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9, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =unknown news=--> <A NAME=notkg-259></A>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attorney General Eric Holder says that immigrants have the constitutional right to legal counsel again. The previous Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, had announced that immigrants had no such constitutional right.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is of course a proper decision and the right thing to do, but it seems to me it's not accurate to call something a constitutional right if you lose it when Republicans are in power and cross your fingers hoping to get it back if Democrats take charge. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that immigrants' right to legal counsel is a temporary privilege available only while Democrats are in power? <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="298" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/protest-huge.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="451"><p><i> "We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights." <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Felix&nbsp;Frankfurter</i> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060303499.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-355></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Justice Department has asked that two former state lawmakers in Alaska be released from prison, due to prosecutorial misconduct. That's a running total, so far, of four Republicans that Attorney General Eric Holder has moved quickly to have released from prison, or, in the case of election thief James Tobin, have charges dropped. And I wouldn't necessarily complain, because you could make a reasonable case for relenting in all four cases, and it's wise, I think, to bend over backwards to avoid the perception of politicizing the Justice Department.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But the question is, does Eric Holder give half a shriveled fig about the Democrats who were railroaded into prison by the crooked Justice Department during the Bush-Cheney era? To the best of my knowledge, neither Holder nor anyone else in the Obama administration has said a single word about Don Siegelman, Paul Minor, and <A HREF="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_628470.html">others Democrats</A> who were the victims of Bush-Cheney's politicized Justice Department. Remember, there were lots more Democrats than Republicans railroaded by Bush-Cheney (I don't have a link handy, but my recollection is that from 2000-08, Democratic politicians were 6+ times as likely to be prosecuted as Republican politicians). <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2009/06/even-republicans-cant-believe-holders.html">Legal Schnauzer</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-230></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a matched set with last week's absurd federal court ruling that <A HREF="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10251861-38.html">cops can use force to collect DNA</A> from people when they're arrested, a county judge in New York has ruled that it's American as apple pie to Taser someone who isn't eagerly cooperative in surrendering DNA evidence. If this isn't unconstitutional under the <A HREF="#FourthAmendment"><FONT COLOR=blue>Fourth Amendment</FONT></A>, then what does "the right of the people to be secure in their persons" mean? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/692141.html">Buffalo News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-811></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Seven new residential high-rises will be going up in the north Tel Aviv neighborhood of Bavli, following yesterday's approval of the plan by the local Planning and Building Council.&nbsp;... However, the site comes burdened with a long history of plans, and resultant battles between its owners and a group of squatters. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">These squatters, several dozen in number, have been living on the site for decades, some since the establishment of the state. Their abodes are basically shacks. Over the years, the authorities ignored them. No permanent dwellings were arranged for them and even now that a plan has been approved for the site, no plan has been made for them. The most likely scenario is that the developers will persuade them to leave in exchange for <nobr>compensation.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "... some since the establishment of the state." Could the unsaid be that these "squatters" are Palestinians and this land really belongs to them? <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1090384.html">Ha'aretz (Jerusalem)</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=1234567890></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="58%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="125" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/yelling.jpg" alt="Politicians & pundits" border="0" width="115" height="115"></TD></TR></TABLE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>America's mainstream political discourse is dominated by lies, insults, general nuttiness, just plain stupidity from right-wing commentators and politicians. And there's really no left-tilted equivalent, since anyone who offers blunt criticism of the right (even when such criticism is warranted and true) is "outside the mainstream", by definition</i>.<BR> <!-- =politicians --> <BR><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018495.php">Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) implies that Obama is on the terrorists' side, says President's speech was "un-American"</A><BR> <!-- =pundits --> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/threats-judges-are-another-warning-s">Threats to judges are another warning sign of rising right-wing extremism</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906030018">Robertson claims Obama is "bringing this country to financial ruin;" US is "moving down the road to a banana republic"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/06/conservative-radio-host-cinciting-violence/">Conservative radio host charged with inciting violence</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/liz-cheney-says-president-obama-wants-h">iz Cheney says President Obama wants to hold hands with terrorists</A><BR> <!-- =fake journalism --> <!-- =Hannity --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="140" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-hannity.jpg" alt="Fox's Sean Hannity" border="1" width="120" height="80"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200906050003">Fox's Hannity says Obama gave "go-ahead" for Iran nukes</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200906040053">Fox's Hannity crops clip to claim Obama "decided to give 9-11 sympathizers a voice" in Cairo speech</A><BR> <!-- =Limbaugh --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-limbaugh.jpg" alt="Rush Limbaugh" border="1" width="100" height="87"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/rush-limpballs-sez-obama-doing-better">Limbaugh says Obama is doing a better job than Al Qaeda of destroying America</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906040032">Limbaugh suggests Obama was really calling for "socialism," "fascism"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906040024">Limbaugh on Obama: "We've got a miniature dictator in waiting here in his own mind"</A><BR> <!-- =O'Reilly --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-oreilly.jpg" alt="Fox's Bill O'Reilly" border="1" width="100" height="90"><BR><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-savage.jpg" alt="Michael Weiner (aka Michael Savage)" border="1" width="100" height="91"> </td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/05/31/tiller/">Fox's O'Reilly had compared Tiller to a Nazi, called him a "baby killer," and warned of "Judgment Day"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906030026">Disney's Savage claims Media Matters is "trying to get me killed"</A><BR> <BR><I>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For all our adult lives we've been advocates for free speech. Without free speech there's no freedom, without censorship there's no tyranny, and we've always hated people who said "I'm for free speech, but&nbsp;..." but now we're two of them.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We're for free speech, but this ain't free speech &#151; it's just corporate-sponsored sedition. When mass media "news" outlets fan the flames of misinformed fury, when an audience of millions is repeatedly told blatant lies (the President is un-American, he hates God and white people, he's leaving America defenseless, etc.) that is a direct danger to democracy and to the President's life, and it should be illegal.</i> <DIV align="right"><i>&#151;H&HH &nbsp; </i></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=notkg-554></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Remarkably, a group of genuine business executives calling themselves Business Leaders for A Fair Economy is taking a public stand for the Employee Free Choice Act.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's important to counter the myths and misunderstandings that unions are bad for business", says the group's <A HREF="http://www.faireconomynow.org/wp-content/uploads/businesleadersad.pdf">ad in the <i>Wall Street Journal</i></A> [pdf]. "Quite the contrary &#151; allowing workers to freely join unions can improve morale, productivity, and retention rates, and our bottom line. Further, enabling workers to make their own choice on how to form a union helps remove unnecessary conflict from the workplace so labor and management can focus on advancing the business.&nbsp;..."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Honesty and common sense, from business leaders? Pinch me, I'm dreaming. "What is good for workers is good for business", says an insurance executive. Another says, "If we don't have a strong working middle class, my business isn't going to exist." No, on second thought, the dream is so sweet, please don't wake me. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/new-business-coalition-pressures-senators-to-back-efca.php?ref=fpc">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-810></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Radio hatemonger Michael Savage does <i>not</i> own Rockstar Beverage Corp, makers of Rockstar Energy Drinks. It's owned by his wife and his son, but Savage himself is, they say, not involved in that company in any way, though Rockstar Beverage Corp and Savage Productions do share the same mailing address and street address. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=23024">GayWired</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <A NAME=notkg-304></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The giant telecom companies that eagerly helped the Bush-Cheney administration with its illegal wiretapping of Americans (you're not allowed to know how many or which Americans &#151; maybe you &#151; were spied upon) will apparently get away with everything, as expected. A judge has ruled that Congress meant it when they passed retroactive immunity for the telecom companies (curiously un-named, in this <i>New York Times</i>coverage).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The judge was appointed by George Herbert Walker Bush, the legislation in question &#151; retroactively making what was illegal legal &#151; is unconstitutional on its face, and <A HREF="http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/06/03">here comes an appeal</A> from the good guys at the ACLU and EFF. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009298551_wiretap04.html">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =nsr --> <A NAME=moma-302></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ex-VP Dick Cheney supports marriage equality, but I still think gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Studies have shown what you'd guess intuitively, that straight people have more sympathy for gay rights <A HREF="http://www.gallup.com/poll/118931/Knowing-Someone-Gay-Lesbian-Affects-Views-Gay-Issues.aspx">when they know someone who's gay</A>(Cheney's daughter is a dyke), so again the moral of the story is, <I>come out</I> Iif you're gay and it's at all practical to do so, <I>come out.</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/06/02/dick-cheney-supports-individuals-rights-to-marry-torture-whom-they-chose/">Comedy Central</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btpe-649></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Marriage equality comes to New Hampshire. The law was signed this week, and takes effect in January. Now there's equal marriage in six of America's fifty states. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gUUXsl3sakXbS8W1AYb4xSxxEMIgD98JEPVG1">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-1020></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An ACLU lawsuit has forced a Tennessee school district to stop blocking students' access to websites presenting facts about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. The district was, however, allowing kids access to websites explaining how horrendous and inhuman it is to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered. Nice to see this kind of officially-sanctioned stupidity dialed back half a notch, but the mindset behind such thinking is just breathtaking, ain't it? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2009/06/04/victory-over-unfair-web-censoring-in-tennessee/">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=Guantanamo></A><A NAME=btpe-527></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another suicide at Guantanamo. Another life stolen, destroyed. Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh al-Hanashi had been held for seven years without charges, and American officials apparently aren't even sure what his name was, as the Associated Press says he's "known as Al-Hanashi", which seems to me rather distinct from saying that was his name. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-02-guantanamo-bay_N.htm?csp=34">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=moma-531></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Chinese government blocked access to Flickr, Hotmail, and Twitter during the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. Because they were worried that people might, you know, complain about their dead friends and family or something. Worth noting, if you have any curiosity about America's new overlords. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jun/02/twitter-china">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=conversation-bubbles></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="230" height="230"></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fontsm">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>We welcome readers' comments, questions, or criticisms. Incoming emails that make sense are published on <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">our dialogue page</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Our email is &#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></TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=btpe-71313></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; US District Judge Thomas Hogan (Reagan 1982) has ruled that the Obama administration must release the unclassified information that it claims justifies holding prisoners at Guantanamo. We're not even talking about classified information, and Obama blathers endlessly about transparency in government, so you have to ask, why did the Obama administration fight this? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN01458519">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-652></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When left-wing extremists burn down a ski lodge or free lab animals, <A HREF="http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov08/backfire_111908.html">they're called eco-terrorists</A> and they're investigated and prosecuted under terrorism laws. When a right-wing extremist kills a doctor, he's <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060301246.html">charged with murder</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm not sure which charge (murder or terrorism) carries stiffer legal penalties, but in public perception and media coverage there's little doubt that <i>terrorism</i> is basically the ultimate scary word. And as the word is commonly used, terrorism means using fear to accomplish one's political goals. It's pretty much indisputable that the terror tactics of the right-wing have made it almost impossible to get a safe and legal abortion in many cities and entire states, but it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that eco-terrorists' crimes have accomplished any political goals. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060301246.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-700></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A "senior policy adviser" for Operation Rescue helped Dr Tiller's murderer keep track of the doctor's court dates, so that the future-killer could attend. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/256/story/69361.html">McClatchy Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-614></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Women whose lives or health were saved by Doc Tiller remembering him fondly, unlike the hatemongers who cheered for and at his death. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.theseminal.com/2009/06/07/women-who-dr-tiller-helped-are-speaking-out/">The Seminal</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-526></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Bush Administration's FBI sent 18 agents in body armor to the home of a man who revealed details of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, according to a little-noticed account of the whistleblower published <nobr>Thursday.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/05/bush-fbi-sent-18-armored-agents-to-search-my-house-wiretap-whisteblower-says/">Raw Story</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =torture --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="145" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/torture-icon.jpg" alt="Torture is not an American ideal." border="1" width="125" height="167"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=moma-422></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's the Obama administration hard at work, trying to block justice and protect American officials who authorized torture and other war crimes over the past eight years. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The White House is actively supporting a new bill jointly sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman &#151; called The Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 &#151; that literally has no purpose other than to allow the government to suppress any "photograph taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009 relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States in operations outside of the United States." As long as the Defense Secretary certifies &#151; with no review possible &#151; that disclosure would "endanger" American citizens or our troops, then the photographs can be suppressed even if FOIA requires disclosure. The certification lasts 3 years and can be renewed <nobr>indefinitely.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/01/photos/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-5220></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We're told here that newly-released documents "reveal" that former Vice President Dick Cheney pressured the DoJ to green-light torture. "Reiterate" would be more accurate than "reveal", wouldn't it? At this point, everyone who gives a damn already knows that Cheney is the Godfather for an era of American torture, and the only people who can't/won't acknowledge that are people who believe George Washington and Jesus Christ would've tortured anyone who gave 'em a sideways glance. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.pubrecord.org/torture/934-newly-released-e-mails-reveals-cheney-pressured-doj-to-approve-torture.html">The&nbsp;Public&nbsp;Record</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =journalism= --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="71" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-abc.jpg" alt="ABC News" border="0" width="71" height="27"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-ap.jpg" alt="Associated Press" border="0" width="50" height="50"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-cbs.jpg" alt="CBS News" border="0" width="54" height="35"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-cnn.jpg" alt="Cable News Network" border="0" width="61" height="33"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-nbc.jpg" alt="NBC News" border="0" width="57" height="45"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=btpe-640></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This week's issue of <i>Newsweek</i> is guest-edited by comedian Stephen Colbert. I just shake my head. I subscribed to <i>Newsweek</i> for a year, decades ago, and <i>Time</i> too, but they've both become more and more irrelevant in recent years &#151; not because of the internet, but because there's less and less journalism between their slick covers. And now, Stephen Colbert? I like him and his show a lot, watch it four nights a week, but a stunt like this just drives home the point that whatever it is <i>Newsweek</i> is doing these days, it ain't journalism. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.observer.com/2009/media/newsweek-turns-tina-tricks-meet-guest-editor-%E2%80%A6-stephen-colbert">New York Observer</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-314></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>New York Times</i> business columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin let loose a blistering anti-union falsehood on MSNBC's <i>Morning Joe</i>, claiming essentially that no company can be profitable with a unionized workforce. The red flag for me isn't that he "misspoke" or made it up, but that this guy is considered expert enough to be a business columnist for the <i>New York Times</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/hoffa-sorkin-and-morning-joe-show-complete-failure-to-understand.php?">Talking&nbsp;Points&nbsp;Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-331></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A judge has decided that newspapers remain free to publish pictures of a politician being arrested. Thanks, your honor. Mighty nice of you to read the constitution. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eandppub.com/2009/06/court-rules-politician-cant-censor-his-own-arrest-photo-the-nerve.html">Editor&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Publisher</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-316></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CNN has aired a startlingly generous exoneration of proven charges of racism against Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama). I'll just sigh and repeat a story I've told before &#151; when I was much younger and CNN was worth watching, I signed up for cable TV <i>only</i> because I wanted to have access to CNN. There are of course far more news options today than there were then, but seeing what CNN has become today is just tragic. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018501.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-916></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After President Obama's big speech in Cairo, ABC News covered Sean Hannity response as if it was a newsworthy counterbalance to Secretary of State Clinton's response. <A NAME=think></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thinker.jpg" alt="'The Thinker' statue" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>It made me stop&nbsp;and&nbsp;think</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quesplanation.jpg" alt="Stop and think" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Never in my life did I think I would see a bunch of old, white men claiming they are being discriminated against. I am sure the Hispanic women who cleaned their houses today are having a good laugh ... or a good cry. Honestly, the absurdity of it all is more than I can take." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/white-people-unite/">Helen Philpot</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "For the past eight months, we have been a nation focused on bailouts and bankruptcies. For the past ten years, we have been a nation ignoring massive wealth transfer and wealth concentration through a rigged Wall Street.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "As simple and clear as this picture is, some of the brightest minds in this country are unwilling to connect the cause and effect of wealth in too few hands to bankruptcies and a tanking economy. Wealth-deprived consumers can't buy the goods and services being produced. This leads to repetitive cycles of layoffs and growing unemployment which leads to more wealth-deprived consumers leading to more overcapacity in production plants, more layoffs, more shrinking purchasing power.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The accompanying, and equally dangerous, problem is that concentrated wealth stifles the very innovation that is necessary to create new industries, new jobs and lead us out of the downward economic spiral." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140394/our_economy_is_going_to_keep_tanking_until_we_stop_shoveling_billions_to_rich_people/">Pam Martens</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "If the government were to actually take charge of GM, instead of playing the pathetic role of passive owner, the bankrupt and seriously troubled auto giant could move beyond just making more cars and more problems to become a forward-thinking pioneer in actually <i>solving</i> problems." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/322">dlindorff</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906040018">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btpe-622></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Keith Olbermann suggests an indirect boycott of Fox News. When you see Fox News on the omnipresent TVs in more and more retail establishments and restaurants, he says you should politely tell the shopkeeper or store manager that you'll be taking your business elsewhere, and why.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is pretty much what I've done for years, only I don't say anything on the spot, because I assume the staff is told by the business's manager or owner to play the propaganda channel. Instead I <A HREF="http://tvbgone.com/cfe_tvbg_respons.php?PHPSESSID=ad39bd3050c65163ce728a4aaa255716">use and recommend TV-B-Gone</A> for fast relief, and when I get home I'll write a polite but brief letter to the proprietor, which has more impact (I think) than a verbal complaint to whomever is working the front counter while you're there. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/special-comment-olberman-calls-boycot">Crooks&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Liars</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-1112></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>New York Times</i> has come up with a new way to lie, calling torture at Guantanamo "intense interrogations", which makes it sound like an extended but utterly polite Q-and-A. Well, it wasn't "intense interrogation", it was torture.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's an embarrassment that the <i>New York Times</i> is considered the best of American mainstream journalism, and it's an even bigger embarrassment that it's true &#151; yeah, the <i>New York Times</i> really <i>is</i> just about the best of American mainstream journalism, but even the <i>New York Times</i> will bend over backwards to avoid reporting the truth about American torture. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/pew/20090604/ts_pew/11thinkobamaisamuslimstill">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-1218></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Vice Presidential daughter Liz Cheney continues her media tour, appearing on 22 "news" shows in 24 days, not to promote a book or act as spokesperson for some agency or group, but to issue lies and half-truths to explain away her father's torture policies. It's weird and, to my limited knowledge, unprecedented for someone's daughter to become a media icon solely for her willingness to act as public defender for someone who's alive and healthy, someone who's capable of speaking for himself, and who <i>is</i> speaking for himself in almost as many venues as his daughter. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018504.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-908></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Here's another massive narrative fail from Fox, this one led by anchor Megyn Kelly and vice president of news Bill Sammon, both of whom falsely claim President Obama didn't discuss terror in his speech to the Muslim world<nobr> today.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001820/">Daily Kos</A>&nbsp;(video)&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-936></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It took 'em two weeks to do it, but the <i>New York Times</i> has issued a half-hearted "editor's note" semi-correction for instantly accepting and reporting as fact the DoD's bogus claim that "74 prisoners released from Guantánamo have returned to terrorism". Of course, the correction won't get a fraction of the attention that the original report did, and for the rest of our lives we'll hear pro-torture and pro-war Republicans citing the <i>New York Times</i> report on recidivism as grounds for arresting and imprisoning any Muslim anywhere who's not wearing an American flag lapel pin. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/05/times-editors-note-gitmo/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=flatline></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><I><B>Flatliners</B></I><BR><center><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flatline.jpg" alt="Flatliners" border="0" width="235" height="65"></center> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/04/smith-media-bias-threat/">Rep. Lamar Smith: 'The greatest threat to America is a liberal media bias.'</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/republican-congressman-redubs-climate-bill-wacky-marxist-tax-and-cap.php?ref=fpb">Broun (R-Georgia) redubs climate bill 'Wacky-Marxist Tax And Cap'</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018510.php">Akin (R-Missouri) speaks out on global climate change: "I mean, we just went from winter to spring. In Missouri when we go from winter to spring, that's a good climate change. I don't want to stop that climate change."</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=fa13p-1106></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Amidst last year's endless and widely reported claims that Barack Obama is a Muslim, I don't think I saw more than one or two low-key media reports that actually stated, clearly and unambiguously, that Obama is not a Muslim. So I was prepared to be pleasantly surprised and impressed with my fellow Americans, when I saw this headline announcing that only 11% of Americans think Obama is a "secret Muslim". More careful reading of the text, however, reveals that another 13% of Americans say they're unsure whether Obama is a Muslim, and another 22% say they don't know enough about the President to be sure whether he's a Christian or a Muslim. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/pew/20090604/ts_pew/11thinkobamaisamuslimstill">Pew Research Center</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-118></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Air America, the liberal radio network, has made two smart moves in recent weeks. First they <A HREF="http://radioink.com/Article.asp?id=1342869&spid=29000">opened their own advertising sales department</A> (in the past, Air America has sublet this work to a giant radio syndicate), and now they've leased a station in Washington, DC to put left-leaning talk radio on the dial in our nation's capital. Air America has been so ineptly-run since the day they went on the air, I'm seriously taken aback by seeing them do two things in two weeks that aren't astoundingly stupid, but I mean that in the kindest way possible. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2009/06/air-america-lands-again-in-dc.html">Liberal Talk Radio</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-1008></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Max Blumenthal says he's been censored by <i>The Huffington Post</i>. He posted video of a bunch of Israelis making racist comments about President Obama, and it was taken down. I'm of the general impression that Arianna Huffington sucks and her <i>Post</i> is an overrated collection of stolen material masquerading as journalism, but this sounds more like editing than censorship. Unless they have some agreement to publish whatever any of their regular contributors submits <i>The Huffington Post</i> is right this time &#151; a bunch of Israelis calling the US President a "nigger" isn't any more newsworthy than a bunch of white Alabamans or Iowans doing the same thing. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://gawker.com/5281698/why-did-the-huffington-post-censor-the-jewish-obama-hate-speech-video">Gawker</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-546></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fact-checking George Will leads to the results you'd expect, but it's amusing. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1486">Language Log</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =world= --> <!-- =Afghanistan --> <!-- =Iraq --> <!-- =Iran= --> <!-- =Israel --> <!-- =Pakistan --> <!-- =Europe --> <A NAME=fa13p-714></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Pirate Party has won at least one seat, possibly two, in the European Parliament. They want major-mondo reform to copyright law and the end of patent law, and I'm not sure that's all a good idea &#151; but I'm sure it's a good idea to hear a perspective on such questions that <i>isn't</i> backed by billions of corporate dollars. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-08-d.html#08TL0838">Unknown News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mysterylinks></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><b><i>Our mystery&nbsp;links</i></b></A><BR>(mostly just for fun)</center><BR>Links in <FONT COLOR=red><B>red</B></FONT> are not safe for work, and links in <FONT COLOR=magenta><B>pink</B></FONT> include audio and/or video.<center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/myslinks.html" width="295" height="225" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html">... more mystery links</A>&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table> <!-- =North America --> <A NAME=notkg-848></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Need something weird to worry about? A fungus is causing bats to drop like flies. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;SirJ</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31109536/">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =South America --> <!-- =Asia --> <A NAME=zzz-744></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those dratted bad guys in North Korea have sentenced two American journalists to 12 years at hard labor for trumped-up charges of spying. We're all supposed to be outraged and indignant, but this is a scenario we've seen before. Just from America's long track record of <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/hh030102.html">giving spies cover as reporters</A>, it's more likely than not that these American reporters <i>were</i> American spies. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/North-Korea-jails-2-US-journalists-for-12-years-of-hard-labour-/articleshow/4631970.cms">Press Trust of India</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =bailout =economy--> <A NAME=fa13p-1057></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's fairly well understood that lack of effective regulation is what allowed the banking industry collapse that's costing US government trillions and sinking the economy into a quagmire, and the lesson to be learned is that <i> there are no consequences</i>. It's becoming quite clear that Democrats in Congress aren't going to pass serious regulatory oversight of the banking industry. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090622/greider">The Nation</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-612></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Economics ain't my strong suit, but this news isn't hard to grasp. As part of the ongoing bailouts for banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) offered a billion-dollars to start buying banks' bad assets at artificially inflated prices. The banks weren't interested, because the artificially inflated price FDIC was willing to pay wasn't artificially inflated enough, and because selling these bad assets would require the banks to actually book the sales, and the sales would (of course) all be losses, and the banks' balance sheets would thus come uncomfortably close to reflecting reality. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/business/04bank.html?_r=2&ref=business">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=moma-423></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the economy continues spinning out of control, why hasn't Congress or the Obama administration done whatever it takes to declare a moratorium on home foreclosures? It's a rhetorical question, because it's pretty dang obvious that Congress and the Obama administration care a hell of a lot more about protecting bankers' millions than about protecting non-millionaires' homes. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/06/foreclosure-problem-is-getting-worse.html">Down with Tyranny</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-545></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This probably won't be news, let alone unknown news, by the time you read it here, but Penske Automotive Group is buying the Saturn nameplate, and will &#151; for now &#151; use GM labor to produce the cars. This is one of the first positive economic indicators I've seen in ages. Penske is a respected company, I suspect the price (as yet not announced) will be good, and this looks to me like a little of that old-fashioned American initiative. Plus, bottom line, it's good for America to have four, seven, or seventeen US automakers instead of three. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ae2V3Y.7j85k&refer=news">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-307></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Countrywide founder and former CEO Angelo R. Mozilo has been charged with fraud and insider trading, in the subprime meltdown. Cue Etta James, "At Last". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060402945.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-1013></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Microsoft wants you to know that if its taxes go up a nickel, it'll outsource another 20,000 jobs. Exactly what I'd expect from Microsoft. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAKluP7yIwJY">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=moma-306></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GM and Citigroup are no longer part of the Dow Jones industrial average, which ought to help the average go up. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090602/bs_nm/us_gm_dow">Reuters&nbsp;News&nbsp;Agency</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-513></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's someone with some real initiative. No, I don't mean the homeless guy who's put together a shoeshine business so successful that he's hoping to rent a cheap apartment. I mean the San Francisco rule-enforcer who read about the shoeshine man in the <i>Chronicle</i> and promptly sought out the shoeshine man to tell him he needs to pay $491 for a sidewalk vendor permit. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/04/MNJQ1807UK.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-218></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Want to get frugal? Here's a good start. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://pennyroll.com/2009/06/05/45-great-ways-to-save-money/">pennyroll.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =dc= --> <A NAME=fa13p-411></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I strongly disagree with the Obama administration on three or four out of every ten major decisions, and scowl at another three or four out of ten that seem like shallow, unprincipled, half-hearted compromises, which leaves me agreeing with this administration about a third of the time. That's about what I expected when Obama won the election last year, so I'm not disappointed, just frustrated.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Barack Obama doesn't believe in the same things that I do &#151; punishment for criminals, principled peace when possible (which is almost always), equal rights, a public safety net that works, etc. He has little that I recognize as any kind of moral or political principle, but he has a ton of charisma, a way with words, and a super-sized sack of political savvy.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Even as he makes me want to picket almost daily, I sometimes have to acknowledge that Obama dances the DC dance better than anyone I've ever seen. Witness his <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/us/politics/web06hill.html?_r=1&ref=us">repeated choice of Republicans</A> for second-tier political posts, where they can't do too much damage but their presence leaves the Republican Party befuddled and bolsters Obama's claims of bipartisanship. <!-- Helen & Harry --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="229" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/hippies.jpg" alt="Helen & Harry's opinion" border="0" width="209" height="299"></td></tr></table><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Or witness this, his insistence on a half-assed public option in his health care proposal. It's barely a fraction of what's needed to make health care healthy in America, but it's the best we're going to get, and I suspect it'll be a camel's nose in the tent &#151; after a few years, when people see that a publicly-funded option is cheaper (no millionaires in the executive suite), at least as efficient (it could hardly be less), and far more concerned with making people healthy (again, it could hardly be less) than private insurance, people will start gravitating toward the public option. And that will lead more and more toward universal health care, albeit gradually. Which is why <A HREF="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/robert_reich/2009/06/the-public-option-smokescreens.php/">Big Medicine and Big Pharma will go nuclear to stop it</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But on this and numerous other issues, you can see what Obama's thinking and it's at least obvious that he is thinking, which is in itself an improvement over the administration that came before. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018514.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btpe-713></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) criticizes the program to get the White House more helicopters, and the Obama administration immediately scuttles the program. I rather agree with McCain that the program looks like a boondoggle, but Obama responding to McCain's leadership just looks weak. Who won the election again? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jEiivZ4ngwmp3VhEvT6ySmHVX8DwD98IO0T84">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=moma-318></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A poll of Pennsylvanians reveals, unsurprisingly, that by a 2-1 margin, most Pennsylvania Democrats want an honest-to-gosh Democratic Party primary for the Senate seat currently held by recent Republican turncoat Arlen Specter. The hierarchy of the Democratic Party, of course, wants Specter coronated with no challenges at all, because the Democratic Party is the biggest impediment to progressive politicians and progressive politics. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/campaigns/pennsylvania-voters-to-dem-establishment-please-let-us-pick-our-senator/">The Plum Line</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=health></A><A NAME=notkg-401></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a microcosm of the health care problem: Millions of people who have poor or failing eyesight don't have the money to see an ophthalmologist, get a prescription, and buy a pair of glasses. "The economic gains that could be made if eyeglasses were provided to everyone in need are substantial," said Kevin Frick, author of the study and an associate professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. "Our research estimates $269 billion in productivity lost and nearly 158 million people are vision-impaired because of uncorrected refractive error &#151; which is correctable."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Frick is talking about fixing the eyesight of everyone in the whole world, and of course that would be wonderful, but I have an inarguably more selfish perspective. In America, we have the extraordinary advantage of been born in one of the world's wealthiest nations ... where I was lucky enough to find a used pair of glasses at Salvation Army that comes close to the prescription I need. Thank cripes I have these glasses 'cuz if I lose them I won't be able to see across the street, in this fabulously wealthy nation that doesn't give a fat damn in hell about poor people. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/jhub-vic060209.php">eurekalert.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=sttbth></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/sttsth.jpg" alt="Support our troops: Bring them home" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table> <A NAME=notkg-625></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At a Senate hearing on an immigration bill, those present heard testimony from a 12-year-old American boy whose mother, a Filipino woman, is on the verge of being deported. The kid cried, and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) leaned toward an aide and said, "Enough with the histrionics." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/06/04/jeff-sessions-makes-children-cry.aspx">The New Republic</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-542></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a good explanation of how President Obama's moderate choice of judicial nominee David Hamilton, intended as an olive branch to the Republicans, has only brought the administration grief. It's definitely worth a click and a read, but here's an excerpt:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Given this, I'd just remind the administration that there's no real reward for nominating moderates. If the president selects obvious centrists, Republicans will label them unacceptable ideologues, and oppose their nomination. If the president selects unwavering liberals, Republicans will label them unacceptable ideologues, and oppose their nomination.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Obama might as well pick the best available people for the federal bench, without regard for the GOP reaction, because it's likely to be the same, no matter who he <nobr>chooses.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018486.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-328></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Anti-Defamation League has fired off a letter of complaint over a line in Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" about Biblical moneychangers. Apparently, if you mention Biblical moneychangers you're smearing the Jewish people. I am not making this up.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And I guess I'd better make it plain where we stand, else we'll get a letter from the ADL ourselves. Anti-Semitism is bad, mmmkay? But the ADL is the boy who cries wolf, constantly. This kind of hyper-diaper-sensitivity just makes it hard to take the ADL seriously when there's <i>actual</i> anti-Semitism. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003978833">Editor&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Publisher</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=public-transit></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="144" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/bus.jpg" alt="Take the bus" border="0" width="124" height="70"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=fa13p-326></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) proposes that a sliver of stimulus funding be diverted toward the operating costs of transit systems. I'm an enormous public transit geek &#151; cars are dirty, dangerous, inefficient, polluting, and expensive &#151; and this is a good idea. Transit routinely gets the shaft in funding at the local level. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/05/transit-stimulus-take-two/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-326a></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has boldly acknowledged something that's been obvious for twenty years, but now it's so obvious she can say it out loud: There's a lot more future (at least if America has a future) in using Detroit's manufacturing capability to build streetcars and buses, than to build cars. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/06/04/michigan-governor-use-car-factories-to-make-trains/">infrastructurist.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-751></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Antenna-users get more channels and less reliable reception, as America's conversion to digital TV finally happens on Friday. You've been hearing about it for years, and 98% of the reports have been rosy (and obviously written by cable or satellite subscribers), and we're told that 98% of the public is prepared for the big switch.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of the two percent of Americans who use rabbit-ears but aren't ready for the conversion, most will be able to either get friends or family to help them get a converter box or they'll spend $40 a month on cable or satellite TV. The rest, easily amounting to a million or more Americans &#151; the very rural, the elderly, and of course the poor &#151; will be unable to receive some, most, or all of the television stations they used to watch, but you won't hear much about them after Friday, because they're people who don't matter to the powers that be. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/business/stories/2009/06/05/digital_tv_switchover.html">Atlanta Journal-Constitution</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-927></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Veep Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials have cancelled plans to participate in the US Conference of Mayors in Providence, Rhode Island, because they don't want to cross a picket line of striking firefighters. It's a small and insignificant act, but it's a good thing and it's appreciated. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hANiyt4pbxLTclmVwYrvffSUwo4gD98KRM400">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-931></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Senator Norm Coleman (ret'd R-Minnesota) is encouraging his party to increase its appeal to young folks by reaching out on the ethernet. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/06/oops_coleman_kn.php">City Pages (Minneapolis)</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=fa13p-324></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Is irony even the word for this? The president created a new online "open government" system in which people were free to brainstorm and vote proposals up or down. Far and away the leading proposal in the category of "Legal and Policy Challenges" as of the scheduled end of brainstorming was End Imperial Presidency. You can still find it, but it's been removed from that category and from the list of all proposals. Unless you have the direct link to it, you cannot find it, and when you do you can no longer vote for it. It has a label at the top with a closed lock and the words "pending moderator approval." When voting was scheduled to end on the 28th, this proposal was at the top in its category and ranked #3 <nobr>overall.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/43228">After Downing Street</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =corporations= --> <A NAME=fa13p-816></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">White-collar fugitives such as Sam Israel and Marcus Schrenker often fail to escape the law because of what prosecutors and bounty hunters say is a lack of preparation for the rigors of life on the <nobr>lam.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is an interesting article about why white collar criminal fugitives get snagged. Also, it provides excellent clues about how to "break" through to people, say, if we were to set up re-education camps for ex-government officials after the revolution. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Emma&nbsp;Ibbers</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ap1wRCatpTOY&refer=exclusive">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=moma-235></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AIG wants money from charities to pay executive bonuses. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/06/aig_now_wresting_money_away_fr.html">New York Magazine</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-552></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, makers of the fake male enhancement pill that's amusingly marketed to suckers in "Smiling Bob" TV ads, has been ordered to forfeit $500-million &#151; its estimated sales from the pills. Steve Warshak (the guy who ran the company, though the <i>New York Times</i> can't be troubled to tell you that) gets 25 years in prison.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And how stupid is American justice? The company is allowed to remain in business. The ads are still running &#151; I saw it on TV just last weekend. And there's no penalty for the TV stations all across America that made untold millions selling ad time and bilking average Americans. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/08/27/fraudulent-male-enhancement-drug-gets-company-founder-25-yrs/">Wall Street Journal</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =peculiar --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="127" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/peculiar.jpg" alt="Peculiar" border="1" width="107" height="136"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=notkg-1250></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a Burger King franchise-holder that put "Global climate change is baloney" on the signs in front of all their BKs. BK was not amused. The franchise holder says corporate HQ was "kinda like cockroaches" running from controversy. Delightful. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jun/05/burger-king-climate-change-baloney">The&nbsp;Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-1016></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After an angry mob beat a man senseless in Philadelphia, the Mayor and the President of the police union boldly endorsed vigilante justice. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Condemning_violence_should_be_a_bare_minimum_for_Philly_leaders.html">Attytood</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=btpe-2552></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; TV news in Philadelphia is a lot more interesting than it is in Madison, Wisconsin. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090604_ap_convictedexanchormendtesuesphillynewspapers.html">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-418></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Internet mouth Hal Turner has been arrested for inciting violence after telling listeners to "take up arms". I'm somewhat familiar with Turner and he's an absolute freak, and from the excerpts posted in this news account his arrest seems appropriate. There is a line where screaming lunacy becomes a direct danger to society &#151; a line even Fox News knows better than to cross &#151; and Turner crossed it. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-turner-arrest.artjun04,0,99236.story">The Hartford Courant</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=notkg-4709></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cruel and inhuman treatment causes more mental damage than physical torture. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/kcl-cai060209.php">eurekalert.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="127" height="127"></A></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <center><BIG><I>Don't miss <B>our dialogue page</b></i></center><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN class="fontsm"><i>We welcome readers' comments, questions, or criticisms. 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Just a buck or two can make all the difference and help keep <I>Unknown News</I> alive.<BR><BR> <center><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/donations.html">Donations</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/advertising.html">Sponsorships</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html">Stickers and stuff for sale</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/subscriptions.html">Subscriptions</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/wishlist.html">Wish list</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/credits.html">Thank you</A> </center><BR> <DIV align="right"><i><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</A></i> &nbsp; </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If the news frustrates or angers you, please, <A HREF="http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml"><b>contact your elected officials.</b></A> Seriously. 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="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>