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<A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html">Bad cops</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html">Debunked</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">Dialogue</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/diy.html">Do-it-yourself</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/DrRuhs.html">Dr Herb Ruhs</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/">Latest update</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html">Old news</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/wow.html">Words of wisdom</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;|</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr"> </TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="10" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="635" BGcolor=white class="fonta"><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18" bgcolor=darkred> <NOBR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0907-07.html"><font color=white><b>Tuesday<BR>July&nbsp; 7, &nbsp;2009</b></font></A></NOBR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <!-- =unknown news=--> <A NAME=asism-1029></A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Congress is preparing to name the members of a blue-ribbon committee to look into the Wall Street scandals that led to the current economic collapse. And it smells like a farce.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Names being floated include, and I quote, no kidding, "Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson; former Democratic head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Brooksley Born; and Alex Pollock, a fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute".<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course, no investigation worth being called an investigation would have Fred Thompson involved (what on earth does Thompson know about banking or finance?) or anyone from the American Enterprise Institute. So let's just cut <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="298" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/protest8.jpg" border="1" width="298" height="447"> <p><i> "We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert&nbsp;J.&nbsp;McCracken</i> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> through the meandering phoniness that will doubtless ensue and skip straight to the eventual widespread realization that this is just another Warren Commission or <NOBR>9/11</NOBR> Commission, designed to look like scrutiny but without really scrutinizing anything.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wouldn't it be refreshingly honest to instead announce up front that there will be no investigation? Here's the official findings: Everyone involved in stealing trillions of dollars from American workers, investors, and government will get to keep the loot with no consequences. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE55O64720090625">Reuters News Agency</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-202></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From deep inside a new book about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, we learn that at least part of Rumsfeld's rationale for ordering no budget reductions for major weapons programs early in his tenure, was that he himself held investments in the defense business. Some observers will call this a conflict of interest, but it's more than that, isn't it?<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When you're in charge of the Department of Defense, and you're spending unfathomably huge amounts of money protecting your investments instead of spending that money on <i>defense</i> of soldiers' lives and well-being, it seems to me that's pretty damned close to treason. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/book_rumsfeld_didnt_cut_weapons_programs_because_o.php">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-407></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some wacky libertarian named Steven Bierfeldt refused to answer nosey TSA questions at St. Louis airport about why he was carrying $4,700 in cash. For this he was detained for half an hour or so, and treated in a manner that sounds rude and threatening. With the ACLU representing him, Bierfeldt is now suing &#151; not for money, but just to have this kind of interrogation and detention declared illegal.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We are sincerely thankful for wacky libertarians and the ACLU, and here's hoping Bierfeldt wins. His lawsuit is a thousand times more relevant to defending freedom in America than anything the troops are doing in Afghanistan or Iraq. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSn_6PR94lxb-8eilNzijc--1U1QD98TCATO0">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=1234567890></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="58%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="125" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/yelling.jpg" alt="Politicians & pundits" border="0" width="115" height="115"></TD></TR></TABLE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>America's mainstream political discourse is dominated by lies, insults, general nuttiness 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> <!-- =politicians --> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/01/steele-hijack-elections/">Republican Chair Steele says Democrats can now "basically hijack elections at their whim"</A><BR> <!-- =Beck --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/tv-beck.jpg" alt="Fox's Glenn Beck" border="1" width="100" height="100"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://gawker.com/5305274/what-this-country-needs-is-a-good-terrorist-attack">Ex-CIA spy Michael Scheuer tells Fox's Beck that America's only hope is for Osama bin Laden to "deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/02/obama-scheuer-security/">Scheuer: Obama doesn't care 'about protecting this country'</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/obama-worse-hitler-and-ahmadinejad">Obama is worse than Adolf Hitler and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says arch-right bigwig Kaloogian</a><BR> <!-- =fake journalism --> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907020015">Boortz: "global warming scam" is "an effort by the left to destroy capitalist economies"</A><BR> <!-- =Coulter --> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/06/27/ann_coulters_latest_murderous_thought_i_am_personally_opposed_to_shooting_abortionists_but_i_dont_want_to_impose_my_moral_values_on_others.php">Coulter's latest murderous thought: "I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others."</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2009/06/30/fox_nation_obamas_census_castrates_caucasians.php">Fox Nation: Obama's census castrates Caucasians</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/fox-nation-calls-new-climate-bill-tre">Fox Nation calls new climate bill "treason"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906290016">Fox Nation highlights op-ed claiming "Obama's census castrates caucasians"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/200907010001"><i>Hill</i> advances claim that Obama is "siding" with Chavez and Cuba</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/clips/200907020003">Levin labels Obama's policies "Bernie Madoff times a thousand. He is taking a wrecking ball to this society"</A><BR> <!-- =Limbaugh --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-limbaugh.jpg" alt="Rush Limbaugh" border="1" width="100" height="87"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/rush-limbaugh-trying-encourage-milit">Is Rush Limbaugh trying to encourage a military coup against Obama?</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907020025">Limbaugh on hate crimes bill: Everybody but "blacks and homosexuals" "can get to the back of the bus"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907020020">Limbaugh: Gambian president who claims to have AIDS cure "sounds just like Obama"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907020013">Limbaugh: Obama administration creating chaos so people "will sign up for your agenda"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907010019">Limbaugh: Obama led Dems "into doing everything he could to ensure the defeat of the US military"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907010014">Limbaugh: "You can legalize rape and call it the Civil Rights Act of 2009, it would probably pass"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906300034">After airing clip of Obama praising US troops in Iraq, Limbaugh says: "This is a guy who sought their defeat"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906300027">Limbaugh: "I don't know" where Obama was born, "supposedly Hawaii"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018847.php"><i>National Review</i>'s Sowell warns of nuclear attack, America under Sharia law</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906290039">Fox's Morris warns that the "Declaration of Independence has been repealed"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907010012">Quinn says Franken election was "stolen," ACORN played a role</A><BR> <!-- =Savage --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/radio-savage.jpg" alt="Michael Weiner (aka Michael Savage)" border="1" width="100" height="91"></td></tr></table> <BR><A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200906290044">Disney's Savage says Media Matters would've "been very comfortably ensconced in the Stalinist period" in the USSR</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> <!-- =civilliberties= --> <A NAME=yltrr-457></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A panel of the Seventh Circuit Court led by Judge Frank Easterbrook (Reagan 1985) has decided that death row inmates can be barred from talking with reporters.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just as an easy hypothetical, what if, say, a corrupt prosecutor railroads an innocent person and that innocent person is <i>you</i> &#151; do you think you should have the legal right to talk to a reporter before you're executed? Or shall we just assume, as the court does, that a court's verdict is always right? &nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=10859%27">Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press</A>&nbsp;]<BR> <A NAME=asism-604></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's the ACLU, suing over the Second Amendment. And you thought they only cared about the other nine items in the Bill of Rights. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wwl.com/ACLU-files-suit-over-gun-rights/4728222">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-310></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Congressman Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pennsylvania) is the new torch-holder for the Congressional effort, such as it is, to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D-California), who introduced a bill to repeal DADT, has left Congress to take John Bolton's old job as US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Murphy is an Iraq war veteran who says repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is "vital to our national security. We have troops that are fighting in two wars, and we need every qualified, able-bodied individual" who wants to serve. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-dont-ask2-2009jul02,0,2509989.story?track=rss">Los Angeles Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-458></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riot, police in Fort Worth violently raided a gay bar. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11499.php">Dallas Voice</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-726></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration's Justice Department has decided not to appeal a judgement against the Library of Congress, for its discrimination against a transgendered job applicant.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a far more optimistic reflection on the Obama administration than the President's cynical announcement a few weeks ago that a small subset of federal employees would be granted a small subset of job benefits that straight employees have gotten as a matter of course for many years. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.aclu.org/2009/07/02/the-high-price-of-discrimination/">ACLU</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-612></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Federal Judge Deborah Batts (Clinton 1994) has blocked publication of an unauthorized sequel to J. D. Salinger's <i>Catcher in the Rye</i>. Wisely, I think. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6608545&articleid=CA6668654">Publishers Weekly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-745></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last week's heavily-hyped Supreme Court ruling on <i>Ricci</i> needs little comment from me &#151; it's judicial activism if that term has any meaning, since the 5-4 vote disregards previous precedent. You can make up your own mind whether the decision was right or wrong, but I can see both sides so I won't climb up on a soapbox about it.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What's noteworthy but hasn't been noted, though, is this weirdly inappropriate concurrence written by Justice Antonin Scalia (Reagan 1986). <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2009/06/more-alito.html">Obsidian Wings</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=nsr></A><A NAME=swsfhb-830></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A gay couple in New Orleans is suing the Orleans Parish, the state registrar of vital records and statistics, and the Secretary of the state's Department of Health and Hospitals. What does the couple want? A marriage license. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/new_orleans_samesex_couple_sue.html">New Orleans Times-Picayune</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-721></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The conviction of Lori Drew &#151; the woman who harassed a teenager on MySpace until the kid killed herself &#151; has been tossed by Judge George Wu (Bush43 2007).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cyberbullying, especially when adults bully kids, ought to be illegal, but the judge's ruling as explained here doesn't seem totally bonkers. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/07/02/cyberbullying-conviction.html">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-504></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Kansas law would have required adult businesses to take down their billboards, but Federal Judge Diane Robinson (Bush43 2001) has ruled that adult book and novelty stores still have the right to advertise. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=10614031&nav=menu605_2">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =torture --> <A NAME=tctnw-226></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Meet Muhammed Jawad. He was perhaps 12 years old when he was taken prisoner, tortured, and shipped to Guantanamo. The torture led to confessions that can't be taken seriously and can't be admitted in court. Jawad is 19 or 20 now, and during his seven years of imprisonment he's been tried to kill himself repeatedly. And chances are, you would never have heard of him at all, if the ACLU wasn't fighting against the US government for civilized standards of justice. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://christyhardinsmith.firedoglake.com/2009/07/02/tortured-logic-jawad-and-ghailani-cases-challenge-us-torture-under-rule-of-law/">FiredogLake</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-922></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Remember that report on all-American torture &#151; compiled by the CIA Inspector General in 2004, suppressed ever since, which we've been repeatedly told over recent weeks will be released in some heavily-redacted form, but instead of being released it's delayed and delayed again? The Obama administration says its release <A HREF="http://washingtonindependent.com/49598/breaking-obama-administration-withholds-cia-torture-report-until-august-31">will be delayed again</A>, this time until at least the end of August. They want to delay the report's release, I think, until everyone forgets there's a report. The ACLU is asking a Judge Alvin Hellerstein (Clinton 1998) to <A HREF="http://washingtonindependent.com/49733/next-steps-in-getting-that-cia-inspector-general-report">shake the report loose</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Look, America lost its mind and its principles and its soul after <NOBR>9/11/2001</NOBR>. Civil rights were abrogated, nations were obliterated without reason, thousands of people were <!-- =torture --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="145" align="left"><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> held without trial, hundreds were tortured, and at least 100 people were tortured to death. President Obama is, apparently, cool with all that. "We should be looking forward, not backwards", he says, because if you look backwards everything's really, really ugly. So &#151; eyes straight ahead please, there's no need to investigate, no need to reveal, no need for prosecution, punishment, or any form of justice, no need to apologize, eyes wide shut let's just pretend it never happened.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What kind of monster could take that position &#151; the position of the Obama administration? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/30/accountability/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-446></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the other hand, we have these folks, who think the lawyers who wrote official Bush-Cheney administration "opinions" endorsing torture should be disbarred. It's hard to imagine that much justice in America... hard, but good. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/07/group_works_to_disbar_torture.php">Science Blogs</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=cacac-304></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Binyam Mohamed, a former prisoner at the Guantanamo concentration camp, has explicitly asked a federal district court in Washington to block the destruction of a photograph showing how badly he had been beaten by guards. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/05/binyam-mohamed-guantanamo-evidence-photographs">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-1245></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A poll from the WorldPublicOpinion.org/Knowledge Networks finds that 59% of Americans would support banning torture. In other words, civilized human beings outnumber savages in America, a little bit less than 6-4. How charming.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I wonder what the numbers would have been, if anyone had thought to conduct such a poll ten years ago? Of course, nobody was polling such a question then, because it would've been ludicrous. Asking that question in 1999 would've been like asking whether we should eat our young. But after the recent gang of drooling maniacs seized power and the <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> corporate-controlled media spent eight years acting as their megaphone, notions like "Governments should never use physical torture" are controversial in America. It's a question to be polled, and seriously debated in newspaper columns and on TV shows.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This, dear people, is what George W Bush, Dick Cheney, and the <I>Washington Post</i> and Associated Press have given us. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=00369">niemanwatchdog.org</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =guantanamo --> <!-- =Justice Dept --> <A NAME=lajtno-427></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The judicial misconduct complaint against Bush-Cheney torture architect and now Federal Judge Jay Bybee (Bush43 2003) has been quickly brushed aside. Judge Alex Kozinski (Reagan 1985) says that the court's internal disciplinary mechanisms are moot when it comes to dealing with criminal acts committed by judges before they became judges.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The almost always excellent Scott Horton at <i>Harper's</i>, writing about this, thinks it's an incorrect ruling, but I can't agree. Bybee's crimes are horrendous, but they aren't judicial misconduct, and he doesn't merit any slap on the wrist that might lead to. Bybee needs something far more appropriate and direct &#151; he needs to be impeached, removed from the bench, and prosecuted for his crimes. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005271">Harper's</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =health --> <A NAME=lajtno-926></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wendell Potter, a former Vice President at Cigna who quit over the company's murder of a 17-year-old girl by denying her leukemia treatment, describes how his company and others routinely squeeze 'expensive' accounts until coverage is canceled. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/02/insurance.purging/index.html">Cable News Network</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- health --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="122" align="left"><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=asism-926a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among the many Americans who have been driven to "personal bankruptcy by medical problems", 75% "actually had insurance when they got sick or were injured." Because buying health insurance isn't about ensuring your health, it's about ensuring an insurance company's profits. See above. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/business/01meddebt.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=cacac-241></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="">Europe's free, state-run health care has drawbacks</A>, we are told in this annoying A.P. "think piece". Man! I wish I had the time to pick apart this piece with facts I know exist: but one big reason I don't have the time IS the current awful shape of the <nobr>%&$#!</nobr> US healthcare system (that's forcing me to presently treat my dad daily myself, rather than professionals doing it). My own expensive insurance premiums (for insurance which pays for almost nothing) are so high I'm kept scrambling to pay the bills, and can't afford to spend the time debunking that this article deserves; GRRR!)!<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For one thing, it appears the article writer fails to note some of the problems he cites with European systems stems from those parts which are STILL IN PRIVATE HANDS &#151; as every country in Europe appears to have significant differences from others in how they do healthcare: some still include substantial private parts. But he treats problems derived from <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"><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> Sherri&nbsp;B., Mr.&nbsp;Chuckles, <A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR&nbsp;Mooneyham</A>, SirJ, Siskiyousis, Wig, <A HREF="#thanksmore"><FONT COLOR=blue>everyone else</FONT></A> who's helped, everyone we've forgotten to mention, and the love of my life (who's asked to remain anonymous).</td></tr></table></td></tr></table> those parts still most like the US system, as instead being caused by the government-run portions. He takes care not to explicitly say this, but just does his best to discredit government run systems.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He also conveniently omits plenty of stats and numbers which contradict his theme, as well as plays up small related deficits as big money &#151; when those same deficits would be pocket change in the US system. A $69 billion deficit in France related to its system? That required TEN YEARS to get that big? (so it's apparently only a seven billion dollar annual deficit; for FABULOUS healthcare!) Please! In the US we spend more than that annually on incremental increases in various government agency budgets! <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;<A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR Mooneyham</A></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090704/ap_on_he_me/eu_med_europe_health_lessons">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-410a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Maybe there's some political value to it that eludes me, but the Obama administration's ongoing obsession with bipartisanship seems incredibly tedious, counterproductive, and just plain dumb. Especially on health care reform, where there's simply no room for Democrats, who say they want health care for all Americans, to compromise with Republicans, who flat-out <i>don't</i> want health care for all Americans. Again, maybe I'm unaware of some smooth move some Democrat somewhere has up his or her sleeve, but Democrats in Congress aren't really known for their smooth moves. They're known for their capitulation.<!-- face01 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="106" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face1.jpg" border="0" width="86" height="127"> </td></tr></table><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bottom line: Health care reform is deader than Michael Jackson unless President Obama gets off his rear and starts seriously advocating a worthwhile public option. Unless evidence of a spine can be found in a few Democrats, America's current round of health care reform will be another empty nothing, and every year thousands of Americans will continue dying not so much due to health causes as due to lack of insurance or due to insurance company denial of coverage. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018807.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=cacac-225></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">You hear leading Republicans say that the US has the best health care system in the world. They say that at press conferences. They say that during interviews on cable news networks. They say that to the Washington Press Corps. But will a Republican dare say that in front of their own constituents at a live town <nobr> hall? <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/tpmgary/2009/07/ever-wonder-why-republicans-ar.php?ref=fpd">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-839></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Let's observe how health care works in one of the countries American politicians and journalists love to hate, Venezuela, and compare it with the American lack-of-system:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">I walked out of the clinic with a diagnosis and treatment within twenty-five minutes of entering, without paying a dime. There was no wait, no paperwork, and no questions about my ability to pay, my nationality, or whether, as a foreigner, I was entitled to free comprehensive health care. There was no monetary value connected with my physical well-being; the care I received was not contingent upon my ability to pay. I was treated with dignity, respect, and compassion, my illness was cured and I was able to continue with my journey in Venezuela.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">This past year, a family friend was not so lucky. At the age of 56, she was going back to school and was uninsured. She came down with what she thought was a severe case of the flu, and as her condition worsened she decided not to see a doctor because of the cost. <!-- next week's main page --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="270" align="left"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonta"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0907-01HB.html"><b>Obama's next big screw-up: <nobr>Health care "reform"</nobr></b></A><BR>by Hazel Burke<BR><BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0907-01HB.html"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/healthcarenow.jpg" border="3" width="250" height="173"></A><BR><BR> Personally speaking, as someone who has worked in the insurance industry, I would like very much to see all health insurers be socialized, nationalized, or run out of business and sent to Guantanamo Bay.&nbsp;... <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0907-01HB.html"><FONT COLOR=blue><i>...&nbsp;Continue&nbsp;reading&nbsp;...</i></FONT></A> &nbsp; </div></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> She died at home in bed, losing her life to a system that did not respect her basic human right to survive. Her death is not an isolated incident. Over 18,000 United States residents die every year because of their lack of prohibitively expensive health <nobr> insurance.<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.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4566">venezuelanalysis.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-156></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A constituent at a town hall asks Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), "How come I can't have the same [health insurance] you have?", and Grassley replies, "You can. Just go work for the federal government." <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/03/grassley-fed-health-care/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-410></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nineteen Democrats in the House say they won't support health care reform "unless it explicitly excludes abortion funding". Reps. Dan Boren (Oklahoma), Bart Stupak (Michigan), Colin Peterson (Minnesota), Tim Holden (Pennsylvania); Travis Childers (Mississippi); Lincoln Davis (Tennessee); Heath Shuler (North Carolina) Solomon Ortiz (Texas); Mike McIntyre (North Carolina); Jerry Costello (Illinois); Gene Taylor (Mississippi); James Oberstar (Minnesota); Bobby Bright (Alabama); Steve Driehaus (Ohio); Marcy Kaptur (Ohio); Charlie Melancon (Louisiana); John Murtha (Pennsylvania); Paul Kanjorski (Pennsylvania); and Kathleen Dahlkemper (Pennsylvania).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These are names to remember, and a further reason to never, <i>ever</i> give money to the Democratic Party &#151; because these are the kind of candidates the Democratic Party supports. When we can afford it, which is rarely, we give to worthwhile candidates (something even rarer) or to <A HREF="http://www.actblue.com/">Act Blue</A>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/07/01/19-democrats-draw-line-in-the-sand-against-reproductive-health-coverage-but-mum-on-public-plan/">FiredogLake</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-333></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator Diane Feinstein (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-California) seems to be annoyed that her constituents are calling her office, trying to convince her to support the public option compromise for health care reform. She says these phone calls will never convince her, and she's probably telling the truth &#151; she sold her soul years ago, and human suffering means nothing to her &#151; but the key point to note is that the public outcry is annoying her.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senator Feinstein's phone number is (202) 224-3841, her mailing address is One Post Street #2450, San Francisco, CA 94104, and her web contact page is <A HREF="http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMe">here</A>. Fax: (202) 228-3954 <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2009/06/dial_early_and.html">bobcesca.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=think></A> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thinker.jpg" alt="'The Thinker' statue" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" class="fonta"><I><B>It made me stop&nbsp;and&nbsp;think</B></I></TD><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="40" class="fonty"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quesplanation.jpg" alt="Stop and think" border="0" width="40" height="40"></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Once launched, in an astonishingly short time, a matter of a year or so, the NHS was accepted by even its worst enemies &#151; the doctors and the Conservative Party &#151; as indispensable and a civilized way of dealing with life, illness and death. Does that sound so awful?" <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-oe-sigal5-2009jul05,0,6570986.story">Clancy Sigal </A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "This is the legacy of the Bush/Cheney invasion and occupation: Complete and total devastation of Iraq. But the real objective has been accomplished: The oil fields are open again and foreign energy companies are lining up to get a piece of the action." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.mikemalloy.com/2009/06/30/get-ready-for-a-new-hallmark-holiday-card/">Kathy Malloy</A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "There should be a minimum age of consent before anyone joins a religion, because the vast majority of religions' members were put through ceremonies by their parents when they were far too young to know what was going on. And while many of them renounce their faith when they are older, indoctrinating children allows religions to claim more members and more influence than is actually justified." <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://freethinker.co.uk/2009/07/03/let%E2%80%99s-have-an-age-of-consent-for-religion/">Laura</A></div> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "This morning's Wall Street Journal opinion section contains a lot of what one expects to see. There's an opinion piece making a big fuss over the fake scandal at the EPA. There's an editorial claiming that the latest job figures prove the failure of Obama's economic plan &#151; something I dealt with in the Times. All of this follows on yesterday's editorial asserting that the Minnesota senatorial election was stolen.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "All of this is par for the course; the WSJ editorial page has been like this for 35 years. Nonetheless, it got me wondering: what do these people really believe?" <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/secrets-of-the-wsj/">Paul Krugman</A></div> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctnw-3411></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Chalmers Johnson says that America is being driven bankrupt by maintaining its hundreds and hundreds of military bases worldwide, at a cost of $102-billion annually (which seems like an underestimate to me).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And this is why we "can't afford" universal health care. The geniuses in Washington are scouring the budget for savings to pay-as-you-go can't see the forest for the trees. Could Obama perhaps be in need of new eyeglasses? <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/world/141071/spending_$102_billion_a_year_on_800_worldwilitary_bases_is_bankrupting_the_country/?page=entire">AlterNet</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-938></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; MoveOn is running ads targeting Senator Mary Landrieu (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-Louisiana) in her home state, and <A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/blue-americas-campaign-health-care-choi">Blue America</A> is targeting Senator Blanche Lincoln (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-Arkansas), for their stand against any public option in health care. Alabama and Louisiana, of course, are the heart of the South, so it's going to take some pretty well-crafted ads to get through to enough people to make these two feel the pressure, but it's worth a shot and the ads are well-crafted. If you can afford to support either of these groups, dang it, now is the time.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Or, <A HREF="http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/07/04/will-moveon-cave-to-obamas-pressure/">like President Obama</A>, you could just criticize groups like MoveOn for criticizing Democrats. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.americablog.com/2009/07/new-ad-targets-senator-mary-landrieu.html">AmericaBlog</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-226></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Billing itself as "progressive", a new big-money-backed group called Third Way is trying to derail and destroy health care reform. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/140998/bogus_think_tank_%22third_way%22_pops_up_to_thwart_health_care_reform/">AlterNet</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-655></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Let's take a few minutes to thoroughly debunk the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>'s utterly disingenuous arguments against a public option in health care. Grab a beer and enjoy the righteous reading. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.anonymousliberal.com/2009/07/health-insurance-is-not-ipod.html">The Anonymous Liberal</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =world= --> <!-- =environment =climate change --> <!-- Earth --><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/flagGreenWorld.gif" alt="Green Earth" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=asism-217></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Obama administration won't fight California's emissions rules, which are tougher than federal rules and will effectively require automakers to hit an average of 35 mile per gallon by 2016. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/washington/story/71081.html">McClatchy Newspapers</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-743></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I don't think much of the cap-and-trade environmental bill, except that it's perhaps better than nothing. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) is adamantly opposed to the bill because, he thinks, it doesn't do anywhere near enough and it's basically a sell-out to corporate concerns. For saying this on the floor of the House, Doggett has apparently enraged the Obama administration.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The growing track record suggests that the Obama administration will unleash the dogs against progressive Democrats, but do nothing and say nothing against the go-along to get-along Blue Dog Democrats. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/06/30/white_house/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =United Nations --> <!-- UN --><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/flagUN.gif" alt="United Nations flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=etpt-1216></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Japanese diplomat, Yukiya Amano, will replace Mohamed El Baradei as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). El Baradei has done a pretty good job, in our estimation, stating some truths that weren't particularly popular. Amano says, "As a national coming from Japan, I'll do my utmost to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons". And <A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/200973172517944882.html">here's a good sign</A> from the new guy:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">The incoming head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has said that he has not seen any hard evidence that Iran is trying to develop atomic <nobr> weapons.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr> http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/200973172517944882.html <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/07/20097214731929436.html">al Jazeera</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Afghanistan --> <!-- Afghanistan --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagAfghanistan.gif" alt="Afghan flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"> </td></tr></table><A NAME=tctnw-146></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An American soldier has gone missing in Afghanistan, and the instant assumption is that he's been kidnapped by the Taliban. The first thought that strikes me, after hoping this un-named soldier is OK, is &#151; kidnapped, my ass. The Bush-Cheney and Obama administrations have made it clear that America has abandoned the rules of war, so the difference between kidnapping and prisoner-of-war is moot. By the rules America fights wars, the Taliban can do anything they want to him. They can torture him, they can interrogate him for days on end, they can kill him, and if they do, they'll just be fighting under the US rules of war. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/02/us-military-soldier-afghanistan-taliban">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =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"><BR><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagIran.jpg" alt="Iranian flag" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table><A NAME=asism-542></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">History repeats itself, painfully so. A 1922 political cartoon on the British invasion of <nobr> Iraq.<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.prosebeforehos.com/?s=/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/iraq2.jpg">prosebeforehos.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Iran --> <A NAME=zzz-441></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The situation in Iran continues to be dangerous up close, and muddled from our distance. An <A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSHAF54357320090705">Iranian clerics' group says that last month's election results are invalid</A>, at least dozens have been killed in the protests, and upwards of a thousand arrested. There can't be much doubt that the Iranian government is capable of much worse. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0705/p06s05-wome.html">Christian&nbsp;Science&nbsp;Monitor</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=yltrr-707></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last week, the Israeli Navy seized a ferry full of activists on a humanitarian mission to Gaza, including former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel laureate Mairéad Maguire. They were <A HREF="http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2009/07/05/mckinney_israel.html">released five days later</A>, their ship confiscated, but Israel promises that the supplies will be delivered (which seems remarkably unlikely).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And did you see the coverage of this on television? Neither did I. How much media coverage do you suppose there'd be if a different well-known ex-Congresscritter had been jailed by a different country &#151; say, if Newt Gingrich was arrested in Iran? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0701/1224249838604.html">Irish Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-953></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Amnesty International has issued a report on Israel's recent war crimes against Gaza. It says &#151; to no-one's surprise &#151; they were war crimes, and that Israel inflicted "wanton destruction" and intentionally targeted civilians, etc. Amnesty International remains the most reliable international voice for human rights and human decency, but are any of the humans' leaders listening? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090702/ts_nm/us_palestinians_israel_gaza_amnesty">Reuters News Agency</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-12099></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Vice President Joe Biden has given Israel what sounds like a green light to attack Iran. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/20097633411395606.html">al Jazeera</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Saudi Arabia --><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/flagSaudiArabia.jpg" alt="Saudi Arabia flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=911-911></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Supreme Court has declined to hear their case, so that's the end of the line for <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/911.html"><NOBR>9/11</NOBR></A> loved ones who wanted to sue Saudi Arabia, members of the Saudi royal family, and other assorted Saudi power-brokers. The Bush-Cheney and Obama administrations stood united in seeking to prevent the victims' families from suing. Why? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/supr-j30.shtml">World Socialist Website</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Pakistan --> <!-- =Europe --> <!-- Ukraine --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagUkraine.jpg" alt="Ukraine flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"><BR><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagHonduras.gif" alt="Honduras flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=lajtno-508></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ukraine has banned all pornography... unless it's "medical". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mosnews.com/society/2009/06/30/ukrporno/">MosNews</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =North America --> <!-- =South America --> <A NAME=tctnw-157></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Two of the leaders of the recent coup in Honduras were graduates of the infamous School of the Americas. Imagine my lack of surprise. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/07/01-7">Common&nbsp;Dreams</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-351></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Given the intimate and long-standing ties between the US and the Honduran military, the record over many decades of US-backed coups and military dictatorships in the country and the region, and the ongoing efforts to destabilize the regime of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, it is not credible that the US played no role in the removal of one of Chavez's allies in Latin <nobr> America.<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.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/zela-j30.shtml">World Socialist Website</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=etpt-909></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The families of the dead from last month's Peruvian protests speak out. "These police brothers are not to blame, and neither are we. This happened by order of the government," says protest leader Salomón Aguanash. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47242">Inter Press Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- Venezuela --><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/flagVenezuela.jpg" alt="Venezuela flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=swsfhb-647></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Venezuelan President Hugo has called bullsh*t on Gen. Douglas Fraser, the commander of US military operations in Latin America. Fraser had voiced concerns over Venezuela's purchase of arms because, said the General, there isn't a military threat in the region. Chavez says Gen Fraser should look in the mirror, because he's the threat. Duh. I don't think Venezuela has a General stationed in North America to oversee military operations there.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I try to keep my respect for Chavez dampened, because I don't know much about Venezuela and Chavez is perpetually demonized in the American media, though the demonization never quite seems proportional to his flaws. And I don't doubt that he's wrong on some issues and policies, because he's, you know, not me, but he's a lot closer to my idea of a good politician than anyone who's invited on <i>Meet the Press</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/27/ap6594732.html">Forbes</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Africa --> <!-- Uganda --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="70" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagUganda.jpg" alt="Uganda flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=swsfhb-804></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Uganda's State Minister for Ethics and Integrity says that pending legislation will make it "an offence to publish and distribute literature on homosexuality or advocate for it". <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://allafrica.com/stories/200907020749.html">AllAfrica.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Asia --> <!-- India --><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/flagIndia.jpg" alt="India flag" border="1" width="50" height="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctnw-6511></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In India, the nation's longstanding law banning homosexuality between consenting adults has been overturned in court as a violation of fundamental rights. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/will_homosexuality_become_legal.php">NDTV</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- 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="33"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=etpt-1212></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; North Korea continues to test missiles, and leaders in other nations continue to react as if this isn't ordinary. It is. And here's a helpful hint: To get someone to stop doing something you don't want, <A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/2009723257450173.html">give 'em something</A> they do want. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/07/200974143411778707.html">al Jazeera</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =bailout =economy--> <!-- bank robber --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"> <img src="http://unknownnews.org/bankrobber.gif" alt="picture of bank robber" border="0" width="100" height="95"></td></tr></table> <A NAME=tctnw-234></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Goldman Sachs played a key part in every market bubble since the 1920s, and profited from the subsequent crashes, and they're working on another bubble right now. The article is enlightening but not really surprising, except insofar as it's sure a surprise to see anyone in mainstream media willing to lay out the case against Goldman Sachs. <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/06/30/on-giving-goldman-a-chance/">The response</A>, though, from Goldman Sachs and author Matt Taibbi's response to that, is blunt, delightful, honest, and a joy to behold. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine/print">Rolling Stone</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-151></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Former US bank regulators warned that lenders and supervisors may share less information with each other in day-to-day dealings after lawmakers released dozens of confidential Federal Reserve <nobr> e-mails.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So bank execs are terrified by the prospect of regular people finding out what they do and say. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;<A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR Mooneyham</A></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=abkxoZue_3uo">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-150></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The American unemployment rate shot way up in June, which surprised the alleged experts. It's the highest it's been in 26 years, and that's of course not even factoring in that the formula for calculating the unemployment rates have been rejiggered to look falsely optimistic. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/02/us-unemployment-june-467000">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face02 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="144" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face2.jpg" border="0" width="124" height="124"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=asism-548></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Suresh Tendulkar, an economic adviser to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said he is urging the government to diversify its $264.6 billion foreign-exchange reserves and hold fewer [American] <nobr> dollars.<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.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aR7yfqUwTb4M">Bloomberg News Service</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-956></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Since such rate increases will soon be illegal, Citigroup is jacking up interest rates on credit cards <i>now</i>. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1d0c610-65c7-11de-8e34-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1">Financial Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-151></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">If you're looking for a silver lining to the home-foreclosure story &#151; and who isn't? &#151; the good news is that 8-foot-long Nile monitor lizards are taking over our abandoned <nobr> properties.<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.heraldtribune.com/article/20090628/COLUMNIST/906281013/2277/FEATURES?Title=Amenity-giant-lizards">Sarasota Herald-Tribune</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =corporations= --> <A NAME=tctnw-615></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ExxonMobil said they'd stop funding climate change deniers, but guess what? They're still funding climate change deniers. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/01/exxon-mobil-climate-change-sceptics-funding">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-640></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Horizon, one of America's best-known brands of organic food, is effectively turning its back on organics with a grab for more mainstream market sales. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/blogs/healthy-food/horizon-natural-47070201">The Daily Green</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-851></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pirate Bay has been sold, and the new owner aims to make it <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8128551.stm">profitable and legal</A>. Seems unlikely. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://slash.autonomedia.org/node/12814">AutonoMedia</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =military =stt --> <!-- =dc= --> <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://gawker.com/5305274/what-this-country-needs-is-a-good-terrorist-attack">Fox's Beck: What this country needs is a good terrorist attack!</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/07/old_fossil_disproves_darwin.php">Old fossil "disproves" Darwin!</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/07/01/rush-limbaugh-is-way-ahead-of-us-already-complaining-about-obamas-third-term/">Limbaugh is way ahead of us, already complaining about Obama's third term</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/01/plumber-god/">Joe the Plumber (who's not a plumber) says "talked to God about" running for Congress "and he was like, 'No'"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/30/beck-alaska/">Fox's Beck asks, "Why did we buy Alaska in the 1950s?"</A><BR> <BR><A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/02/rove-scripted-events/">Rove: Obama 'has carried pre-packaged, organized, controlled, scripted events to a new height'</A><BR> <br><A HREF="http://sf.carnalnation.com/content/11034/3/rep-sally-kern-gays-caused-recession">Those pesky homosexuals caused this recession, says noted beanball and Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern</A><BR> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=etpt-158></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Most Republicans are philosophically opposed to the very idea that campaign contributions should be regulated. Money is speech, they believe, and if someone gives a million or ten million dollars to a particular candidate, at their core Republicans believe that's nobody's business but the giver and the politician he's buying.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Well, three out of six members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are Republicans, and they're true-believer Republicans who don't believe elections should be regulated. So for all practical intents the FEC doesn't exist, can't do anything. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/the_commission_has_been_road-blocked_republicans_w_1.php">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-754></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Federal Trade Commission is going ahead with its plan to monitor and regulate bloggers. The idea, we're told, is to make sure that if a blogger reviews something he/she isn't taking payment in exchange for a big thumb's up. I guess this is the end of <i>Ain't It Cool News</i>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm not going to complain about this tiny bit of governmental oversight. I'll just ask again, because I'm seriously not sure, is there similar oversight of newspapers and broadcast media? And for the record, I hereby declare that our opinions as presented on the website are our opinions, unswayed by underwriting or payola. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=248071">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-1207></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Robert McNamara, a key architect of the Vietnam war, has begun being charbroiled in Hell. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/people/387/000022321/">Notable Names Database</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=swsfhb-731></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nielsen Media Research, best known for TV ratings, estimates that 1.7-million American households (four or five million people) don't yet have the annoying little converter boxes that allow antenna viewing of programs broadcast in the new and worse digital television signal. These folks are converting at a fairly rapid pace, and there probably won't be more than a <!-- face03 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="96" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face3.jpg" border="0" width="76" height="113"> </td></tr></table> couple of million people without television within a few months. Presumably many or most of those people don't <i>want</i> television (hard to argue with that) and the rest, who used to have TV but don't any more, are too poor or isolated to matter to advertisers anyway. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/800000-homes-have-upgraded-to-dtv-since-june-12-transition/">nielsen.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Republicans --> <A NAME=tctnw-446></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ex-CIA spy and lifelong Republican Michael Scheuer, who wrote the well-respected <i>Imperial Hubris</i> (bored the hell out of me, but what do I know?), told Glenn Beck last week that America's only hope is for Osama bin Laden to "deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States". Beck nodded, as if this was indeed heavy thinking.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's too damned obvious to bother typing this, but here's a wake-up call to the world's Scheuers, Becks, and their fans &#151; when you're rooting for presumably thousands of Americans (maybe more) to be murdered, there's something seriously wrong with your world view or your head, or both. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.atlargely.com/atlargely/2009/07/fox-news-a-nuke-attack-on-us-soil-would-be-great-for-america.html">At&nbsp;Largely</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-226></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There's much speculation about why Sarah Palin is resigning as Governor of Alaska, and I've been curious about that house her husband and "a few buddies" built, but the FBI says there's <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palin5-2009jul05,0,7018263.story">no investigation into that</A> or anything else. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-03/did-a-scandal-sink-the-uss-palin/?cid=hp:mainpromo2">The Daily Beast</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-457></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Meanwhile, again demonstrating her mastery of media relations, Gov Palin's attorney has threatened to sue the <I>Washington Post</i>, <i>New York Times</i>, etc., if they report those allegations. "That'll shut 'em up", I want to say, but I want to say it <i>sarcastically</i>. Problem is, based on what we've seen from the <I>Washington Post</i> and <i>New York Times</i> in recent years, it seems perfectly plausible to me that, yes, the threat will shut 'em up. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/05/palin-threatens-suit/">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=yltrr-226a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She's beloved by the wingnuts of the arch-arch-right, bit it's so obvious that Palin is, let's just say, far from Presidential material, even some Republicans are willing to speak out against her. If you're in a hurry (they don't believe in editing at <i>Vanity Fair</i>) <A HREF="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/06/the_ten_most_unflattering_thin.html">here's the best</A> of the back-biting. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908?printable=true&currentPage=all">Vanity Fair</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-345></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The evidence suggests that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is considering a run for the Presidency in 2012. He actually, shockingly, might be a more viable candidate than anyone else in the Republicans' three-ring circus. Surely Obama can find a spot for Jeb in the Administration, alongside the other bipartisan Republicans he's enlisted. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/141070/jeb_bush_tests_water_for_2012_presidential_bid/">AlterNet</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-844></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've never thought much of Congressman Peter King (R-New York), but he came pretty close to hitting the nail on the head when he said this: "[Michael Jackson] was a pervert, a child molester; he was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country?" <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-lipete0612945400jul05,0,5723586.story">Newsday</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-837></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Economist Peter Schiff is conducting polling to see if he has sufficient support in Connecticut to run for the Senate against Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut). My guess is, if he runs a smart campaign, he wins. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2009/06/-schiff.html">Congressional Quarterly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =Democrats --> <A NAME=asism-224></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a curious coincidence, the bank that holds the biggest chunk of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii)'s wealth, Central Pacific Financial, is getting $135 in quick funding from the Treasury Department. The bucks came through just two weeks after Inouye asked for it, despite the rather odd fact that the bank doesn't seem to qualify and had previously been rejected. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063004229.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face04 --><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/face4.jpg" border="0" width="120" height="85"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=lajtno-9433></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Governor Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina) keeps insisting he won't resign, while day after day he's making more and more batty statements about his complicated love life. It's stopped being funny, and I think his hometown paper, <i>The State</i>, is spot on in questioning the Governor's mental health. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thestate.com/sanford/story/849427.html">The State</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=swsfhb-845></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Democratic Party has found a curious new way to waste your donations. They're running TV ads in Kentucky, pointedly criticizing Senator Mitch McConnell, who was re-elected last year and whose name won't be on the ballot again until 2014. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/dnc-ad-attacks-mcconnell-in-kentucky----a-peculiar-choice.php">Talking Points Memo</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-738></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Decrepit Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), who should have retired decades ago, has been released from his latest hospital stay. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/30/sen-byrd-released-from-hospital/">Cable News Network</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =state and =local --> <A NAME=etpt-1221></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Things are looking mighty bleak in California, and you can probably count of other states going bankrupt. Of course, that's not the right word, as there's really no paperwork for states to file bankruptcy. Does anyone doubt that Republicans are lurking in the shadows with "<A HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/128236664&referer=brief_results">Shock Doctrine</A>" plans ready to go? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/200971184645433465.html">al Jazeera</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"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/newslogo-npr.jpg" alt="National Public Radio" border="0" width="63" height="30"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=asism-7488></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Salon</i>'s Glenn Greenwald continues his expert skewering of National Public Radio and its ombudsman Alicia Shepard over the network's refusal to call torture torture, and over Shepard's breathtakingly shallow defense of this. "And I'm not sure, why is it so important to call something torture?" she asks. Sweet jeebers. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/07/02/npr/index.html">Salon</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-713></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Tampa TV station that apparently bills itself as "News Channel 8" has aired a one-hour program explaining how radical homosexuals are trying to silence and persecute Christians. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jun/27/silencing-christians-paid-program-draws-protest-ca/">Tampa Tribune</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-225></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29coverage.html?ref=global-home">Journalism rules are bent in news coverage from Iran</A>, the <i>New York Times</i> reports. "'Check the source' may be the first rule of journalism. But in the coverage of the protests in Iran this month, some news organizations have adopted a different stance: publish first, ask questions later."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Excuse me? How is this different from mainstream US news these days? Like Fox News? Ahem! <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;<A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR Mooneyham</A></nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/business/media/29coverage.html?ref=global-home">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-632></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's unclear why <i>Time Magazine</i> considers it "essential reading" when Rush Limbaugh says he's worried that President Obama might not willingly leave office in 2016. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018866.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-206></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here are six quick but thoughtful answers to the question "How are news sites to survive the technological upheaval of the early 21st century?" I think we're going to see a lot more of JR's #6 (amateurs writing for sources previously considered professional), at the big-time sources that survive. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.jmooneyham.com/how-are-news-sites-to-survive-the-technological-upheaval-of-the-early-21st-century.html">jmooneyham.com</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-631></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <I>Washington Post</i> offered to charge lobbyists upwards of $25,000 to provide "access" to Obama administration officials when various governmental functions hobnob in a "relaxed setting in the home of [<i>Post</i> publisher] Katharine Weymouth". The plan was cancelled when it came to light, because rather obviously, it's tacky, unprincipled, and really, really stupid. That odor you're whiffing is the <i>Post</i>'s reputation melting. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/02/washington-post-katherine-weymouth">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face06 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="144" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face6.jpg" border="0" width="124" height="93"> </td></tr></table><A NAME=asism-230></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <I>Washington Post</i> has an ombudsman, a person who's supposed to ask and answer tough questions about the internal decisions at the paper. But when the <I>Washington Post</i>'s ombudsman asked about <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0906-23.html#mxsvo-200">the firing of Dan Froomkin</A>, who'd been the paper's best columnist, the answers amounted to a brick wall. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906280010">Media Matters</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-6322></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <I>Washington Post</i> media reporter Howard Kurtz wonders, seriously, whether African-American women can cover Michelle Obama without letting their skin color or womanhood get in the way. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/02/kurtz-race-coverage/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=swsfhb-659></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales was at the head of the site's efforts, along with <i>New York Times</i> management, to suppress any mention of <i>Times</i> reporter David Rohde's kidnapping. Time after time when Wikipedia users would add information related to Rohde, Wales would make sure it was promptly deleted. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/technology/internet/29wiki.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=asism-222a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Honolulu Star-Bulletin</i> has declined to run an ad from <i>WorldNetDaily</i> rehashing the long-ago debunked claim that President Obama isn't an American. Apparently, some billboard companies have also refused <i>WND</i>'s ongoing "Where's the birth certificate?" ads.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a shade of integrity I don't remember seeing from major media in the past. Can you imagine all the dead air if TV stations imposed a similar policy of refusing ads that are blatant lies? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/29/honolulu-obama-birth/">ThinkProgess</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=swsfhb-708></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The <i>Waco Tribune-Herald</i> will save some money by closing their printing facility, and having the paper printed by the <i>Austin American-Statesman</i>, 90 miles away. And in <A HREF="http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/kenosha_news_journal_sentinel_strike_printing_agreement_5587802.html">pretty much the same turn of events in Wisconsin</A>, the <i>Kenosha News</i> will now be printed by the <i>Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel</i>. <!-- face07 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="168" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face7.jpg" border="0" width="148" height="119"> </td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Which sort of leads to the question, what is a "local paper"? Couldn't these papers save even more money by having the bigger papers handle the smaller papers' ad sales, their reporting and editing work, and their websites? <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/06/30/06302009wacprinting.html">Waco Tribune-Herald</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-816></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ex-employees of the now-dead <i>Rocky Mountain News</i> are launching the <i>Rocky Mountain Independent</i>, hoping to make a go of a metropolitan news website funded by advertisers and subscribers. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gM0hayLPCKXWxJ4aQzG5p9IFOWUgD996JBTG0">Associated Press</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=swsfhb-7466></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dan Abrams, who used to do better than media par work at NBC News, is launching Mediaite.com, a website focused on the "celebrity of journalism". Rachel Sklar, who formerly worked at <i>The Huffington Post</i> and who's described as the editor at large, says it's her "dream media site" because it's going to take a "super-fun" approach to "issues I think are important about where journalism is going, where the media are going."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Really? Not just fun, but super-fun? And you're the editor-at-large? My first impression is that I'd rather have dental work without anesthesia, but after clicking and scouring the site's home page for anything of interest to no avail, I'll stick with my first impression. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502402_pf.html">Washington Post</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-223></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Paul Krugman asks why the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> publishes lies on its editorial page. Too bad he doesn't answer the question, because I think Krugman's a crisp apple who knows the answer. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/secrets-of-the-wsj/">New York Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-852></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it, he's going to be Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota). It's been obvious for months, but now the Minnesota Supreme Court has unanimously agreed. Former Senator and future Fox News commentator <A HREF="http://minnesotaindependent.com/38181/coleman-concedes-us-senate-contest">Norm Coleman has conceded</A>. The state's Governor, Tim Pawlenty (R), has said previously that he'd go along with the court's ruling.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've read right-wingers waxing apoplectic that Franken's presence in the Senate will give the Democrats 60 votes, and sadly, I've seen a few left-leaners who hold the same delusion. Apparently Al Franken's presence will make Senate drinking fountains spurt fairy sparkle instead of water? Let's pop that bubble fast:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Franken is probably to the left of Obama, but that isn't saying much. There's nothing magic about 60 votes, and the Dems won't have 60 votes &#151; one of the alleged 60 is Joe Lieberman (I-Republican), a dozen more are closet Republicans, and surely nobody reading this blog is ignorant enough to believe the Republicans' phony filibusters will be stopped. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/06/minnesota_supreme_court_is_una.html">National Public Radio</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-210></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "This is like having me in the Senate," says Glenn Beck, as Al Franken becomes a Senator from Minnesota. Beck goes on: "You don't want me as a Senator! What is that? I mean, it shows how crazy our country has gone &#151; you don't want me as a Senator, you don't want Al Franken as a Senator."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm routinely annoyed when pundits and poopheads pretend there's an equivalence between Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly on the right and (pick a name) on the left, but this is <!-- face08 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="121" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face8.jpg" border="0" width="101" height="112"> </td></tr></table> the first time I've seen one of the right-wing bozos claim there's an equivalence. It's bull. There's no equivalence.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First off, anyone who's even half as far to the left as Beck et al are to the right doesn't get a TV show, and probably isn't even allowed on as a guest on commercial television or radio. Franken is pretty close to the middle-of-the-road politically, not at all a left-wing opposite of the arch-arch-arch-arch-right Beck. There's no equivalence.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Second, Franken never made up phony facts and lied to his radio show's audience. When he cited facts his facts were factual, and he said where the facts came from. And when he got something wrong, he invariable started the next day's show with a pointed and plain correction. There's no equivalence.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And finally, as someone who listened to Al Franken five days a week while he was on Air America, I can tell you he often said things I disagreed with, but he never said anything that begins to approach the <A HREF="#flatline"><FONT COLOR=blue>stupidity</FONT></A> and <A HREF="#1234567890"><FONT COLOR=blue>incendiary talk</FONT></A> we routinely hear from Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Beck, et al. Nobody accuses the right-wing's powerful pundits of delving deep into the issues, studying, knowing the intricate details, but that's Franken. Whatever his other shortcomings, Franken is smart. Seriously smart. <i>Cum laude</i> at Harvard smart. Like I said, there's just no equivalence. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://foxnewsboycott.com/fox-friends/fox-news-quite-upset-about-al-franken-victory/">Fox News Boycott</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-nomorebrl></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I recommended Air America's <i>Break Room Live</i> with Sam Seder and Marc Maron a while back, so it's only fair to offer this update: Forget the recommendation. Seder has faded away from the show, and now appears only in rare, pre-taped segments, leaving Maron alone for most of the show, most days. Maron is smart, sometimes funny, and I suspect I'd like him if I met him, but his humor is just too <i>mean</i> for my tastes, so I've stopped watching. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="#tctnw-nomorebrl"><font color=blue>No link here</font></A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=etpt-903></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mike Malloy posts a once-weekly news round-up on Fridays, which is usually helpful to us as we gather this once-weekly round-up for Tuesdays. Last Friday's Malloy news recap, though, seemed especially pertinent. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.mikemalloy.com/2009/07/03/just-beat-it-already/">The Mike Malloy Show</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- =lifestyle --> <!-- face09 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="156" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face9.jpg" border="0" width="136" height="88"> </td></tr></table> <A NAME=lajtno-300></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apparently the new <i>Transformers</i> sequel includes a scripted scene that specifically portrays President Obama as wimpy on national defense, with the movie's good guys only saving the day by disobeying a direct order from President Obama. I've seen a lot of movies, but to the best of my recollection I can't remember any previous mainstream action movies that portrayed an actual sitting President in this manner.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It fits in well with the daily accusations of treason and constitutional illegitimacy against President Obama from right-wing radio and TV hatemongers. It's all unprecedented, and it wouldn't be tolerated (or even attempted) if the President was a Republican. It's going to eventually culminate with some crackpot taking a shot at the President, and that's no accident, that's the underlying intent, I believe. Do tell me I'm wrong if you think I am. I'd <i>love</i> to be wrong about this. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018822.php">Washington Monthly</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-418></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Oregon Iron Works has completed its first streetcar. It's the first streetcar built in America since the 1950s. <I>This</i> is an American industry with a future, because the price of oil and gasoline is going to skyrocket in coming years, and not just in its ordinary summer price rise. And cars, of course, are deadly cancer-spewing earthkillers on four wheels. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/07/01/unveiled-first-american-made-streetcar-in-60-years/">The Infrastructurist </A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-623></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You're a lot less likely to get four leading cancers if you're a vegetarian. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/cancer-vegetarian-47070104?src=rss">The Daily Green</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-324></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">In Chicago, there's a push to replace public schools with military academies. This model may soon spread to the rest of the <nobr> country.<img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-end.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13"></nobr><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Instead of improving public education the siphoning of funds into "choice" schemes is only leading education down a path of private agendas. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151; Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.alternet.org/story/141034/the_military_invades_u.s._schools:_how_military_academies_are_being_used_to_destroy_public_education/?page=entire">AlterNet</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-455></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The first of six planned public charging stations for electric cars opened last week in my home town, Madison, Wisconsin. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.madison.com/tct/business/456279">The Capital Times</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <!-- face10 --><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="140" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"> <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/face10.jpg" border="0" width="120" height="80"> </td></tr></table><A NAME=tctnw-644></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are some good tips on this brief list of "10 ways to get more wear, and less tear, out of your clothing". My favorite on the list: Zip the zippers before washing your clothes (I'd never thought of it, but the rationale makes dang good sense). Also, don't launder everything every time you wear it. Unless you're doing heavy, sweaty labor or rolling around in grease or mud, clothes worn once are perfectly presentable for wearing a second time without a trip through the washer. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/clothing-care-laundry-tips-460709">The Daily Green</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-diet></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Here's a little lifestyle trick I'm trying, with my apologies in advance if it's so obvious it seems absurd to even say it. I'm a little bit tubbier than I'd like to be, so I've started eating only when I'm hungry. Well, yeah, I told you it might be obvious.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ever since childhood my habit has been to eat three meals a day plus occasional snacks when the snack opportunity presents itself. That's how most of us eat in America, I think. Well, last week I started skipping breakfast and delaying lunch until I felt genuinely hungry. When hunger hits, I ignore it until it hits <i>hard</i>. So far, that's meant I'm eating about one and a half meals daily. Some days I'll need a light lunch in the early afternoon, other days I don't, and every evening there's been a normal-sized dinner. There's a candy bar in my purse in case there's an emergency &#151; hunger pangs or a bout of lightheadedness &#151; but I've been carrying that same candy bar around for almost two weeks now, and I'm several pounds lighter. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="#tctnw-diet">No link here</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=lajtno-737></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Like the author says here, we haven't come nearly far enough on gay rights, but we've come a long ways. Click and read <A HREF="http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,835069,00.html">the startling ignorance</A> <i>Time Magazine</i> was presenting about homosexuality in the 1966 piece. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018831.php">Washington Monthly</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=asism-236></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When I first saw a headline claiming that John McCain's daughter Meghan wants Hillary Duff to play her in a movie of her life, I assumed it was a lowbrow blogger's joke. To the best of my knowledge, she's accomplished little in life beyond being spawned by a Senator, so what on earth would the movie be about beyond the privileged life of a millionaire's daughter? Well, it's not a joke.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">Meghan McCain hasn't even released her first book, but she's already planning the movie version. "I want Hilary Duff to play me. I think she's really hot &#151; hotter than me &#151; but I'd still want her to play me," Sen. John McCain's daughter confided to us at the Trevor Project's summer gala on Monday night at Capitale.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/quote-begin.jpg" alt="quote" border="0" width="15" height="13">But the young Republican isn't dead set on Duff. "Really, I'd take anyone who's blond," she joked, adding that one actor in particular would certainly be welcome to join the cast. "Bradley Cooper is so hot," McCain swooned. "If he can be in it, he <nobr> will.&nbsp;...<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.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/07/01/2009-07-01_hillary_duff_should_play_me_in_a_movie_meghan_mccain_says.html">New York Daily News</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=yltrr-226a></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sarah Palin is running. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-410--13221-0,00.html">Runners World</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-600></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pretty good blogger <i>Apt. 11D</i> looks back the changes that have taken place over the last six years of blogging, and pretty much nails it. We've been at it for ten years or so, and I especially agree with points 7, 4, and 5. <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.apt11d.com/2009/07/the-blogosphere-20.html">Apt. 11D</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-348></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A new reality show in Turkey has clerics from Islam, the Greek Orthodox church, Judaism, and a Buddhist monk trying to talk atheists into becoming true believers. In selecting the atheist participants, "only true non-believers need apply. An eight-strong commission of theologians will assess the atheist credentials of would-be contestants before deciding who should take part."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just what are the "credentials" of an atheist? I haven't even decided whether I'm an agnostic, deist, or atheist yet. <nobr>&nbsp; &#151;Wig</nobr> <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/02/turkey-penitents-compete-gameshow">The Guardian</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <A NAME=tctnw-434></A><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Osama bin Laden visits America (in 1979). <nobr>&nbsp;[&nbsp;<A HREF="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2009/06/osama-in-america-the-final-answer.html">The New Yorker</A>&nbsp;]</nobr><BR> <BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="5" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="20%" align="left"><tr><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="99%" class="font18"> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="0" width="127" height="127"></A></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="1%" class="fonta">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <center><BIG><I>Don't miss <B>our dialogue page</b></i></center><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <SPAN class="fontsm"><i>We welcome readers' comments, questions, or criticisms. 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></SPAN></TD></TR></TABLE> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dailydialogue.html" height="32" width="600" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></TD></TR></TABLE><!-- =dialogue --></A> <BR><BR><center>Recommended sites for gathering unknown or underreported news:<BR> &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://mediamatters.org/">Media&nbsp;Matters</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.propublica.org/">Pro&nbsp;Publica</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://thinkprogress.org">ThinkProgress</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp; 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</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="96%" class="fonty"> © &nbsp;Helen & Harry Highwater and the individual authors.</center> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="2%" class="fonty"><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"startspan ALT="Site Meter"--><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript">var site="sm4unknownnews"</script><script type="text/javascript"language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/js/counter.js?site=sm4unknownnews"></script><noscript><A HREF="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=sm4unknownnews"target=_top><img src="http://sm4.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=sm4unknownnews&refer=&hours=8&minutes=53&rtype=4" border=0 title="Site Meter" height="10" width="10"></A></noscript><!-Copyright (c)2000 Site Meter --><!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup"Endspan --></TD></TR></TABLE> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor=white class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> </TD><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="5" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonttnr">&nbsp;</TD> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="310" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="1%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font14">&nbsp;</TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="57%" class="font14"><BR> <!-- Translation--> <form action="http://www.google.com/translate" ><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write ("<input name=u value="+location.href+" type=hidden>") // --></script> <input name="hl" value="en" type="hidden"> <input name="ie" value="UTF8" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="" type="hidden"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ar" title="Arabic" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagArab.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|zh-CN" title="Chinese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagChina.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|fr" title="French" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagFrance.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|de" title="German" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagGermany.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|it" title="Italian" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagItaly.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"><BR> <input name="langpair" value="en|ja" title="Japanese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagJapan.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|ko" title="Korean" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagKorea.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|pt" title="Portuguese" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagPortugal.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> <input name="langpair" value="en|es" title="Spanish" src= "http://unknownnews.org/flagSpain.gif" onclick="this.form.langpair.value=this.value" height="16" type="image" width="23"> </form> </TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="42%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="font13"> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/RSSfeed.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/RSS-button.gif" alt="Subscribe to our RSS feed" border="0" width="72" height="54"></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=casualties-box></A> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="290" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=black WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/casualtieslog.html" width="100%" height="115" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=today></A><A NAME=wdwb></A><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor="#E3E4FA" class="fonta">Like the URL says, this website is about unknown news.&nbsp; We post a once-weekly page of news that merits more attention, all from mainstream, professional journalists, or (rarely) other sources we trust entirely.<BR><BR><center><BIG><B>What we believe</B></BIG></center><BR> We believe in liberty and justice for all, so of course, we oppose many US government policies. This doesn't mean we're anti-American, redneck scum, pinko commies, militia members, or terrorist-sympathizers. It means we believe in freedom, as more than merely a cliché. <BR><BR> We believe you have the right to live your own life as you choose, and others have the equal right to live <I>their</I> lives as <I>they</I> choose. It's not complicated.<BR><BR>We believe freedom leads to peace, progress, and prosperity, while its opposite -- oppression -- leads to war, terrorism, poverty, and misery. <BR><BR> We believe it's preposterously stupid to hate people because of their appearance, their race or nationality, their religion or lack of religion, how they have sex with other consenting adults, etc. There are far more apropos reasons to hate most people. <BR><BR> We believe in questioning ourselves, our assumptions, each other -- and we especially believe in questioning authority (the more authority, the more questions). We believe obedience is a fine quality in dogs and young children, but not in adults. <BR><BR> Like America's right-wingers, we believe in individual responsibility, hard work to get ahead, and stern punishment for serious crimes. We believe big government should not be blindly trusted.<BR><BR> But unlike most right-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> Like America's left-wingers, we believe in equal treatment under law, war as a last (not first) resort, and sensible stewardship of natural resources. We believe big business should not be blindly trusted.<BR><BR>But unlike most left-wing leaders, we mean it. <BR><BR> Like libertarians, we believe it's wrong and <I>reprehensible</i> to arrest people for what they think, believe, look like, wear, eat, smoke, drink, inhale, inject, or otherwise do to themselves. <BR><BR> But unlike many libertarians, we're not obsessed with the gold standard, we don't believe incorporation is humanity's highest achievement, and we don't believe everything in life comes down to dollars and cents. We've read and enjoyed Ayn Rand's novels, but we understand that they're works of fiction.<BR><BR> We're skeptical, and we're sick of so-called 'journalists' who aren't skeptical at all. <BR><BR>A reader asks, what are our solutions?<BR><BR>We propose no solutions except common sense, which is never common. We like the principles of democracy, and the ideals broadly described as 'American'. The US Constitution is a fine and workable framework for solutions, when it's actually read and thoughtfully understood by intelligent statesmen and women. So, no manifestos from us. We don't dream that big, and if there's one thing the world <i>doesn't</i> need it's yet another manifesto.<BR><BR>Our suggestion is: think.<BR><BR>A fact-based instead of faith-based approach leads to solutions for most of the recurring issues of our time, from abortion to global climate change, pollution to universal health care, careful but real regulation of industry and economy, hunger, war, terror, human rights for humans not for corporations, science not religious doctrine in public schools, equal protection and prosecution under law, etc. Approach problems without glorifying stupidity, without demonizing intelligence, and answers usually come into focus. <BR><BR> These pages are published by <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/bighowdy.html">Harry and Helen Highwater</A>, happily married low-income nom de plumes and rabble-rousers from Madison, Wisconsin (with a few friends scattered around the world helping out). <BR><BR> We try to spotlight news that hasn't gotten enough (or appropriate) attention in American media, along with our opinions and yours. <BR><BR> We bang our keyboards against the wall, because it doesn't hurt as much as banging our heads. <BR><BR><center><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/bighowdy.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/Highwaters-oldtime.jpg" border="3" width="199" height="277"></A></center><BR> <DIV align="right"><i><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</A></i> &nbsp; <BR><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;(from <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/about.html">About <I>Unknown News</i></A>)&nbsp;&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE> <A NAME=help></a><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=white WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><BR><center><B>You can help</b></center><BR> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If the news frustrates or angers you, please, <A HREF="http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml"><b>contact your elected officials.</b></A> Seriously. Perhaps it sounds hokey and futile, but someone on the other end will actually take your call or read your letter and pay attention to what you say &#151; and if you say it well you can make a difference.<BR><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.<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As for our work on the website, we try <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%"><BR><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/begging.jpg" border="0" width="62" height="110"></td></tr></table> not to whine too much or too loudly, but we are poor and this site eats a lot of time and especially <I>money</I>. 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We try to avoid coding practices that intentionally frustrate or annoy readers. <BR><BR><DIV align="right"><i><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/contact.html">Helen &amp; Harry Highwater</A></i> &nbsp; </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="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; 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