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23, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =unknown news=--> <A NAME=ahtaswh-804></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Federal Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong has tossed out laws protecting children from military predators. The laws, in two California cities, made it illegal for recruiters to contact minors, but allowed contact if the kids made the first call or visit to a recruiting station. The judge who decided that soldiers can hunt children was appointed by George Bush the elder in 1991, and the law she struck down <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="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/protest6.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="182"> <p><i> "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." </i><DIV align="right"><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Martin&nbsp;Luther&nbsp;King</i> &nbsp; </div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> sounds like a semi-reasonable compromise &#151; if you're comfortable compromising with people who want to talk your teenaged kid into going to war.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you ask me (and I'm sure you meant to) the law Judge Armstrong struck down didn't go far enough. It would seem much more intelligent, appropriate, and better for society at large to disallow any contact at all between kids and people paid to lure children into the military. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/19/BAC3189PQJ.DTL">San Francisco Chronicle</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-808></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The United States is planning to bomb the moon. Seriously, and of course. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nasas-mission-to-bomb-the-moon-2009-06">Scientific American</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-4133></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Harriet Miers, former lawyer for George W Bush, has testified in the Congressional probe of the Bush-Cheney administration's firings of US Attorney who wouldn't push their politicized prosecutions. Or at least, we're supposed to think it's a probe and we're supposed to think Miers testified, but all this is taking place behind closed doors so for all we know they're just sharing shrimp hors d'oeuvres and drinking rum. Justice happens in the open, and when something's hidden it's almost certainly not justice.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It had previously been announced that Karl Rove would be testifying in early June, but early June is over and it remains an open question when or whether Rove will ever drop by for snacks and cocktails. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/miers_testifies_in_us_attorneys_probe_--_when_will.php">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <A NAME=zzz-813></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Wisconsin, Dodge County Judge Andrew Bissonnette has ordered the state's Department of Corrections to stop torturing inmate Warren Lilly. There's really no other word for it, as the state has been force-feeding Lilly with a real emphasis on <i>force</i>, stretching out <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 and 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> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/16/immigration-hate-crime-cis-fair/">Report ties increase in hate crimes to 'anti-immigrant vitriol'</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/eliminationist-gear-cafe-press-scott-ro">Available at Cafe Press: Scott Roeder is an American Hero and shoot Obama stuff for sale</A><BR> <!-- =fake journalism --> <!-- =Bozell -- =MRC =Newsbusters --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906170025">Boortz says "Obama's health care plan is going to end up killing people"</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/200906180014">Limbaugh says that with digitized health records, "man-child" Obama will be able to "blackmail you" and "deny you treatment"</A><BR> <!-- =nutball roundup --> <BR><A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/17/shawne-forde-minuteman-gop/">Alleged Minuteman killer co-hosted 2007 anti-immigration event featuring Republican Presidential candidates</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/06/pat_boone_theyre_coming_for_th.php">Pat Boone says "the end of our religious freedom in America could be at hand"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906170018"><i>WorldNetDaily</i>'s Janet Porter says Obama's "dictatorship" must be stopped or "we'll all lose our lives"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/farah-cleverly-deciphers-obamas-call-genocide"><i>WND</i>'s Farah says Obama is calling for genocide against Israel</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> these thrice-daily cruelties longer and longer, to punish Lilly for his hunger strike. It's the clear embodiment of cruel and unusual, and it's wonderful to see a judge with some genuine empathy, but stopping this barbarism isn't enough &#151; the wardens who've ordered this and the guards who've done this to Lilly need to be prosecuted. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=26173">Isthmus</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-727></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; File this under holy crap: In <i>dozens</i> of cases in Florida, a dog's "testimony" was admitted in court, and in at least several cases it helped put men behind bars. The dog's alleged ability to identify a perp's scent from the scene of the crime and testify to it later is far beyond anything I've ever heard attributed to German Shepherds or other sniffy dogs, and after <i>dozens</i> of court cases, one judge finally had the bright idea of testing the dog's amazing ability, instead of just taking the dog's handler's word. The dog, of course, flunked the test.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every person convicted in these trials should get a new trial. Of course. Every prosecutor who brought this dog and/or its handler, one John Preston, to court should be disbarred. Of course. Every judge who allowed this dog's sniffings to be introduced in court should be removed from the bench. Of course. If people raise an enormous ruckus, it's possible that there will be new trials, but the other two common sense responses won't even be considered. Of course. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/local/orl-asecorl-maxwell-dog-exonerate-06061409jun14,0,7691656.column?page=1">Orlando Sentinel</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-122></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Gloucester County, Virginia, citizens who signed a petition asking that four county supervisors be removed from office have been fined $2,000 each. It sounds at first blush like an absurd abrogation of the constitutional right to petition government for redress of grievances, and upon reading the news coverage to the end I can't see it any other way. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wavy_gloucester_county_petitioners_penalized_2000_20090617">WAVY-TV</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=ahtaswh-1112></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you believe the ACLU's legal filing in this case (I do) then the US government railroaded Sabri Benkahla during the Bush-Cheney administration, charging him with terrorism and, when he was found not guilty, recharging him with questionable charges of perjury. He received a ten-year sentence, and has been held in virtual isolation ever since, at the Northern Ohio Correctional Facility.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As ugly and awful as so many such miscarriages of justice are, I sometimes shudder to think what America would look like without the ACLU's work at challenging such outrages. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.aclu.org/prison/restrict/39924res20090618.html">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-407></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prison inmates have no right to challenge their convictions using DNA evidence, says the cro magnon Supreme Court, in its traditional and sickening 5-4 split. Shameful, and beyond un-American, it's a kick in the teeth to truth, justice, and the American Way (if the American Way still has anything to do with truth and justice), and it means, bottom line, that a lot of innocent people will spend years in prison and/or die there.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every time there's another flat-out fascist ruling like this, remember who to thank. First, thank the Obama administration, which sided <i>against</i> the complaint, taking the position that convicts have no right to see the DNA evidence against them. Also, thank the Democrats in the Senate, because it's no surprise where men like John Roberts and Samuel Alito stand on the rights of people &#151; they're just plain opposed, which was obvious when they were nominated. If Democrats in the Senate had shown any spine or any semblance of principle, such monstrous nominees never would have been confirmed. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ix1c3b_XEnmXx0pcQHAss0mFFgiAD98T6GJG0">Associated Press</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=wbyadtwrk-335></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In yet another troubling 5-4 Supreme Court ruling, it will now be much more difficult to sue for age discrimination at work. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-age-bias19-2009jun19,0,2140980.story">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-708></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Defense Department, in its training materials, teaches that protests should be considered "low-level terrorism". That's the <i>American</i> Defense Department, not Cuba or Communist China.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Update: Upon receiving a complaint from the ACLU, the <A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2009/06/19/dod-to-aclu-we-surrender/">DoD promptly apologized</A> and said they'd adjust their screwy heads. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics/ci_12589887">The Oakland Tribune</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =immigration --><A NAME=mxsvo-651></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; More than 100 American children whose parents have been (or could be) deported have filed suit against the President.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Excellent strategy, seems to me &#151; raise the issue, embarrass the government, change the policy, and maybe put these families back together. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmo3_fsf06CMjvNsLNzsPXoZau4AD98SLVMG1">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-652></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Arizona's Maricopa County, the Board of Supervisors has rejected state funding to continue sheriff Joe Arpaio's zealous enforcement of anti-immigration laws.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Arpaio is the most famous jackass in law enforcement, a man proud of his cruelty, and he's been an embarrassment to Arizona, Maricopa County, and Phoenix for far too long, so let's applaud this show of sanity. The newspaper's coverage indicates that the Board will probably reconsider accepting the funds at some future date, but anything that even briefly interrupts Arpaio's shenanigans is good news. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/17/20090617immigrationmoney0618.html">The Arizona Republic</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =nsr --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/nsrheterosexuals.jpg" alt="No special rights for heterosexuals" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table> <A NAME=nsr></A><A NAME=towd-246></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator Harry Reid (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-Nevada) says, not quite in so many words, that he has utterly zero interest in repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell". Under his leadership the Senate won't do anything about it, and if anything happens it'll happen because of President Obama. If you're surprised that Sen Reid doesn't give a damn about equal rights in the military, where have you <i>been?</i> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid90581.asp">The Advocate</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-251></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the furious response to the Obama administration's <A HREF="http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/06/a-letter-to-the-president-from-joe-solmonese/">homophobic brief</A> filed in <i>defense</i> of the Defense of Marriage Act, the President announced that the same-sex partners of federal workers (not including the military) will be eligible for some employment benefits (not including health care, etc.).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I don't want to belittle this move, but it is ... little. The timing, along with a self-serving announcement of "non-discrimination in the Oval Office", sure makes it look like nothing but an attempt to calm the fury of people who believe in equal rights, and I hope it doesn't. They've <A HREF="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/justice-department/obama-administration-set-to-hold-powwow-with-big-gay-groups/">scheduled a meeting with gay leaders</A>. but a meeting won't be enough either. Somebody has to be fired (presumably the Bush-Cheney era holdover who authored the DOMA brief) and it needs to happen quickly. <A NAME=thanks></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="345" 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"><A NAME=sidebar></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="130" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thankyou.jpg" border="0" width="130" height="72"></td></tr></table> 'Arry, Jim&nbsp;B., Mr.&nbsp;Chuckles, Custodian&nbsp;at <A HREF="http://platypusmaximus.blogspot.com/">Platypus&nbsp;Maximus Media&nbsp;Filter</A>, <A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR&nbsp;Mooneyham</A>, SirJ, Siskiyousis, and the love of my life (who's asked to remain anonymous), and everyone we've forgotten to mention.</td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After that, President Obama needs to actively push Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. Yeah, I know it wouldn't be an easy battle, and it'll enrage the right-wing, and so frickin' what. It's the right thing to do, it needs to be done, and if it's ignored or back-burnered for years, which seems to be what Obama wants, the Obama administration is going to start losing its base of support. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.indegayforum.org/blog/show/31855.html">Independent Gay Forum</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-251a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On June 25 &#151; that's Thursday &#151; Vice President Joseph Biden will be the keynote speaker at the 10th Annual LGBT Leadership Council Dinner, allegedly a big Democratic Party fundraiser. Should be lots of fun, with lots of protests by lots of angry gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and straights who believe in civil rights. At last word the White House Press Secretary is still saying that <A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/gibbs-president-stands-behind.html">President Obama stands behind the brief</A>, which tells me that President Obama just doesn't get it. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/are-barney-frank-tammy-baldwin-howard.html">AmericaBlog</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-221></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) says the Obama administration's brief in DOMA, comparing gayness to incest, wasn't inappropriate. I don't know how widespread this response is, but it matches mine &#151; Frank is really full of it on this. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/barney-frank-throws-us-under-bus-lauds.html">AmericaBlog</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%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thinker.jpg" alt="'The Thinker' statue" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>It made me stop&nbsp;and&nbsp;think</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quesplanation.jpg" alt="Stop and think" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Health insurance companies are in business to make money &#151; not to pay medical bills. The more medical bills they can avoid paying, the larger their profits. In fact, the insurance company employees who deny the most claims (medical bills) are the ones who get the biggest bonuses. The reason our country is 50th in life expectancy is because the private insurance companies are more concerned with maximizing profits than with patient health." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/health-care-for-rich-us-50th-in-life.html">The Rag Blog</A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "When one hears about so-called compromise bills being discussed in the Senate that would water down a public option, one can only laugh and wonder:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Don't they get it? A real and robust public option IS the compromise. It is the ONLY compromise. It is the ONLY compromise, not just because 75% of the public demands as much &#151; although no Senator would be wise to ignore that &#151; but because the remaining alternatives are UNTENABLE." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/20/744815/-A-Public-Option-IS-The-Compromise,-Senators">ShadowSD</A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The <I>Washington Post</i> does more to advance neoconservative ideology than the <i>Weekly Standard</i>, the American Enterprise Institute and <i>Commentary</i> combined. But <i>Post</i> columnist Charles Krauthammer &#151; and so many like him &#151; fantasize that they're surrounded by a Liberal Media that oppresses, persecutes and silences them. Just ponder the levels of delusion and self-pity necessary to believe that." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://feeds.salon.com/~r/salon/greenwald/~3/hy5B3eKNZWc/index.html">Glenn Greenwald</A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "In every major case since he became the nation's seventeenth Chief Justice, [John] Roberts has sided with the prosecution over the defendant, the state over the condemned, the executive branch over the legislative, and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/25/090525fa_fact_toobin">Jeffrey Toobin</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tijait-209></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says his state won't send a lawyer to defend the anti-gay Proposition 8 as it's challenged in federal court. This is, at a bare-bones level, pretty much the same choice the Obama administration had to make, when it came time to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act. And the Obama administration made the opposite decision, with Eric Holder's Justice Department assigning several attorneys to write briefs that enthusiastically stand up for inequality. I'm not a big fan of Schwarzenegger since he stopped making action movies, but on gay rights he's miles ahead of Barack Obama. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-gay-marriage18-2009jun18,0,2506403.story?track=rss">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-12552></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Anti-gay activists in Maine have hired the same public relations outfit that ran California's Proposition 8 campaign, and taken plenty of money from the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, as they start their efforts to cancel gay rights in Maine. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/11548/maine-opposition-hires-californias-prop-8-propagandists">Pam's House Blend</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-131></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/70384.html">This McClatchy piece</A> is the best (and one of the few) mainstream pieces I've seen, explaining how exasperated leftish-thinking people are becoming at the Obama administration's steadfast march down the middle of the road. There's a tipping point coming soon, when Barack Obama will have irreparably defined himself as an easygoing guy who wants to be popular, who won't ruffle feathers, and who thus won't accomplish much of anything. <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="77" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/fly.jpg" alt="fly" border="0" width="57" height="60"></td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As an aside, the Obama administration teetered on the brink last week, when the President swatted a fly while cameras were running. I'm not kidding. Can you imagine what we'd hear from the brain-dead right-wing if Obama had missed and the fly had gotten away? It would've become his defining moment in the media's perception, marking Obama forever as "so ineffective he couldn't hurt a fly"...<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration probably will reach its tipping point soon, either from some substantial failure or from something silly but symbolic, manufactured and blown out of proportion by the right-wing media. When that happens it'll doom Obama's agenda (as mild and milquetoast as that is) and make it possible, even likely, for some smooth-talking Republican to defeat Obama in 2012.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Are you sighing with me? All we ever really expected of Obama was that he would be a moderate who might tinker a bit with the system, offering slight improvements in a few areas while ignoring the rest of the mess. Certainly we knew better than to expect sweeping changes, but we thought Obama might, if we're lucky, make maybe 8-10% of the changes America desperately needs, and let the rest of the problems fester. With expectations that low, it's remarkable that he's managing to disappoint even us. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/70384.html">McClatchy Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=flatline></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="345" 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="335" height="85"></center> <BR><A HREF="http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/saxby-chambliss-thinks-iranian-people-dont-remember">Chambliss (R-Georgia) thinks the Iranians don't remember the 1953 CIA coup</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://gawker.com/5294150/john-edwards-is-still-a-deluded-narcissist">John Edwards still can't say whether it might have been a mistake to run for President after cheating on his cancer-stricken wife</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001852/">Fox caught with its pants down on ABC attacks</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/node/28972">Fox's Beck wants everyone to rest assured he's not a complete nutcase</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906190001">Fox's Beck says the government has "destroyed" Sarah Palin, Gerald Walpin,<BR>Joe the Plumber (who's not a plumber)&nbsp;...</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/republican-pete-hoekstra-compares-ira">Hoekstra (R-Michigan) compares Iranian protests to Republicans in exile</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/19/mccain-reagan-prague-spring/">McCain weirdly credits Reagan for non-existent role in 1968 Prague Spring</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/17/house-gop-were-just-like_n_216849.html">House Republicans compare their plight to Iranian protesters</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=privacy></A><A NAME=towd-340></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While the National Security Agency (NSA) was busily scooping up unknown numbers of emails without warrants, one of the email accounts it was poking through belonged to former President Bill Clinton. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/17/nsa-bill-clinton-email/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-353></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Freedom is apparently an amusing joke to Rep Steve King (R-Iowa), who cracked wise on the floor of the House last week that the Uighurs are "wasting away in MargaUighurville".<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What the holy hell is <i>wrong</i> with Republicans? They perpetually posture as if they're all about freedom from government oppression, and when the government holds innocent people in prison for seven years Republicans mock the victims and insult anyone who gives a damn. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/16/king-margauighurvill/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =pot --><A NAME=towd-556></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rhode Island has legalized medical marijuana. Big hugs for Rhode Island.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you've ever been sick, really frickin' sick, imagine for a moment how you'd feel if the government took away your medicine. That's what the federal government does routinely, and that's what lawmakers in Rhode Island, and earlier New Mexico and California, are trying to stop. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2009/06/16/ri_becomes_3rd_state_allowing_marijuana_stores_1245192510/">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =marijuana =pot --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="136" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/marijuana.jpg" border="1" width="116" height="112"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-230></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) is proposing mandatory penalties of up to 25 years in prison for first-time convictions for selling the dreaded super-potent pot. Will there never be a truce in the stupidest war ever, the war on drugs? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wgnradio.com/news/top/wgnam-kirk-marijuana-061209,0,7353941.story">WGN Radio</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-805></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rep Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) has introduced legislation to remove the federal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. He'll be the butt of jokes and the legislation has no chance of passing, but it's the right thing to do and we need a lot more Barney Franks. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.mpp.org/prohibition/congress-to-consider-allowing-marijuana-possession/06182009/">Marijuana Policy Project</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-4322></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Monica Conyers, the Detroit City Councilwoman who's married to US Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), says God will deliver her from the bribery scandal that's closing in on her. God's office offered no comment. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.freep.com/article/20090617/NEWS01/906170311/1003/NEWS01/Conyers+hasn+t+said+she+ll+accept+plea+deal">Detroit Free Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-922></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You still can't buy a vibrator in Alabama. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/media/140466/you_still_can%27t_buy_a_vibrator_in_alabama/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet_media">AlterNet</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-908></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Football star Donté Stallworth has been sentenced to <i>thirty days in jail</i> for driving drunk and killing a pedestrian. Sweet Jeebers, that's just bonkers beyond belief. I understand that our society worships athletes, but drunk driving ought to be punished severely. When you kill somebody while driving drunk that's at least manslaughter and it ought to warrant some serious prison time. In my opinion. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?prov=ap&slug=ap-stallworth-pedestriankilled&type=lgns">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =torture --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="145" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/torture-icon.jpg" alt="Torture is not an American ideal." border="1" width="125" height="167"></td></tr></table> <!-- =torture --> <A NAME=towd-8517></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was tortured 183 times under the orders of the Bush-Cheney administration, says he lied to get the torture to stop. And of course he did, because outside of the movies that's what anybody would do.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you're having a hard time keeping your overhyped bad guys straight, Khalid was described by former VP Dick <A HREF="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003114272">Cheney on <i>Face the Nation</i></A> as, "An evil, evil man that's been in our custody since March of '03. He did not cooperate fully in terms of interrogations until after waterboarding. Once we went through that process, he produced vast quantities of invaluable information about Al Qaida." And how "invaluable" was that illegally-obtained information? Sorry, Dick can't tell ya (it's classified). But I can tell you this: If you've got time to waterboard someone 183, it's not a ticking time-bomb. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cia-detainee16-2009jun16,0,5574126,full.story">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-550></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The CIA says it's fired its contract torturers and contracted torture psychologists. To which we say, whoopie ding dong. Nobody involved in torture will face any legal charges, and the Obama administration's pretense that torture has ended while eschewing any and all punishment for torture only makes it an absolute certainty that the US will be using torture again as soon as the Obama administration ends. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/22/090622fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all">The New Yorker</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-718></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The CIA is trying to suppress part of a torture overview report that delves specifically into whether torture is/was effective in extracting information from bad guys. They're urging the Obama White House to <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061603516.html?hpid=topnews">suppress any details</A> of the Agency's "interrogation" (read: torture) of prisoners during the Bush-Cheney administration, but I doubt that President Obama needs any urging, as secrecy and protecting war criminals has <!-- face12 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="122" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face12.jpg" border="0" width="102" height="87"> </td></tr></table>become the cornerstone of his administration. And indeed, the report, scheduled for release last Friday, was <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061900341.html">inexplicably delayed</A>. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As for the question of whether torture is or was effective, that's utterly irrelevant to me. Some things aren't up for debate, like the "debate" Republicans want America to have, over whether America should be a shining beacon for restoration of the Spanish Inquisition. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/is-cia-supressing-holy-grail-torture-report-that-would-undercut-cheney/">The Plum Line</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-145></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The federal government is threatening to prosecute waterboarding ... if it's done by anti-torture protesters. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://open.salon.com/blog/davidswanson/2009/06/19/us_govt_threatens_to_prosecute_waterboarding">Salon</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=mxsvo-741></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Robert Cantu is an Hispanic 17-year-old who had a noose tied around his neck and was dragged through a parking lot by a bunch of teenagers shouting ethnic slurs. The 18-year-old who (apparently; it's hard to tell from this poor coverage) drove the car pled guilty to ethnic intimidation has been sentenced to ten days in jail. The perp's name isn't even mentioned in AP's report. So the 17-year-old victim gets his name in the paper, and the 18-year-old perp gets ten freakin' days in jail, and his identity is shielded by AP. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_parking_lot_noose_attack;_ylt=AiHylr8oKTh_mo1bX6rFwKN0fNdF">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-704></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As we mentioned last week, Peter Lance dug up what he believes are compelling connections between al Qaeda and the Mafia, and wrote about it in his book <A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0060886889"><i>Triple Cross</i></A>. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald wants Lance's book suppressed, which tells you a lot about Patrick Fitzgerald. Suppression sucks and I'm adamantly opposed but if that's not enough to make you read a book, read Lance's intriguing and infuriating piece in the new <i>Playboy</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-chilling-effect/index.html">Playboy</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-200></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <I>Washington Post</i> has fired its best journalist, <A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/press-watch/froomkin-watch-2.html">Dan Froomkin</A>, and <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200603210015">replaced him with yet another right-wing writer</A>. <A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/">Froomkin's White House coverage</A> was (and remains, for a few more weeks) consistently superb, insightful, and <A HREF="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/the-froomkin-firing/#more-2737">free of the bullsh*t assumptions</A> that permeate 99% of mainstream punditry. He was among the most popular writers (despite being <A HREF="http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/06/20/froomkins-traffic/">well-hidden</A>) on the <i>Post</i>'s site, one of the few mainstream voices who have criticized Obama <i>from the left</i> when he deserves it instead of attacking the administration with lunatic Republican talking points, and on a personal note, he was the only person at the <i>Post</i> who ever answered my emails. There's no doubt that Froomkin will land elsewhere within a very short time, and wherever he goes, I'll be reading his writing regularly.<!-- face13 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="97" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face13.jpg" border="0" width="77" height="116"> </td></tr></table><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <I>Washington Post</i>'s news coverage is still better than average for a daily paper in America, but that's faint praise, and with Froomkin gone there'll be no-one worth reading in the <i>Post</i>'s op-ed section. That's where you'll find the stone-stupid Richard Cohen, Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, Charles Krauthammer, and whatever other dolts I can't remember at the moment dazzle readers with their dullness.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Need an example of what's welcome at the <I>Post</I>? In <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/19/krauthammer-mccain-supreme-leader/">this fine column</A> Krauthammer criticizes President Obama for referring to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by his title, as Iran's Supreme Leader. I ask seriously, not as merely an insult (though it's also that) how empty of ideas does a man's head need to be, to have nothing better than this to offer than this? I've never actually read a Krauthammer column from start to finish (have you? has anyone?) but I've seen <i>hours</i> of Krauthammer on TV, where he's been a ubiquitous talking head for decades. And again, seriously, not just an insult, I don't think I've ever heard Krauthammer say anything that wasn't either a Republican talking point or some other nonsense that can't stand up to a moment's intelligent scrutiny.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And he's a key cornerstone of the <I>Washington Post</i>'s op-ed page, while Dan Froomkin cleans out his desk. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/18/froomkin/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-658></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; According to CNBC, if you were victimized by predatory lending or suckered into a subprime loan, it's your own damned fault. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/18/cnbc-on-cpa/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mysterylinks></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="45%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><b><i>Our mystery&nbsp;links</i></b></A><BR>(mostly just for fun)</center><BR>Links in <FONT COLOR=red><B>red</B></FONT> are not safe for work, and links in <FONT COLOR=magenta><B>pink</B></FONT> include audio and/or video.<center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/myslinks.html" width="295" height="225" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html">... more mystery links</A>&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table> <A NAME=towd-339></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; CNBC reporter John Harwood interviewed the President last week, and pretended with a straight face that the Obama administration "hasn't received much critical press". President Obama then had to explain to the alleged reporter what Fox News is and does. Can Harwood be this stupid, or does he just play stupid on TV? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/17/obama-fox-new/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-439></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Roger Ebert takes a swing at Bill O'Reilly. There's nothing here that'll startle you, but Ebert &#151; known mostly around the nation for his thumbs &#151; is a reliably good writer and he's a lot of fun when he's cranked. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/06/the_oreilly_procedure.html">Chicago Sun-Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-513></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The evidence suggests that in their effort to protect Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada), Fox News outed a source. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/06/did-fox-news-out-a-source-to-protect-a-republican-senator/">Raw Story</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =world= --> <!-- =environment =climate change --> <A NAME=towd-444></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's another report on global climate change &#151; wanna guess whether the news is good or bad? The focus this time is on America (which might help in getting Americans' attention), where the temperature has gone up two degrees in the past fifty years, sea level is up eight inches at some parts of the US coastline, and big rainstorms are bigger now and getting bigger still. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061601641.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Afghanistan --> <!-- =Iraq --> <!-- Iraq --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagIraq.jpg" alt="Iraqi flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tijait-323></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the date approaches for the promised beginning of the American withdrawal from Mosul and other Iraqi cities, American military minds are befuddled and balking. But it's now or never. The agreement calls for withdrawal. Withdraw. Procrastinating will only get us caught in the middle of every argument and we will bear the blame whether or not it's deserved. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=103214">Daily Star (Lebanon)</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-3555></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The headline says "US soldiers find some Iraqis lack enthusiasm for joint patrols in Baghdad". It's their country. Get out and let them solve their problems. We have enough trouble solving our own problems. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63362">Stars &amp; Stripes</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Iran= --> <!-- Iran --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagIran.jpg" alt="Iranian flag" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=towd-740></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's hard to tell from thousands of miles away, especially since the Iranian government has booted most foreign journalists from the country, but the general word seems to be that protests over the stolen election in Iran are huge &#151; hundreds of thousands &#151; and getting bigger, and that the government will soon have to either back down or crack down. A guy described as Iran's most senior Islamic cleric says "<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/70155.html">no-one in their right mind can believe</A>" the election returns there, and real reporter <A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-secret-letter-proves-mousavi-won-poll-1707896.htmlc">Robert Fisk has a secret letter that purportedly proves that Mirhossein Mousavi won the election</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hTKDVIqja9mi9baZAWpVgaKcSyVAD98SKR3O0">Pirate Bay</a> and <A HREF="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-translates-persian.html">Google are helping</A> the protesters get their message out.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's invigorating to see protesters protesting, but lets' remember that Iranian challenger Mousavi is no breath of fresh air. He's better on women's rights than incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but in most other ways Mousavi and Ahmadinejad are about equally cashews and pistachios. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2009/jun/21/iran-unrest-live">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-403></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Republicans have complained loudly (that's their forté) that the Obama administration should be speaking out in support of the Iranian protesters. <i>Time</i>'s Joe Klein does a nice job explaining just how staggeringly stupid this complaint is. Heck, even <A HREF="http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20090618/ten-moore-and-kutcher-show-support-for-i-c60bd6d.html">Ashton Kutcher understands the situation</A> better than Republicans.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seems to me it's been years since I've heard anything from Republicans that <i>isn't</i> staggeringly stupid. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/06/19/there-will-be-blood/">Time Magazine</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Israel --> <!-- Israel/Palestine --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagIsraelPalestine.jpg" alt="Israeli and Palestinian flags" border="1" width="50" height="31"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tijait-310></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">UN watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei sparred with an Israeli envoy Thursday after being accused of bias in the handling of an investigation into Syria's nuclear activities, diplomats <nobr> said.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If it's a case of credibility, I'll side with ElBaradei. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr><nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=103238">Agence France-Presse</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-641></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Israeli troops humiliate Palestinians &#151; and put it on YouTube. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1094242.html">Ha'aretz (Jerusalem)</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=zzz-635></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We should always make an effort to crack code-words that convey lies, like when government officials and dishonest media refer to "detainees" (prisoners) and "enhanced interrogation" (torture), and a few other well-crafted falsehoods that smuggle distasteful concepts past the consciousness of readers and listeners.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a code-word I hadn't recognized as such &#151; the Israeli "settlements" in the West Bank. These are "settlements" bigger than Manhattan, all illegal under international law, but utterly urbanized and as populous as a major city. If these are "settlements", so's Boston.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Another way to sneak an important concept past people is to hide it under an innocuous, boring headline, like the <i>New York Times</i> does here, titling this piece "Fictions on the ground" when a more appropriate and accurate title would be "Settlements, my ass". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/opinion/22judt.html?_r=2&ref=global-home_&pagewanted=print">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Pakistan --> <!-- =Europe --> <!-- UK --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagUK.jpg" alt="UK flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table><A NAME=wbyadtwrk-1028></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The UK has announced it's fifth inquiry into the assorted circumstances that let to the Iraq war. One of the key factors this time around, if they're serious (always a big if) will be a newly-released memo from the author of the <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/21/iraq-inquiry-tony-blair-bush">Downing Street memo</A>, further elaborating on the plans of US Prez GW Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to attack Iraq, regardless of lack of evidence and lack of UN approval. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/pers-j20.shtml">World Socialist Website</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- Portugal --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagPortugal.gif" alt="Portuguese flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"><BR><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagItaly.gif" alt="Italian flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"><BR><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagBrazil.gif" alt="Brazilian flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tijait-650></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Welcome to Portugal, and in case you've ever wondered, drug decriminalization works. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8106689.stm">BBC News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-456></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Italy says it'll take three refugees from Guantanamo. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2Wi-riCpJmSUiCyEisR1a3oWSZAD98RETH80">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =North America --> <!-- =South America --> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-544></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Brazil is creating a state-owned oil company, a good idea indeed. When you're basically sucking wealth out of the ground, that wealth ought to be shared by everyone. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://en.mercopress.com/2009/06/19/brazil-drafting-legislation-to-create-new-state-owned-oil-company">Merco Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-540></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Brazil, Russia, India and China have formed an alliance to challenge America's stature as the one and only global superpower. It's cleverly called BRIC for the participating nations' initials, and I have to say, it sounds like a good idea and a real necessity for the world. Best of luck, BRIC. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6514737.ece">London Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- Peru --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagPeru.gif" alt="Peruvian flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=ahtaswh-203></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dozens of people were killed in early June when the Peruvian National Police opened fire on un-armed protesters. They were protesting another of those godawful "free trade" agreements, this one between the US and Peru, and American war on drugs money paid for the helicopters used in the killings, and trained the cops in what's euphemistically called "riot control". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/kristin-bricker/2009/06/us-drug-war-money-funded-peru-indigenous-massacre">Narco News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Asia --> <!-- North Korea --><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagNorthKorea.gif" alt="North Korean flag" border="1" width="50" height="32"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-340></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The US has heightened its defense of Hawaii out of worries that North Korea might launch a missile attack. Sounds like a hell of a long shot to me, but better safe than sorry, as they say. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hAc81qG0OSY9YKzkWwx9dbA54EzA">Agence France-Presse</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =bailout =economy--> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-1029></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Trillions for the financial criminals who created the economic catastrophe, billions for the auto industry, millions for the ordinary people victimized, and nothing for the auto parts industry. Am I the only one who thinks that these priorities are all utterly out of whack? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/auto-j20.shtml">World Socialist Website</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-902></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Is Obama flubbing the financial fix", asks <i>Business Week</i>, by not using the financial meltdown as an opportunity to restore rigorous regulatory oversight? Why, I wonder, is <i>Business Week</i> stating the obvious in the form of a question? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090614_627879.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story">Business Week</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-913></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The debate over economic policy has taken a predictable yet ominous turn: the crisis seems to be easing, and a chorus of critics is already demanding that the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration abandon their rescue efforts. For those who know their history, it's déjà vu all over again &#151; <nobr> literally.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/opinion/15krugman.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-526></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Obama to California: Drop dead. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061503249.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =health --> <!-- health --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="122" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/healthish.jpg" alt="health care sucks in America" border="0" width="102" height="127"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=towd-946></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A group of genuine Democrats is running ads to convince faux Democrats like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu to stop opposing a public option in health care reform. Realistically, though, all indications suggest that the Republicans' lies will again win the day, and we'll again see no meaningful health care reform.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And now a <A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/2009/06/bipartisan_group_forms_to_tack.html?wprss=daily-dose">coalition of Democrats and Republicans</A> say they're looking for a "compromise", but if you know anything about who's who in DC you'll recognize the names, and recognize that they're looking to block any possible publicly-funded option. It's do or die time, and I suspect that means a lot of people will die.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Health care in America will continue to be a deadly joke for another generation &#151; unless President Obama <A HREF="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/robert_reich/2009/06/memo-to-the-president-what-you.php?ref=fpblg">pulls out all the stops</A> and really rallies public opinion and public pressure for a public option. Now.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">It's literally unbelievable to me that you have polling that shows that the public supports a public option for health care by enormous margins (83-14%) and yet we have Democrats dithering over <nobr> it.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/sen-landrieu-get-nelson-treatment-ove">Crooks &amp; Liars</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-435></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Congressional hearings last week, top executives of UnitedHealth's Golden Rule Insurance Co., Assurant Health, and WellPoint, parent of Blue Cross of California, explained that they have no intention of changing their routine practice of scouring policy-holders' <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> applications for any conceivable reason to cancel their policies, if their sicknesses become costly for the corporations. It's called "rescission", and it means that if you get an expensive illness, your policy can be cancelled.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Words almost fail me, but after punching the wall a few times I'll just type that this explains why health care should be nationalized, why these companies should be out of business, and why these executive leeches should be behind bars. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rescind17-2009jun17,0,5870586.story">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-435a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who's to blame for the current health care crisis? If the above doesn't make it clear, maybe this will. It's the insurance companies, where they face the daily conflict of interest between providing health care and making a profit, but there's no conflict at all &#151; it's money that matters, and they'll provide only whatever minimal health care keeps the money coming in.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Between 2000 and 2007, the 10 largest publicly traded insurance companies increased their profits 428 percent, from $2.4 billion to $12.9 billion, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. During the same period, the number of insurers fell by nearly 20 percent, largely because of a huge wave of mergers that led to stunning consolidation. And premiums increased by more than 87 percent, rising four times faster than the average American's <nobr> wages.<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/your_family_ins.html">Bad Attitudes</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-521></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">How corrupt is Max Baucus (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-Montana)? He's earning <A HREF="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/14/news/state/24-insurance.txt">$1,500 a day</A> from the health care and health insurance industries. $1,500 a day. And he's the chairman of one of the two Senate committees tasked with passing health care <nobr> reform.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/06/how_corrupt_is.html">bobcesca.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face14 --><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/face14.jpg" border="0" width="120" height="120"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=mxsvo-544></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Former Senator Tom Daschle stands foursquare against any public option in health care reform. That's the same Daschle who, if he hadn't withdrawn his name, would've been Obama's key guy pushing health care reform. Just goes to show you again, how stupid it is for Obama to keep reaching out to Republicans.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now, nitpickers might point out that Daschle is a Democrat, but hey, so was Joe Lieberman. So's Ben Nelson. So's Diane Feinstein. On and on goes the list, but when I was a young man people who spoke like Daschle, Lieberman, Nelson, Feinstein, et al, were Republicans, and to me they still are. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/18/daschle-urges-obama-to-dr_n_217329.html">The Huffington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-1025></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you're making $400-million, like Rush Limbaugh is, I would imaging that health care is never a worry, but I don't see how any audience of average Americans can respond with anything but a snicker to his reality-bending comment that "Day to day, there is no health care crisis in this country". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906180013">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =corporations= --> <A NAME=towd-243></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After battling payment of damages for twenty years, Exxon-Mobil has been ordered to pay interest on the paltry $507.5 million it's been ordered to pay the victims of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. With interest, that would put Exxon-Mobil on the hook for a little more than a billion dollars &#151; roughly 1/45th of the company's 2008 profits &#151; but it's much more likely that Exxon-Mobil will appeal, again. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090615/ap_on_bi_ge/us_exxon_valdez">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-746></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pixar granted a dying girl's last wish. Grab a tissue and get ready to cry. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pixar-up-movie-2468059-home-show">Orange County Register</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-531></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nestle cookie dough now comes with free <i>E. coli</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-nestle-recall,0,3231332.story">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face15 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="136" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face15.jpg" border="0" width="116" height="106"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=towd-1242></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; AIG has been accused of screwing over the passengers of Captain Sullenberger's Flight 1549, but it appears to be a bit of a bum rap. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.businessinsider.com/aig-accused-of-screwing-over-flight-1549-passengers-2009-6">Business Insider</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-858></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lamar Advertising Company, a billboard operator based in Baton Rouge, took payment from a group opposed to continued US subsidies for Israel, but edited the bite and the point out of the group's billboard message. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog/2009/06/17/censoring-pro-palestinian-political-messages/">roryoconnor.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =military =stt --> <A NAME=towd-410></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those nifty new laser weapons that the US military is using are causing eye damage to American troops and, of course, Iraqis. They've got a pretty good count of how many American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have received eye injuries from these gadgets, but "Human Rights Watch does not keep data on any injuries to Iraqis from lasers," we are told.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And nobody else is keeping track either, probably. What other misery has Bush & Company bestowed on the Iraqi people? Oh well, just file it away with our other gifts to the world such as Agent Orange, and white phosphorus&nbsp;... <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.military.com/news/article/June-2009/laserrelated-eye-injuries-rising-fast.html?ESRC=eb.nl">Stars &amp; Stripes</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=sttbth></A><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="245" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/sttsth.jpg" alt="Support our troops: Bring them home" border="2" width="225" height="70"></A></td></tr></table> <A NAME=mxsvo-626></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Republicans <i>en masse</i>, unanimously, voted against the latest war spending bill. Remember those Republican complaints that Democrats don't support the troops, heard every time any Democrat voted against any war spending legislation during the Bush-Cheney era? All bullsh*t, but I can't imagine that this will startle anyone who reads <i>Unknown News</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018637.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-603></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Next time I'm annoyed at how little the Democrats are even trying to accomplish, I'll remember that six long years after the criminal war on Iraq started, just 32 members of the House had the courage to vote against continuing the war. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/444002">The Nation</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-630></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Racists and Nazis are welcome in the US Army. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/06/15/neo_nazis_army/print.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =dc= --> <A NAME=towd-242></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just like the Bush-Cheney administration, the Obama administration is blocking public access to logs of White House visitors. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/40129">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-808></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Orange County Weekly</i> presents a pretty well-written introduction to one of the leading loons of the birther movement (the people who maintain that President Obama's birth certificate is faked or doesn't exist, and/or that he's actually a secret Kenyan or whatever). These people are really, really, <I>really</I> nuts. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-06-18/news/orly-taitz/1">Orange County Weekly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Sotomayor --> <!-- face16 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="111" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face16.jpg" border="0" width="91" height="118"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=mxsvo-700></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From a speech she gave a year ago, it seems that Sonia Sotomayor's position is that Americans fingered by the President as "enemy combatants" have far fewer rights that other Americans. She's more opposed than David Souter, the justice she'll replace on the Supreme Court, to the notion that humans, even humans the Presidents says are "enemy combatants", have human rights. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/17/sotomayor-detainees/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-1042></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Defending her membership in an elite all-women's club, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor told senators that the group doesn't discriminate unfairly by gender and includes men in many of its <nobr> activities.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I may have some new form of dyslexia? Please tell me these men aren't upset with this woman for joining a club that excludes others... Oh the irony. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Sherri B.</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sotomayor_supreme_court">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-159></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; US District Judge Samuel Kent (Bush41 1990) has been impeached for allegedly lying about sexual assaults of two women. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hArT3lWtid4tX91JhgH69Q5FotmgD98U05F00">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-1135></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada), a backbencher so far down the bench I'm not sure I've heard anything about him since he called for then-President Clinton to resign over an extramarital affair, has admitted to an extramarital affair. The coverage says Ensign is active in Promise Keepers, which I find hilarious. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But don't dismiss the story as merely another Republican hypocrite with pecker problems. There were <A HREF="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/06/ensign_defends_payments_to_wom.html?hpid=news-col-blog">payments made to Ensign's lover</A>, to her husband, to her son, all of which deserve scrutiny, and <A HREF="http://www.propublica.org/article/sen.-ensigns-affair-threatens-to-ensnare-other-gop-leaders">other Republican leaders</A> could be snagged in the still-expanding revelations. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/171416.asp">Seattle Post-Intelligencer</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face17 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="102" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face17.jpg" border="0" width="82" height="120"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=towd-332></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rep Michelle Bachmann (R-Minnesota) says she won't answer questions in the upcoming census. That's illegal &#151; cooperation with the census is required by law &#151; but it's a relately minor offense compared to being kooky in Congress. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/exclusive-minn-lawmaker-fears-census-abuse/">Washington Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-520></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Patrick Buchanan, Tony Blankley, Tom Tancredo, Phyllis Schlafly, and other prominent conservatives will share a podium with out racist Peter Brimelow, publisher of the notorious white might site vdare.com. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/look-whos-joining-tancredo-and-buchanan-build-new-majority">Right Wing Watch</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=mxsvo-404></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The husband of Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) has admitted spending $150 to hire a hooker in Detroit.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First of all, let's salute the guy for stimulating Michigan's depressed economy, and then let's add the obvious &#151; that hiring a hooker ought to be nobody's business except the hooker and the customer, and when she finds out, the customer's spouse. Why are we spending tax dollars sending cops to arrest, prosecutors to charge, and jailers to punish people for what's simply capitalism in action? Seriously, why is prostitution illegal? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/04/03/stabenow0403.html">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tijait-528></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rookie Senator Roland Burris (D-Illinois), who's Rod Blagojevich's idea of a Senator and who's quickly established himself as one of the most clumsily corrupt politicians, won't face charges for his apparent perjury. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061901162.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face18 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="103" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face18.jpg" border="0" width="83" height="124"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-1214></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This sounds like a joke but it's true, and truly sad. The Obama administration, in its ongoing efforts to protect the Bush-Cheney administration from prosecution, lawsuits, and embarrassment, has argued in court that Ex-Veep Cheney's statements about his outting of CIA agent Valeria Plame must be kept secret, because Jon Stewart would joke about it on <i>The Daily Show</i>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's my sincere hope that Jon Stewart makes a good joke out of <i>that</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061803879.html?hpid=moreheadlines"><I>Washington Post</i></A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-356></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Republicans are excited about President Obama's firing of Gerald Walpin as Americorps inspector general, but the more I look into it <A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/americorps_board_member_we_initiated_ig_firing.php">the less scandalous</A> his firing seems to be. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2009/06/19/walpin/">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =state and =local --> <A NAME=wbyadtwrk-129></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Pennsylvania state senator, arguing for legislation to deprive gays of human rights, says that America is "allowing" gay people to exist. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/19/155147/024">Daily Kos</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =lifestyle --> <A NAME=towd-916></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Habitat for Humanity has these great stores where you can buy household fixtures that have been rescued from demolished or remodeled housing. The stores are fun, even if you're not looking for anything. We bought some spare kitchen shelves at our local HfH store a few years ago, at a very reasonably price, even when you factor in the truck we had to rent to get the shelves to our apartment. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx">Habitat for Humanity</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-404></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sir Paul McCartney suggests going vegetarian in a small way, with "meat-free Mondays". It's an interesting idea, and I give it a big thumbs up. I went vegetarian for several years in the 1990s, and while these days I enjoy a good Spam sandwich or bratwurst, I'm old enough that I can feel the effects of eating meat for days afterwards. Sparing you the details, I'll just say that the old bones creak a little less when I haven't eaten any meat than when I have. Also, you might be surprised how yummy a meal can be without animal flesh in a starring role. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/mccartney-urges-meatfree-days-to-tackle-climate-change-1705289.html">The Independent</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=zzz-624></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition to being an inspiring story of one man who kept his wits while everyone around him was losing theirs, this report of heroics in Oregon started an old kiddie hymn playing in my mind, "I will make you fishers of men"... <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/precision_rescue_casts_sandy_r.html">The Oregonian [Portland]</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-544></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; El Pollo Loco, a chain of chicken restaurants in several southwestern American states, is taunting Kentucky Fried Chicken over KFC's new "grilled" chicken, which uses beef ingredients in its marinade.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The use of beef ingredients in grilled chicken just seems wrong to me", says El Pollo Loco's president, "and we believe most consumers would agree. I can assure you that you won't find any beef in El Pollo Loco's fresh, natural, citrus-marinated chicken cooked over an open flame right in front of our guests."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As someone who's eaten way too many fast food meals, I'll offer my expert opinion: El&nbsp;Pollo Loco serves pretty good chicken. KFC serves overpriced greasy dreck. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=368326">Nation's Restaurant News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=towd-303></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scientists discovered a previously-unknown bacteria in the frozen iciness of Greenland, and they're thawing it out to see what it does. 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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>