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<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html">Bad cops</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html">Debunked</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">Dialogue</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/diy.html">Do-it-yourself</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/DrRuhs.html">Dr Herb Ruhs</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">Latest update</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html">Old news</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/wow.html">Words of wisdom</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr"> </TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="635" BGcolor=white class="fonta"> <A NAME=16></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/0906-16.html"><font color=white><b>Tuesday<BR>June&nbsp; 16, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =unknown news=--> <A NAME=tctt-135></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="20" height="13">Eli Lilly & Co. urged doctors to prescribe Zyprexa for elderly&nbsp;patients with dementia, an unapproved use for the anti-<BR>psychotic, even though the drugmaker had evidence the medicine&nbsp;didn't work for such patients, according to unsealed internal company <nobr> documents.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="20" height="13"></nobr> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a sane society there would be prison cells for executives who knowing foist fake medicine on suffering people, but as we all see daily, America isn't a sane society. I'll wager a month's wages that nobody involved in this will ever be prosecuted criminally, but perhaps <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-Gaza.html" border="1" width="298" height="158"><p><i> "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I&nbsp;wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I&nbsp;like a little rebellion now and then." <i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thomas&nbsp;Jefferson</i> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> Eli Lilly & Co. will eventually negotiate a small fine 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. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aTLcF3zT1Pdo">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-148></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And then there's the toymaker Mattel, which will pay a $2.3-million fine for selling toxic playthings for little kids. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary knowingly violated a federal ban on lead paint in toys. "Knowingly" seems to me like a hell of a red-flag word, at least for parents who love their children, but in the very next sentence Associated Press says Mattel and Fisher-Price "deny having willfully violated the ban." And then the subject is dropped. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31129127/">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-434></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At least <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/us/19holder.html">twice, Attorney General Eric Holder has said</A> that <A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/26/holder-vows-to-end-raids_n_170119.html">medical marijuana raids would end</A>. But Charles Lynch, who ran a medical marijuana dispensary in California that was in compliance with the state's laws, was prosecuted by Holder's Justice Department as if he was street scum. The Obama administration wanted Lynch locked up for <i>five years</i>, but a kindhearted judge instead gave him a mere year and a day in prison.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Charles Lynch is a hero, a word often overused but certainly appropriate for someone who keeps chemo patients from barfing their guts out and stops AIDS sufferers from wasting away to skeletons. What's the word for someone who <i>imprisons people</i> for such acts?<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What the holy heck is misfiring in Eric Holder's mind? Why, five months into the Obama administration, are the alleged principles of Barack Obama and Eric Holder not yet applicable? When will we see a smidgen of that <i>change</i> we heard about all last year? We're still waiting for some sign that Michael Mukasey is gone and there's a new and improved era at the Department of Justice, and I'll bet Charles Lynch hasn't noticed any difference since the election. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/12/BA7Q185QA2.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</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%"><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://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/09/mcconnell-voight-enjoyed/">McConnell (R-Kentucky) says he 'really enjoyed' actor Jon Voight's speech claiming Obama might allow 'a new Holocaust'</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/06/08/2009-06-08_sarah_palin_rips_president_obama.html">Obama is leading US to socialism, says Palin</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/rather-inappropriate-words-from-rep.html">Smith (R-New Jersey) says Obama administration is all about killing unborn children and wounding their mothers."</A><BR> <!-- =pundits --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906080044">Murdoch says Obama's policies are "dangerous"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/08/newt-gingrich/stimulus-bill-wont-change-status-sunday-school/">Gingrich says Obama is anti-Christian</A><BR> <!-- =fake journalism --> <!-- =Beck --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-beck.jpg" alt="Fox's Glenn Beck" border="1" width="100" height="100"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906100012">Fox's Beck compares car dealership closures to Nazis; warns "Gang, at some point, they're going to come for you"</A><BR> <!-- =Fox News --> <BR><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GeXVKb2hbM&feature=haxa_popt00us12">Fox Radio airs interview with Christian preacher praying for Obama's death</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906080001">Sinclair's Hyman now pushing Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories</A><BR> <!-- =Limbaugh --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-limbaugh.jpg" alt="Rush Limbaugh" border="1" width="100" height="87"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906080014">Limbaugh says "Obama is destroying the United States economy</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/limbaugh-pushes-obama-not-born-in-us.html">Limbaugh pushes birther theory on the same day a birther-believer opens fire at Holocaust Museum</A><BR> <!-- =-NewsMax --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906110001"><i>NewsMax</i> links Obama to Holocaust Museum shooting; "Obama breeds climate of hate against Jews"</A><BR> <!-- =Savage --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-savage.jpg" alt="Michael Weiner (aka Michael Savage)" border="1" width="100" height="91"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906090023">Disney's Savage claims his "very life may be in danger because of this McCarthy-like witch hunt"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906120016">Disney's Savage says Obama is "attacking Israel, attacking Jews and breeding a climate of hate against Jews"</A><BR> <!-- Washington Times --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906090011"><i>Washington Times</i>'s Gaffney: "There is mounting evidence" that Obama is Muslim</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 isn't even an American, he hates God and white people, he's going to confiscate everyone's guns, he's a socialist Marxist fascist and he's pallin' around with terrorists, 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=iidytapc-302></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The US Attorney's Office in Nevada (also under Attorney General Holder's purview) has subpoenaed the <i>Las Vegas Review-Journal</i>, demanding that the paper identify readers who posted comments responding to the on-line edition of the paper's coverage of a tax protester's trial. The feds want the paper to provide ""full name, date of birth, physical address, gender, ZIP code, password prompts, security questions, telephone numbers and other identifiers [including commenters'] IP address." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/47141327.html">Las Vegas Review-Journal</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-230></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While Attorney General Eric Holder remains utterly uninterested in the mountains of evidence of Justice Department corruption during the Bush-Cheney administration, he's found time to freeze bank accounts of on-line poker sites, depriving who knows how many Americans of their winnings. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.pokernewstoday.com/fullnews/3492/">Poker News Today</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-108></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm unfamiliar with Peter Lance, or with his book <A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0060886889"><i>Triple Cross</i></A>, but it's gotten US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's goat &#151; he's written to the book's publisher, asking that <i>Triple Cross</i> be withdrawn instead of republished.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I have long thought that the left-wing's widespread adulation for Fitzgerald is bizarre, as there was certainly nothing impressive in his investigation of a small corner of the Bush administration's criminality (an investigation that led to just one low-level conviction, promptly commuted by President Bush), nor in his actions against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (which amounted to using press releases instead of legal procedures to have Blagojevich removed from office). To me this call for censorship is strike three, and it's apparent that Fitzgerald is an ass of stellar proportions. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2009/06/10/patrick-fitzgeralds-private-jihad/">roryoconnor.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-610></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the 20th post-conviction DNA exoneration in Dallas County, TX, the <i>Dallas News</i> interviewed the lawyer who's been handling the bulk of these cases. My main take-away from this is that the procedure wherein eyewitnesses are asked to identify the perps has been almost laughably unreliable, and police need to institute "blind sequential photo lineups [where those showing the photo lineup do not know who the perpetrator might be or even if he's in the lineup]", and "do away with 'showups', where the defendant is brought to the witness for identification, usually immediately after the crime." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/dallas-countys-20th-dna-exoner.html">Dallas News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-224></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A federal court has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission can use its regulatory authority to protect small, non-commercial stations from broadcast encroachment by giant corporate concerns. The decision means that low-power FM radio will be allowed to barely continue to exist, amidst the crap and more crap that dominates American radio. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mediaaccess.org/press-room/us-court-of-appeals-upholds-fccs-ability-to-protect-low-power-fm-radio">Media Access Project</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=torture> <A NAME=tctt-825></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When he was White House Legal Counsel, Alberto Gonzales wrote a memo to then-President George W Bush advising him, specifically, to deny that the Geneva Conventions covered al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. That, Gonzales suggested, would help insulate the President from future charges of war crimes.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Americans who give a damn about America ought to be pretty dang embarrassed, and pretty dang angry. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.pubrecord.org/torture/944-gonzales-memo-advised-bush-how-to-avoid-war-crimes-charges.html">The Public Record</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> </A><A NAME=giltg-1259></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Legislation that would make it illegal to release evidence of American torture during the Bush-Cheney era, proposed by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Republican) and Lindsay Graham (R-South Carolina), has been removed from the war supplemental bill progressing through the Senate. Not to worry, though, an un-named Democratic aide says that Lieberman and Graham will "attach [the amendment] to every piece of legislation that comes down the pike" until it's passed. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/09/lieberman-graham-photos-ba/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-428></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Yoo, the lawyer and law professor who drew up the scrupulously shallow legal justification for the Bush-Cheney administration's torture policies, has been ordered to testify in Jose Padilla's upcoming lawsuit over being tortured. It's the first time, to my recollection, that any of the Bush-Cheney administration's high-level war criminals have even been threatened with being held responsible for their acts. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/13/MND5186KL8.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-736></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will soon start having difficulties if he wants to travel internationally, due to his involvement with torture. Or so says Leandro Despouy, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, who seems to have some inside knowledge. Tell me more, Leandro, mine eyes are fluttering with intrigue. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005121">Harper's</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=rnitfbp-8440></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CIA Director Leon Panetta says Former Vice President Dick Cheney is "almost ... wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point" that torture is good and the Geneva Conventions are bad. Well, duh &#151; that's been Cheney's obvious agenda for months, but it's a little jarring to see someone in a high political post willing to speak the truth so bluntly albeit belatedly. Does anyone doubt that Panetta will be this week's piñata for the Republicans? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/14/national/w104744D23.DTL">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-421></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's been a busy week for Panetta. He's also sent lawyers to court to make sure you never know what happened in the "interrogations" of prisoners. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060804117.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =corporations= --> <A NAME=corporations></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="105" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/MrBurns.jpg" alt="Mr Burns from THE SIMPSONS" border="0" width="85" height="100"></td></tr></table><A NAME=giltg-834></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bank of America is paying the lawyers' fees for former Countrywide Financial CEO and accused insider trader Angelo R. Mozilo. Do you think BofA would do the same thing if, say, a teller was charged with pilfering from the cash drawer? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aTwT9deWspHo&refer=us">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-1246></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Why is the American Coal Foundation setting the curriculum at elementary schools? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/4464/coal_mountain_elementary/">In These Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-140></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Royal Dutch Shell will pay $15.5-million and admit no wrongdoing, for its role in the murder of Nigerian poet and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Nobody with a triple-digit IQ believes that Shell wasn't directly involved, or that Saro-Wiwa was the only activist killed at Shell's behest, and on the scale of Shell's unimaginable wealth, paying $15.5-million is akin to you paying a buck and a quarter. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/shell-settles-nigerian-human-rights-abuses-lawsuit-for-155m-1700267.html">The Independent</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-653></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the internet hobbles its old business model that made newspapers wildly profitable for generations, it's increasingly evident that the old business model of commercial television will soon face the same challenges, and this piece by Henry Blodget lays out the problems pretty plainly. "As with print-based media, Internet-based distribution generates only a tiny fraction of the revenue and profit that today's incumbent cable, broadcast, and satellite distribution models do. As Internet-based distribution gains steam, therefore, most TV industry incumbents will no longer be able to support their existing cost structures."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There's also a big difference, at least for this consumer, between endangered newspapers and endangered television. In exchange for their decades of great profitability newspapers provided something of great value for all those years, genuine journalim that can't be easily replaced. Commercial TV, by contrast, has had occasional accomplishments that could be called art or (decreasingly in recent years) journalism, but for the most part it provides not much more than bearable diversions for wasting time. We're going to be a lot worse off as a society as major newspapers become mere shadows of what they once were, but nobody outside the industry will mourn the passing of American commercial television. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/06/13/sorry-theres-no-way-to-save-the-tv-business/20570">Business Insider</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <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%"><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; "It was the American Medical Association that helped block Franklin Roosevelt's administration from including health care reform in the Social Security package. It was the AMA that undermined Truman's reform effort. It was the AMA that blasted Medicare as a step towards totalitarianism. It was the AMA that came up with "socialized medicine" as a catch-all attack to describe any government intervention in the health care system. And now the group is outraged by the notion of a public option? You don't say." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018567.php">Steve Benen</A></div><BR> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Two men, one Christian and the other Muslim, commit murder just one day apart in the United States. Both appear to have been motivated by their religious beliefs. The Christian murderer is Scott Roeder and his victim is Dr. George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, KS who performed late term abortions. The Muslim murderer is Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad and his victims are Pvt. William Long and Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula who were new US Army recruiters. ... Both crimes seem to fit the definition of terrorism motivated by religious extremism.&nbsp;...<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The Muslim murder suspect, Mr. Muhammad, is charged with terrorism along with first degree murder. Mr. Muhammad's faith has been front and center from the very earliest news reports. The American-Muslim community's almost immediate repudiation of Mr. Muhammad's murder was and still is largely ignored.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "On the other hand, the Christian murder suspect, Mr. Roeder, is not being charged with terrorism. His faith has not been the focus of news reports even though there seems to be ample evidence to suggest that Mr. Roeder espouses extreme, right-wing Christian beliefs. And lastly, the media is giving anti-abortion groups ample opportunity to distance themselves from the murderous actions of one of their own." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/print/3110/">Junaid M. Afeef</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=j9iotnm-448></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The makers of Rockstar, a caffeinated energy drink, are reportedly sending legally threatening letters to several bloggers who've published information about Rockstar's family link to radio hatemonger Michael Savage &#151; his son and wife own the company, which operates out of the same address as Savage's radio production company. My feelings are only slightly hurt that we haven't received a cease and desist letter yet. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bilerico.com/2009/06/rockstar.php">The Bilerico Project</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-800></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Spam King Sanford Wallace might be prosecuted for his latest on-line vandalism. I can't fathom why it's taken so long. This guy has been a known super-spammer with sidelines in spyware and websites rigged to trap visitors as new windows are forced open ad nauseum, and he's been at it for more than a dozen years, yet he remains free and presumably rich. According to <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanford_Wallace">Wikipedia</A>, he's been dragged into court numerous times and forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, so presumably his spam and other operations must yield substantially more than hundreds of millions in profits. He's stolen incalculable hours of time from millions of people &#151; why isn't this fellow in jail? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10264069-83.html">CNet News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-425></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; President Obama has named Alexia Kelley to be Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which is, believe it or not, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kelley's appointment is shocking, outrageous, and all sorts of stinky adjectives because she's opposed to abortion and contraception. Takes the breath away, doesn't it? Something called the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is a government office, and a President who's supposed to be pro-choice appoints someone who's opposed to birth control to run the joint? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/07/hhs/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-601></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I was almost going to have sympathy for the editor of this scientific journal, who lost his job after being pranked into publishing a nonsensical computer-generated research paper. But in <A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17288-crap-paper-accepted-by-journal.html">reading the background</A>, it sure looks like the publishers deserve all the phony papers that pranksters can generate. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17303-editor-of-journal-targeted-by-hoaxers-resigns.html">New Scientist</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <A NAME=giltg-148></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The US Supreme Court says that judges who've taken huge financial contributions from defendants should recuse themselves from hearing such a case. Sounds like a big <i>duh</i>, right? Well, the vote was 5-4, because the Supreme Court's fabled four fascists &#151; Alito (Bush43 2006), Roberts (Bush43 2005), Scalia (Reagan 1986), and Thomas (Bush41 1991) &#151; disagree. Shake your head and think that one through, and remember, none of these four could have made it to the Supreme Court without the open acquiescence of Democrats in the Senate. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/roberts-scalia-thomas-and-alito-whats.html">AmericaBlog</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face01 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="106" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face1.jpg" border="0" width="86" height="127"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=iidytapc-1016></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Today was the deadline for the Obama Justice Department to request a full panel hearing of Mohamed v. Jeppesen, the extraordinary rendition case that we won before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit in April. And sure enough, they asked.&nbsp;... Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project who successfully argued the case in February on behalf of the plaintiffs, said in statement today:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The Obama administration has now fully embraced the Bush administration's shameful effort to immunize torturers and their enablers from any legal consequences for their actions. The CIA's rendition and torture program is not a 'state secret'; it's an international scandal. If the Obama administration has its way, no torture victim will ever have his day in court, and future administrations will be free to pursue torture policies without any fear of <nobr> liability".<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2009/06/12/doj-seeks-rehearing-of-aclu-rendition-case/">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =nsr --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/nsrheterosexuals.jpg" alt="No special rights for heterosexuals" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table> <A NAME=nsr></A> <A NAME=j9iotnm-651></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In arguing in federal court <i>in favor of</i> the godawful Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration's lawyers might have <i>seriously</i> infuriated some of the gays and lesbians who've been solidly in their base. Fury is the appropriate response. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/12/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5084948.shtml">CBS News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-252></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging the Bush-Cheney-Obama "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that keeps marching gays and lesbians out of the military. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060801368.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-252a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; According to this Gallup Poll, most Americans favor ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Most <i>Republicans</i> favor ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Most churchgoers favor ending this stupid policy, and allowing openly gay Americans to serve their nation in the military. Looks to me like the biggest obstacle is President Barack Obama, a man who's said he's a fierce advocate of gay rights, a claim that's starting to sound downright queer. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.gallup.com/poll/120764/Conservatives-Shift-Favor-Openly-Gay-Service-Members.aspx">gallup.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-620></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Under the Terrorism Act 2000, there's a long list of locations in England where ordinary acts of <!-- old-time reporter with camera --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="250" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/reporter-icon.jpg" alt=old-time reporter with camera" border="0" width="230" height="199"> </td></tr></table> photography &#151; point the camera and click &#151; will bring a police officer, who'll query and search the photographer. One of the biggest areas on the list is London (yeah, all of it). When the <i>British Journal of Photography</i> filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see the list of other locations where carrying a camera will bring down the bobbies, the request was rejected. So there are myriad locations in England where snapping a photo will lead to an immediate police response, and myriad locations where it won't, and only the police are allowed to know which areas are which.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's always refreshing to remember that America isn't the only nation where freedom has been flushed down the toilet as a cowardly response to terrorism. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=861650">British Journal of Photography</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=voting></A> <A NAME=j9iotnm-848></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thousands of non-existent votes were "counted" in two recent elections, tabulated by two different computerized systems in two different locations. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7214">bradblog.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-314></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the air and on his website, a radio right-winger announced that last week's Alabama elections had been rescheduled, and that Republicans should vote Tuesday and Democrats should vote Wednesday. Aside from being one of the oldest pranks in Democracy (it happens just about every November), aside from probably having very little impact and aside from any potential legal questions, why is it that right-wingers always find mocking and monkeywrenching democracy so darn amusing? <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Angry Annie</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090611/news/906109940">Tuscaloosa News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-101></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hans von Spakovsky has written a lie-filled critique in Rupert Murdoch's <i>Wall Street Journal</i>, complaining that the Justice Department under Obama is turning a blind eye to vote suppression and voter intimidation. Von Spakovsky really is a piece of work &#151; he's literally opposed to principles like "one person, one vote", and he was the Bush-Cheney administration's man in charge of suppressing minority and Democratic votes. If you're not familiar with von Spakovsky, click and cringe. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/09/vonspakovsky-wsj/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=Sotomayor></A> <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://politicalirony.com/2009/06/10/do-republicans-even-know-what-socialism-is/">Do Republicans even know what Socialism is?</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/06/11/rush-limbaugh-explains-why-james-von-brunn-is-a-leftist/">Limbaugh says Holocaust Museum killer is a leftist</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-beck-and-his-fellow-wingnuts-p">Fox's Beck and his fellow wingnuts proclaim Holocaust Museum shooter not a right-winger</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/bill-oreilly-wonders-why-dr-tillers">Fox's O'Reilly wonders why Dr. Tiller's supporters want to protect their anonymity</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=j9iotnm-237></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jeffrey Deskovic spent an extra six years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, because Judge Sonia Sotomayor rejected his plea. It had been filed four days late.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If I was in Deskovic's shoes I wouldn't feel terribly forgiving about this, and I do think <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-02.html#whdfal-557">Sotomayor is a disappointing choice</A> from Obama, but the way appeals generally work, as I understand it, is that an appeals court is generally disinterested in the evidence, and much more interested in judging the procedures. That's the framework they operate in, and that's a factor in the screwed-up nature of justice in America, but if you get the procedures wrong &#151; like filing the paperwork late &#151; that's gonna kill your case, no matter who the judge is. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/11/stories/2009061155201100.htm">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-10174></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A sixth-grader in Ramona, California was allowed to do a report on Harvey Milk. School officials said she couldn't, but the ACLU was persuasive in urging the school fools to reconsider. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2009/06/12/got-milk-why-yes-as-a-matter-of-fact-we-do/">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=immigration></A><A NAME=giltg-215></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Department of Homeland Security says it's temporarily &#151; <i>temporarily</i> &#151; suspending a Bush-Cheney era rule that deported widows and widowers of US citizens, if their green card applications hadn't been promptly processed. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-widow10-2009jun10,0,4352872.story">Los&nbsp;Angeles&nbsp;Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-214></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Ohio, Common Pleas Judge Timothy Horton puts rape victims on the stand and threatens them if they cry. I'm asking you, Ohio &#151; are you willing to put up with this? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=cincinnati&sParam=30947411.story">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-301></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lakhdar Boumediene, a charity worker who was held without charges at Guantanamo for 7&#189; years, says he was tortured repeatedly by American operatives who wanted to know all about his non-existent links to Osama bin Laden.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I thought America, the big country, they have CIA, FBI. Maybe one week, two weeks, they know I am innocent. I can go back to my home, to my home," Boumediene said. Well, I don't doubt the competence of his interrogators and torturers, so I'm sure that he's right, that they <i>did</i> know within days or weeks that he was innocent. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKSnN9OivjQPT5pQ20jhit_LjeSg">Agence France-Presse</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=tctt-100></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I enjoyed <i>The Colbert Report</i>'s week in Iraq as much as any American viewer. The show is usually excellent, and some of Colbert's work in Iraq outdid his usual excellence. Still, it nagged at me all through the week, and I'm double dang delighted that OHollern took the time and trouble to explain why: <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">...&nbsp;this whole thing feeds into a deep, underlying militarism that pervades our language, outlook, and culture, which in turn enables the US government to persist in vicious and costly imperial follies that will, eventually, bring this country down (if they haven't <nobr> already).<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://badattitudes.com/MT/archives/2009/06/no_laughing_mat.html">Bad Attitudes</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-113></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CNN is getting some well-deserved criticism from one of its founders, Reese Schonfeld, for its bizarre interview with Dr George Tiller's assassin. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.studiobriefing.net/studiobriefing.net/TV_News/Entries/2009/6/11_CNN_CO-FOUNDER_BLASTS_CNN_INTERVIEW_WITH_ACCUSED_KILLER.html">Studio Briefing</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-1285></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The impressive accomplishment of Fox News is its creation of "an alternate reality" for right-wing viewers, says arch-right columnist Charles Krauthammer. Where Americans used to understand certain basic facts while disagreeing about policy, Fox News has ripped apart the underpinning of facts, so that now right-wingers can dispute the facts behind every issue, and any presentation of evidence is derided as leftist propaganda, which of course makes any reasonable discussion of policy impossible.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's somewhere between sorry and sad to see Krauthammer describe so clearly what Fox News has done to America, but describe it not as a problem but as something he appreciates and admires. I'm not sure that America faces any problem that's bigger, and I'm increasingly convinced that we're sunk as a nation so long as liars and loons are allowed to dominate the political discourse. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/10/krauthammer-alternative-reality/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-307></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Shepard Smith at Fox News decries the angry, hateful tone of much of his daily email, and wonders if maybe just maybe the DHS report on the dangers of the far right-wing might have been solid work after all. This ain't much, but it's by far the closest I've ever heard anyone at Fox News come to accurately describing the Fox News audience. I'll be more than a little surprised if Shep Smith is <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018592.php">still working at Fox News</A> in six months. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018565.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-438></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Los Angeles Times</i> apparently thinks it's pretty dang funny that people are sent to prison for supplying medical marijuana to the chronically ill, headlining this report "Bummer, dude". Picture me not laughing. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/comments_blog/2009/06/weed-pot-drugs-marijuana.html#comments">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face02 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="144" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face2.jpg" border="0" width="124" height="124"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctt-1118></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Internet hatemonger Hal Turner has surrendered to police in Connecticut, where he's charged with inciting violence by telling listeners to "take up arms" against elected officials. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j9bpY8S94DwV1qmzqAb5SosNiZHQD98OMUT01">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-552></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What would Pat Buchanan have to say to get himself fired from MSNBC? Good question. I remember several white pundits who've been fired or reprimanded for making racially insensitive statements, but nobody in the present-day media has made as many offensive statements over as many years as Pat Buchanan, with no firings, no suspensions, and no apologies that I remember.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/12/buchanan-old-bigotry/">another offensive statement</A> comes from Buchanan just hours after I typed the above, and <A HREF="http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/06/09/anti-immigrant-hate-site-announces-pat-buchanan-think-tank-to-host-leading-white-nationalist/">we read here</A> that "a prominent white nationalist" will be speaking at Buchanan's upcoming anti-immigrant conference. With Pat Buchanan, the ordinary rules don't apply, I guess because he's so charming and charismatic on the telly? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/columns/200906080008">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-425></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Newsweek</i> altered the on-line version of an already-published interview with Joe Scarborough, at the request of someone on Scarborough's "team", so that you have to read deep in the interview to discover that Scarborough's original claim to fame was defending the killer of an abortion doctor. That's just awfully considerate of <i>Newsweek</i>, don't you think? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906100007">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-445></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Associated Press is launching a six-month experimental arrangement by which it'll distribute investigative reports from non-profit groups that fund investigative journalism &#151; ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, and the Center for Investigative Reporting. I'm familiar with three out of four, and they're good guys producing work that, in my reading, has generally seemed fair, responsible, and not politically driven. Presumably, getting distribution through AP will help get their work read by a lot more eyeballs. Sounds like something good could come of this. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003984213">Editor&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Publisher</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face03 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="96" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face3.jpg" border="0" width="76" height="113"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=iidytapc-537></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've read lots of praise for <i>Salon</i> editor Joan Walsh, for her handling of Bill O'Reilly in this episode of <i>The O'Reilly Factor</i>, but I couldn't stand to watch for more than about a minute. Why, I wonder, does someone like Joan Walsh, or anyone else with a smidgen of human decency, agree to appear opposite someone like O'Reilly? What's to be gained? Why not say no, when O'Reilly's people call? (Ms Walsh takes a stab at <A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/politics/2009/06/12/oreilly_walsh/">answering these questions</A>.) <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://foxnewsboycott.com/bill-oreilly/joan-walsh-of-saloncom-handles-bill-oreilly/">Fox News Boycott</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-1008></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MSNBC's Contessa Brewer turns to John Ziegler for commentary on this week's celebrity feud (Letterman v. Palin). The person who sent me this clip was impressed by Brewer's handling of Ziegler, but I can't feign respect for any journalist who's willing to turn to Ziegler. If the name is new to you, he's one of right-wing radio's minor league hatemongers, and he "interviewed" Sarah Palin on his show, and MSNBC brought him on to, I guess, interview him about interviewing Palin. It's all "who cares?" stuff to me, "news" that makes no difference to anyone anywhere, and if journalism is supposed to be the balanced presentation of events, as the news corporations pretend it is, then it's the opposite of journalism. But yeah, I did enjoy the clip. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/why-exactly-does-anyone-put-jackass">Crooks &amp; Liars</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-603></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What do you think the <i>Washington Times</i>'s Wesley Pruden means when he says that Obama is "our first president without an instinctive appreciation of the culture... whence America sprang"? Yeah, I think that's what he meant, too. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906070011">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face04 --><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/face4.jpg" border="0" width="120" height="85"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctt-1011></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Keith Olbermann misses Tim Russert. And I have no problem with that, since they were co-workers and friends and la-di-da, but sweet freakin' jeebers was there ever a more overrated journalist than Russert? Am I missing something? What was the brilliance of Tim Russert? In what sense was his work better or worse or even <i>different</i> from all the other Sunday chatterers? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#31333761">Countdown</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=rnitfbp-742></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What would happen if a big-city daily gave its reporters a day off, and instead used poets and novelists as reporters? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.forward.com/articles/107571/">Forward</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =world= --> <!-- =Afghanistan --> <!-- =Iraq --> <!-- =Iran= --> <A NAME=iidytapc-1103></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is how a democracy reacts when a <A HREF="http://www.juancole.com/2009/06/stealing-iranian-election.html">Presidential election is stolen</A>, as the <A HREF="http://mces.blogspot.com/2009/06/please-help.html">Iranian election seems to have been</A>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/world/2009/06/14/0614iran.html">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Israel --> <A NAME=tctt-745a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel would be all hunky-dory peachy-keen on Palestine as a demilitarized state. I wonder what Israel's reply would be if the Palestinians said they would agree to an agreement with both being a "demilitarized state?" Israel knows that request is "DOA". It's just another no-starter dodge. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/14/1005862/netanyahu-set-to-deliver-foreign-policy-speech">Jewish Telegraphic Agency</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-745></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prominent Israeli rabbi Manis Friedman is asked how Jews should treat Arabs. His learned reply: "The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle)".&nbsp;... <A NAME=mysterylinks></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="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> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Friedman argued that he is different from Arab terrorists who have used similar language about killing Jewish civilians. "When they say it, it's genocide, not self-defense," Friedman said. "With them, it's a religious belief &#151; they need to rid the area of us. We're not saying that."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Religious fanatics are the same the world over; they talk out of both sides of their mouths. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1091469.html">Ha'aretz (Jerusalem)</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Pakistan --> <A NAME=tctt-729></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The more the Obama administration works to keep super-secret all information on US drone attacks within Pakistan, the more it looks to the world (Pakistanis presumably already know) like it's just an endless series of botched attacks killing ordinary people as they try to go about their lives. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47196">Inter Press Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Europe --> <!-- =North America --> <!-- =South America --> <!-- =Asia --> <A NAME=iidytapc-831></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In last November's terrorist attacks on Mumbai, my reading of events had been that the police responded about as quickly and heroically as can be expected in such a ghastly situation. From this report in the Indian newsweekly <i>Tehelka</i>, though, it looks like a hell of a mess of inexplicable delays and after-the-fact stonewalling that, in the words of reporter Harinder Baweja, amounts to a cover-up by the Mumbai Police and the government. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne130609coverstory.asp">Tehelka Magazine</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-144></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Khmer Rouge warden Kaing Guek Eav has accepted responsibility for the deaths of several thousand men, women, and children while he was in charge of a prison in Phnom Penh. You want to fry him in canola oil, and that's understandable, but he was a fairly minor player in the killing of 1.7-million souls &#151; what happened to the people who gave him his orders? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_as/as_cambodia_genocide_trial">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-752></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Good news for Planet Earth, and good news for bicyclists: Bike riders are substantially less likely to be injured while riding, when there are substantially more bike riders. Or at least, that's the tale in New York City, but it makes sense &#151; if there are more bikes, then auto drivers (by far the biggest danger to bicyclists) become accustomed to keeping an eye out for bikes. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/06/05/safety-in-numbers-its-happening-in-nyc/">streetsblog.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- bank robber --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/bankrobber.gif" alt="picture of bank robber" border="0" width="100" height="95"></td></tr></table> <!-- =bailout =economy--> <A NAME=giltg-206></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The so-called worst-case scenarios that the Obama administration's "stress tests" were based upon are already being left in the dust, and as I remember (but apparently the media has forgotten) the results were pretty obviously rigged anyway, as every bank passed with either flying colors or a B-. So now the big banks are <A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/lobbyists-and-agency-rivals-fight-to-shape-the-new-wall-st-1698509.html">fighting regulatory reform</A>, and several want to pay back their federal billions, so they can pay their executives ridonculous salaries and bonuses without government or media scrutiny. As obvious as it was that the stress tests were rigged it's just as obvious that the banks are nowhere near being out of the swamp, and that any momentary pretense of major American banks being healthy is exactly that &#151; pretense.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Please don't mistake my tone for anger, though. I'm just... bemused. All during the Bush-Cheney administration, I kept thinking that the next big scandal would be the one where the American people would shout, <I>Enough!</i> But the scandals were only fleetingly reported, then never mentioned again except by bloggers and little-heard pundits, so the American people still think the Bush-Cheney gang was about bumbling incompetence, when of course they were actually all about the theft of billions, utter inhumanity, war crimes, and the willful dismantling of the planet's ability to sustain human life. And so it goes, same under Obama as under Bush. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/amazing-timing-with-tarp-repayment-news.html">AmericaBlog</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=rnitfbp-802></A><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">As the credit crisis ebbs, US lawmakers are increasingly questioning the actions the Fed took to counter the <nobr> turmoil.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But not really, of course, not with the kind of questions that really should be asked, 'cuz if they asked those questions Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson would end up in prison. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ak8IMu6zJJVw">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face05 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="127" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face5.jpg" border="0" width="107" height="143"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=j9iotnm-752></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Big news in the last few days is that Brazil, Russia, India and China are proposing to start converting foreign exchange resources into IMF bonds. This is serious stuff, especially when combined with other actions designed to less their reliance on the US dollar.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, both Russia and China are increasing the gold reserves. And China is busy establishing bilateral trade agreements which would use the Chinese Yuan instead of the US dollar. Given that during each calendar quarter for an indefinite number of years the US will be attempting to sell ONE TRILLION worth of bonds to finance new debt and roll over old debts (i.e. borrow money to pay the interest), the US is now seen as profligate and unreliable.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The clinching argument for this interpretation of the BRIC country moves is this: as the US dollar wanes, so will its military power. So this is a strategic, long-term move. The trick will be in implementing their plans carefully and without undue haste so as not to alarm the US Regime, which would give the US rulers a chance to alter their behavior before Checkmate is announced. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Carlotta</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rferl.org/content/China_Russia_Line_Up_To_Buy_IMFs_First_Bonds/1750297.html">Radio Free Europe</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-105></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) says he took a trip to China where he met with Chinese officials. He says, "One of the messages I had &#151; because we need to build trust and confidence in our number one creditor &#151; is that the budget numbers that the US government has put forward should not be believed."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Um, I have my doubts about anything the US government says on almost any topic, but is it appropriate for an American Congressman to be telling the people who basically hold the mortgage on America that America's falsifying the books? And it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway &#151; if some Democratic office-holder you'd never heard of had said such things during the Bush-Cheney administration, it would've been all over the news for days, and he or <!-- face06 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="144" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face6.jpg" border="0" width="124" height="93"> </td></tr></table> she would've been forced to at least apologize, and quite possibly resign. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/rep-mark-kirk-r-il-i-told-china-not-to-believe-us-budget-numbers.php?ref=fpblg">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR><A NAME=iidytapc-1237></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And speaking of almost incomprehensible stupidity, right-wing radio stars Hugh Hewitt and Rush Limbaugh are asking Americans to boycott GM. Because, you see, after being bailed out by the Obama administration it's now Government Motors. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/article/20090609/AUTO01/906090329/1148/AUTO01/Right-wing+radio+hosts+Hewitt+and+Limbaugh+back+GM+boycott">Detroit News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-254></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I don't know anything about cars," says Ed Whitacre, the incoming Chairman at General Motors. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aQ._YJhEj_Jo">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-445></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Limiting the ginormous paychecks of bank executives is wrong and "counterproductive", says Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, but reducing the wages, pensions and health benefits of workers at General Motors, Chrysler and their supplier plants is an absolute necessity. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/exec-j11.shtml">World&nbsp;Socialist&nbsp;Website</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =dc= --> <A NAME=iidytapc-222></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Paul Krugman's column last week, exploring the way right-wing outfits like Fox News have brought scary kookiness into the political discourse, was not particularly groundbreaking. It said nothing that non-nuts haven't noticed for years, but it's something said rarely in mainstream media. "And at this point, whatever dividing line there was between mainstream conservatism and the black-helicopter crowd seems to have been virtually erased." For stating plainly a very serious problem, I expect that Krugman will be ruthlessly demonized, and I would suggest that he hire a bodyguard. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6476593.html">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=abortion></A> <A NAME=j9iotnm-4466></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Why is Dr George Tiller's alleged killer doing press conferences? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/11/scott_roeder/">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-402></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No big surprise, but dead doctor George Tiller's clinic will be permanently closed. The terrorists win. They usually do. Also, <A HREF="http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/18821">Operation Rescue is interested in buying the closed clinic</A>, presumably for a fetus museum or a meeting place for future murderers. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/06/09/george-tillers-clinic-closing-its-doors-forever/">Comedy Central</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face07 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="168" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face7.jpg" border="0" width="148" height="119"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=giltg-126></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Virginia, state Senator Creigh Deeds has won the Democratic Party's nomination and will run for Governor this fall. My congratulations to Virginia &#151; I don't know diddly about Deeds, but he's not Terry McAuliffe, the slippery fundraiser and backstage power broker who ran Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign last year and chaired the Democratic Party from 2001-05.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To understand how scummy McAuliffe is, just think of 2001-05. Bush and Cheney were in charge, war and corruption was everywhere, and Terry McAuliffe was in charge of the opposition party as it did nothing but bend over. As McAuliffe looks for something else to screw up, Virginia has made itself a better place. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005153">Washington Post, distilled&nbsp;by&nbsp;Harper's</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=Guantanamo></A><A NAME=giltg-127></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Palau says <A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31199972/">it'll take 13 of the 17 Uighurs</a>, Chinese Muslims who've been held at Guantanamo despite their adjudicated innocence. <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/11/guantanamo-detainees-china-demands-return">The other four Uighurs</A> from Guantanamo will instead settle in Bermuda, where the first four Uighurs have arrived, and seem to be chipper and optimistic. Their American lawyer says, "We were in a shop with the guys to buy some trousers. Blaring over the radio was talk about these al-Qaeda terrorists. The shopkeeper said, 'Don't mind that. Welcome to the island'. And he gave them each a free baseball hat." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A H?REF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6489381.ece">London Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-531></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Three more prisoners at Guantanamo have been transferred to Saudi Arabia. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/06/united_states_transfers_three_guantanamo_detainees.php?ref=fpa">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=health></A><A NAME=giltg-207></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Forty percent of low-income Americans have no health insurance, says the Department of Health and Human Services. I'm wildly skeptical, as I live in the real world of poverty and almost no-one among my acquaintances has medical insurance.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; HHS also notes that a third of the un-insured have chronic diseases, for which they're <nobr>1/6</nobr> as likely to receive medical treatment as the insured are. And to that I'll add the obvious, that when the un-insured receive medical care, it's far more sporadic, with longer waits, less follow-up, and longer odds against getting any medication or a doctor who gives a damn. This is what rich folks (who never see the underside) proclaim as the world's greatest health system &#151; and I don't doubt that it is, if you're rich. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/2009/06/new_report_on_access_to_health.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face08 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="121" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face8.jpg" border="0" width="101" height="112"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=j9iotnm-415></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; High school student Jessica Terry used a microscope and an advanced biology class to diagnose her own Crohn's disease. CNN treats this as an amusing human interest story, and I guess it is, but let's ponder it as more than mere amusement. Think about the implications of having medical insurance, as this kid clearly does, seeing doctors time after time for years, taking the tests, and having everyone involved repeatedly miss the obvious diagnosis.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then bear in mind that missing a fairly obvious diagnosis isn't all that uncommon. I've known a few people who've been through this, who had docs and pathologists repeatedly miss such obvious illnesses as gallstones and strep throat, despite having symptoms that fit exactly. I don't know what the solution to this is, but we all know that in ordinary American medical work, doctors and pathologists are under constant time and productivity constraints &#151; and that can't help. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/11/teen.self.diagnosis/index.html?eref=rss_latest">Cable&nbsp;News&nbsp;Network</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-12024></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rep Lynn Woolsey (D-California) says that if there's no public option in the health care reform legislation, the House Progressive Caucus won't go along with it. I don't know whether Woolsey has the courage and convictions to deliver on such a boast, but if she does then this is do-or-die. The House Progressive Caucus includes about 80 members, and no health legislation can pass in the House without getting a landslide among those progressive votes. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/06/will_the_house_progressive_cau.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-420></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The American Medical Association first announced that it would oppose any shred of a public option in American health care, then revised that position in the next news cycle. Says here that only about one in four American doctors is a member of the AMA, so if you're lucky enough to be able to see a doctor, why not shop around for one who's not a member of the AMA? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_he_me/us_med_health_overhaul_ama">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face09 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="156" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face9.jpg" border="0" width="136" height="88"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctt-442></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Dozens of communities nationwide are at risk from a coal ash spill like the one that blanketed a Tennessee neighborhood last year, but the Obama administration has decided not to tell the public about it because of the danger of a terrorist <nobr> attack.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Looks like more of the Obama administration's much talked about but rarely seen "transparency". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_go_ot/us_coal_ash_disclosure">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-913></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Washington, one "three strikes" prisoner has been released, and he seems to be on a crusade to dissuade young people from a life of crime. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009325750_threestrikes11m.html">The Seattle Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-741></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Happy deathday, Thomas Paine. Excellent essay honoring the forefather of modern advocacy journalism. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/world_of_paine.php">Columbia Journalism Review</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-800></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A day in the blog universe, submitted for your consideration: Conservative smearmaster Ed Whelan of <i>National Review</i> was <A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/06/the-education-of-ed-whelan.html">criticized by blogger Publius</A>, with good reason and in a firm but civilized manner. <A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/06/stay-classy-ed-whelan.html">Whelan's response</A> was to reveal Publius's previously unknown real-world identity, and Publius's blog has been <A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/06/a-few-housekeeping-matters-.html">flooded with racist comments</A>, because that's how right-wingers rally around one of their own.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whelan is a major-league operator so the events here took on larger-than-usual dimensions, but the pattern is familiar. I'm tempted to type that Whelan's a typical Republican, but maybe he's better than that &#151; he later apologized, and it's a fairly real <!-- face10 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="140" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face10.jpg" border="0" width="120" height="80"> </td></tr></table> apology, not one of those "if anyone was offended" fakes. Still, even in sorry mode, Whelan seems only slightly cognizant of the damage he's done to someone's life, which is in keeping with the original criticisms leveled against him. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/06/moving-on.html">Obsidian Wings</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-333></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Minnesota court has ordered Norm Coleman (ret'd R-Minnesota) to pay Al Franken (D-Minnesota) $94,783.15, reimbursement for a fraction of the costs incurred in the protracted court case over their close Senate election. The state's Supreme Court has yet to decide who won the election, though there's little doubt that it'll be Franken, one fine day. The election, you'll recall, was last November. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/minnesota-court-orders-coleman-to-pay-franken-over-94000.php?ref=fpblg">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-1125></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Mayor of Phoenix, Phil Gordon, has asked Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to publicly disassociate himself from his neo-Nazi and white supremacist supporters. Arpaio is famous for billing himself as "America's toughest sheriff". He makes cruel and unusual punishment utterly ordinary, he's been the sheriff and Arizona's biggest embarrassment since 1992, and of course, we abhor him. But this particular accusation &#151; at least as described in this coverage &#151; seems a tad exaggerated. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/Arpaio-denies-Gordons-claims-he-associates-with/M6jT1DFFukan5LQqGgd99g.cspx">ABC 15</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-409></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In what's described as possibly the largest financial smuggling case in history, $134-billion in undeclared US bonds were found hidden in the luggage of two Japanese men en route to Switzerland via Italy. I have no idea what this means, but &#151; wow. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://cryptogon.com/?p=9095">cryptogon.com</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=j9iotnm-946></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ken Pagano, pastor of New Bethel Church in Louisville, is asking churchgoers to bring their guns to church. There will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety, and Pastor Pagano wants church members to bring canned goods and a friend.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What's the friend for? Are they going to shoot the breeze ... or the friend? <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;SirJ</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2009/06/04/60205365/index.xml">Daily Chronicle</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-852></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kendall Craig Farris, founder of an anti-drug group and author of an anti-drug book, was arrested last week for selling fake drugs to a narcotics cop. Selling fake contraband, please note, is as illegal as selling real contraband. It's a delight, ain't it (and not a rare one) to see a drug warrior ensnared in the preposterous war on drugs. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drug-dealer13-2009jun13%2C0%2C849714.story">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-440></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That's an interesting letter to the editor indeed, from a lady who bought her home from the guy who opened fire at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/06/hannukah_parties_at_von_brunns.php">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-506></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former President Bush the First says that the right wing's rabid attacks on Sonia Sotomayor are "not right". And I sigh and ever-so-slightly smile. You know, when George Herbert Walker Bush was President, I despised him more than anyone else in my limited understanding of American history and American politics. I picketed against him, organized protests against his absurd attack on Iraq, wrote furious letters to the editor, and in private conversations I often described him as the personification of Evil. I cannot fully describe to you how much I <i>hated</i> the first President Bush.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And now, after Bush the Second, Bush the First just seems like a flaky old fuddy-duddy I wouldn't want to spend any time with. Of course, almost anyone looks better compared to the crimes and killings perpetrated by President Bush the Second, but still... <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/12/bush-sotomayor/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=giltg-250></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Germany, gay penguins are coming out of the closet at the Bremerhaven Zoo. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31123391/">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face11 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="133" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face11.jpg" border="0" width="113" height="117"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=iidytapc-5163></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bill O'Reilly is an odd creature indeed. He's OK with gay penguins, says "who cares? ... If they're happy, they're happy. That's my philosophy..." but he's repulsed by the notion of gay humans, and he emphatically maintains that they're perverts who deserve to have their human rights denied. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/11/oreilly-fox-news-lgbt/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-1118></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As Pixar plans its 13th movie (its first to feature a female character in the central role) Linda Holmes politely begs that the movie's shero <i>not</i> be a princess. I just gotta say, please and thank you and I hope the people at Pixar are paying attention. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/06/dear_pixar_from_all_the_girls.html">National Public Radio</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctt-1045></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; White Supremacists are worried about their movement's image. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/06/12/white-supremacists-worried-about-movements-image/">Southern Poverty Law Center</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=j9iotnm-505></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are a lot of Americans who believe that the FCC's digital switch of TV in America is actually a clandestine plot to install "a two way pipe that lets the government see in as well as they can see out." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2009/06/when-analog-shuts-off-kmbc-will-stay-on-.html">TV Barn</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=iidytapc-127></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Kleberg County, Texas, the godless "hello" greeting has been officially replaced with "heaven-o". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mndaily.com/1997/01/17/texas-town-says-goodbye-hello">Associated Press</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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This doesn't mean we're anti-American, redneck scum, pinko commies, militia members, or terrorist-sympathizers. It means we believe in freedom, as more than merely a cliché. <BR><BR> We believe you have the right to live your own life as you choose, and others have the equal right to live <I>their</I> lives as <I>they</I> choose. It's not complicated.<BR><BR>We believe freedom leads to peace, progress, and prosperity, while its opposite -- oppression -- leads to war, terrorism, poverty, and misery. <BR><BR> We believe it's preposterously stupid to hate people because of their appearance, their race or nationality, their religion or lack of religion, how they have sex with other consenting adults, etc. There are far more apropos reasons to hate most people. <BR><BR> We believe in questioning ourselves, our assumptions, each other -- and we especially believe in questioning authority (the more authority, the more questions). We believe obedience is a fine quality in dogs and young children, but not in adults. <BR><BR> Like America's right-wingers, we believe in individual responsibility, hard work to get ahead, and stern punishment for serious crimes. We believe big government should not be blindly trusted.<BR><BR> But unlike most right-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> Like America's left-wingers, we believe in equal treatment under law, war as a last (not first) resort, and sensible stewardship of natural resources. We believe big business should not be blindly trusted.<BR><BR>But unlike most left-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> Like libertarians, we believe it's wrong and <I>reprehensible</i> to arrest people for what they think, believe, look like, wear, eat, smoke, drink, inhale, inject, or otherwise do to themselves. <BR><BR> But unlike many libertarians, we're not obsessed with the gold standard, we don't believe incorporation is humanity's highest achievement, and we don't believe everything in life comes down to dollars and cents. We've read and enjoyed Ayn Rand's novels, but we understand that they're works of fiction.<BR><BR> We're skeptical, and we're sick of so-called 'journalists' who aren't skeptical at all. <BR><BR>A reader asks, what are our solutions?<BR><BR>We propose no solutions except common sense, which is never common. We like the principles of democracy, and the ideals broadly described as 'American'. The US Constitution is a fine and workable framework for solutions, when it's actually read and thoughtfully understood by intelligent statesmen and women. So, no manifestos from us. We don't dream that big, and if there's one thing the world <i>doesn't</i> need it's yet another manifesto.<BR><BR>Our suggestion is: think.<BR><BR>A fact-based instead of faith-based approach leads to solutions for most of the recurring issues of our time, from abortion to global climate change, pollution to universal health care, careful but real regulation of industry and economy, hunger, war, terror, human rights for humans not for corporations, science not religious doctrine in public schools, equal protection and prosecution under law, etc. Approach problems without glorifying stupidity, without demonizing intelligence, and answers usually come into focus. <BR><BR> These pages are published by <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/bighowdy.html">Harry and Helen Highwater</A>, happily married low-income nom de plumes and rabble-rousers from Madison, Wisconsin (with a few friends scattered around the world helping out). <BR><BR> We try to spotlight news that hasn't gotten enough (or appropriate) attention in American media, along with our opinions and yours. <BR><BR> We bang our keyboards against the wall, because it doesn't hurt as much as banging our heads. <BR><BR><center><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/bighowdy.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/Highwaters-oldtime.jpg" border="3" width="199" height="277"></A></center><BR> <DIV align="right"><i><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</A></i> &nbsp; <BR><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;(from <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">About <I>Unknown News</i></A>)&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=height></A><BR> <A NAME=cops></A><A NAME=cops-box></A><!-- =cops= --><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/policelog.html" width="295" height="1000" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=blue class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html"><B>unknownnews.org/cops.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=debunk></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk-frame.html" width="295" height="1000" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=blue class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html"><B>unknownnews.org/debunk.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=oldnews></A><A NAME=unymhm></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" bgcolor="#eeeeee" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"><center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews-frame.html" width="295" height="1000" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="295" bgcolor=darkred class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html"><B>unknownnews.org/oldnews.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=introduction></a><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#E3E4FA" class="fonta"> <B><I>If you're new to Unknown News,</I></B>&nbsp; here are some answers to <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/faq.html">frequently asked questions</A> about the site, and <A HREF="#wdwb"><font color=blue>answers to questions we wish you'd ask instead</font></A>. 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We try to avoid coding practices that intentionally frustrate or annoy readers. <A NAME=help></a><BR><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="72" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/begging.jpg" border="0" width="57" height="85"></td></tr></table> <B><I>You can help:</I></B>&nbsp; We try not to whine too much or&nbsp;too loudly, but we are poor and this site eats a&nbsp;lot of time and especially <I>money</I>. 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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="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>