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<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html">Bad cops</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/google.html">Got Google?</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html">Debunked</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/DrRuhs.html">Dr Herb Ruhs</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">Latest update</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html">Unknown news you might have missed</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/wow.html">Words of wisdom</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr"> </TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="635" BGcolor=white class="fonta"> <A NAME=05></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred> <NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-05.html"><font color=white><b>Tuesday<BR>May&nbsp; 5, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-835></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Ireland, they're going to junk the unreliable voting machines and go back to counting paper ballots. So they're going to do democracy right, in Ireland. Why can't we do that in America? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/irish-reject-e-voting-go-back-to-paper.ars">Ars&nbsp;Technica</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1143></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Minnesota, the state's highest court has ruled that people convicted of drunk driving on the basis of the Intoxilyzer breath test device are entitled to see the machine's source code, to determine whether it's reliable. It's reminiscent of voting rights activists wanting to see the innards of the machine that counts or miscounts votes. Everybody hates drunk drivers, sure, and this ruling opens a hell of a can of worms, but the principle remains the same and it's a good principle &#151; if the machines' reliability can't be proven then the machines ain't worth diddly. <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/protest1.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="226"> <p> "Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters." <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Frederick&nbsp;Douglass</i> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_12267906?source=rss">Pioneer&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-228></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a surprising and disappointing ruling, the California Supreme Court has ruled that private schools are free to discriminate. The case came from a Lutheran school's expulsion of two 16-year-old girls who self-identified as lesbians, but the implications of the court's green light to discriminate seem even broader than that. As Steve Benen points out, this is a very pungent reason to oppose school vouchers. If private schools want to discriminate perhaps that's their right, but if they're taking tax dollars then they damned well better be operating under the principles of <i>liberty and justice for all</i>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_05/018004.php">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=hum-522></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Obama administration joined a federal judge Wednesday in urging Congress to end a racial disparity by equalizing prison sentences for dealing and using crack versus powdered <nobr> cocaine.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Excellent. Thank you, President Obama. Congress, please, get 'er done. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090429/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/crack_laws">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-830></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An official with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has ordered internet service providers to block everybody in the state from accessing on-line gambling sites. This is, of course, wrong-headed and obvious censorship. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10231683-38.html">CNet&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=luu-1227></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As David Souter retires from the Supreme Court, it's a little annoying but not surprising that he's being consistently referred to as one of the Court's most "liberal" voices. Souter ain't no liberal and he never has been. He's a moderate, a judge whose opinions have been thoughtful but never dogmatic, and I'd give him a general pat on the back for making more decisions that make sense than that don't. But if he's "liberal" I'm an orangutan's aunt. Souter is "liberal" only in comparison to the cro magnons he's shared the bench with.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" 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 border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/yelling.jpg" alt="Fools on parade" border="0" width="125" height="125"></TD></TR></TABLE><I><B>Politicians & pundits</B></I><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>America's mainstream political discourse is dominated by lies, insults, general nuttiness, just plain stupidity from right-wing commentators and politicians. And there's really no left-tilted equivalent, since anyone who offers blunt criticism of the right (even when such criticism is warranted and true) is "outside the mainstream", by definition</i>.<BR> <!-- =politicians --> <BR><A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hKVhiJKrlAeZef28sPf4bXuiSRQwD97T3V3G0">Foxx (R-North Carolina) says murder of gay icon Matthew Shepard was "a hoax"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/28/mcconnell-specters-switch_n_192434.html">McConnell (R-Kentucky) says Specter's party switch is a "threat to the country"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/30/condi-president-makes-it-legal/">Former Secretary of State Rice channels Nixon: The President authorized torture, and that makes it legal</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/04/30/rice-al-qaeda-a-greater-threat-than-nazi-germany/">More Rice: Al Qaeda is a greater threat to America than Nazi Germany ever was</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/04/gop-party-chair-michael-steele-just.html">Republican chair Steele accuses Democrats of pushing "socialism"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/illegals-illegals-illegals/barbara-coe-wishes-swine-flu-o/">Right-wing activist wishes swine flu on President Obama</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/30/rnc-pulls-video-showing-m_n_193602.html">Republican National Committee posts, then pulls, video of mock-Obama criticizing troops, thanking Ayers</A><BR> <BR><!-- =pundits --><I>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fearmongers and well-funded seditionists at Fox News and elsewhere are hyping hysterical lies about the Obama administration, raising a crescendo of right-wing hyper-panic, and knowing full well that with every lie they tell in mass media, it becomes a little more likely that some nut with a gun will take a shot at the President.</I><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/gun-toting-hatemongers-theyre-ba-ack">Arch-right reaches out to gun-toting hatemongers</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/saddest-thing-you%E2%80%99ll-see-today">Anti-gay hate groups: Because of gay marriage, "people will die"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-29/gun-show-nation/">Screeds of radio hosts Beck, Savage, and Jones fuel gun-enthusiasts' anger</A><BR> <!-- =Beck --><!-- bank robber --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-beck.jpg" alt="Fox's Glenn Beck" border="1" width="100" height="100"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904300038">Fox's Beck falsely claims that under DHS report, "a teabag person is kind of a threat possibly to the United States"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/05/02/glenn_beck_defends_wanting_to_pull_out_fingernails_and_peel_skin_off_with_a_cheese_grater.php">Fox's Beck defends wanting to pull out fingernails and peel skin off with a cheese grater</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/26/broder/index.html"><I>Washington Post</i>'s Broder wants absolute immunity for everyone involved in torture</A><BR> <!-- =Fox News --> <BR><A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/139040/fox_news_continues_to_hallucinate_about_a_socialist_fascist_menace_--_and_it%27s_causing_real_damage/">Fox News continues to hallucinate about a socialist/fascist menace &#151; and it's causing real damage</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/137738/fox_news%27_unhinged%2C_irrational_obama_attacks_stir_up_violent_right-wing_militants/">Fox News' unhinged, irrational Obama attacks stir up violent right-wing militants</A><BR> <!-- =Hannity --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="140" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-hannity.jpg" alt="Fox's Sean Hannity" border="1" width="120" height="80"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001254/">Fox's Hannity denies Texas secession threat he once touted</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200905010046">Fox's Hannity says Obama will nominate somebody extremely radical" for Supreme Court, since Obama's policies have been "radically left" and "socialist"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200904290033?f=s_searchb">Fox's Henneberg repeats right-wing myth that hate crimes bill could gag ministers</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/torture/krauthammers-asterisks.html"><I>Washington Post</i>'s Krauthammer endorses torture</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904290042"><I>Washington Post</i>'s Krauthammer says Obama is pushing a "radical domestic agenda" to "establish a more social democratic America"</A><BR> <!-- =Limbaugh --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-limbaugh.jpg" alt="Rush Limbaugh" border="1" width="100" height="87"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001233/">Limbaugh casts Obama as "attack number two ... follow-up to <NOBR>9/11</NOBR>"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/limbaughwire/2009/05/01#0024">To replace Souter, Limbaugh says Obama is looking for "a teenage single mother who's gay, is a lesbian, who's dirt poor, African-American, and disabled"</A>, or <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200905010023">a radical who is a minority</A>, or <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200905010017">"somebody like Ward Churchill"</A>, or <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200905010022">"an illegal alien"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904300035">Limbaugh lies that Obama will release Guantanamo prisoners "in Montana or wherever else"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904300022">Limbaugh says Obama "is weakening this nation's ability to defend itself"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/04/30/dennis_miller_tea_partyers_are_the_only_people_obama_might_want_to_waterboard.php">Fox's Miller suggests Obama wants to waterboard tea-baggers</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/items/200904290032?f=s_search">Fox's Napolitano peddles paranoia about "swine flu," Obama's health care plan</A><BR> <!-- =O'Reilly --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-oreilly.jpg" alt="Fox's Bill O'Reilly" border="1" width="100" height="90"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904270042">Fox's O'Reilly says <i>New York Times</i> and MSNBC execs, Soros, ACLU's Romero are "America-haters"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/red-states-erik-erickson-writes-judge-s"><i>RedState</i> editor writes that Souter is a "goat f*cking child molester"</A><BR> <!-- =Savage --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-savage.jpg" alt="Michael Weiner (aka Michael Savage)" border="1" width="100" height="91"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904290030">Disney's Savage attacks Muslims in rant on swine flu and eating pork</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904270034">Disney's Savage suspects that "our dear friends in the Middle East cooked [swine flu] up " with "open border policies" in mind</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/138859/michelle_malkin_and_michael_savage_use_swine_flu_crisis_to_peddle_their_xenophobia/">Disney's Savage and blogger Malkin use swine flu crisis to peddle their xenophobia</A><BR> <!-- =Scarborough --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200904280008">MSNBC's Scarborough declares "if planes go into buildings ... blame Dana Priest" for exposing use of waterboarding</A><BR> <BR><I>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For all our adult lives we've been advocates for free speech. Without free speech there's no freedom, without censorship there's no tyranny, and we've always hated people who said "I'm for free speech, but&nbsp;..." but now we're two of them.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We're for free speech, but:&nbsp; When mass media "news" outlets spread blatant lies and fan the flames of misinformed fury to an audience of millions, that's a direct danger to democracy and it should be illegal.</I> <center><A NAME=debunk></A><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="325" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk-frame.html" width="325" height="1000" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="325" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="295" bgcolor=black class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="325" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html"><B>unknownnews.org/debunk.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></center><BR> <I>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And again, sure, there are left-wing commentators just as delusional as the right-wing's numerous nutballs. The difference is, left-wing nuts publish amateur blogs and zines, host cable-access shows, and can be heard muttering to themselves on buses ... while right-wing freaks and fibbers make a handsome living lying at professionally-published websites, writing factually-wrong but nationally syndicated newspaper columns, and airing their hokum and hysteria on big-budget radio and television shows.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's all brought to you by the same corporations and curiously well-funded foundations that control American industry, media, medicine, and politics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &#151;H&HH</i> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> now, President Obama gets his first crack at picking a Supreme Court justice, and the <A HREF="http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2009/05/via-tbogg-the-pending-retirement.html">right-wing sounds the Doomsday Alarm</A>, because whomever Obama appoints, he or she will be derided by the right as a communist, a judicial activist, a criminal-coddler, a godless heathen determined to rule by Sharia law, etc. Gotta say, I'm eating four-leaf clovers in hopes that Obama will defy his usual pattern and make a choice <i>not</i> calculated to mollify conservatives &#151; because they cannot be mollified. So instead, why not nominate someone who gives a damn about justice and the Constitution? Please, please, please&nbsp;... &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/67295.html">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=wrti-213></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia questioned the need for more privacy protections, a law teacher at Fordham gave his class an assignment to find out everything they legally could about Scalia. They found plenty, and Scalia isn't enchanted. A comment under the article sums it up: "The point. See Scalia missing it." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/fordham_law_class_collects_scalia_info_justice_is_steamed">ABA Journal</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=hum-529></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The increasingly deranged far-right is continuing to lie and scream about that DHS report, leaked a few weeks ago, concerning the increasing dangers posed by the deranged far-right. They're now running an ad, sponsored by a coalition of conservative organizations, including the American Family Association, Religious Freedom Coalition, Let Freedom Ring, United States Justice Foundation, Vision America, and Faith2Action, that's full of lies and distortions, and basically confirms that the DHS is absolutely right to be concerned about these loons and goons. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/dhs-report-why-right-willingly-conflating-itself-violent-extremists">Right&nbsp;Wing&nbsp;Watch</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=stpp-421></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Set to melodramatic action-movie music, this short video is designed to convey the message that the President of the United States is putting the nation at great peril of foreign or terror attack, and that <I>Barack Obama must be stopped</I>. I've been observing American politics for decades, and I've never seen a political ad quite this ... provocative? Treasonous? This isn't a political message &#151; it's just assassination fodder. And this isn't something put together by a blogger or wingnut activist, it's from Congressman John Boehner's website. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://donklephant.com/2009/04/30/new-gop-message-boo/">donklephant.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=hum-451></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another nut, convinced by right-wing liars that the Obama administration is about to confiscate everyone's guns, has killed two cops. I don't know what the solution is, but what Fox News and other well-funded bullsh*t artists are doing is somewhere between sedition and treason, and we tolerate it at the nation's peril. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/two-more-officers-killed-by-extremist">Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-43pct></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 43% of Republicans polled in Georgia think the state would be better off as an independent nation. And is it really surprising, that a political party that's built its success on racism and sexism has made Southern good ol' boys its backbone, has a lot of people who want to wave the rebel flag and secede from the Union all over again? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/amanda_lang/2009/05/poll-almost-half-of-georgia-go.php?ref=recmuck">Talking&nbsp;Points&nbsp;Memo</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-646></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After having his anonymity stripped away by a police investigation with no warrant or valid reason, blogger Thomas Rich is suing. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogger-files-lawsuit-after-being-outed.html">Legal&nbsp;Schnauzer</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =2222222222= --> <!-- =torture --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="145" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/torture-icon.jpg" alt="Torture is not an American ideal." border="1" width="125" height="167"></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=wrti-128></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The president stated in so many words: Waterboarding is torture, the previous administration has admitted that it waterboarded, and torture is a violation of international law," Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) said. "Once this is admitted, there must be an investigation. It forces the Justice Department on this path." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/probes-of-bush-administration/nadler-obamas-torture-comments-prove-probe-is-required-by-law/">whorunsgov.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=hum-129></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Amnesty International agrees with President Obama's assessment that waterboarding is torture. Because torture is a crime under domestic and international law, the next step is inescapable. The president must direct Attorney General Holder to investigate these criminal acts. There are no shortcuts to security and no shortcuts to restoring American <nobr> values.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090429003&lang=e">Amnesty&nbsp;International</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-335></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Spanish Judge, Baltasar Garzón, will proceed with war crime prosecutions against six Bush-Cheney administration officials: then-VP Cheney's chief of staff David Addington, former Assistant Attorney General and current Federal Judge Jay Bybee, former Under-Secretary of Defense Doug Feith, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Defense Department general counsel William Haynes II, and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General and now law professor at the University of California at Berkeley John Yoo. Thank you, Spain and Judge Garzón.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But wait, there's more. Garzón has also announced a preliminary criminal inquiry into other as-yet un-named Bush-Cheney officials over US torture policies at Guantanamo. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-29/prosecution-of-bush-six-back-on/">The&nbsp;Daily&nbsp;Beast</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-820></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Senate Armed Services Committee has concluded that two prisoners were tortured to death under the Bush-Cheney administration's torture policies. Picture me scowling &#151; I don't want to make light of two murders, but from previous reports that I can quickly find the number of prisoners tortured to death is <A HREF="http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/02/hbc-90004387">at least several</A>, and from reports I remember but can't quickly find, the number is "dozens". Either way, it's more than two. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.pubrecord.org/torture/874-senate-panels-report-links-detainees-murders-to-bushs-torture-policy.html">The&nbsp;Public&nbsp;Record</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-517></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 75% of Americans approve of torture if used "rarely", "sometimes" or "often". This poll tells us that unless there <I>are</i> prosecutions, to make the point perfectly clear to everyone, the US cannot just "look forward" and vow not to do it again. It also reveals how difficult it might be to get a jury to convict. My view is that trials should be held and then Obama could, if he wanted to, pardon those he believes acted in good conscience... <nobr>&nbsp; --Sven Goldstein</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://people-press.org/report/510/public-remains-divided-over-use-of-torture">Pew&nbsp;Research&nbsp;Center</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1136></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Prison guards jailed for abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq are planning to appeal against their convictions on the ground that recently released CIA torture memos prove that they were scapegoats for the Bush <nobr> Administration.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article6207484.ece">London&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-720></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The CIA paid private-sector psychologists upwards of $1000 per day to design its torture program. Psychologists, eh? Flashback to <A HREF="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/15/headlines#7">last summer</A>:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">In her new book <A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780385526395"><i>The Dark Side</i></A>, Jane Mayer reveals a former president of the American Psychological Association (APA), Martin Seligman, was invited by the CIA in the spring of 2002 to speak at the Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school in San Diego. In the 1960s, Seligman experimented on dogs and found that by shocking a dog repeatedly and randomly, he could brutalize it emotionally into a state of complete passivity. Seligman spoke for three hours about his theory of learned helplessness. His theories were later adapted for use in CIA prisons. Seligman is the second APA president to be linked to the CIA's torture program. Last year, it was revealed former APA president Joseph Matarazzo is a partner in the Spokane firm Mitchell & Jessen that was contracted to design the CIA interrogations program. Unlike other medical associations, the APA has refused to unequivocally condemn <nobr> torture.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last autumn, the APA <A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2008/09/18/apa-just-says-no-to-torture/">changed its rules</A>, so it's now unprofessionally un-acceptable for a psychologist to assist in war crimes by providing expert advice to torturers. But every time I read about psychologists who were involved in America's torture program, I remember how cooperative some psychologists were, and how silent the APA was about it, and how hard it was to get the APA to give half a damn. And the psychologists who did the work &#151; the <A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/people/765/000087504/">Josef Mengeles</A> of their field &#151; remain practicing psychologists in good standing. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=7471217&page=1">ABC&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-1118></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Despite Obama's assurances, a Justice Department special counsel is quietly ratcheting up his probe into a closely related subject: the CIA's destruction of hundreds of hours of videotape showing the waterboarding of two high-value Qaeda <nobr> suspects.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sounds sweet, but it's from <i>Newsweek</i>, so the spin is probably over-dramatized, and the implications frankly can't be trusted. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newsweek.com/id/195678">Newsweek</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- main page --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="270" align="left"><tr><td class="fonta" 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="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-01HR.html"><b>Hope is poison of the will<BR>in the face of fear</b></A><BR>by Herb Ruhs, MD<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-01HR.html"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/Obama-silhouette.jpg" border="3" width="250" height="230"></A><BR><BR> We have developed a new set of oppressors that, in general, are very, very much like the oppressors that we threw off in our Revolutionary War. In fact some of the same concentrations of inherited wealth that oppressed those revolutionaries through the agency of the British East India Company are today attempting to do the same thing through control of our financial system. The plan this time seems to be to crush us economically and then come in and buy up the wreckage at salvage prices so that we are once again reduced to the status of indentured servants (that's what you are now if you can't afford to quit your job and lose your health benefits) of absentee landlords.&nbsp;... <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-01HR.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><i>...&nbsp;Continue&nbsp;reading&nbsp;...</i></FONT></A> &nbsp; </div></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-625></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; According to a poll sponsored by <I>DailyKos</I>, 53% of Americans want either a formal investigation or a criminal prosecution of Bush-Cheney officials for their torture policies. I&nbsp;don't want either, I want <I>both.</I> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/probes-of-bush-administration/weekend-open-thread-majority-wants-torture-probe/">whorunsgov.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-517a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just how screwed up is US religion? This screwed up: Christian churchgoers are more likely than the un-churched to support torture. <nobr>&nbsp; --JR Mooneyham</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/survey-more-often-you-go-church-more">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network, distilled&nbsp;by Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-826></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; George W Bush wants a full investigation of the torture allegations, or at least that's what he said, before it was widely known that the torture was ordered in his White House. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_04/017932.php">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-5166></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Torture victims will be allowed to sue a Boeing subsidiary over the company's involvement in the Bush-Cheney CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iki_qAPktt6luZBX_0pIY1dM-LLwD97RKCGO2">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-752></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Bush-Cheney administration operated a secret torture prison in Poland. This ain't news, but there's now a little more evidence to be studiously ignored. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/04/28/poland_prison/">Der Spiegel</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-438></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">George W. Bush's Justice Department said subjecting a person to the near drowning of waterboarding was not a crime and didn't even cause pain, but Ronald Reagan's Justice Department thought otherwise, prosecuting a Texas sheriff and three deputies for using the practice to get <nobr> confessions.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This long article goes over a lot of known coverage of the Bush so-called lawyers' opinions. But the court cases' casting doubt on their analysis' is rather damning. It was the Bush cabal using cherry-picking to cover their asses. <nobr>&nbsp; --Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.truthout.org/042709J">TruthOut</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- nsr --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/nsrheterosexuals.jpg" alt="No special rights for heterosexuals" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=wrti-1000></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A bill to allow equal rights in marriage passed the state Senate in Maine, and is expected to pass the House there. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/newsupdate.php?updates/gay-marriage-passes-on-first-vote">Portland Press-Herald</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-630></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">For the first time in a <I>Washington Post</I>/ABC News poll, supporters of gay marriage outnumber opponents: 49% are in favor versus 46% opposed. In addition, 53% believe gay marriages held legally in another state should be recognized as legal in their <nobr> states.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/04/30/more_support_for_gay_marriage.html">Political&nbsp;Wire</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =bailout= --> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-712></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), says the bank stress tests leave lots to be desired. She has apparently been given no authority to do anything beyond issue press releases, but her press releases are enlightening enough that I suspect the Obama administration wishes she wasn't there. And she's the only major player within smelling distance of the TARP disaster who deserves any respect. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090427/bs_nm/us_regulation_summit_tarp_stresstests;_ylt=AuHioIf7IMcDzuPJ.qHovou573QA">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=sla-730></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Democratic-controlled</i> Senate has rejected the notion of allowing judges to rewrite mortgages to keep people from losing their homes (like the law allowed, thirty years ago). All the Republicans voted against it, along with twelve Democrats. "There's been resistance", Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) explains. "By whom? The banks. The banks who brought us this crisis in America have resisted this change to do something about mortgage foreclosure."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You know what pisses me off to no end? Just why are these CongressCritters even trying to reach a compromise with leading banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo (or any other company that is the object of any bill they are working on)? Well, remember all that money they gave these same damn banks that overcharge us on credit cards and mortgage payments and god help you if you use another bank's ATM or bounce a check&nbsp;... Oops, got off on a rant, but anyways, all that money that the CongressCritters gave the banks that the banks can give to their lobbyists to give right back to the critters, oh but not all the money, they still need their bonuses. And here I thought they would be trying to reach a compromise with each other, Repub and Dem or Congress and the Pres. <nobr>&nbsp; --Diesel</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsnews/idINN3054983020090430?rpc=33">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=aadse-7087></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bailed out version of General Motors will be about half-owned by the US government. Republicans are already going even apesh*ttier than they've already been. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042700872.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-605></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ford Motor Co. outsold Toyota in April. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://freep.com/article/20090501/BUSINESS01/90501053/Ford+outsells+Toyota">Detroit&nbsp;Free&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-738></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair wants her agency to have broader powers to intervene, oversee, and potentially close more than just banks, but all kinds of financial institutions. She also says that the concept of banks being "too big to fail" is "a 25-year old idea that ought to be tossed into the dustbin."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've never heard of Bair before, but she seems to <i>get it</i>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/04/27/bair_economic_club_new_york_96219.html">Real&nbsp;Clear&nbsp;Politics</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=hum-107></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bank of America has dumped Ken Lewis as Chairman of the Board of Directors, but they're keeping him as CEO, because he's been so very effective at <strike>running</strike> ruining the company. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/30/news/companies/lewis_bank_of_america_out.breakingviews/">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <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" alt="'The Thinker' statue" 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" alt="Stop and think" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "When the chips are down and we're under duress, our character is tested. Either we're strong and sensible &#151; sometimes heroic &#151; or we're weak and crazy, abandoning our values. The current Republican predicament is revealing for many reasons, but one thing we know for sure is this: in their time of crisis, they've become the Torture Party (among other things). I can't imagine that history will be kind to them for this." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/05/the_torture_par.html">Bob Cesca</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "People get fat, they leave their socks on the floor, they drink too much. Human beings-oh man, are we ever irritating. So incredibly irritating. That doesn't make us sick, or in need of therapy-for our own good. Imagine the arrogance of telling your partner what they need to do ... for their own good. Rather like reducing them to the role of a small child. Incredible, really. Why would anyone want to be in a relationship like that?" <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://whynotresist.blogsome.com/2009/04/30/pastimes-of-the-late-capitalist-middling-classes/">J.S. Magruder</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's time these frauds were shown for what they are (beyond "greedy bastards"): They are traitors. For thirty years we have heard the deregulated capitalist cultists conflate spreading "free markets" with spreading "freedom". They're spreading neither. They're spreading something else." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/21556">Michael Fox</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The religious right is unwilling to participate in the social contract: the understanding that we all have a voice in directing the course of the state, but the price of that freedom is not always having one's own way. The religious right has no interest in that bargain. If they don't get to win, they don't want to participate. And as soon as events are not going their way, they immediately begin calling for armed revolt and insurrection, determined to achieve their goals by violence if they can't achieve them by democracy. The most insane aspect of this is that no one is taking away any of <i>their</i> rights - their clamoring for rebellion is purely because they can no longer control the lives of <i>others</i>." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.daylightatheism.org/2009/05/anti-gay-bigotry-is-anti-american.html">Ebonmuse</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We're at a critical moment in the debate about torture. We're at the exact moment historically we've been at six times over the past forty years. What's happened since really 1970, right up to the present, because we've been engaged in torture continuously throughout this entire period, is that Congress and the press will conduct a major exposé of torture; the public will be momentarily aroused; there will be no sustained investigation, no prosecution, no penalty; the practice will continue. A few more years later, another revelation, another round of debate, discussion, nothing done, and then it emerges again.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "So I think what's fairly certain to say, that if the past teaches us anything, that unless there is serious prosecution and something beyond simply a legislative investigation, something more binding, something more permanent, that within five or six years, we'll be faced with another major torture scandal just like this one, except it will be worse, because the world will remember this exposé. They'll think that we tried to correct, and we didn't correct, and they'll realize that this is in fact American state policy, that torture is part of the apparatus of American power." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/1/torture_expert_alfred_mccoy_obama_reluctance">Alfred McCoy</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=sla-648></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The state of Florida has outsourced jobs answering its food stamp hotline to a call center in India. The stupidity of American government is truly only challenged by the stupidity of American business. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7452561&page=1">ABC&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =world= --><!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-202></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Iraqi and US forces have arrested three leading members of a Sunni militia on suspicion of carrying out attacks - including downing an American military helicopter - before they joined sides with US-led forces to fight the insurgency, Iraqi officials said <nobr> Sunday.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Civil war is coming whether or not we withdraw from Iraq now or ten years from now. Maliki, with US complicity, is moving to eliminate competition before the next election. <nobr>&nbsp; --Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.military.com/news/article/iraqi-allies-arrested-for-past-attacks.html?col=1186032310810">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=wrti-645></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Vice President Joe Biden will speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual policy conference, along with Rep. Jane Harman (D-California), Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), who are the Senate Democratic and Republican Whips, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Virginia), etc., etc.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And this, in a nutshell, is why Middle East peace is unattainable. <nobr>&nbsp; --Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/biden-numerous-lawmakers-appearing-at-aipac-2009-05-02.html">The&nbsp;Hill</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-955></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration is trying to get cuddly with Pakistan's opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, in advance of the government's impending collapse. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/03/usa-pakistan-opposition-sharif">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-855></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Obama administration is increasingly treating its growing intervention in Pakistan as a separate counter-insurgency war for which it is demanding the same kind of extraordinary military powers obtained by the Bush administration in Afghanistan and Iraq.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">This was the main message delivered by Pentagon officials on Capitol Hill over the last few days, together with increasingly dire warnings that without immediate and unconditional US military funding for Pakistan, the government could <nobr> collapse.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/paki-m02.shtml">World&nbsp;Socialist&nbsp;Website</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =dc= --> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1120></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">A fifth patient has tested positive for HIV, and seven more tested positive for hepatitis after being exposed to contaminated medical equipment at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, the agency said Friday. That brings the total who have tested positive for hepatitis to <nobr> 33.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gives new meaning to "taking it up the ass" as applied to veterans. Explain to me again why there is an alternative explanation to all this beyond a ruling class concept, as publicly voiced by Kissinger, that soldiers (and presumably including their families) are "just dumb animals." <nobr>&nbsp; --Herb Ruhs, MD</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2009/05/01/national/a143433D62.DTL">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-908></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mere weeks after the <i>Chicago Tribune</i> published an exposé of the Illinois town of Crestwood's long history of <A HREF="http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-crestwood-water-bd19-apr19,0,3074699.story">knowingly poisoning residents with contaminated drinking water</A>, the EPA has raided the village hall and seized the related records. So someone in the Obama administration is reading the papers. Now can we get some action on Don Siegelman, Paul Minor, and eight years of Bush-Cheney administration constitution-shredding? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-crestwood-water-raid-30-apr30,0,1680021.story">Chicago&nbsp;Tribune</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=ylttthp-444></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than <nobr> Republicans.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So says Arlen Specter, the long-time Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, in announcing that he'll run for re-election as a Democrat. Assuming Al Franken (D-Minnesota) is allowed to join the Senate before he dies of old age, this gives Democrats the much-vaunted 60-vote majority they've pretended to need to shut down the Republicans' perpetual pretend-filibusters, and ... sigh.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Happiness is probably the appropriate response, and maybe I'll be happy at some point, but reading the news as Specter made his announcement all I could think was, what a putz. If Arlen Specter is a Democrat, he's the reason I'll never be a Democrat. He's switched parties only because the polls say he can't win re-election as a Republican. <A NAME=flatline></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><I><B>Flatliners</B></I><BR><center><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flatline.jpg" alt="Fools on parade" border="0" width="235" height="65"></center> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under Democrat President Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it is an interesting coincidence." <DIV align="right">Rep. <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/28/bachmann-flu-democrats/">Michelle Bachmann</A> <nobr>(R-Minnesota)</nobr></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "FDR applied just the opposite formula &#151; the Hoot-Smalley Act, which was a tremendous burden on tariff restrictions, and then, of course, trade barriers and the regulatory burden and tax barriers. That's what we saw happen under FDR. That took a recession and blew it into a full-scale depression. The American people suffered for almost 10 years under that kind of thinking." <DIV align="right">Rep. <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_04/017967.php">Michelle Bachmann</A> <nobr>(R-Minnesota)</nobr></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I don't think many Americans are going to agree that the Republican party has become too conservative." <DIV align="right">Sen. <A HREF="http://badattitudes.com/MT/archives/2009/04/demint_julep_an.html">Jim DeMint</A> <nobr>(R-South Carolina)</nobr></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Too often today, liberals are using below-the-belt tactics against conservatives and paying no price whatsoever. Meanwhile, those on the right like to pat themselves on the back for being above it all. This is like a boxer priding himself on never taking off his gloves while his opponent nearly beats him to death with his bare firsts. But in the end, there's not much to be said for lovable losers. Conservatives should realize that fair play isn't going to pay any dividends.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "While we conservatives don't have to stoop quite as low as the left has, we do need to start giving them a taste of their own medicine, if only to make them think twice about the way they're treating our side." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_05/018006.php">John Hawkins</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Republicans don't like him because he's borderline sane sometimes, but there are <A HREF="http://www.anonymousliberal.com/2009/04/time-to-aggressively-woo-collins-and.html">far saner Republicans</A> than Arlen Specter. I don't like him because for decades he been a friggin' pimple on the butt of politics. For as long as I've been aware of him, he's been an occasional voice for sanity in his public statements, who nonetheless could usually be counted on to crumble like moldy cheese and vote the wrong way in a crunch. And now he's a Democrat? <A HREF="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/05/specter-begging-for-a-primary-challenge.php">My ass</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wanna know what difference it'll make, having Specter as a Democrat? <A HREF="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-casts-another-vote-against-dem-agenda-2009-04-30.html">So do I</A>. But if fake filibusters can no longer be counted on to block any and every legislation or nominee that's even slightly progressive in the Senate, rest assured, Democrats like Harry Reid and Arlen Specter will find new ways to block things and new scapegoats to blame.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We're celebrating Specter's conversion by pledging a $25 donation to <A HREF="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/05/01/sestak_specter/index.html">any decent Democrat</A> who runs against Specter for the Senate nomination next year. Specter can put whatever letter he wants after his name &#151; D, R, I think F would be appropriate &#151; but it would be pretty dang sad if Democrats actually elect this putz as a Democrat. (Amusingly, I typed the bit about $25 before seeing <A HREF="http://openleft.com/diary/13081/would-you-step-up-to-help-a-progressive-challenger-to-specter">this great idea</A> from Adam Green at <i>OpenLeft</i>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/specter-to-switch-parties.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-707></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A week ago Monday, five Congresspersons were arrested at a protest at the Sudanese embassy in Washington DC. A tip of the hat to Donna Edwards (D-Maryland), Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), John Lewis (D-Georgia), Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) and Lynn Woolsey (D-California). &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://allafrica.com/stories/200904280294.html">All&nbsp;Africa</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-844></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Many American's enjoying their Obama tax credit should not be spending every cent. Some of that money will have to be repaid to the <nobr> IRS.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://donklephant.com/2009/05/01/some-tax-credits-will-have-to-be-paid-back/">donklephant.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-232></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another Bush-Cheney official has been charged with corruption. Someone please prep a comfortable prison cell for J. Robert Flores. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043002302.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-923></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) is being investigated for allegedly using his 2008 Presidential campaign funds to pay off his mistress and perhaps keep his affair hushed up. Edwards trashed his own reputation and career and basically made himself a joke by cheating on his cancer-stricken wife while publicly denying it &#151; he's a scumbag, certainly. But even if he's guilty of the crime, it's jaywalking compared to the far more serious crimes that far more famous and powerful politicians have gotten away with over the past eight years.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And still, I absolutely want Edwards investigated and prosecuted if the allegations are true &#151; alongside the trials for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Ridge, Ashcroft, Gonzales, Bybee, and all the other criminals whose crimes left hundreds of thousands of people dead. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/67400.html">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-714></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Looks like a Democrat might be challenging for the seat long held by the godawful and corrupt anti-Democrat Jean Harman (D-California). Harman now laughably claims she's a <A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/jane_harman_isnt_backing_off.php?ref=fp7">"warrior on behalf of our constitution"</A>, but Americans with a memory remember that she was a leading Democrat for the Bush-Cheney administration's illegal wiretapping program. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/tangled-in-wiretap-opposed-by-left-harman-could-face-tough-primary-2009-04-27.html">The&nbsp;Hill</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-218></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The US government is abandoning espionage-law charges against two former lobbyists for a pro-Israel advocacy group, federal officials announced this morning.&nbsp;...<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">If the high-profile trial had gone forward, it was expected to feature testimony from a number of senior Bush administration officials, including former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, former national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, and former high-level Defense Department officials Paul D. Wolfowitz and Douglas J. <nobr> Feith.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Something smells. <nobr>&nbsp; --Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050101310.html?hpid=topnews">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-831></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The sheer nutbaggery over Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame continues, but I'm a bit baffled. Obama thinks abortion ought to be legal, like it's been legal for decades. <A HREF="http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/05/obama_notre_dame_catholics_app.html">Most Catholics have no problem with this</A>. To my thinking a commencement speech means little and an honor from a university means next to nothing, but having him at a Catholic school sure sets off the wingnuts' hackles. This whole dust-up is the very definition of much ado about nothing, and it seems to be the most important issue on the right-wing of American politics. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/04/27/former-vatican-ambassador-rejects-notre-dame-medal-over-obama-in/">Politics&nbsp;Daily</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=health></A><A NAME=science></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/medicine.gif" alt="medicine" 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" alt="science" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><A HREF="http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/medicalmj08.htm">Study of 4000 indicates marijuana discourages use of hard drugs</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/uoc--pdt043009.php">Popular diabetes treatment could trigger pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://wwwjp.blackwellpublishing.com/bw/press/pressitem.asp?ref=2197">Chlamydia may play role in a type of arthritis</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/worlds-most-ancient-race-traced-in-dna-study-1677113.html">World's most ancient race traced in DNA study</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-1111></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Republican) illegally handed out $387,000 in cash from a slush fund to his "volunteers" during his 2006 campaign against Democrat Ned Lamont. The Federal Election Commission pretended to investigate this during the Bush-Cheney administration, and now, under the new administration, they've decided that the law should be enforced. Lieberman's campaign will pay a $50,000 fine.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2004 Presidential candidate Al Sharpton, meanwhile, is being assessed <A HREF="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/01/al-sharpton-fined-by-fec-feels-better/">a fine more than five times as big</A>, for violations totaling almost exactly the same as Lieberman's. Is the difference that Lieberman's white and Sharpton's black, or is it that Lieberman's an insider and Sharpton's not? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/po_20090501_8172.php">National&nbsp;Journal</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-739a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration is trying to roll back another ludicrous move from the Bush-Cheney era, which allows coal mine operators to dump debris effectively anywhere they want. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE53Q57820090428">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-534></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Florida Senate has approved a flamboyantly silly and ugly new license plate, complete with a picture of Christ on a cross. What part of the separation of church and state do these fools fail to grasp? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article995257.ece">St.&nbsp;Petersburg&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=hum-346></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Justice Department is investigating Google over the search giant's cool book-search function. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/04/google_book_sea_1.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis">Business&nbsp;Week</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-936></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) has given her backing to an initiative that would require parental notification before girls under 18 could get an abortion. Which is a roundabout way of saying, she wants at least a few pregnant teenaged girls to kill themselves every year. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.adn.com/news/government/legislature/abortion/story/782353.html">Anchorage&nbsp;Daily&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1058></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Two teenagers undoubtedly beat a Mexican immigrant to death, and an <i>all-white jury</i> in Pennsylvania has convicted the perps ... of simple assault. Nobody likes riots in the streets and I'm generally opposed on principle, but I don't understand why we don't see such riots on an almost daily basis. <nobr>&nbsp; --Angry Annie</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/02/pa.immigrant.beating/index.html">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =3333333333= --> <!-- GrandLake --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="260" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/GrandLake0421.jpg" alt="pictire of bank robber" border="0" width="240" height="155"></td></tr></table> <!-- =corporations= --> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-1052></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pharma giant Merck created a phony medical journal and used it to publish phony reports on how good Merck's drugs are. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.bioethics.net/2009/05/merck-makes-phony-peerreview-journal/">bioethics.net</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=sla-652></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; American Express is trying to squeeze its customers into snipping their cards into little bits. Of course, every time they downgrade a customer's credit limit they're damaging that customer's credit rating, but there's no legal penalty for this. It's yet another example of how libertarian principles of a glorified and unregulated free market work really well, but only in libertarians' imaginations. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus29-2009apr29,0,5853535,full.column">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=sla-700></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hasbro and the Discovery Channel have announced plans to launch a new cable channel together. It's in Revelation, people, or it should be. If we're pretending that America's economic system is capitalism (not corporatism or fascism), riddle me this: How does a new toymaker compete with Hasbro &#151; the corporate grandfather of Battleship, Clue, G.I. Joe, Life, Lincoln Logs, Magic: The Gathering, Milton Bradley, Monopoly, Parker Brothers, Playskool, Pokemon, Risk, Scrabble, Tonka, Trivial Pursuit. Wizards of the Coast, etc. &#151; when Hasbro has a TV channel aimed at children? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/04/hasbro-and-disc.html">Entertainment&nbsp;Weekly</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=fsoi-414></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Disney is pursuing a legal ploy that could give the corporate behemoth control of Tchaikovsky's <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> ballet. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/an-attempt-to-stop-the-disney-machine/">Deadline&nbsp;Hollywood&nbsp;Daily</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-857></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Associated Press wants Google to give AP-sourced items priority in the general Google search engine, over websites and blogs reprinting AP's stuff. I'm having a hard time understanding how that's an unreasonable request. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/30/associated-press-google-business-media-apee.html?feed=rss_business_media">Forbes</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- Pirate Bay --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="143" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/logo-piratebay.jpg" alt="Pirate Bay" border="0" width="123" height="123"></td></tr></table><!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-900></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Pirate Bay trial saw the defendants trot out "the Google defense" on multiple occasions: Google indexes .torrent files, so what's wrong with our doing it? That point didn't sway the judge, who saw a world of difference between what the two sites did, but it did resonate with at least one Internet coder, who last week rolled out The Pirate <nobr> Google.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/pirate-google-sets-sail-to-show-copyright-hypocrisy.ars">Ars&nbsp;Technica</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =4444444444= --> <!-- =journalism= --> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1134></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reporter Brian Ross failed to do even minimal vetting before ABC News aired his interview with CIA officer John Kiriakou in 2007, who claimed &#151; falsely, we now know &#151; that alleged terrorist Abu Zubaydah "broke" in barely half a minute of waterboarding, and gave his interrogators the information they wanted. It's now known that Zubaydah was waterboarded (tortured) 83 times, which would suggest that he didn't actually "break" after half a minute.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ross's report was so widely echoed in mainstream media that the "half a minute" claim is not pretty much conventional wisdom, and like a lot of conventional wisdom it's a lie. Will there be any consequences for a reporter who's big scoop turns out to be bogus? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/abc/brian_ross_reporting_questioned_by_nytimes_nytimes_reporting_questioned_by_source_115149.asp">MediaBistro</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=wrti-827></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Under increasing pressure to correct the factual misstatements of columnist George Will, the <I>Washington Post</i>'s opinion page editor is making it clear that he values Will more than facts. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/04/29/hiatt-lashes-out/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-102></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Los Angeles Times</i> notes Pretty White Woman Syndrome, but it's been obvious for years: It's news when something awful happens to a pretty white woman or, to a lesser extent, a cute white child. If it happens to anyone else, it's barely news at all. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hitandrun4-2009may04,0,4436957.story">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-646a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sam Dodson is a reporter who got arrested and has been in jail ever since, and he's now on a hunger strike protesting his continued imprisonment. He was arrested for refusing to turn off his video camera in the lobby of a courthouse, which probably shouldn't be a crime. But now he's being held because he won't provide his legal name. And I scratch my head. Hey, I'm a big believer in pseudonyms and I don't carry plastic for identification purposes, but "Who are you?" is not an unreasonable question for authorities to ask after someone's been arrested. For all anyone knows this guy could be wanted for murder. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/prweb2381004.htm">PRWeb</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-439></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Poland's Krystian Zimerman, widely regarded as one of the finest pianists in the world, created a furor Sunday night in his debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall when he announced this would be his last performance in America because of the nation's military policies overseas. <A NAME=mysterylinks></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><b><i>Our mystery&nbsp;links</i></b></A><BR>(mostly just for fun)</center><BR>Links in <FONT COLOR=red><B>red</B></FONT> are not safe for work, and links in <FONT COLOR=magenta><B>pink</B></FONT> include audio and/or video.<center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/myslinks.html" width="295" height="225" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html">... more mystery links</A>&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before playing the final work on his recital, Karol Szymanowski's "Variations on a Polish Folk Theme," Zimerman sat silently at the piano for a moment, almost began to play, but then turned to the audience. In a quiet but angry voice that did not project well, he indicated that he could no longer play in a country whose military wants to control the whole world.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Get your hands off of my country," he said. He also made reference to the US military detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. About 30 or 40 people in the audience walked out, some shouting obscenities. "Yes," he answered, "some people when they hear the word military start marching." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/04/krystian-zimermans-shocking-walt-disney-concert-hall-debut.html">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-715></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They're calling it H1N1 flu now, because calling it swine flu was killing the pork industry and because you don't catch it from eating bacon. But there's at least circumstantial evidence that this bug should more accurately be called the NAFTA flu, or the Smithfield Farms flu. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.narconews.com/Issue57/article3512.html">Narco&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1013></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Noted smart guy Steve Wolfram has invented a new improved search engine that pretty much does the thinking for you.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The real innovation, however, is in its ability to work things out "on the fly", according to its British inventor, Dr Stephen Wolfram. If you ask it to compare the height of Mount Everest to the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, it will tell you. Or ask what the weather was like in London on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated, it will cross- check and provide the answer. Ask it about D sharp major, it will play the scale. Type in "10 flips for four heads" and it will guess that you need to know the probability of coin-tossing. If you want to know when the next solar eclipse over Chicago is, or the exact current location of the International Space Station, it can work it <nobr> out.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/an-invention-that-could-change-the-internet-for-ever-1678109.html">The&nbsp;Independent</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =5555555555= --><!-- =peculiar --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="127" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/peculiar.jpg" border="1" width="107" height="136"></td></tr></table> <!-- == --><A NAME=aadse-247></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For those of you blissfully ignorant of nonsense news, please note, there's been a kooky controversy recently because a contestant in the Miss USA contest was asked to express an opinion on gay marriage, and responded with a semi-coherent and ill-informed spiel that amounted to, gay marriage is wrong. She thinks it cost her the Miss USA crown, and I hope she's right about that but I really don't care about beauty pageants.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But now the contestant in question, Carrie Prejean, a.k.a. Miss California USA, is becoming <A HREF="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/4/27/miss-california-carrie-prejean-signs-with-top-christian-publicity-firm.html">a right-wing celebrity</A> and <A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/miss.california.ad/">starring in the next anti-gay ad campaign</A> from the hatemongers at the National Organization for Marriage. She attends The Rock Church of San Diego, a hate church where the congregation is taught that pedophilia is central to the gay lifestyle, and other assorted bullsh*t that would make Jesus himself carry the cross off the church lawn. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-does-miss-californias-church.html">Holy&nbsp;Bullies&nbsp;and&nbsp;Headless&nbsp;Monsters</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1137a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Conservative kooks are targeting Miley Cyrus, arguably America's most popular teenager, because the kid has said that gays are God's children, and implied that gay marriage is not an abomination to Our Lord and Savior. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.examiner.com/x-2232-SF-Country-Music-Examiner~y2009m4d30-Miley-Cyrus-targeted-over-gay-marriage">examiner.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1129></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shannon Burke, a right-wing radio host in Orlando, has been arrested after shooting his wife and dog. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rbr.com/radio/14357.html">Radio&nbsp;Business&nbsp;Report</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=srajs-1046></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I read this eloquent letter from former Congressman Jack Kemp (R-New York), and I came close to writing a few nice words about him when he died last week. I wanted to write that he was that rarity these days, a Republican who was also a decent human being. But I can't say that in any honesty. Not when he writes that he favored John McCain in the 2008 election, and he considered McCain a friend.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No sir. In last year's election, we saw irrefutable proof that even by the standards of politicians, McCain is a man of no ethics whatsoever, a man willing to tell any lie imaginable if it helps bring him to power. America and Americans will be debunking the lies of the McCain campaign for years, but the damage can't be undone. If Jack Kemp still thought of McCain as a friend after the 2008 campaign, then Kemp can rot in hell and humanity will be none the worse without him. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.kemppartners.com/about-jack-kemp/column/a-letter-to-my-grandchildren/">kemppartners.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=ylttthp-356></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apparently the remnants of last month's silly "tea bag" protests will be directed toward comic Janeane Garofalo when she comes to Boston next week. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2009/04/28/teabaggers-have-a-mouthful-for-janeane-garofalo/">Comedy&nbsp;Central</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-857></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Silverton, Colorado, a local historical society bought the local newspaper and they're reorganizing it as a non-profit. Bev Rich, the historical society's chairwoman, says the newspaper is "very much" a part of the town's history. Hmmm. Nice idea and we wish them well, but big picture, I don't think newspapers have much future if they're run as antique gee-gaws. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10291786">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- == --><A NAME=tnf-759></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Looks like it's time for the census again. So, what color underwear are you wearing? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.kctv5.com/news/19341437/detail.html">KCTV-TV</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><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/0904-28.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/0905-12.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/rightarrow.jpg" border="0" height="10" width="75"><BR>Newer entries</A></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=dialogue></A><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="dddddd" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="14%" bgcolor="dddddd" class="fonty"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-05.html#dialogue"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" alt="dialogue" border="0" width="75" height="75"></A></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="86%" bgcolor="dddddd" class="fonty"> <span class="fontpq"><BIG><B>What do <I>you</i> think?</B></BIG></span><BR> <i>We welcome news tips, comments, questions, or criticisms. Our email is &#60;<A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com">unknownnews at inbox.com</A>&#62;, and if that address ever fails you can also reach us at <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">these back-up email addresses</A>.</i></TD></TR></TABLE> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dailydialogue.html" height="32" width="600" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=03BC1111></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/0905-05.html#03BC1111"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; There is no Justice in America &#151; it is a fraud.<BR><BR>What boggled my mind until I accepted the fact that the entire System is a fraud is that in the last eight years we have had multiple hard core mega crimes which have not been prosecuted:<BR><BR>1) Iraq War &#151; no WMD, no Al Qaeda, based on lies from the GWB administration and eagerly supported by Dems and Repubs in Congress; <BR><BR>2) Torture and assassination squads &#151; no prosecution except for the low-level idiots who had their pictures takes while doing "thumbs up!" next to pyramids of naked Iraqi prisoners; <BR><BR>3) Credit crisis &#151; massive systemic fraud at multiple locations as if every white collar executive just made the decision to start stealing everything in sight.<BR><BR>These crimes cost the US many trillions of dollars and wiped out millions of ordinary Americans, to say nothing of the one million Iraqi deaths or the +4000 US soldiers killed in Iraq.<BR><BR>In fact, in a capitalist society with a minimal safety net, financial fraud means that millions of poor people will die before they should have due to lack of adequate food, shelter or medical care.<BR><BR>By rights, there should be at least one hundred thousand executives and politicians in prison now or awaiting trial, but instead nothing, a big nothing! Why is there no justice?<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://seekingalpha.com/article/134863-financial-elites-and-the-enronization-of-america-part-i">Financial elites and the Enronization of America (Part 1)</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://seekingalpha.com/article/134864-financial-elites-and-the-enronization-of-america-part-ii">(Part 2)</A> <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Billie Cavanaugh &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Crimes committed by politicians, even crimes on the grandest scale, are studiously ignored because with only the rarest exceptions, the difference between Democrats and Republicans is the difference between Gambinos and Gottis. They're looking out for each other. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=06Wig126></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="#06Wig126"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>5/6/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; First remember: "This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice. " <nobr>~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.</nobr><BR><BR> Second: "Law never made men a whit more just. <nobr>~Henry David Thoreau</nobr> <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --> </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=01Willow255></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/0905-05.html#01Willow255"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Barack Obama's first 100 days: thumbs down. Why? Everything except for the stock and credit markets has gotten worse. But market improvements were bought with many trillions of taxpayer money, and avoiding bankruptcy of the financial system meant bankrupting the US treasury.<BR><BR>Across the board things are worse under Obama and his policies are leading us to even worse outcomes in the future. Iraq is more violent ... so we can't really leave (not without the oil anyway.) Afghanistan is worse. Pakistan is being forced by Obama into a civil war. Palestine and Gaza are still open air concentration camps run by trigger happy guards. (Ah, the smell of white phosphorus in the morning!) North Korea is going into the business of ballistic nukes. Iran is being scapegoated by the AIPAC controlled US Congress. And Mexico is disintegrating as fast as any nation ever has. US unemployment is rising and GDP is falling. Heckuva job, Barack.<BR><BR>On swine flu, no one is talking about this from the pig's point of view. Pigs are very smart. Smarter than many humans even, with rudimentary language capabilities. Does anyone care that the pigs are getting the flu? That can't be fun for them, particularly because they are stuck in those rotten pens, with no toys or amusements. Of course they overeat &#151; they're bored out of their minds, and now with the flu they can't even eat to pass the time.<BR><BR>I think humans should stop the swinicide. It's like eating cousins. How would you feel if armies of pigs invaded Colorado shopping malls to harvest plump and juicy humans for barbecue? It isn't the pigs' fault that they have the flu. Blame their jailers! <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Willow &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> You made me think and made me laugh but we're still having BLTs for dinner. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=01HH1215></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/0905-05.html#01HH1215"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; For the better part of a decade now I have remained glued to your site and perspective. Thank you for an unmatched weekly rundown; it is a treasure, and I always check back a few other times through the week just in case you might not wait until Tuesday to update. Your 'It made me stop and think' always makes me scratch my chin, which is a good thing <nobr>;)</nobr><BR><BR>It's too bad Dr. Ruhs and Hazel Burke don't appear as much anymore. They're my two favorite commentators on the net. I can't even remember the last time I saw one of the doc's columns, he used to be as prolific as anybody I've seen on your site. I wish them, you, and all the other great contributors and compadres well.<BR><BR>On a stickler note, regarding your leading quote for April 28, too few people know who Eugene Victor Debs was, so I savor when he's plucked from the compost heap of history to feed some sense into what continues to be our corrupt reality. His quote you offered is a guiding principle of my life, right up there with Jesus' best pronouncements on peace and brotherhood... However, "Debbs" is spelled with one 'b'... I'm sorry I couldn't let it be. I'm compulsive that way <nobr>;)</nobr><BR><BR>Keep up the great work!! <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Heath Honesty &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Dang good to hear from you, and it's a little embarrassing to have spelled Debs' name wrong. We haven't heard from Doc in a long while, but we got a note from Hazel just yesterday. Consider yourself hugged and I hope you've got a safe harbor from the storm?<BR><BR>PS, a couple of hours later &#151; hey, we've <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-01HR.html">heard from Doc Herb</A>, too. I guess all you had to do was ask! </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> How divinely serendipitous?! I'm certain you'll let him know he has fans missing his contributions.<BR><BR><DIV align="right">Heath Honesty &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Indeedy do. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=30HB1146></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/0905-05.html#30HB1146"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; The US may have a big problem getting vaccines in the event of a massive global pandemic crisis. We don't have enough manufacturing plants to do the job and would rely on other countries who would need the supplies themselves!<BR><BR>Manufacturing has been decimated in the US in recent years, thanks to US government policies including the tax regime, globalization and ecological bureaucracies, education, etc.<BR><BR>This is a big problem because post-industrial jobs are portable, so even things like new "green technology" jobs end up in India where engineering, architecture, lawyering, programming, etc. are done cheaply leaving just the work that cannot be offshored here &#151; such as insulation installation and the like. Even worse, the loss of manufacturing plants means the loss of know-how and infrastructure (the economic ecology which supports high-tech manufacturing stimulate foreign countries while the US specializes in dental hygienistry, burger flipping, Ponzi schemes and military occupations.<BR><BR>Another problem has surfaced thanks to the swine flu epidemic:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/30042009/325/u-s-vaccine-supply-limited-flu-pandemic.html">US vaccine supply could be limited in flu pandemic</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> Most influenza vaccines for Americans are manufactured in other countries &#151; a scenario that could limit US supplies should a swine flu vaccine be needed in the coming months.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>Manufacturers have taken initial steps, but it would require months to make a vaccine to fight the new strain.<BR><BR>An immunization against a pandemic virus "will probably be the most highly sought-after product on the face of the earth," said Mike Osterholm, director of the Minnesota-based Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.<BR><BR>"In the face of a pandemic, it's hard to imagine any country willingly letting vaccine leave from within its border to another country just because there's a contract" with the US government, he said.<BR><BR>The precarious situation was highlighted in 2004 when a British flu vaccine plant was contaminated, wiping out half the US supply for that year.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> To read more about the US manufacturing situation and how it is helping our economy implode now during the credit crisis, go here:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.financialsense.com/Market/cpuplava/2009/0429.html">Another look at the inflation/deflation debate</A><BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.financialsense.com/Market/cpuplava/2009/images/0429_clip_image004.jpg">Chart</A> <BR><BR>One company which may be involved in creating a swine flu vaccine is Sandoz, a subsidiary of Novartis (but according to the above article Sanofi-Aventis is the major produce of vaccines in the US)<BR><BR>Novartis looks very cheap, even adjusted for the Swiss Franc. I expect it to climb 10% in US dollar terms within the next year (minimum &#151; though nothing is guaranteed).<BR><BR> <a href="http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?c=NVS:$xsf,uu[h,a]daclyimy[dc][pc5!b20!b50!b200][vc60][iut!Uc20!La12,26,9!Lg!Ll14!Lh14,3]">Daily stock chart, Novartis in Francs</a> <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Hazel Burke &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=30LR1130></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/0905-05.html#30LR1130"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090428_the_clinton_bubble/">The Clinton bubble</A> by Robert Scheer <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> Geithner has since pushed the Obama administration to approach the banking crisis not in response to the needs of destitute homeowners but rather from the side of the bankers who are seizing their homes. Instead of keeping people in their homes with a freeze on foreclosures, he has rewarded the unscrupulous lenders who conned ordinary folks.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>Most revealing was the Times' discovery that Geithner shocked a meeting of top government officials, convened by then-Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson to deal with the financial crisis, when "[h]e proposed asking Congress to give the president broad power to guarantee all the debt in the banking system. ... "<BR><BR>The result was a Clinton bubble, which saw the rise of a new superrich class that vastly skewed income distribution in favor of what was termed the "working rich" by Emmanuel Saez, who deservedly just won the top prize for young economists, the American Economic Association's John Bates Clark Medal. Members of the "working rich" are well represented in the top 1 percent of income "earners," who, according to a study by Saez, "captured about half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2006." The record is clear that from the first year of the Clinton reign, the new class of superrich, including many Wall Streeters, benefited as much as the other 99 percent of the nation's population did from the policies that Clinton put in place and George W. Bush accelerated.<BR><BR>To add salt to the wounds of those left out of the bubble, the Clinton administration summarily ended the federal poverty program in the name of a so-called welfare reform that "devolved" programs for the poor to the tender mercy of the states. The meanness derby between the cash-strapped states is on, and the poor, a category that includes a growing number of folks who only recently were judged "middle class," are abandoned.<BR><BR>What is involved here is an extreme case of government-condoned "moral hazard" offering outrageous compensation to the superrich for screwing up royally. Where is the socially conscious Obama we voted for? E-mail him and ask.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> Yesterday we read that 6 of the top 19 banks will require additional capital, including Citi and BofA &#151; each having already received $45 billion in bailout funds.<BR><BR>Previously Obama said that any bank that needed to go back for more money would be dealt with in some way. It was assumed that he meant new management. Somehow I doubt that Obama will do anything. We already know what his ideas of "justice" and "rule of law" mean (zero).<BR><BR>Adding to all of this is Obama's reluctance to rock any boats. The new budget is an extravaganza for the defense industry, as well as every other industry that depends on government welfare. I guess he feels it would be irresponsible to cut defense spending even though that means paying more than one million dollars for each "defense" industry job that would be saved. I haven't seen anything like this since ... GWB was in office.<BR><BR>Unfortunately for widows and orphans with savings accounts, interest earned on savings in the US is now about 0.25%. That is one of the hidden taxes on the poor, and it makes a mockery of fairness and justice (as usual).<BR><BR>This will all end in tears. Eventually the hypocrisy &#151; which is the necessary lubricant of political intercourse &#151; will be obvious to everyone and there will be painful consequences for America. Stealing from the poor to give to the rich will one day, again, be seen as the crime it is. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Lionel Reebenhoffer &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=29JR602></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/0905-05.html#29JR602"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; One of my biggest hopes regarding Obama is that he'll empathize with the black minority in America enough for it to sway many of his policy decisions. For I believe that minority is heavily poor. And so empathy towards it should get Obama pushing for more help for all US poor. Which, among other things, would surely include something very close to, if not exactly, universal healthcare, as well as better public transportation infrastructure, and more.<BR><BR>Of course, Obama's actual statements and actions so far seem designed to dash my hopes for healthcare salvation... <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> I saw <i>Bridge to Terabithia</i> the other night. I thought it was going to be something like those Narnia films, and there were elements of that in it. But overall it was definitely NOT what I expected it to be. It reminded me a lot of my own childhood.<BR><BR>It was almost a perfect film &#151; sort of like how I think the <i>Lord of the Rings</i>' director's remake of <i>King Kong</i> is almost a perfect film. Only one thing was missing to make them perfect... and you'll know what when you see either film. <i>Terabithia</i> is one of those films that are absolutely ruined for watchers who learn too much about the ending before they see it. <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=29Wig602></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/0905-05.html#29Wig602"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/04/no-special-prosecutor-torture">The problem with a special prosecutor</A><BR><BR> What a bunch of nonsense nowadays. what's needed is a good old fashioned HEARING like the McCarthy hearings. Drag all the Bush culprits before the TV cameras and let the American people see what took place for themselves. The idea that everything is going to be done behind closed doors and have a smarmy report issued telling nothing (then filed away in some dark archive) is for the birds. Transparency,Transparency,Transparency. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> I read half that article before realizing it's by David Corn, a guy I've despised ever since his attack years ago on anyone who questioned anything about <NOBR>9/11</NOBR>. Congressional hearings or a Congressional investigation into the Bush-Cheney torture policies would be a sham &#151; there are far too many politicians, Democrats and Republicans, who were in on the decisions and well-aware all along the way, and they're not going to allow a real investigation in Congress. And Corn's right that a special prosecutor isn't a great solution, though Corn (of course) shares the common love for Patrick Fitzgerald, who's done enough damage already and certainly shouldn't be entrusted with another high-profile investigation. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=29AH405></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/0905-05.html#29AH405"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; I really don't know what the Democrats' goals are now (besides increasing their own power.)<BR><BR>I just know that whatever they and Obama say is precisely what is not going to happen. Like his speech promising 3% of GDP for scientific research (a jobs program for the one person in ten thousand with a PhD in science?)<BR><BR>And now that Iraq is falling apart again, and Pakistan is overrun by the Taliban, yada yada, it is time to wager on more war spending. Investors believed in Obama and sold off arms makers, but guess what, if you know that Obama is a chronic liar then you can make a living betting on the opposite of what he promises. Ka-Ching. Obama is now totally predictable and he is money in the bank to contrarians... <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Austin Heiber &nbsp; </div></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"> <I><B>More comments:</B></I> <BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0904-28.html#29SB1010"><FONT COLOR=blue> Sherri B. replies to The&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Rajah</FONT></A> about Black folks' perspective on Obama </TD></TR></TABLE> <center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="625" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><BR> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/support-wide.html" width="625" height="550" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD></TR></TABLE></center> <center>|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/"><B>Home</B></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A 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CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#E3E4FA" class="fonta">Like the URL says, this website is about "unknown news". We post a once-weekly round-up of reports we think merit more attention, from mainstream, professional journalists, or (rarely) other sources we trust entirely.<BR><BR><center><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?<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</A></i> &nbsp; <BR><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;(from <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">About <I>Unknown News</i></A>)&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=height></A><BR> <A NAME=cops></A><A NAME=cops-box></A><!-- =cops= --><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/policelog.html" width="295" height="475" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=blue class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html"><B>unknownnews.org/cops.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=oldnews></A><A NAME=unymhm></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" bgcolor="#eeeeee" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"><center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews-frame.html" width="295" height="475" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="295" bgcolor=darkred class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html"><B>unknownnews.org/oldnews.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=introduction></a><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#E3E4FA" class="fonta"> <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="#wdwb"><font color=blue>answers to questions we wish you'd ask instead</font></A>. 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Perhaps it sounds hokey and futile, but someone on the other end will actually take your call or read your letter and pay attention to what you say &#151; and if you say it well you can make a difference.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A helpful hint:&nbsp; Sending a letter on paper or making a phone call takes more time and might cost a little more than sending an email, which is why <A HREF="http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa020199.htm"><b>a well-written letter</b></A> or a well-rehearsed phone call is <i>more effective</i> than an email.</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><BR><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="220" 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<BR>the Right-wing's&nbsp;lies</A><BR><BR></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="3%" class="fonty"> </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="middle" 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<BR>Blue</A><BR><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="7%" class="fonty"> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="295" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> "A mind-blowing mix of<BR>fact and fantasy, hard science<BR>and well-grounded speculation, with concrete how-to info to top it all off -- resulting in some of the best and strangest stuff on Earth..."<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com"><BIG><B>www.jrmooneyham.com</B></BIG></A> </TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <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="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="2000" 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><BR> <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="2000" 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> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=8><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="white" class="fonta"> <center><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/bill-of-rights.jpg" alt="U.S. Bill of Rights" border="0" width="270" height="151"><A NAME=preamble></A></center><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <!-- 300x168 --> 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>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=FirstAmendment></A><BR> <b>The First Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=SecondAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Second Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=ThirdAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Third Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=FourthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Fourth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=FifthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Fifth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=SixthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Sixth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=SeventhAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Seventh Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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=EighthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Eighth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. <BR><A NAME=NinthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Ninth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. <BR><A NAME=TenthAmendment></A><BR> <b>The Tenth Amendment</b><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 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><BR> <center><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-2996608746973398"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = "300x250_as"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_ad_channel = ""; google_color_border = "8B0000"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "000000"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "0000FF"; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></center><BR> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr"> </TD> </TR></TABLE> </body> </html>