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26, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =unknown news=--> <A NAME=18224-501></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Federal Trade Commission is preparing rules that would "require bloggers to disclose when they're writing about a sponsor's product and voicing opinions that aren't their own". We're told that such regulations wouldn't be binding (then what's the point?) but it just sounds like a phenomenally stupid idea. I <i>do</i> want to know if a blogger is being bought, but I feel the same way about newspapers and magazines and television newscasts, which to the best of my limited knowledge have no similar regulations. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2009/tc20090518_532031.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech">Business&nbsp;Week</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-118></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There's no link to accompany this, because I haven't seen anyone but me complaining about it, but &#151; why is Robert Mueller still the Director of the FBI? He's a Bush-Cheney <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/protest4.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="224"><p><i> "We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." </i><DIV align="right"><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;William&nbsp;Faulkner</i> &nbsp; </div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> nominee and thus an utter slimeball, and he was certainly up to his eyebrows in the corruption of the Justice Department under Bush, Cheney, Rove, Ashcroft, Gonzales, and Mukasey, but he's still on the job 4+ months into the "change" administration?<BR> <A NAME=18224-458></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Catholic Archbishop Rembert Weakland says he didn't know that sex with children was a crime. Seriously. And seriously, if you're a member of the Catholic Church or if you've ever written a check to the Catholic Church, may I just ask, <i>Why?</i> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/45191277.html">Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btci-936></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the lawsuit over Bush-Cheney administration's illegal wiretaps of the Islamic charity Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, Judge Vaughn Walker (Bush41 1989) has rebuked the Obama administration for "continuing to assert legal positions already specifically rejected by the court in previous orders" and "refusing to cooperate with the court's orders." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/judge-takes-governme">Electronic&nbsp;Frontier&nbsp;Foundation</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-748></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">U.W. Clemon, formerly Alabama's most senior federal judge, has written a scorching letter to Attorney General Eric Holder itemizing gross misconduct by federal prosecutors involved in the Siegelman case and demanding that the Justice Department open a full investigation into the matter. "The 2004 prosecution of Mr. Siegelman in the Northern District of Alabama was the most unfounded criminal case over which I presided in my entire judicial career," he writes. "In my judgment, his prosecution was completely without legal merit; and it could not have been accomplished without the approval of the Department of Justice." Clemon goes on to note that prosecutors engaged in judicial forum shopping, attempted to poison the jury pool, and filed and pressed bogus <nobr> charges.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/05/hbc-90005030">Harper's</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=1234567890></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%"><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="125" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/yelling.jpg" alt="Politicians & pundits" border="0" width="115" height="115"></TD></TR></TABLE><I><B>Politicians &amp;&nbsp;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://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/nra-thrives-paranoia">Keyes denounces Obama as "the focal point of evil"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001349/">Republican Steele says Obama plans to ban guns and free speech</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001370/">New RNC scare ad revives LBJ's "Daisy" theme of nuclear annihilation </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> <!-- =fake journalism --> <!-- =Beck --><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%"><BR> <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/mmtv/200905180012">Fox's Beck claims struggling states are in danger of "losing their sovereignty" because federal gov't will "nationalize" them</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%"><BR> <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://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200905180020">Limbaugh claims Obama "made the case for killing babies born alive and giving legal protection to the doctors that did it"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/clips/200905210017">Limbaugh: "Were I a terrorist, I would have been prompted to give Obama's speech a standing ovation today"</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%"><BR> <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/search/index?=&mm_audio=0&mm_video=0&sort=default&itemtype=&page=5&per_page=20">Disney's Savage says "all of these people at MSNBC" would have "worked for Hitler putting Jews into the death camp" </A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200905200032">Disney's Savage future: "Your guns are seized, your free speech is gone, your children are in the hands of the perverts"</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. <BR>&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.</i> <DIV align="right"><i>&#151;H&HH &nbsp; </i></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=fnp-236></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An Iowa man has accepted a plea bargain, and now faces up to 15 years in prison, for possession of a comic book filled with disgusting drawings of pre-teens in sexual situations. Again, <i>drawings</i>, not pictures. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/050921-CBLDF.html">newsarama.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=fnp-851></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Because of prosecutorial misconduct, charges have been dropped against the guy who allegedly opened fire at Delaware State University in September 2007. The prosecutor withheld information on a witness who said that the alleged shooter wasn't the shooter. And in coverage that's absolutely up to Associated Press's standards, the prosecutor isn't named, and there's no mention of whether he or she will face even the slightest wrist-slap. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/05/19/murder_charge_tossed_against_del_shooting_suspect/">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <A NAME=18224-338></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; President Obama has claimed Bush-like dictatorial powers to hold people in prison without trial. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/05/just-shoot-me-now.html">Obsidian&nbsp;Wings</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-1212></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From President Obama's disappointing speech last week, here's his alleged rebuke of war crimes and torture of the Bush-Cheney administration:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us &#151; Democrats and Republicans; politicians, journalists and citizens &#151; fell <nobr> silent.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Translation: "Howdy, Kettle, I'm the Pot. What's cookin'?" &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/21/obama-administration-guantanamo-interrogation">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-604></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In an outrageous but not surprising decision, the Republican-dominated US Supreme Court has ruled that people illegally and unconstitutionally rounded up and held prisoner for months without charges after the <NOBR>9/11</NOBR> attacks cannot sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and former FBI Director Robert Mueller. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090518/ap_on_go_su_co/us_scotus_detainee_lawsuit;_ylt=AuNL2mjO3tx5eNXEK3s4gKSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJzN3JoNjJtBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNTE4L3VzX3Njb3R1c19kZXRhaW5lZV9sYXdzdWl0BGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDMTEEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDY291cnRzZW5kc2">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-351></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Defense lawyers say that the Obama administration's proposed changes to Bush-Cheney's rules for military trials on Guantanamo are mostly cosmetic and nowhere near enough to give prisoners the fair trials that any accused person deserves. Here's what's perhaps the most troubling aspect of this, from deep in the <i>New York Times</i>' coverage:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Mr. Obama's statement on Friday said that "the use of hearsay will be limited." But the filing showed that military prosecutors would continue to rely extensively on hearsay evidence that might be barred in federal court. A memorandum describing the administration's changes that was filed with the military judges said that such "hearsay admissibility remains much broader than in domestic courts" in the United States.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">One of the senior administration officials said that although federal courts bar many kinds of hearsay evidence, "the hearsay rule is not one of those things that is rooted in American <nobr> values."<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You know, the rule against hearsay isn't just a tradition or a nicety. It's part of the <A HREF="#SixthAmendment"><FONT COLOR=blue>Bill of Rights</FONT></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 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; <b>to be confronted with the witnesses against him;</b> to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his <nobr> defense.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.theledger.com/article/20090519/ZNYT02/905193011?Title=Changes-Planned-for-Guant-xE1-namo-Trials-May-Lead-to-Familiar-Challenges">New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-201></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In their ongoing experiment to find the stupidest line of bull that Americans will swallow, Republicans keep claiming that evil bad terrorists can't possibly be housed in America's prisons, I guess because Muslim terrorists are actually super-villains capable of leaping tall barbed-wired and electrified fences in a single bound. But, ah, guess what? It ain't so. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nsnetwork.org/node/1301">National&nbsp;Security&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-339></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A study suggests that having cameras mounted all over everything and building a surveillance society doesn't have much impact on crime. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/18/cctv-crime-police">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-254></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The feds and an undercover cop from Minnesota came to Iowa and infiltrated a peace groups in Iowa City last year. There probably won't be much or any outcry over this, because the group is described (by police) as an "anarchist collective". Anarchists get a bad rap, due to the 100-year-old mostly-false stereotype of a guy in a trenchcoat with a bomb. All the self-described anarchists I've ever known (a dozen or so) have been more peaceably-natured than your average American. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090517/NEWS/905170341/-1/SPORTS12">Des&nbsp;Moines&nbsp;Register</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-1054></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's alleged that the Catholic Church in Maine is violating the law by being actively involved in signature-collection for a referendum to deny gays and lesbians civil rights. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=257751&ac=">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-359></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 69% of Americans do not want <i>Roe v. Wade</i> to be overturned. That leaves 31% who might like to see such judicial activism. That's a landslide, and it suggests that most Americans understand that it's a complex, painful issue, and that most Americans are uncomfortable having the government overrule a woman's right to choose. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/19/1937393.aspx">MSNBC&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=nsr></A> <A NAME=btci-1228></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration continues doing jack diddly nothing about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", while an endless parade of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who'd be called heroes in any other context get drummed out of the military for the audacity of being gay. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/rachel-shows-us-another-face-of-dont.html">The&nbsp;Rachel&nbsp;Maddow&nbsp;Show, distilled&nbsp;by americablog.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-336></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is leading a band of small government, states' rights, local-control politicians &#151; Dems and Republicans &#151; in opposing the DC City Council's move to recognize gay marriages performed in other parts of the country. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/feature/2009/05/21/dc_marriage/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-604></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Philadelphia, Mississippi, the town so well known for its lynchings and deep-seated racism that Ronald Reagan announced his 1980 Presidential candidacy there, has elected its first black mayor. Wow. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090523/OPINION01/905230302/1008/OPINION/Election++Philadelphia+s+new+leadership">Clarion-Ledger</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=dialogue-sidebar></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="195" 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"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="175" height="175"></A><BR><BR><SPAN class="fonty"><i>We welcome readers' comments, questions, or criticisms. Our email is&nbsp;&#60;<A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com">unknownnews at inbox.com</A>&#62;, and if that address ever fails you can&nbsp;also reach us at <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">these back-up email addresses</A>.</i></SPAN> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=18224-506></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; US District Judge Arthur Spatt (Bush41 1989) is going to hold a hearing to decide whether to block <i>Newsday</i> from publishing photos of a politician in handcuffs. There's no serious clue in the coverage what possible grounds the judge would have for even considering such a decision, beyond the notion that the photos might damage the politician's chances of finding a fair jury to hear his case. Is that fair grounds for overriding the First Amendment? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-pocorb2112789379may20,0,6991548.story">Newsday</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-834></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Chicago alderman who ordered this mural destroyed &#151; though it was on private property &#151; certainly seems smug and unconcerned about it. I'm rooting for a lawsuit with a hefty price tag for the city to pay. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=34234">Chicago&nbsp;Public&nbsp;Radio</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-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">You may not know it, but if you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect <nobr> it.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/fcc-raid/">Wired</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-621></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Things are so idyllic in Illinois that the legislature has passed a law that would strip former Governor Rod Blagojevich of any income from any book he might write. "This is patently unconstitutional," says Blagojevich's publicist. He's right, but only if a judge considers the constitution, which is generally a coin-flip. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1585381,blagojevich-book-deal-cash-052109.article">Chicago Sun-Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btci-628></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Next month, Alysa Stanton will become the first African-American woman to be a full-fledged Jewish rabbi. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/05/21/north.carolina.black.rabbi/index.html">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =torture --><A NAME=think></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/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></TR></TABLE> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "If you don't like the government option, you can always stick with Blue Cross under Obama's plan. So why is Blue Cross fighting Obama's plan? Because they're greedy special interests, and over your dead body they're going to permit the government to give you a better option." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/blue-double-cross.html">John Aravosi</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Back during the Democratic primary campaign, Mr. Obama argued that the Clintons had failed in their 1993 attempt to reform health care because they had been insufficiently inclusive. He promised instead to gather all the stakeholders, including the insurance companies, around a  big table. And that May 11 event was, of course, intended precisely to show this big-table strategy in action.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "But what if interest groups showed up at the big table, then blocked reform? Back then, Mr. Obama assured voters that he would get tough:  If those insurance companies and drug companies start trying to run ads with Harry and Louise, I ll run my own ads as president. I ll get on television and say  Harry and Louise are lying.  <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The question now is whether he really meant it." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://pdamerica.org/articles/news/2009-05-23-12-25-24-news.php">Paul&nbsp;Krugman</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=wrtr-805></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Air Force Lt. Col. Yvonne Bradley, the attorney for Guantanamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed, says he was beaten and tortured through means worse than waterboarding, and that everything he "confessed" to was tortured out of him, and that the CIA lied about pretty much everything concerning his arrest and interrogation. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmYx7ohPkL0">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-845></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave his approval to torture while he was White House counsel, several months before the memo from now-Federal Judge Jay Bybee (Bush43 2003) purportedly said it was legal. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104350361">National&nbsp;Public&nbsp;Radio</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-523></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; People at the CIA are worried, despondent even, over the possibility that their "harsh interrogations" might be investigated and punished, though President Obama has said that won't happen. If they'd conducted themselves within humane conditions they'd have nothing to be concerned over any "review". "Will I be in trouble five years from now for what I agree to do today?" The answer should be, you bet your damn ass, if you break the law.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Senate intelligence committee is pursuing its investigation into whether harsh interrogations, including waterboarding, brought forward worthwhile intelligence, as agency and Bush administration officials have <nobr> maintained.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BS. The question needs to be: is or was "torture" used? Of what possible use was intelligence that said Saddam might have al Qaeda operatives roaming Iraq? How does that have any relevance to justifying torture, other than in the tortured minds of Cheney/Bush to somehow cover their asses? How about just old fashioned common sense and the American concept of fairness? I know that neocons consider fairness and common sense as treason now but they've been traveling without a full deck mentally for so long they're too befuddled to be rational. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803126.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-316></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller underwent six seconds of waterboarding on Friday, with a paramedic standing by, with a polite countdown, with no restraints, with a pre-arranged signal to stop it, and with full knowledge that he would emerge alive and well. And even the arch-right Mancow, who had previously denied that waterboarding is torture, recognized immediately that it's drowning, and it's torture. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=21569">balloon-juice.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <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%"><BR><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="Flatliners" border="0" width="235" height="65"></center> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200905210011">Conservatives repeat inane claim that CO2 can't be a pollutant because "we breathe" it</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/05/gingrichs_deranged_ethics_advi.html?hpid=opinionsbox1">Gingrich critiques Pelosi on ethics?</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://nomoremister.blogspot.com/2009/05/oh-those-civil-republicans-heres-quip.html">Gingrich is even lying when he's joking</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200905200027">Fox's Hannity defies "the phony science of global warming"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/19/reid-guantanamo/">Reid ('D'-Nevada) says prisoners can't be transferred to another prison without first being released</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/michael-steele-says-republicans-are-big">Republican Chair Steele cites Whitman as proof Republicans are a 'Big Tent' party (she quit the GOP in 2003)</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/steele-the-media-didnt-vet-obama----because-hes-black.php">Steele: The media didn't vet Obama &#151; because he's black</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/rnc-constitution-was-right-to-count.html">RNC: Constitution was right to count blacks as <nobr>3/5ths</nobr> a man and allow slavery</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/1909430/simple-answers-to-simple-questions/"><i>WorldNetDaily</i> seeks donations for "a national billboard campaign with the simple message: 'Where's the birth certificate?'"</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=btci-741></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Vice President Dick Cheney tried to stall and mislead the CIA Inspector General's investigation into US torture policies. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.truthout.org/052209R">TruthOut</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=cheney></A><A NAME=18224-1144></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The corporate-controlled media gave former Vice President Cheney <A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/why-cable-tv-airing-cheneys-speech-oppo">acres of ink and air time</A> last week, covering yet another Cheney speech lauding torture and blasting the Obama administration for being less enthusiastic about torture. On at least three TV networks, Cheney's speech was <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/clips/200905210038">accompanied by archival footage of the attacks of <NOBR>9/11</NOBR></A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not since the Civil War has any American who held power at Cheney's level pounced so vehemently and so quickly on his successors, and of course, any high-profile Democrat who launched attacks like this against a Republican would be shouted down as treasonous. To my knowledge, McClatchy was the only mainstream media source that took the trouble to actually <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200905220007">check the facts</A> on Cheney's claims (surprise &#151; his speech really tortured the truth), for which <A HREF="http://conwebwatch.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/1910366/newsbusters-bashes-reporters-for-factchecking-cheney/">McClathchy was taken to task</A> by <A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/people/298/000108971/">Brent Bozell</A>'s arch-right Media Research Center. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/68643.html">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-1131></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In reviewing Phillippe Sands' book <A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780230603905"><i>Torture Team: Rumsfeld's Memo and the Betrayal of American Value</i></A>, the <I>Washington Post</i>'s Dan Froomkin presents, in thorough but easily readable detail, a mountain of evidence that torture at Abu Ghraib wasn't coincidental or the work of low-level grunts, but reflected the policy of the Bush-Cheney administration. Of course, the <I>Washington Post</i>'s Dan Froomkin can't do this in the <I>Washington Post</i>, so he does it in his blog. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00351">niemanwatchdog.org</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-1118></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last week, some black Muslims were arrested for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack in the Bronx. The details of the case (like the Sears Tower case, like the Fort Dix case, like other such cases in recent years) sound suspiciously like entrapment to me. But disregarding that concern for the moment, let's consider the facts &#151; the men arrested had no weapons, no explosives, and no plausible means to obtain weapons or explosives. They presented no immediate danger to life or limb. By my definition of "newsworthy" there's not much to this story, and no reason for their arrests to merit more than a few paragraphs in the back pages of New York newspapers.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But, of course, the coverage was nationwide, omnipresent on every channel and on the front page of virtually every mainstream newspaper. You know and I know, if they hadn't been black and Muslim their arrest never would've made the news. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/imagine-if-terror-suspects-white">Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =journalism= --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="71" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-abc.jpg" alt="ABC News" border="0" width="71" height="27"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-ap.jpg" alt="Associated Press" border="0" width="50" height="50"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-cbs.jpg" alt="CBS News" border="0" width="54" height="35"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-cnn.jpg" alt="Cable News Network" border="0" width="61" height="33"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-nbc.jpg" alt="NBC News" border="0" width="57" height="45"> </td></tr></table><A NAME=18224-437></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pentagon officials claim without evidence that 74 released Guantanamo detainees are now engaging in terrorism. And the <i>New York Times</i> <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200905220020">prints it</A>, with no caveats of doubt until the article's seventh paragraph. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/05/21/nyt-again-repeating-pentagon-propaganda/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-203></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <I>Washington Post</i> continues its new tradition of letting arch-conservatives have access to its editorial pages &#151; not to write opinion pieces, but to lie. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200905200015">Media&nbsp;Matters</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-1150></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's curious that Associated Press quotes, without correcting, a fleet or conservatives as they falsely imply that prisoners from Guantanamo will be released among the American populace, but when a Democrat says "We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States," <i>that's</i> when AP interjects that "No one, of course, was talking about releasing terrorism suspects among the American populace." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200905200038">Media&nbsp;Matters</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-630></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>The New Yorker</i> thinks John Roberts is "the Supreme Court's stealth hard-liner", and I suddenly find myself thinking a lot less of <i>The New Yorker</i>. There's nothing that was "stealth" about Roberts' rabid right-wing tilt &#151; it was obvious to anyone who spent ten minutes looking into his record when Bush nominated him. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/25/090525fa_fact_toobin">The&nbsp;New&nbsp;Yorker</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="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/medicine.gif" 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://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090523/hl_hsn/lowvitamindlevelsmayinitiatecancerdevelopment;_ylt=Akq621Cbz.QgjUQZZgyMQ2PVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNrMGh2NXMzBGFzc2V0A2hzbi8yMDA5MDUyMy9sb3d2aXRhbWluZGxldmVsc21heWluaXRpYXRlY2FuY2VyZGV2ZWxvcG1lbnQEcG9zAzEyBHNlYwN5bl9hcnRpY2xlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDbG93dml0YW1pbmRs">Low Vitamin D levels may initiate cancer development</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/w-fpe052009.php">Face masks are effective in preventing the spread of influenza</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/mbl-sli052009.php">Scientists link influenza A (H1N1) susceptibility to common levels of arsenic exposure</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/may/17/neanderthals-cannibalism-anthropological-sciences-journal">Humans ate the neanderthals</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8800.php">Study concludes that more money is wasted on health care bureaucracy in the US than it would cost to provide health care to all of the uninsured</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/05/22/advocate_for_others_fights_to_die_at_home/">Patients' rights advocate gets screwed by health insurance company</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newsweek.com/id/198512?from=rss">Porn is a good alternative to manufactured testosterone</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=18224-443s></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Is there any precedent for the broadcast media's overworking of Mary Cheney as an expert analyst of former Veep Dick Cheney's pro-torture press appearances? Mary Cheney's <i>only</i> qualification as an "expert" is that she was presumably spawned by the sperm of Dick Cheney, but under the ordinary rules of mainstream journalism that should be a <i>dis</i>qualification, not a qualification. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_05/018303.php">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=fnp-227></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fox's Bill O'Reilly wants cops to provide special hassles for blacks and Hispanics (as if cops haven't done exactly that forever). &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/05/21/oreilly_its_antiamerican_not_to_support_racial_profiling_because_most_criminals_are_black.php">NewsHounds</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-641></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>San Diego Union-Tribune</i>, in the midst of another round of layoffs, is requiring employees to sign a non-competition agreement, stipulating that they won't hire employees or recent ex-employees of the <i>Union-Tribune</i> at any other news operation. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/05/22/this_just_in/336confidentiality052209.txt">voiceofsandiego.org</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-343></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In defending his <I>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> from completely true reports that it's paying torture architect John Yoo to write a regular column, the <I>Inquirer</i>'s editorial page editor, Harold Jackson, offered misleading information and smeared Will Bunch &#151; the <i>Philadelphia Daily News</i> writer and <i>Attytood</i> blogger who broke the story. As Mrs Pynchon of the fictional <i>Los Angeles Tribune</i> frequently explained, a newspaper's credibility is always on the line, and Jackson has gone well past that line. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/The_latest_poor_information_on_John_Yoo.html">Philadelphia Daily News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=wrtr-522></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Vice President Cheney gave a speech, and <I>The Village Voice</i> gave it the coverage it deserved. Journalism that reports such words straight, as if such thoughts are worthy of serious consideration, is journalism that just shows what's wrong with journalism. This, on the other hand, is fair, balanced, but not imbecilic coverage that lets the meaning of Cheney's words sink in a little. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/05/cheney_911_911.php">The&nbsp;Village&nbsp;Voice</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=smiles></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="136" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/bracedteeth.jpg" alt="Smiles" border="1" width="116" height="62"></TD></TR></TABLE> <center><I><B>Much-needed smiles</B></I></center> <BR><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/obama-nominates-jesus-christ-for.html">Obama nominates Jesus Christ for Supreme Court; GOP concerned about Savior's "troubling Middle Eastern ties."</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/19/bush-cronies-land-jo.html">Bush cronies land jobs charging for advice on not getting eaten by the monsters they created</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <!-- =world= --> <!-- =Afghanistan --> <A NAME=arc-4352></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The US government is apparently installing new leadership in occupied Afghanistan, though the <i>New York Times</i> isn't willing to say so in so many words.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Administration officials insisted that the United States was not behind the idea of enlisting Mr. Khalilzad to serve in the Afghan government, and they gave no further details on what his duties might <nobr> be.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "They" &#151; US officials &#151; gave no further details on what his duties might be? This guy Zalmay Khalilzad, "who was President George W. Bush's ambassador to Afghanistan", sure sounds like what used to be known as a "mole". <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/05/19-3">New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =Iraq --> <!-- =Iran= --> <!-- =Israel --> <A NAME=wrtr-758></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that there can be no compromise with Palestine, on Jerusalem, on statehood, on anything really. "The Palestinian problem" serves Israeli purposes so well, Netanyahu and other Israeli officials will continue to do all they can to ensure that the problem never goes away. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090521/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =Pakistan --> <!-- =China --> <A NAME=world></A><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://unknownnews.org/globegirl.jpg" alt="News from the rest of the world" border="0" width="120" height="161"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=18224-1046></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's easy to scoff when small towns and even big cities propose banning plastic bags, as if that's going to make any difference, but it really does. And we get to see how the difference adds up on a grand scale, now that plastic bags have been semi-banned in China. The regulations are, we're told, commonly flouted, but as Chinese customers have become accustomed to bringing their own re-usable bags to the grocery, China has saved the equivalent of 1.6 million tons of oil, in just the first year of the new restrictions.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seriously, if you've been putting it off, buy the re-usable bags. In addition to their lovely greenness, they're much better at carrying groceries. You can put 'em down on wet pavement without worrying that the bag will disintegrate, and you can load 'em heavy without worrying that the bag will rip. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/22/china-plastic-bags-ban-success">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-608></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nepal's new Prime Minister is a communist, and I don't know much of anything about him but I like that. I'm not a communist, but I very strongly believe that the world will be better off with a few viable but <i>non-totalitarian</i> communist governments. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ho7eILNzkrIgeAsrivtzTF2k0sSgD98BVN7G0">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =England --> <!-- =Europe --> <!-- =Canada --> <!-- =Cuba --> <!-- =Mexico --> <!-- =South America --> <!-- =Venezuela --> <A NAME=arc-331></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Blue whales, long since driven away from Alaska by whalers who decimated the species, are returning. This is genuine good news, a sliver of daylight piercing the planetary twilight. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090518/ap_on_sc/us_blue_whales">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =bailout =economy--><!-- 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://unknownnews.org/bankrobber.gif" alt="picture of bank robber" border="0" width="100" height="95"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=18224-809></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the cordial request of the American Bankers Association, Congress has "asked" the Financial Accounting Standards Board to relax accounting rules, allowing banks to look healthier on paper than they really are. Hopefully, this solution will be applied in other areas of the economy as well, thus solving <i>all</i> the country's economic problems (she said, sarcastically). &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090608/hayes">The&nbsp;Nation</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-1258></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The so-called stress tests were obviously phony, so the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> did its own analysis, and concludes that more than 600 US banks are imperiled. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124269114847832587.html#mod=testMod">Wall&nbsp;Street&nbsp;Journal</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-6055></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the Treasury Department under Timothy Geithner, thumbs are busily twiddling. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051702268.html?hpid=topnews">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=fnp-1203></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; BankUnited has failed, been seized by the FDIC, and been sold to the Carlyle Group. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/05/18/daily78.html">Washington&nbsp;Business&nbsp;Journal</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =dc= --> <A NAME=health></A> <A NAME=btci-101></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Observe, as President Obama takes the health care crisis and quite probably makes it worse while pretending to fix it. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/05/health-care-cave-in.html"> Robert&nbsp;Reich's&nbsp;Blog</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <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%"><BR><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><A NAME=btci-101A></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">While the Republican plan for healthcare is seriously ridiculous, the Frank Luntz memo about selling the plan is slick, deceptive and it could work.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">I've written before that the modern Republican Party has been entirely about marketing rather than functioning substance, and that's why the Republicans have succeeded in terms of superficial wins in the last three decades, but their policies have been epic failures. Healthcare is one of many great examples. The Republicans heretofore have been successful using nearsighted bumper sticker slogans about bureaucrats, socialism and rationing while our private for-profit healthcare system has failed in every way other to make the healthcare providers very wealthy.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">So I urge you to <A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/frank-luntz-the-language-of-healthcare-20091.pdf">read the Luntz memo here</A> (pdf). Every Republican I've seen on cable news in the last week has quoted this thing verbatim. ... And with the president's healthcare fight on the horizon, we have to be ready. We can't allow the current system to continue on &#151; unchecked, sinister, deceptive and, in too many cases, <nobr> deadly.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/05/worrying_about.html">bobcesca.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-252></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Almost 60% of American doctors support universal health care, which is, of course, not under consideration as a possible solution to the health care crisis. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN3143203520080331">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-837></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not content to merely turn a blind eye to torture and war crimes, the Obama administration is also actively working to block a lawsuit over Cheney's illegal and almost inarguably treasonous outting of CIA agent Valerie Plame. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.atlargely.com/atlargely/2009/05/everything-goes-even-treason.html">At&nbsp;Largely</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=pelosi></A> <A NAME=arc-426></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are plenty of perfectly valid reasons to criticize Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-California). Hell, I'm pretty much incapable of thinking of her without at least thinking of a criticism. It's certainly plausible that she was briefed on torture and never whispered a word to anyone &#151; plausible but unproven and pretty much trivial. Let's have a big 'ol investigation to find out all about it!<A NAME=dc></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="170" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/dc.gif" alt="Political crapola" border="0" width="150" height="113"></td></tr></table><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But <A HREF="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/05/21/reagan-slams-rush">what can you say</A> about people who can't criticize Pelosi without making their criticisms gender-based, without <A HREF="http://www.atlargely.com/atlargely/2009/05/rnc-chooses-new-party-mascot-dork.html">buckets of misogyny</A>? What can you say beyond, they're Republicans being Republicans. Their native language is the insult, and the ruder and more vulgar the better. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/misogyny-rules-when-conservatives-attack">Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-300></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those darn CIA documents that "prove" Pelosi was briefed on "EIT" (enhanced interrogation techniques) curiously use exactly that acronym, though the term and acronym weren't coined until years after the briefings allegedly took place. And further <A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001354/">evidence keeps mounting</A> and <A HREF="http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/05/19/obey-alleges-more-errors-in-cia-torture-briefing-timeline/">mounting</A> and <A HREF="http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/05/20/pelosis-probably-right/">mounting</A>, that the CIA's claims of which members of Congress were briefed on what methods of torture are bogus. It's so unexpected &#151; who on earth would've thought that the CIA might be lying? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/source_eit_term_wasnt_in_use_when_pelosi_was_brief.php">TPM&nbsp;Muckraker</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-650></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The CIA, of course, has a long and well-known reputation for lying to Congress, and lying in general. Neocon revisionism has become so strident that it's difficult to believe we've gone through the 20th century awake. The CIA is a misnomer &#151; it should've been renamed AFCO (Agency for Covert Operations) years ago. Its original purpose of gathering intelligence was scrapped in the Eisenhower administration after the Gary Powers U2 fiasco. After that incident the gathering of intelligence took a back seat to an escalation of covert operations, about which the CIA kept the Congress completely in the dark. When leaks of operations began to emerge, the CIA sat before the Congressional Committees and lied. For the Republicans now to shamefully lie in the media, feigning indignation at the thought that the CIA might lie, is mind-boggling. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://pubrecord.org/commentary/916-the-cias-history-of-bamboozling-the-congress.html">The&nbsp;Public&nbsp;Record</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=sttbth></A><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/sttsth.jpg" alt="Support our troops: Bring them home" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table><A NAME=trqsl-340></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) says that Pelosi "ought to either present the evidence or apologize". Boehner is, if you'll excuse the vernacular, a misleading sack of sh*t. Pelosi can't "produce the evidence" that the CIA lied to her, because in these briefings nobody is even allowed to take notes... except the CIA representative. Of course, Boehner knows this and so do you, but he's not trying to reach the audience that knows better. No, like most Republicans, he's trying to reach the audience that isn't all that well-informed, the audience that hears only the headlines and assumes that a Congressman like Boehner probably wouldn't stand in front of a microphone and make blatantly misleading statements. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051702217.html">Washington&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-331></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Republicans who are most loudly criticizing Pelosi for "attacking" the CIA have a long track record of attacking the CIA. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/in_savaging_pelosi_for_attacking_cia_gop_ignores_its_own_record_of_similar_attacks.php?ref=fpb">TPM&nbsp;Muckraker</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-348></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Democratic Party is doing all it can to discourage Rep Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) from challenging newly born-again Senator Arlen Specter ('D'-Pennsylvania) in the upcoming Democratic primary. Which is, of course, all the more reason Sestak should run. Seriously, screw the Democratic Party &#151; nobody who gives a damn about democratic principles should be supporting the Democratic Party in any way &#151; they don't deserve a dime. But a few good Democrats deserve your support, and Joe Sestak might be one of them. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/05/21/specter_sestak/index.html?source=refresh">Salon</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- reporter/photographer --><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%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/reporter-icon.jpg" alt="reporter" border="0" width="230" height="199"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=arc-644></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Raw Story</i> and too many people who should know better want you to be outraged that Thomas Hogan (Reagan 1982), the judge who sent the <i>New York Times</i>'s Judith Miller to jail for refusing to name her sources, has been appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court. Look, if you want to be outraged that the FISA Court exists I'm right there with you, and if you're outraged that the Supreme Court's top fascist, John Roberts (Bush43 2005), gets to choose who sits on the FISA Court we're still in complete agreement. But if you're angry about Hogan getting a seat on that bench because he ordered Judith Miller jailed, you're missing the point.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Judith Miller should have been jailed, for refusing to name her source. Journalists worth being called journalists use their power to watchdog the powerful and report on wrongdoing, but Judith Miller did the opposite &#151; she took the somewhat sacrosanct reporter's vow of secrecy and gave it, not to a whistleblower or someone trying to expose a scandal, but to a DC insider trying to smear someone who tried to prevent a war based on lies. She refused to name the Bush-Cheney administration officials who outted a CIA agent in hopes of discrediting her husband's public statements that Bush, Cheney, et al were lying about the reasons to attack Iraq.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Judith Miller wasn't doing a reporter's work, exposing corruption and criminality. She was assisting in the corruption and criminality. And there needs to be no special protection for someone doing that kind of work. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/05/19/judith-miller-judge/">Raw&nbsp;Story</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-833></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">By a margin of 86-3, the US Senate voted Thursday to approve a $91.3 billion supplemental funding bill to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30. The bill brings the total expended on the two wars of aggression to more than $900 <nobr> billion.<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/comb-m25.shtml">World&nbsp;Socialist&nbsp;Website</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%"> <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=arc-430></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Democracy in America, the good guys group founded by Howard Dean, is cleverly using Norm Coleman's legal battles over the Minnesota Senate election to raise funds for Democratic Party candidates. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="https://services.myngp.com/NGPOnlineServices/contribution.aspx?X=h54nHq7bfd7V0O3zkyiQZfkw9PwAP2oh59rs6axR%2fDE%3d">myngp.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-430a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And I'm no lawyer, but from the facts as described here, it sure looks to me like Norm Coleman owes Al Franken $161,510.63. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.minnpost.com/ericblack/2009/05/20/8953/franken_to_coleman_you_owe_me_16151063">Minnesota&nbsp;Post</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-442></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a collection of lies and paranoia being peddled by the National Rifle Association (NRA), an organization I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I was once a member of. It was years ago, though, when the NRA was run by honest gun enthusiasts instead of deranged simpletons. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/nra-thrives-paranoia">Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-410></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The era of apologizing for Republican mistakes of the past is now officially over," says Republican Party chairman Michael Steele. Uh, I do try to follow the news, but I guess I completely missed the era of apologizing for Republican mistakes. Seriously, which Republicans apologized and when did this happen? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/19/steele-gop-must-focus-on-conservative-principles-2/">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-322></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">When Steele has a black audience, Obama's victory is "a testament to struggle, perseverance, and opportunity." When Steele has a white audience, he thinks Obama is a "magic negro" who just won because of liberal white <nobr> guilt.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=05&year=2009&base_name=michael_steele_tells_black_peo#115229">The&nbsp;American&nbsp;Prospect</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =corporations= --><A NAME=corporations></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="105" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/MrBurns.jpg" alt="Mr Burns from THE SIMPSONS" border="0" width="85" height="100"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=sttbth></A><A NAME=trqsl-322></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KBR's shoddy work in Iraq has electrocuted to death at least two, possibly as many as five American soldiers. But that didn't stop the Army from paying KBR tens of millions of dollars in bonuses. And when you think of KBR, remember &#151; it was a <A HREF="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburton-to-complete-kbr-spin-off-via-shareholder-offer">wholly-owned subsidiary of Halliburton</A> until 2007, and remember the <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7585443.stm">allegations of human trafficking</A>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE54J19520090520?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=fnp-1200></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bastards of Big Tobacco have lost an appeal, and stand again convicted of racketeering and fraud for decades of knowingly lying to consumers about the deadliness of smoking. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090522/ap_on_go_ot/us_tobacco_lawsuit;_ylt=AvuaaIusoMKyHn4tcOAMy7Ks0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFmcmc3a3ZiBHBvcwMxMDYEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9idXNpbmVzcwRzbGsDY2lnYXJldHRlbWFr">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-314></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wyeth cheated Medicare on prescription drugs, says the Justice Dept. Personally, I find these allegations awfully hard to disbelieve. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090518/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wyeth_lawsuit">Associated&nbsp;Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-1037></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The headline here asks, Are Wall Street speculators driving up gasoline prices? Well, duh. This crap is no longer news. We go through it every spring now. We're robbed year after year, while politicians in Washington look the other way with the brush-off &#151; "it's a matter of supply and demand" &#151; and we just have to grin and bear it. Today gas at my corner gas station is at $2.45. By Memorial day it will be as close to $3.00 as they think they can get away with it. I shudder to think what July fourth will bring. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/68552.html?storylink=omni_popular">McClatchy&nbsp;Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-822></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Federal Trade Commission is going after those "Your car warranty is about to expire" robocalling bastards. We've been called by these scumbags &#151; Transcontinental Warranty Inc. &#151; perhaps two dozen times, and we don't even own a car. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-robocall25-2009may25,0,5124422.story">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-342></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy says he'll quit. I wonder how many millions of dollars he'll get for going away. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30873003/">MSNBC&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=arc-739></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These guys want you to send a message to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and let him know that you don't approve of his lobbying to kill the Employee Free Choice Act. Knock yourself out, but I don't think Howard Schultz gives half a damn what you or I think.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm mostly including the link just so I can briefly tee off on Starbucks. Even disregarding the fact that it's a giant soul-sucking chain in a line of business that used to be dominated by mom & pop shops, their coffee is just awful. The stink of burnt coffee permeates every Starbucks I've ever walked past, so I gotta assume it's burnt on purpose, burnt as policy. The one time I actually entered a Starbucks and tried to drink their coffee (someone else was buying) it was so rancid I couldn't take a third sip. So screw Starbucks and either brew it yourself or go to a non-plastic coffee shop. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://stopstarbucks.com/?utm_source=rgemail">stopstarbucks.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=trqsl-226></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Thanks to the DMCA, we need a Right-To-Repair Act not just for cars, but increasingly for all the things we <nobr> own.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/right-repair-law-pro">Electronic&nbsp;Frontier&nbsp;Foundation</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=18224-848></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't look for Green Day's new album at Wal-Mart. The band said no, they won't edit their songs to meet the big-box retailer's dubious moral standards. Gotta respect that.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Me, I don't much listen to pop music any more. It's like a steady diet of Cheetos and Quarter Pounders for your ears. But I'm vaguely familiar with Green Day and for other old fogies like me I can vouch that they're good. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30869645/">MSNBC&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-204></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Verizon to cops: we won't help you track down sick, possibly dying man unless you pay his $20 phone bill. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/22/verizon-to-cops-we-w.html">boingboing.net</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-908></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While America's automakers are all agog over new federal mandates that might require fuel efficiency to reach 35 miles per gallon by 2016, Volkswagen says its two-hundred-and-thirty-five mpg car might be ready for sale next year. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.greencar.com/articles/volkswagen-1-liter-235-mpg-extreme-fuel-efficiency-car.php">greencar.com</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-756></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's the silliest phony controversy of the week: The Obama White House sent a wreath to Arlington National Cemetery to remember and honor Civil War soldiers who fought for the Confederacy, same as every President has done every year since Woodrow Wilson was President, and somebody wants you to be offended. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705306170,00.html">Dallas&nbsp;Morning&nbsp;News</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <!-- =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" alt="Peculiar" border="1" width="107" height="136"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=arc-632></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This isn't a paid ad, just a happy memory: If you can afford a vacation it's pretty hard to beat the camaraderie and the just plain fun of a trip anywhere in America via Green Tortoise. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.greentortoise.com/">Green&nbsp;Tortoise</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-258></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Michael Moore is about to go bowling for bailouts &#151; his next documentary is all about Wall Street corruption and the Bush and Obama administrations' response, which Moore (and anyone with common sense) describes as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country." &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118004063.html?categoryid=3284&cs=1&nid=2562">Variety</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=btci-259></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm embarrassed to say it, but ABC's new <i>V</i> miniseries looks, well, looks like it might not <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="145" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="125" height="125"></A></td></tr></table> suck. Then again, from this preview I sense a political subtext, and when ABC entertainment does political subtext, they're usually coming from the same place as Fox News. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2009/5/21/first-look-at-abcs-revamped-v.html">getthebigpicture.net</A>&nbsp;]&nbsp;(link&nbsp;fixed)<BR> <A NAME=zzz-odp></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you're looking for the latest dialogue, there's plenty of it and it's well worth a click to <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">our dialogue page</A>. &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">Our&nbsp;dialogue&nbsp;page</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <BR><BR><center>Recommended sites for gathering unknown or underreported news:<BR> &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://mediamatters.org/">Media&nbsp;Matters</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.propublica.org/">Pro&nbsp;Publica</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://thinkprogress.org">ThinkProgress</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp; 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</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="96%" class="fonty"> © &nbsp;Helen & Harry Highwater and the individual authors.</center> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="2%" class="fonty"><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"startspan ALT="Site Meter"--><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript">var site="sm4unknownnews"</script><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/js/counter.js?site=sm4unknownnews"></script><noscript><A HREF="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=sm4unknownnews"target=_top><img src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=sm4unknownnews&refer=&hours=8&minutes=53&rtype=4" border=0 title="Site Meter" height="10" width="10"></A></noscript><!-Copyright (c)2000 Site Meter --><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"Endspan --></TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="310" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="1%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="57%" class="font14"><BR> <!-- Translation--> <form action="http://www.google.com/translate" ><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write ("<input name=u value="+location.href+" type=hidden>") // --></script> <input name="hl" value="en" type="hidden"> <input name="ie" value="UTF8" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ar" title="Arabic" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagArab.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|zh-CN" title="Chinese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagChina.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|fr" title="French" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagFrance.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|de" title="German" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagGermany.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|it" title="Italian" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagItaly.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"><BR> <input name="langpair" value="en|ja" title="Japanese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagJapan.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ko" title="Korean" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagKorea.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|pt" title="Portuguese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagPortugal.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|es" title="Spanish" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagSpain.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> </form> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="42%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font13"> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/RSSfeed.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/RSS-button.gif" alt="Subscribe to our RSS feed" border="0" width="72" height="54"></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=casualties-box></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="290" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=black WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/casualtieslog.html" width="100%" height="115" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=today></A><A NAME=wdwb></A><BR> <TABLE 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.&nbsp; We post a page of news that merits more attention, all 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="1000" 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=debunk></A><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/debunk-frame.html" width="295" height="1000" 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/debunk.html"><B>unknownnews.org/debunk.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="1000" 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/page/blueamerica08"><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/page/blueamerica08">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>