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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> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dailydialogue.html" height="32" width="600" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></TD></TR></TABLE><!-- =dialogue --></A> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=21-d></A><A NAME=20JK320></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#21-d"><font color=white><b>Sunday<BR>June&nbsp; 21, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#20JK320"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Christmas come early! Almost anyway...we've got <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/">Matt Taibbi blogging</A> each day now!!!!! The most recent three blog entries are righteous.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/06/18/the-greatest-non-apology-of-all-time/">The greatest non-apology of all time</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/06/17/extramarital-politics/">Extramarital politics</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/06/16/is-corporate-tax-reform-already-dead/">Is corporate tax reform already dead?</A><BR><BR> Taibbi is like a sober Hunter S. Thompson. Who could ever forget the classic "<A HREF="http://www.nypress.com/article-9701-shoveling-coal-for-satan.htmlv">Shovelling coal for Satan</A>"! Here is an excerpt from the Greatest Non-Apology blog which discusses the debt crisis:<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> So some Dutch teachers' union that a year before was buying ultra-safe US Treasury bonds in 2006 runs into a Goldman salesman who offers them a different, "just as safe" AAA-rated investment that, at the moment anyway, just happens to be earning a much higher return than treasuries. Next thing you know, a bunch of teachers in Holland are betting their retirement nest eggs on a bunch of meth addicted "homeowners" in Texas and Arizona.<BR><BR>This isn't really commerce, but much more like organized crime: it was a gigantic fraud perpetrated on the economy that wouldn't have been possible without accomplices in the ratings agencies and regulators willing to turn a blind eye. Imagine a meat company that bred ten billion rats, fattened them on trash and sewage, ground their bodies into chuck, and then sold it all as grade-A ground beef to McDonald's and Burger King, right under the noses of the USDA: this is exactly the same thing, only with debt instead of food. We're eating it, they're counting the money.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <DIV align="right">Jeff&nbsp;Koyre &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=20Sisk334></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"> <A HREF="#20Sisk334"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>6/20/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; I have this sense of trepidation... like we cannot see it from here, but the whole world of trade and finance is in free-fall.<BR><BR>Novartis may not be the worst example. Personally, I think that vaccines that are only good for a year are not of much use as a means of protection. The immune system is the important protection, and that is usually a result of diet and attitude. (IMHO)<BR><BR>What concerns me most is a suspicion that Big Pharma and the AIG level of insurers will take the line of least resistance &#151; remember Katrina! &#151; and plan to do nothing, just as the feds and states did then.<BR><BR>I cannot forget all the millions that Stalin let starve trying to save his farm system; Hitler's regime did the same only in different modality, as did the Chinese Party leaders more than once when their grand plan began to fall apart. There has been no decade that I remember, or can research in the past for as long as our records reach, that has not seen genocide somewhere on earth, sometimes in two or more instances in different locations.<BR><BR>Genocide is one huge exception to the newsman's slogan: if it bleeds, it leads. Genocide gets buried with its victims, usually.<BR><BR>Now that Wi-Fi is almost anywhere, anyone with a camera phone can transmit images that disprove the lies of the powerful. But won't stop a tank in its tracks.<BR><BR>I think that the marching citizens of Persia are doing something that will prove to be a world event no matter how it resolves, as did the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the uprising in Budapest in 1956.<BR><BR>More instances evade my recollection presently. But they are out there...<BR><BR>It is difficult to put my stronger feelings about this mess into words, but let me start with Taibbi &#151; I cannot help but feel that he is addressing the choir; the people he needs to get to are listening to the Drudge... and that fat creepy jiggle-like-jello guy.<BR><BR>The whole structure of this oligarchy (posing as a republic to anyone who wants to stay in denial) &#151; is built upon corrupt practices; those who are manipulating it to their own profit and purposes are little more than criminal scum, whole dynasties of same whose ancestors built the framework so well that all their descendants need to do to keep it running is simply to show up. No feck required.<BR><BR>The air of this corpulent state is so dismally evil that like-minded persons flock to the same standard irregardless of the type of business they hope to plunder, and all but a tiny percent (sacrificed to the populace) profit hugely and steal everything not already taken.<BR><BR>An endless war offers endless opportunity for profiteering, with no threat of punitive action against them now or later.<BR><BR>The farther back you look, you see the same sort of steady-state pilfering; the names and dates change... billionaires do not get that bloated without taking some shady steps up front. It really is a conspiracy of criminals, on a humongous scale.<BR><BR>For anyone who has read any Kafka or Dostoyevsky, the mental climate these days is as bizarre as anything in their novels. Perhaps even more so... <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Siskiyousis &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Dang well said and depressing as hell and perfectly in harmony with some seriously blue thought that have been rattling around in my head the past few days. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=20Sisk306></A></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A HREF="#20Sisk306"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>6/20/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; Thanks. I try not to think too seriously any more but I simply cannot avoid some of it. I get any chance to dump some of the load, I'll do it.<BR><BR>My grandmother was born on a farm alongside the Ohio River in 1888; she always advised keeping the mind and hands busy &#151; at least one or both. She lived through a hell of a lot of weird times until her death in 1964; I kinda wonder what she would think if she had lived now. She still had faith in God and man. Nice gig... <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Siskiyousis &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --><BLOCKQUOTE><i> The thought of grandparents makes me shake my head in amazement, at the lickety-split passage of time. My grandmother's mother came across the west in a conestoga wagon, and my grandmother worked at Boeing in its earliest years sewing the fabric on cloth-covered wings, and lived to see computers and cell phones. And our grandchildren will occasionally marvel that we were here when America was still a rich and powerful nation. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=20JK342></A></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A HREF="#20JK342"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>6/20/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; The corruption and brutality of the American Regime is what dooms it over the long run. But Bush II built the coffin and Obama is nailing it shut. Sun Tzu described how to carry out War, and guess what? Bush and Obama have done everything wrong. Repeatedly. But their worst mistake is taking the Moral Low Ground.<BR><BR>They are ensuring defeat in detail. At a certain point even US patriots will just step back and let the regime fall, for it is literally and figuratively indefensible. Nothing needs to be done to hasten or retard the decline. It is an inevitability. The key question is what comes Next? <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Jeff&nbsp;Koyre &nbsp; </div><BR> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=20BB559></A><HR NOSHADE> <BLOCKQUOTE><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#20BB559"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-16.html#tctt-135">Eli Lilly & Co. will eventually negotiate a small fine</A> without admitting any wrongdoing. That would that be the expected end, the normal "punishment" for such crimes, in a society of, for, and by corporations, where people are second-class citizens who can't even count on getting the medicine they pay for.</i></BLOCKQUOTE> Merck publishes its own "medical journal" touting its own drugs ...and passing it off as "peer review" ...<BR><BR>BIG PHARMA is out of control! <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Blue Bunting &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=20Wig354></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#20Wig354"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/19/no-maam-for-boxer/?source=newsleories-today_more_news_carousel">Sen. Boxer to officer: Don't call me ma'am</A><BR><BR>Much ado about nothing. I watched the incident and all Senator Boxer did was ask that she be referred to as senator. He agreed and that was the end of it. It seems the MSM has time to nit-pick insignificant things like this but can't find time to cover in depth the information covered in the hearing.<BR><BR>What bugs me more than this minor tiff is the continual referring to ex-elected (and appointed for that matter) officials by the honorific titles after they no longer hold that office. Referring to someone as Senator, Governor, Mayor or Judge after they no longer are in that office smacks (to me at least) as an obsequious deference. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> On the past-due honorific, I share some of that annoyance you feel. If I'm having a conversation with an ex-Governor (fat chance) I'll probably refer to him/her as Governor because "Former Governor" is a mouthful and a first name basis seems inappropriate if we're not friends. What I've sometimes seen and consider far more disturbing, almost misleading, is when the ex-leaders are introduced or discussed by pundits as if they're still holding their former titles, like "Governor Howard Dean" or President Bill Clinton". To me that's over the top adulation, more respect than anyone who's not a god deserves. But I suppose that's just my opinion and I'm aware that it's weird on my part.<BR><BR>As for the Pelosi thing, it looks to me like an odd character quirk, but I've seen much odder. Also, always remember that when you're reading the <i>Washington Times</i> you're reading the newspaper equivalent of Fox News. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> Is there something wrong with using Mr./Ms/Mrs if one wants to avoid to much a familiarity. Of course in Deans case one can call him Dr. Dean. He's still a practicing doctor at least I think he still has a license to practice. Don't we all have odd quirks.<BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Nothing wrong with Mr/Ms/Mrs, but there's also nothing particularly wrong with referring to a retired Judge as Judge, or an ex-mayor as Mayor. It's an awfully minor thing, and if an ex-Mayor took offense at being called Mr or Ms I'd think he/she was batty. I dunno. Let's apply the Muhammad Ali rule: call people what they want to be called. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> Ok. I guess I consider it just a disgusting Tory residual. It smacks of royalty obeisance. I come from a long line of Yankee rebels.<BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> I can understand that perspective entirely. Nothing wrong with it. Almost wish I shared it. Certainly there's nothing more to my perspective on such honorifics than royalty obeisance, right you are. It's a bit unpleasant to see it in myself, but there I am, stuck with such silliness in my own dang head. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=20Arry315></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#20Arry315"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Greetings Harry and Helen &#151; long time no see.<BR><BR>Perhaps a bit lengthy and high level, but might I strongly recommend a quick glance at the reports from Ekaterinburg and the Bilderberger meeting? I might? Well, thank you.<BR><BR>Solid reports, not by me, on current high level planning, the destruction of the US $ and such like.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://wahyusamputra.blogspot.com/2009/06/bric.html">The ending of America's financial-military empire</A><BR><BR> <A HREF="http://wahyusamputra.blogspot.com/2009/05/bilderberger-plan-for-2009.html">Bilderberger plan for 2009</A><BR><BR>Anything at the blogspot is yours for the taking, of course. Take care, <BR><BR><DIV align="right">'Arry &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Kind comments are always appreciated and you can recommend any clicks you wish, but with all possible kindness I simply have less than zero interest in anything that references Prison Planet (the first link) or the Bilderbergers (second link). The real world presents enough real problems, there's no need to amplify the genuine mess with nutty conspiracy theories. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=22Arry829></A></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"> <A HREF="#22Arry829"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i><B>6/22/2009:</B></i> &nbsp; Yes, PrisonPlanet does seem on the nutty side, but the meeting in Ekaterinburg really did take place, and decided what Hudson's article says it did. It was a mistake to use the Prison Planet URL, thanks for the advice, rather than the original Counterpunch one and that's been amended.<BR><BR>Peace on earth to men of good will, as the (Catholic) Douai version of the bible puts it; makes a great deal more sense than the standard translation, I always thought. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">'Arry &nbsp; </div><!-- reply --> </TD></TR></TABLE> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=19-d></A><A NAME=19SG250></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#19-d"><font color=white><b>Friday<BR>June&nbsp; 19, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#19SG250"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rescind17-2009jun17,0,5870586.story">Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage</A><BR><BR> They should be horsewhipped in public. flogged to within an inch of their lives ... and then refused medical care. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Sven&nbsp;Goldstein &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=19HB250></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#19HB250"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Novartis says that its vaccine against the dreaded H1N1 flu virus <A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSB33672820090614">won't be free for poor nations</A>, but they might consider a discount:<BR><BR>I've felt for a long time that Novartis is one of the best pharmaceutical companies. Not perfect, of course. But refusing to give away swine flu vaccinations for free to every poor country on Earth is not something I think they should be criticized for. Here's why:<BR><BR>1) Novartis is one of the few remaining vaccine makers. Most pharmas dropped this business line because of the low profits and high risks.<BR><BR>2) If we want to maintain the capability to produce billions of doses of vaccines on short notice, someone is going to have to invest in the factories, pay the salaries, etc. Why shouldn't rich countries pay, like the US which squanders about $1 trillion a year on "defense"? Or, shouldn't Laura Flanders use her salary to purchase swine flu vaccinations for everyone in Somalia? Why shouldn't the U.N. pay?<BR><BR>3) Flu vaccines have to be recreated each year because the viruses mutate. So the vaccines aren't like those biological drugs which have patent protection for 15 years and cost $10,000 a year per patient. They require investment each year. Who pays for that?<BR><BR>4) If we're going to require corporations to give away their products for free to poor nations then shouldn't we be demanding that Nestle provide free hot chocolate and Unilever give out free Ben & Jerry ice cream? Should we demand that McDonalds open restaurants in poor countries and give away Big Macs to everyone who is hungry?<BR><BR>FYI, the recent <i>Business Week</i> article about the heinous Novartis business practices:<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_25/b4136030131343.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories">Novartis: Radically remaking its drug business</A> <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Hazel Burke &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=18MT437></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#18MT437"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://news.aol.com/article/ohio-driveway-tickets/528334">City fines parking in own driveways</A><BR><BR>Sounds like the city needs money, so they do things like this because people will have to get permits which costs money and on those permits they will have to name who is performing the work which the city will then go after for taxes. Judging by some of the comments a lot of cities do this which I thought surprising. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Mark T. &nbsp; </div><BR> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=17-d></A><A NAME=16AA901></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#17-d"><font color=white><b>Wednesday<BR>June&nbsp; 17, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#16AA901"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; The National Organization for Women (NOW) <A HREF="http://www.now.org/issues/media/hall-of-shame/index.php">went after David Letterman</A> in his kerfuffle with Sarah Palin, and in doing so embarrassed themselves, and played perfectly into the stereotype that feminists have no sense of humor. NOW could have scored some genuine points in the public debate if they'd limited their critique to Letterman's use of the "slutty" joke against Palin &#151; I don't think there's much dispute that it's wrong to make women (or anyone) the butt of jokes based on their appearance, and that it's distasteful for male comedians to make jokes where the punchline is a woman getting screwed. Jokes like that (even when they're funny) are rather unavoidably demeaning to women, and (in my opinion) ought to be avoided by big-0time professional comedians like Letterman. His success is, after all, is based on widespread appeal, so it's just dumb economics to make a punchline out of half your audience. Insofar as NOW complained about all of that, their complaint was smart and well thought-out.<BR><BR>NOW's mental malfunction was in buying into Palin's bullshit claim that the intended butt of the joke was the 14-year-old daughter. For a dozen reasons obvious to anyone who stops and thinks, that's just an absurd allegation &#151; he was joking about Bristol Palin, the woman who's used her high school pregnancy in a bid for fame by becoming, preposterously, a spokeswoman for teen abstinence. By joining Palin in her insipid insinuation that Letterman was targeting a 14-year-old girl, NOW makes themselves Republican tools, party to a smear that they can't be stupid enough to believe. My respect for NOW has been popped like a balloon. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Angry Annie &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=16Wig1023></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#16Wig1023"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; The reneging begins&nbsp;...<BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093219.html">US could yield on settlement freeze, says government source</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The US administration is prepared to show flexibility on construction in West Bank settlements, a government source in Jerusalem says. The Americans will apparently not demand a full freeze on construction, but will agree that projects now underway can be completed, Israeli officials say.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> Another Obama reassessment. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=16SO1018></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#16SO1018"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; "De-Dollarization" &#151; in progress... This article describes an important thing to understand:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/15-0">The American Empire is bankrupt</A>&nbsp; by Chris Hedges <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> This week marks the end of the dollar's reign as the world's reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That's over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful.<BR><BR>Barack Obama, and the criminal class on Wall Street, aided by a corporate media that continues to peddle fatuous gossip and trash talk as news while we endure the greatest economic crisis in our history, may have fooled us, but the rest of the world knows we are bankrupt. And these nations are damned if they are going to continue to prop up an inflated dollar and sustain the massive federal budget deficits, swollen to over $2 trillion, which fund America's imperial expansion in Eurasia and our system of casino capitalism. They have us by the throat. They are about to squeeze.<BR><BR>There are meetings being held Monday and Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, (formerly Sverdlovsk) among Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other top officials of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The United States, which asked to attend, was denied admittance. Watch what happens there carefully. The gathering is, in the words of economist Michael Hudson, "the most important meeting of the 21st century so far."&nbsp;...</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> See also: <A HREF="http://www.michael-hudson.com/articles/globalism/090614De-DollarizationDismantlingEmpire.html">De-Dollarization: Dismantling America's financial-military Empire</A>&nbsp; <nobr>by Michael Hudson</nobr> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "The artificially maintained unipolar system," Mr. Medvedev spelled out, is based on "one big center of consumption, financed by a growing deficit, and thus growing debts, one formerly strong reserve currency, and one dominant system of assessing assets and risks." At the root of the global financial crisis, he concluded, is that the United States makes too little and spends too much. Especially upsetting is its military spending, such as the stepped-up US military aid to Georgia announced just last week, the NATO missile shield in Eastern Europe and the US buildup in the oil-rich Middle East and Central Asia.<BR><BR>The sticking point with all these countries is the US ability to print unlimited amounts of dollars. Overspending by US consumers on imports in excess of exports, US buy-outs of foreign companies and real estate, and the dollars that the Pentagon spends abroad all end up in foreign central banks. These agencies then face a hard choice: either to recycle these dollars back to the United States by purchasing US Treasury bills, or to let the "free market" force up their currency relative to the dollar &#151; thereby pricing their exports out of world markets and hence creating domestic unemployment and business insolvency.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <DIV align="right">Shannon O. &nbsp; </div><BR> P.S. The dollar bounce during the past few days marks yet another excellent opportunity to evacuate the Titanic.<BR><BR> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=15-d></A><A NAME=14HB127></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#15-d"><font color=white><b>Monday<BR>June&nbsp; 15, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#14HB127"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; About a month ago <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-05.html#30HB1146">I predicted</A> that Novartis (NVS) would rise 10% minimum during the coming year. A monkey could have predicted that in a rising stock market, but the technical and fundamental issues have converged nicely: &nbsp;<a href="http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.web?c=NVS,uu[h,a]daclyimy[dc][pc5!b20!b50!b200][vc60][iut!Uc20!La12,26,9!Lg!Ll14!Lh14,3]">NVS chart, breakout</a>&nbsp; and &nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_25/b4136030131343.htm?chan=globalbiz_europe+index+page_top+stories">Novartis: Radically remaking its drug business</a>.<BR><BR> The <i>Business Week</i> article is about the only item in the news today that doesn't make me want to puke or commit seppuku. I really, really like the story &#151; in contrast to the shameful news about Eli Lilly today at Bloomberg, which ought to result to revocation of their corporate charter:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aTLcF3zT1Pdo">Lilly sold drug for dementia knowing it didn't help, files show</a>.<BR><BR> BTW, I think NVS is still at a good price and have put about 1/3 of my IRA. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Hazel Burke &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> My IRA is in canned goods and camp-out equipment.<BR><BR>I'm halfway through the Novartis article, and it's a real affront to my assumptions to see a CEO thinking about right and wrong instead of just the bottom line. It's brightening my morning quite a lot. The news about Eli Lilly would be shocking, if I believed anyone in that company's management had a shred of integrity, but of course I don't. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> The Eli Lilly story isn't just about lack of ethics in pursuit of profit. They intentionally gave useless medicine with dangerous side effects to sick people who trusted them. I want Lilly on death row, frankly. Guantanamo. This is worse than what Bush did. At least he had some excuse, besides his being just a retarded crap head. I want their company out of business permanently. This is the worst thing ever. I am just sick about it. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Hazel Burke &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=14SB456></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#14SB456"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090614/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear">North Korea warns of nuclear war amid rising tensions</A><BR><BR>Mountain out of molehill, hidden real threat, or paranoia inducer? <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Sherri B. &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Kim Jong Il wants something tangible, but I don't think he's stupid enough to want nuclear war. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm a tad bit worried that Kim hasn't been taking whatever meds he should be taking. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Sherri B. &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=14TC913></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#14TC913"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Will America be a paper tiger?<BR><BR>As I had suspected, Pres Ahmadinejad's re-election (but NOT by the Iranian people), has established the final leg of the course for the ongoing end game between America and its Allies and Iran and its Allies.<BR><BR>Emboldened by America's political, economic and military failures and the general economic weakness of NATO & NORAD governed countries, Iran and N. Korea have continued to enhance their nuclear technologies and geopolitical objectives.<BR><BR>To undermine America and its Allies at this time is a grave error in judgement. Following the Great Depression, America rose, ....eventually, to meet and overcome the threats of Fascism and Imperial Japan.<BR><BR>It dropped the bomb before, and it will do it again if need be. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">The Canadian &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Your conclusion seems sound, if we replace "if need be" with "if some American leader wants to", but I'm boycotting the worryfest over Iran and North Korea. We're always encouraged by media and government to lose sleep over the possibility that Iran and North Korea might "enhance" their feeble nuclear technologies and futile geopolitical objectives, but the thousands and thousands of known and functional nuclear weapons aimed out of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, etc. are exponentially more worry-worthy. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=14Wig455></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#14Wig455"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093048.html">Netanyahu, Mideast peace and a return to the Axis of Evil</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The prime minister's speech last night returned the Middle East to the days of George W. Bush's "axis of evil." Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a patriarchal, colonialist address in the best neoconservative tradition: The Arabs are the bad guys, or at best ungrateful terrorists; the Jews, of course, are the good guys, rational people who need to raise and care for their children. In the West Bank settlement of Itamar, they're even building a nursery school. </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> It's a sad waste of time, energy, and money the world has poured into efforts to bring Israel to the peacemaking table. <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="http://www.truthout.org/061409Z">Top pieces of evidence that the Iranian presidential election was stolen</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> "What I've said is full of speculation and informed guesses. I'd be glad to be proved wrong on several of these points. Maybe I will be."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> "....full of speculation...." Jumping the gun? Our mainstream media is (it seems) using speculation instead of factual reporting. It's so much easier I guess. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Neither Juan Cole nor <i>TruthOut</i>, where this is published, are part of the mainstream media, in my estimation. They're not paid to hold your attention between commercials. Juan Cole knows more about the Middle East than any half-dozen alleged experts who appear on MSNBC or CBS or CNN.<BR><BR>Professor Cole and TruthOut are the opposite of the mainstream media, but in a good way &#151; they're among the best of the alternatives to the ordinary news-blather that's owned by billion-dollar corporations and funded by ads for Toyota or McDonald's. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A HREF="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/statistical-evidence-does-not-prove.html">Statistical report purporting to show rigged Iranian election is flawed</A><BR><BR> Just because we're good at manipulating election results doesn't mean every election results around the world we don't like are rigged. Even if the Iranian result proves to be untainted I'm sure we'll come up with some reason to reject the results. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> I'll cheerfully reconsider if there's eventually evidence that Iran's election wasn't rigged, but at present the evidence sure seems to tilt the other way. Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com has my respect, and I'll want to read it when he analyzes the election, which isn't quite what he's doing on that page. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=15Jim854></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#15Jim854"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Sometimes <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html">police abuse</A> is not as straightforward as them hitting you over the head with their baton...<BR><BR>Since 1923 here in California we have had the "speed trap law" keeping police from setting and enforcing too-low speed limits.<BR><BR>Now we have a bill in the legislature which will gut the speed trap law. The bill is AB 564. It is coming to a crucial vote next Tuesday, the 23rd, in the Calif. Senate Transportation Committee. I was hoping you might write something about it. The only possible explanation for this bill must be money - it is opposed by the AAA, and even the legislature's own staff has nothing good to say about it. This is from the staff's analysis, posted on the legislature's official web page for the bill:<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> "By redefining the definition of 'local streets and roads,' under this bill, it is possible that unrealistic posted speed limits would be established without any regard to prevailing speeds (85th percentile) or traffic characteristics of the roadway. This could result in 'speed traps' and *speeding citations for the overwhelming majority of drivers that are driving these roads in a prudent and safe manner* causing no undue speed-related traffic hazards." (Official Bill Analysis of 5-15-09, emphasis added.)</TD></TR></TABLE><BR>My site's page about AB 564 is at <A HREF="http://www.highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamslawLegisInfo.html">highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamslawLegisInfo.html</A>.<BR><BR>Also, if you haven't heard about California's fake red light camera tickets, you might find my info about them to be eye opening. <A HREF="http://www.highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamsticket.htm#Fakes">highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamsticket.htm#Fakes</A> (This is one of those things that could only happen in California.) <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Jim &nbsp; <BR>editor, <A HREF="http://highwayrobbery.net/">highwayrobbery.net</A> &nbsp; </div><BR> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=14-d></A><A NAME=12SB956></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#14-d"><font color=white><b>Sunday<BR>June&nbsp; 14, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#12SB956"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/11/dobson-goeglein-bush/">Dobson and disgraced WH staffer pay Bush tribute:<BR>He was 'the instrument in God's hand' that kept us safe</A><BR><BR>Alrighty then &#151; Meds anyone? <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Sherri B. &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=11SJ824></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#11SJ824"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Re: <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-09.html#notkg-552">Steve Warshak, owner of Enzyte, gets 25 years</A><BR><BR>Are you saying Enzyte with its <A HREF="http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=15363">Horny Goat Weed</A> won't help with erectile decline? With a name like that, it has to be good! <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/09/london-police-waterboarding-pot/">UK cop accuses colleagues of waterboarding pot suspects</A><BR><BR> Waterboarding, police and pot. I never thought I would see these three words together in the same news story. Thank you, Dick Cheney. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">SirJ &nbsp; </div><BR> <A NAME=11AH140></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#11AH140"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Tonight we have dueling banjos &#151; da da DA DA DA DA duh duh Duh... as Mike Whitney squares off against Bill Bonner.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.counterpunch.com/whitney06092009.html">Is hyper-inflation around the corner?</A>&nbsp; by Mike Whitney<BR><BR> I've been following Whitney's commentariat career and over the years his chops have accumulated into a routine that sounds almost like he understands the basics and synthesizes predictions on his own. But there is no way I would bet any amount of money, no matter how small or large on what he predicts. A parrot pooping on stock market quotes printed in the Wall Street Journal has as much chance of providing good advice. If he has any qualifications for the job I've never heard of them... And what does he invest in? Never heard a word. For all I know, Mike is just another unemployed little guy with a gigantic keyboard. So if Mike says hyperinflation is not happening, then I say, "So?", because Bill Bonner's work is actually useful and moneyworthy.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/two-ways-to-deleverage-an-economy/2009/06/10/">What happens when the Feds run out of dogs?</A>&nbsp; by Bill Bonner <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> You see, there are two ways to deleverage an economy.<BR><BR>The obvious way is the traditional, honest way &#151; in which people actually try to pay their debts. This causes the problems we see as falling asset prices, bankruptcies, joblessness and the other hallmarks of a Great Depression.<BR><BR>But the feds have their hearts set on preventing a depression. And they're doing it the only way they can, by the old 'hair of the dog' technique. The economy suffers from too much debt &#151; so they're going to give it more! Much more. The whole pooch! The whole kennel! Then, they round up every stray mongrel in town. What happens when they run out of dogs? Well, that's a discussion for another day.<BR><BR>We have had many laughs following the feds and their war against capitalism. They're gambling an amount nearly equal to the entire US GDP to try to prevent people from getting what they have coming. In the process, they're almost certain to make a mess of things.<BR><BR>The smart money is betting that they fail to stop deleveraging. But the very smart money is betting that they create a new, worse problem &#151; inflation, maybe hyper-inflation. Inflation reduces the real value of debt, but in a perverse and unpredictable way. Debtors don't pay their bills; savers pay them. Inflation &#151; like bailouts &#151; rewards the least responsible players, those who have gotten themselves heavily in debt, and punishes those who have done the 'right' thing. As Germany saw in the '20s, it de-stabilizes the whole society, leading to extremely unwelcome outcomes.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> I have seen no indication that the US government is going to stop throwing good money after bad. Their latest scheme is to give people $4,500 to turn in motorworthy cars for new cars which get slightly better mileage. The old cars must be destroyed, not parted out or sold to Mexico. The only dumber idea I've heard is the ridiculous notion of destroying unsold houses to reduce the inventory clogging the real estate markets. Cash For Clunkers simply moves demand forward and scarcely helps the environment due to the environmental costs involved in producing a new car &#151; and the fact that in future years new cars will be *even* more fuel efficient.<BR><BR>Destroying value with borrowed money is not the way to "save" America. Just as spending $60 billion to bail out GM was idiotic, this idea is more proof, if you needed any, that the government is dead set on destroying the dollar and America's creditworthiness. It is more about helping the rich stay that way than helping fix the broken economy. Once Congress, Obama and the Fed learn that printing our way to prosperity cannot succeed, then deflation might occur. But until then the USS Titanic is steaming full speed ahead to dollar destruction and inflation. The question is not if, but how soon. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Austin&nbsp;Heiber &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> "Cash for Clunkers" isn't the stupidest idea I've ever heard, but only because Congress and the Bush-Cheney-Obama administrations have set such high standards of stupidity. In addition to its other obvious problems, this bright idea will put new cars within quick reach of millions of people who are presently barely dreaming of buying a new car in the next 5-7 years &#151; which means, after a short burst of car buying, we'll see five to seven years of minimal car sales in America, and worse, the market for fuel-efficient cars will be instantly satiated, so it'll look to Detroit's moneypinchers like Americans want bigger, less fuel-efficient cars. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=11Wig252></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#11Wig252"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2009/06/09/exclusive-blessing-sotomayor-hearing-room-with-prayer-and-oil.aspx">Christians bless Sotomayor hearing room with prayer and oil</A><BR><BR>Perhaps putting the oil on the door hinges would have been more appropriate. But then again the anointer was unhinged. <br><br><center>== &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; == &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ==</center><br> <A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/10/whitacre-new-gm-chairman-_n_213611.html">Whitacre, new GM Chairman: "I don't know anything about cars"</A><BR><BR> For the last twenty years GM has had Wall Street nitwit bozos leading it to where it is today. So now another nitwit who knows nothing about cars is taking over? Well I guess having a person with little experience in the Presidential office who seems to be a worker at all trades but a master of none, having a Congress of bunglers, and having a Supreme Court lost in the nineteenth century gives validity to "CHANGE". <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Wig &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> I don't even have a wisecrack to offer. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=11MS248></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#11MS248"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.sundayherald.com/international/shinternational/display.var.2512885.0.key_figures_in_global_battle_against_illegal_arms_trade_lost_in_air_france_crash.php">Key figures in global battle against illegal arms trade lost in Air France crash</A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> Amid the media frenzy and speculation over the disappearance of Air France's ill-fated Flight 447, the loss of two of the world's most prominent figures in the war on the illegal arms trade and international drug trafficking has been virtually overlooked.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> At last, a motive. That's what happens to one when they interfere with the cash business of the CIA. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Marshall S. &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Color me skeptical. Brazilian anti-arms activist Pablo Dreyfus and Swiss diplomat Ronald Dreyer? I've never heard of either man, rest their souls. If arms dealers or the CIA wanted them dead, aren't there easier, less complex ways to eliminate them, like a car wreck or a bullet through the skull? </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=10-d></A><A NAME=09MAF210></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#10-d"><font color=white><b>Wednesday<BR>June&nbsp; 10, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#09MAF210"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; A light went off in my head when <A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/08-5">I read this</A>, "Ah HAA, now I understand..." This is what Barky is protecting. This <i>is</i> the US modus operandi, not just under Bush/Obama but for four <i>decades</i>. Torture wasn't an aberration caused by post-9/11 traumatic stress. It was government POLICY with a bureaucracy of its own.<BR><BR>I've excerpted seven key paragraphs...<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/08-5">Back to the future in torture policy</A>&nbsp; <nobr>by Alfred W. McCoy</nobr> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> ... This secret research produced two discoveries central to the CIA's more recent psychological paradigm. In classified experiments, famed Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb found that he could induce a state akin to drug-induced hallucinations and psychosis in just 48 hours &#151; without drugs, hypnosis, or electric shock. Instead, for two days student volunteers at McGill University simply sat in a comfortable cubicle deprived of sensory stimulation by goggles, gloves, and earmuffs. "It scared the hell out of us," Hebb said later, "to see how completely dependent the mind is on a close connection with the ordinary sensory environment, and how disorganizing to be cut off from that support."<BR><BR>During the 1950s, two neurologists at Cornell Medical Center, under CIA contract, found that the most devastating torture technique of the Soviet secret police, the KGB, was simply to force a victim to stand for days while the legs swelled, the skin erupted in suppurating lesions, and hallucinations began &#151; a procedure which we now politely refer to as "stress positions."&nbsp;...<BR><BR>In 1963, the CIA distilled its decade of research into the curiously named KUBARK Counter-intelligence Interrogation manual, which stated definitively that sensory deprivation was effective because it made "the regressed subject view the interrogator as a father-figure... strengthening... the subject's tendencies toward compliance." Refined through years of practice on actual human beings, the CIA's psychological paradigm now relies on a mix of sensory overload and deprivation via seemingly banal procedures: the extreme application of heat and cold, light and dark, noise and silence, feast and famine &#151; all meant to attack six essential sensory pathways into the human mind.<BR><BR>After codifying its new interrogation methods in the KUBARK manual, the Agency spent the next 30 years promoting these torture techniques within the US intelligence community and among anti-communist allies. In its clandestine journey across continents and decades, the CIA's psychological torture paradigm would prove elusive, adaptable, devastatingly destructive, and powerfully seductive. So darkly seductive is torture's appeal that these seemingly scientific methods, even when intended for a few Soviet spies or al-Qaeda terrorists, soon spread uncontrollably in two directions &#151; toward the torture of the many and into a paroxysm of brutality towards specific individuals. During the Vietnam War, when the CIA applied these techniques in their search for information on top Vietcong cadre, the interrogation effort soon degenerated into the crude physical brutality of the Phoenix Program, producing 46,000 extrajudicial executions and little actionable intelligence.<BR><BR>In 1994, with the Cold War over, Washington ratified the U.N. Convention Against Torture, seemingly resolving the tension between its anti-torture principles and its torture practices. Yet when President Clinton sent this Convention to Congress, he included four little-noticed diplomatic "reservations" drafted six years before by the Reagan administration and focused on just one word in those 26 printed pages: "mental."<BR><BR>These reservations narrowed (just for the United States) the definition of "mental" torture to include just four acts: the infliction of physical pain, the use of drugs, death threats, or threats to harm another. Excluded were methods such as sensory deprivation and self-inflicted pain, the very techniques the CIA had propagated for the past 40 years. This definition was reproduced verbatim in Section 2340 of the US Federal Code and later in the War Crimes Act of 1996. Through this legal legerdemain, Washington managed to agree, via the U.N. Convention, to ban physical abuse even while exempting the CIA from the U.N.'s prohibition on psychological torture.<BR><BR>This little noticed exemption was left buried in those documents like a landmine and would detonate with phenomenal force just 10 years later at Abu Ghraib prison.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <DIV align="right">Mahdi&nbsp;Abdul&nbsp;Finkelstein &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> I don't think anyone disputes that American operatives were using torture long before Bush and Cheney took power. The difference between Bush-Cheney torture policies and the torture policies of their predecessors was somewhat a matter of scale, but much more dramatically a matter of admissions and leaving a paper trail. In the past there was a veneer of secrecy to such inhumanity. You could turn your head and plausibly pretend it wasn't happening. Nowadays, though, as the revelations continue, the Bush-Cheney response has been to basically brag. "Yeah, we tortured" (though they usually sidestep that word), they say, "and we're proud of it."<BR><BR>To me, that's a substantially worse moral position than what came before. The admissions and the bragging are grounds for an open, honest, well-funded investigation with subpoena power, exactly the kind of pursuit of the truth that's never been allowed in America and never will be allowed. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i><A NAME=09MAF211></A></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#09MAF211"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; I think a takeaway from the article is that the US has carved out exceptions to anti-torture law and treaty allowing them to *continue* using sensory deprivation and self-inflicted pain (via stress positions). I believe they are continuing the use of these methods and will never stop using their Mind Rape techniques. That too is the result of Obama's refusal to prosecute past crimes.<BR><BR>Another takeaway is that we can expect, at minimum, that Americans captured, arrested or "detained" by other governments will be subject to these same techniques &#151; if not much worse. It just stands to reason because the US has "educated" everyone in Mind Rape and has furthermore established a global precedent for using these techniques without legal effect. The only actual prosecutions for torture occur to citizens of nations that lose wars or who are militarily dominated by the prosecuting nation.<BR><BR>Personally speaking, I am sickened by the continued use of weasel words by major media outlets such as the <i>New York Times</i>, CNN, etc. "Harsh interrogation" wouldn't be totally unreasonable assuming it meant a brief, minor beating and rude questioning. But continued use of Mind Rape technology over weeks, months and years is a violation of every precept of humanity's morality. By continuing to use the weasel words instead of simply saying "torture" and "crimes against humanity", the media are condoning and educating the populace about torture. That makes them accomplices and part of the cover-up obstruction since it makes future prosecutions politically difficult. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Mahdi Abdul Finkelstein &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Absofrickinlutely agreed. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=09Diesel848></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#09Diesel848"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <A HREF="http://money.aol.com/article/court-says-judges-must-avoid-appearance/518155">Court says judges must avoid appearance of bias</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR> <I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I> The Supreme Court ruled Monday that elected judges must step aside from cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> This should have been a no brainer and shouldn't have even had to waste the courts time to have to rule on something this obvious .I can't understand why it was 5-4. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Diesel &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> You can't understand it, Diesel, because you're a decent human being and you think courts ought to have something to do with justice. The Supreme Court's fabled four fascists &#151; Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas &#151; disagree, on (lack of) principle. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=09TBR458></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#09TBR458"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; I have lettuce and carrots and squash and corn and celery and tomatoes and beans and bell peppers and pimiento peppers and herbal remedy and flowers flowers flowers growing on my postage stamp city lot.<BR><BR>I have a compost pile of almost ten years' lineage working its way down top to bottom into handy humus, and 5 dogs adding daily constituents to my soil.<BR><BR>I have optimism because I am a fool and need a reliable Invisible Best Friend, just as I have hope in Obama to save us from insult added to injury.<BR><BR>Quaint thing about the phoenix is that it thought that it would itself rise from its ashes.<BR><BR>Something gonna rise from them, though. Maybe Liberace's candelabra, maybe biodomes grown from ginger root and methane, maybe Jack'n'Jill androids who live about the meaning of wonder.<BR><BR>Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated, but so have the conditions for our continued survival, at least in a manner to which we've grown accustomed.<BR><BR>Today, the irises and lupine and local wild geranium are in final bloom, sweet william is red against the fenceline (I ain't got a tree line, y'all), English daisies and violas and pinks and... ah never mind. Let's just say I have all the flowers I want this year. Yard smells like spring cleaning at a whorehouse.<BR><BR>I have longbottom leaves as fat as a 4-finger lid and about a size 14 boot long. Never seen a reefer leaf that big before. I have troubles galore. I have a wife who's learning to love me all over again (what could be more fun than that, eh?).<BR><BR>I have a friend in Chicago whose novel in revisional progress is sizing up to be SMOKIN'!!! and I helped. Quite the midwife, I've been. I still have to rewrite his 1st chapter so he can learn from my rewrite what's wrong with his 1st chap while telling me, and rightly so, how badly my rewrite sucks.<BR><BR>I <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbYPD1CE5eg">listen to this</A> at least once a day and lookit the purty pitcher. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">The Blue Rajah &nbsp; </div><BR> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- =dialogue --></A><A NAME=08-d></A><A NAME=08TL0838></A><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred><NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#08-d"><font color=white><b>Monday<BR>June&nbsp; 8, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#08TL0838"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Sweden's Pirate Party is reported to have won 7.1% of the vote for seats in the European Parliament, according to <I>The&nbsp;Guardian:</I><BR><BR><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/jun/08/elections-pirate-party-sweden">Sweden's Pirate Party wins EU seat</A><BR><BR> And <I>TorrentFreak</I> reports:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-wins-and-enters-the-european-parliament-090607/">Pirate Party wins and enters the European Parliament</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR><I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I>... With 99.9% of the districts counted the Pirates have 7.1 percent of the votes, beating several established parties. This means that the Pirate Party will get at least one, but most likely two of the 18 (+2) available seats Sweden has at the European Parliament.<BR><BR>When we asked Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge about the outcome, he told <I>TorrentFreak</i>: "We've felt the wind blow in our sails. We've seen the polls prior to the election. But to stand here, today, and see the figures coming up on that screen ... What do you want me to say? I'll say anything"<BR><BR>"Together, we have today changed the landscape of European politics. No matter how this night ends, we have changed it," Falkvinge said. "This feels wonderful. The citizens have understood it's time to make a difference. The older politicians have taken apart young peoples' lifestyle, bit by bit. We do not accept that the authorities' mass- surveillance," he added.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> The <A HREF="http://www.piratpartiet.se/international/english">three main planks of the Pirate Party</A> are, per their website:<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR>1) <I>Reform of copyright laws:</i><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The official aim of the copyright system has always been to find a balance in order to promote culture being created and spread. Today that balance has been completely lost, to a point where the copyright laws severely restrict the very thing they are supposed to promote. The Pirate Party wants to restore the balance in the copyright legislation."<BR><BR>2) <I>Abolition of the patent system:</i><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Pharmaceutical patents kill people in third world countries every day. They hamper possibly life saving research by forcing scientists to lock up their findings pending patent application, instead of sharing them with the rest of the scientific community. The latest example of this is the bird flu virus, where not even the threat of a global pandemic can make research institutions forgo their chance to make a killing on patents."<BR><BR>and 3) <i>Ensuring citizen privacy:</i><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Following the 9/11 event in the US, Europe has allowed itself to be swept along in a panic reaction to try to end all evil by increasing the level of surveillance and control over the entire population. We Europeans should know better. It is not twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and there are plenty of other horrific examples of surveillance-gone-wrong in Europe's modern history.<BR><BR>The arguments for each step on the road to the surveillance state may sound ever so convincing. But we Europeans know from experience where that road leads, and it is not somewhere we want to go.<BR><BR>We must pull the emergency brake on the runaway train towards a society we do not want. Terrorists may attack the open society, but only governments can abolish it. The Pirate Party wants to prevent that from happening."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> A recent court case involving file-sharing which resulted in the conviction and sentencing to one year prison terms of the founders of Pirate Bay may have contributed to BIG popular gains by the Pirate Party:<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202431221332">In Sweden, Pirate Bay verdict feeds populist movement</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR><I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I>The April 17 decision by a Swedish court to jail the four founders of the popular file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay and to fine them $3.6 million for copyright infringement has had a galvanizing effect, especially among young people, sparking demonstrations across Sweden and attracting sympathizers around the world.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>Pirate Bay supporters say the ruling is a direct assault on their personal freedom and online privacy, and have turned their anger into political activism. Within two days of the April 17 decision, 9,000 new members &#151; almost double the previous membership &#151; had registered with Sweden's three-year-old Pirate party, which will be a player in June's European parliamentary elections with a platform that promotes copyright and patent reform. By April 22, membership had rocketed to 37,000, making the party the nation's fourth-largest.&nbsp;...<BR><BR>However the Pirate party fares in the June elections, the Pirate Bay story appears to be far from over. Within days of the verdict, the defendants' lawyers called for a retrial after it was revealed that the presiding judge sits on the board of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property, an IP organization, and &#151; along with some of the plaintiffs' lawyers &#151; is a member of the Swedish Association of Copyright. The defendants have also filed an appeal.<BR><BR>As for the file-sharing site itself, it is carrying on business as usual, simply ignoring the court's ruling.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR>It may also be that the success of the Pirate Party and Pirate Bay is partly "blowback" &#151; payback &#151; for the very heavy-handed and incompetent treatment of average citizens by the RIAA.<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080519/0227541162.shtml">How the RIAA/MPAA helped catapult The Pirate Bay into being one of the world's most popular sites</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR><I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I>It's been almost exactly two years since the entertainment industry had the US government push Swedish officials into shutting down The Pirate Bay. At the time, entertainment officials went on and on about what a "significant blow" the takedown was against all those folks using the site for unauthorized copies of entertainment content. Of course, as we all know, the site was back up within days &#151; and thanks to all the media attention about the raid and the takedown, the site's traffic shot upwards to the point that it's now considered to be one of the top 100 sites in terms of traffic. Quite a "significant blow," huh?</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> and... <A HREF="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/joel-fights-back-david-v-goliath-story-revealed.ars">Inside P2P's "David v. Goliath" story</A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR><I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I>The situation speaks to one basic failing of the US legal system: it treats the plaintiff and the defendant as though they are equally powerful entities, regardless of the actual resources each may have. It disregards the fact that the cost of preparing a legal defense for a trial is prohibitively high &#151; unthinkable for any entity other than a wealthy individual or a good-sized corporation. In most of the cases the RIAA has filed, the matter is resolved by the powerful organization threatening to press the suit into court unless individuals agree to their terms unconditionally. The powerful crush the weak. Goliath defeats David every time. This is not the justice for which I live and fight.<BR><BR>Many have argued that if we want to challenge the status quo, changing the law is better pursued via the legislature, not the courts. So why do we choose to fight in court when we could potentially affect policy in other ways? The answer is simple. We did not choose the courts as a venue; the RIAA did when it waged its massive litigation campaign. In that decision, I believe it also chose to abuse our legal process by using courtrooms and judges as small claims courts. Surely the Congress never imagined it would authorize a litigation campaign against pro se noncommercial defendants. In short, Joel is merely fighting back.</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <DIV align="right">Theo&nbsp;Lipschitz &nbsp; </div><BLOCKQUOTE><i> Yeah, it's a happy day. I have next-to-no interest in downloading corporate-created arts and entertainment, and you wouldn't find anything like that on our computer, but we're rooting for the pirates just because we've never liked bullies. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is pure evil soaked in crap and wrapped in rotten, and the world will be a better place when they're unplugged and out of business. Let it be soon. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=08MK0838></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#08MK0838"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; <i>The LBO (leveraged buyout) corporations:</i>&nbsp; Recently I downloaded a better quality copy of the excellent made in Canada video called <i>The Corporation</i>. You get an almost overwhelming 2 hr. & 25 min. experience since it goes on and on trying to cover, it seems, EVERY relevant issue &#151; even <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0905-31HS.html">the topic HappySysiphus brings up</A>: the closeness of the now so BIG and often corrupt corporations and our government or what I'd call the oligarchy of the corporate heads and the heads of our government.<BR><BR>NOTE: The version I got is this <A HREF="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3586710276141768580">still working Google link</A> (it's complete, can be downloaded, and has unobtrusive German subtitles).<BR><BR>HappySysiphus calls for noting that corporations have too much strength while the film devotes itself to showing the many ways that corporations have caused harm and then showing the protests of the people who managed to work together to successfully end/change certain corporate practices. Their efforts were applauded.<BR><BR>My focus is different. I want to know how the corporations have gotten the power they've gotten, and I want to know how they gained that closeness with the government. Additionally, in the video greed and obtaining higher profits were seen as the root cause of just about everything that turned out to be harmful. Of course, there IS truth in that, but "structural factors" or the way corporations now function get ignored. In other words, getting at some of the organizational details matters especially if you want to actually "shrink" the corporations &#151; which IS an idea I support, but HOW?<BR><BR>Well, while following the GM and Chrysler stories somewhat, I noticed an odd fact (at least to me) which was that Chrysler is 80% owned by a group called Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. So who in the heck are they?<BR><BR>Turning to a variety of Wikipedia articles I've learned a lot. Cerberus Capital is one of the largest private equity (PE) firms, a type of firm new to me, with $24 billion worth of holdings in 2006. Former V.P. Dan Quayle runs one of its units and the current Chairman is John Snow, one of Bush, Jr.'s Treasury Secretaries.<BR><BR>What characterizes these types of firms is that being private their operations aren't very transparent. They have their professional general partner/manager and a small core of passive investors, the limited partners &#151; all wealthy insiders. They are also very intrusive once they carry out their leveraged buyouts, and they often turn the publicly-traded corporations they buy into private companies making them less transparent, too.<BR><BR>Other types of companies that do not produce goods or services themselves are publicly-traded holding companies. They will also own at least 80% of the stock of companies they buy, but they focus on getting the tax-free dividends as their income. They were the forerunners of today's PE firms and were the first to use leveraged buyouts. Some of the well-known individuals in the '80s who got labeled as "raiders" actually headed their own holding companies and were funded by certain investment banking firms. Some obtained earnings by NOT taking over companies &#151; really bribes by companies wanting to be left alone called "greenmail."<BR><BR>As for the PE firms, despite the huge debt loads they take on, they benefit from their ability to deduct their interest payments from their taxes and pay the low capital gains tax rates &#151; assuming they pay taxes. <A HREF="http://www.peimedia.com/pei50">This 2008 article</A> provides its rankings of the largest PE firms in the WORLD &#151; listing just 50. No. 1 was the Carlyle Group, founded in 1987 &#151; this is the one that employed Bush, Sr., the former British P.M. John Major, other former P.M.'s, and now employs President Sarkozy's half-brother. Their holdings are world-wide and include government contractors. I did recognize their name, but I really didn't know what they did. The larger of the PE firms tend to own from 100 to 200 corporations. To them each company employing thousands is a "portfolio." So just the top ten PE firms could own 1,000 to 2,000 companies.<BR><BR>Wikipedia says that PE firms originated in 1946 but remained relatively small and more interested in providing non-debt related venture capital in order to start and expand companies. Today, those sorts of firms are called venture capital (VC) firms. Then, in 1982 the use of leveraged buyouts and junk (risky high-yield) bonds took off aided by the lowering of the capital gains tax rate signed into law by Reagan in Aug. 1981. Changes in the regulations related to corporate pension fund investing enabled those funds to buy the junk bonds the PE firms' buyouts created. In this way the first leveraged buyout boom began.<BR><BR>In other words, we have the birth of the corporate raiders, and who ARE the raiders? Yes, the PE firms that had already formed and were rapidly forming in the '80's. SO, what companies got bought out? Actually, it has been the famous/major corporations we've all heard of &#151; requiring billions to buy out. Obviously, they were/are the ones successful enough to provide all of the cash flow that would pay off the massive loans (85% to 95% of the purchase price in the '80s) and also provide big profits to the PE firms. Between 1979 and 1989 over 2,000 leveraged buyouts were estimated to have occurred. Then, for a few years starting in 1989 there were some junk bond market problems, but things started booming again in 1992.<BR><BR>Of course, the PE firms also had to do a lot of "restructuring" to squeeze out those profits. Clearly, downsizing, keeping wages stagnate, closing plants, cutting R & D, designing and producing lower quality products, inadequately testing materials/ingredients/products, sending jobs offshore to sweatshops in order to literally pay pennies for products that could be priced at $100 or more etc. all occurred as a part of cost-cutting measures. Just the sorts of measures that would create the PE firms' profits, and just the sorts of measures that create the harm "The Corporation" film covered so well.<BR><BR>In the '90s leveraged buyouts involved loans of 60% to 80% of purchase price. However, it is likely that more anti-trust (e.g. collusion, price gouging, blocking competition) violations, deceptive advertising, and important and hidden insider dealings were occurring. Lately, PE firms, now calling themselves financial sponsors, have upped the leveraging again, and they've started joining together for specific transactions. These "club deals" (cartel deals?) allow the firms to share risk and purchase ever larger companies. Thus, from 2006 to mid-2007 the largest buyouts ever occurred.<BR><BR>So back to my original questions. How have corporations gotten the power they've gotten? Well, they've gotten that through the very small group of super-powerful PE firms that own them. As for how they've gained their closeness with the government, that comes from the fact that their owners ARE former Presidents, P.M.s, Sec.'s of the Treasury, etc. who know all of the secrets there are to know and surely know how to use them.<BR><BR>As for how to "shrink" corporations or their power, eliminating the tax breaks the PE firms use (and probably pushed through) would at the least bring in more tax monies and at the most end their chances of remaining profitable. Also, calling for the closure of all such firms makes sense to me &#151; if making radical changes ever becomes possible. Why should corporations be owned by secretive and extremely powerful parasitic private equity firms anyway? Without THEM, some of the "shrinkage" needed would be achieved. Then, we would need to go back and study the problems of earlier corporate structures. Clearly, at no time have employees and those in the communities where the corporations are located been given the RIGHT to offer input &#151; input that could have prevented some of the harm that up to now has only been stopped after much damage and even deaths have occurred. <BR><BR><DIV align="right">Marie K. &nbsp; </div><BR>P.S. Wondering about whether any protests against the PE firms have taken place, I did a search on that subject. <A HREF="http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB117245415047118913-9xw_LRh_jJKnafYsfb0VQg_NIyQ_20080302.html">This Feb. 2007</A> article came up mentioning protests and criticism from UK, Australian, and South African unions. Here are 2 quotes:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (1) "Labor leaders contend that the private-equity model of financing acquisitions with large amounts of debt makes companies less stable, putting jobs and existing benefits at risk." That's certainly proven to be true.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (2) "Underlying labor's arguments is anxiety about the ultimate impact of shifting more global capital and corporate control into fewer hands. On a practical level, too, private-equity deals inevitably upend traditional bargaining relationships. Unions may not know who the ultimate owner of a company is and who to bargain with."<BR><BR>Several more articles such as <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/business/worldbusiness/04iht-04union.13451543.html?_r=1">this one</A> came up related to global protests on July 17, 2008 called for by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in the US who have done <A HREF="http://www.behindthebuyouts.org/storage/documents/SEIU%20Behind%20the%20Buyouts%20April%202007.pdf">a study dated Apr. 2007</A> (pdf) . Here are a few quotes from the SEIU study:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (1) "The biggest five private equity deals together are larger than the annual budgets of all but 16 of the world's largest nations."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (2) "The big private equity firms are now the largest customers and generators of fees to the global investment banks and commercial banks for their stock and bond underwriting, bank lending and investment banking advisory services."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (3)" In addition, the banks that are underwriting most of this debt are repackaging it and selling it to other lenders and investors, laying off the risk on others with limited additional due diligence by the new creditors." So some of the banks' derivatives are related to the junk bonds and could also become toxic.<BR><BR>Thus, I have to conclude that what was Unknown News for me probably isn't for others. So it will be up to Helen & Harry to decide whether this is worth putting up or not. <BLOCKQUOTE><i>I might have guessed the gist of the finance industry's hugeness and evilhood, but the details you tell well are mostly news to me. I saw </i>The Corporation<i> at a theater in Kansas City when it came out in 2003, and I'll add my recommendation to yours, but I'm old and fuzzy-headed on details. All I really remember is shaking my head at the depravity of it all while munching popcorn. </i><BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i>Helen & Harry Highwater</i></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <A NAME=08BC813></A><HR NOSHADE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#08BC813"><FONT COLOR=blue>#</FONT></A>&nbsp; Speaking of corporate looting via the government, see the article below about Obama increasing contractors even as he withdraws a few token troops from Iraq.<BR><BR>And note also that "contractors" cost way more than actual government employees such as soldiers. California, for example, is bankrupt, but its various bureaucracies use quasi-permanent (many year deals) computer programmers and pay more than $150 per hour for them. It is stunning to think how much a *real* war would cost, one involving the US fighting for its very existence.<BR><BR>We are being looted, folks. It is that simple and straightforward. And by "privatizing" so many jobs for so long, the government has lost the skill base to un-privatize the work. Imagine all high-skill jobs being done by contractors at billing rates in excess of $150 per hour and tell how governments can balance budgets?<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/06-4">The privatization of "Obama's War"</A>&nbsp; <nobr>by Michael Winship</nobr><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="25" class="fonty">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" class="fonta"><BR><I>Excerpt:&nbsp;</I>... KBR, Halliburton and the private security firm Blackwater have come to symbolize the excesses of outsourcing warfare. So you'd think that with a new sheriff like Barack Obama in town, such practices would be on the "Things Not to Do" list. Not so.<BR><BR>According to new Pentagon statistics, in the second quarter of this year, there has been a 23% increase in the number of private security contractors working for the Pentagon in Iraq and a 29% hike in Afghanistan. In fact, outside contractors now make up approximately half of our forces fighting in the two countries. "This means," according to Jeremy Scahill, author of the book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, "there are a whopping 242,647 contractors working on these two US wars."<BR><BR>Scahill, who runs an excellent new website called "Rebel Reports," spoke with my colleague Bill Moyers on the current edition of Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. "What we have seen happen, as a result of this incredible reliance on private military contractors, is that the United States has created a new system for waging war," he said. By hiring foreign nationals as mercenaries, "You turn the entire world into your recruiting ground. You intricately link corporate profits to an escalation of warfare and make it profitable for companies to participate in your wars.<BR><BR>"In the process of doing that you undermine US democratic policies. And you also violate the sovereignty of other nations, because you're making their citizens combatants in a war to which their country is not a party.<BR><BR>"I feel that the end game of all of this could well be the disintegration of the nation-state apparatus in the world. And it could be replaced by a scenario where you have corporations with their own private armies. To me, that would be a devastating development. But it's happening on a micro level. And I fear it will start to happen on a much bigger scale."&nbsp;...<BR><BR>In fact, according to budget documents released by the Pentagon last month, as of next year, the cost of the war in Afghanistan &#151; more and more known as "Obama's War" &#151; will exceed the cost of the war in Iraq.<BR><BR>The President asserted in his Cairo speech on Thursday that he has no desire to keep troops or establish permanent military bases in Afghanistan. But according to Jeremy Scahill, "I think what we're seeing, under President Barack Obama, is sort of old wine in a new bottle. Obama is sending one message to the world," he told Moyers, "but the reality on the ground, particularly when it comes to private military contractors, is that the status quo remains from the Bush era."</TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <DIV align="right">Billie&nbsp;Cavanaugh &nbsp; </div><BR> <HR NOSHADE> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxx below at 0906-01-d.html xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <!-- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --> <HR NOSHADE><center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="625" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><BR> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/support-wide.html" width="625" height="550" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD></TR></TABLE></center> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-01-d.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/leftarrow.jpg" border="0" width="75" height="11"><BR>Older dialogue</A> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="54%" class="fonta">Compiled by Helen&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Harry&nbsp;Highwater<BR>for&nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">www.unknownnews.org</a></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-23-d.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/rightarrow.jpg" border="0" height="10" width="75"><BR>Newer dialogue</A></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <center>|&nbsp;&nbsp; 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We post a once-weekly <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">page of news</a> 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; 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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>