investigation" were never asked, let alone answered, by the official investigators.<BR><BR></B> <CENTER><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/911investigationsticker.jpg" border="3" width="233" height="78"></A></CENTER> <DIV align="right"><BR> <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dddddd">&nbsp;&nbsp;More: &nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/911.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><B>unknownnews.org/911.html</B></FONT></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;</SPAN></div> </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <BR><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="69" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/RSSfeed.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/RSS-button.gif" alt="Subscribe to our RSS feed" border="0" width="54" height="41"></A> </td></tr></table> <DIV align="left"> Hey, we now offer an RSS feed<BR>of <i>Unknown News</i> headlines,<BR>updated whenever we update the site. 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