ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://unknownnews.org/RSSfeeds/dailyRSS.xml"> <style type="text/css"><script type="text/javascript">var disqus_iframe_css="http://www.unknownnews.org/disqus-form.css";</script></style> <title>Unknown News | Helen & Harry's cranky weblog of news and opinion | unknownnews@inbox.com </title> <META content="bad cops, civil rights, corrupt cops news, crooked cops, freedom news, liberal news, libertarian news, police blotter, police brutality, police corruption news, police misconduct, progressive news, Fox Lies"name=KEYWORDS> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontmicro {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 5px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontbox {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 8px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fonts {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 6px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontz {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 8px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font10 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 8px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font11 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 9px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font12 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 10px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font13 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 11px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontx {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 11px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font14 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontzz {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 12px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontsm {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font15 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 13px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fonttnr {font-family: Times New Roman, Bodoni, Garamond, serif;font-size: 17px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fonttnrx {font-family: Times New Roman, Bodoni, Garamond, serif;font-size: 17px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fonty {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 15px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontpq {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 16px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fonta {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font17 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.font18 {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 18px;}--></style> <style type="text/css"><!--.fontxl {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 24px;}--></style> <!-- 1-80% 2-Danger 3-Destroying 4-EBBV 5-HNMB 6-IB 7-ISN'T THERE SOMETHING 8-BHL 9-LJ 10-NSR-H 11-SOT-BTH 12-YR 13-WWJB 14-IC 15-ION 16-ION (2) 17-BHL (2) 18-LJ (2) 19-WWJB (2) 20-unknownnews 21-unknownnews 22-unknownnews 23-unknownnews 24-wwjb 25-wwjb 26-wwjb 27-wwjb 28-wwjb 29-wwjb 30-Bushisaliar 31-Bushisaliar 32-Bushisaliar--> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!-- Begin // Set up the image files to be used. var theImages = new Array() // do not change this // To add more image files, continue with the // pattern below, adding to the array. theImages[0] = 'stic1.jpg' theImages[1] = 'stic2.jpg' theImages[2] = 'stic3.jpg' theImages[3] = 'stic4.jpg' theImages[4] = 'stic5.jpg' theImages[5] = 'stic6.jpg' theImages[6] = 'stic7.jpg' theImages[7] = 'stic8.jpg' theImages[8] = 'stic9.jpg' theImages[9] = 'stic10.jpg' theImages[10] = 'stic11.jpg' theImages[11] = 'stic12.jpg' theImages[12] = 'stic13.jpg' theImages[13] = 'stic14.jpg' theImages[14] = 'stic15.jpg' theImages[15] = 'stic16.jpg' theImages[16] = 'stic17.jpg' theImages[17] = 'stic18.jpg' theImages[18] = 'stic19.jpg' theImages[19] = 'stic20.jpg' theImages[20] = 'stic21.jpg' theImages[21] = 'stic22.jpg' theImages[22] = 'stic23.jpg' theImages[23] = 'stic24.jpg' theImages[24] = 'stic25.jpg' theImages[25] = 'stic26.jpg' theImages[26] = 'stic27.jpg' theImages[27] = 'stic28.jpg' theImages[28] = 'stic29.jpg' theImages[29] = 'stic30.jpg' theImages[30] = 'stic31.jpg' theImages[31] = 'stic32.jpg' // do not edit anything below this line var j = 0 var p = theImages.length; 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// End --> </script></A> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table> <table width="980" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="830" align="center" valign="top" bgcolor=white class="font14"> <TABLE CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="32%" BGcolor="#dddddd" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/mainmenu.html" height="50" width="815" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe> </TD></TR></TABLE></td><td width="150" align=center valign="middle" bgcolor="#eeeeee" class="font15"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/buyabumpersticker.jpg" border="0" width="138" height="23"></A> </td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="980" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="830" BGcolor="#dddddd" class="fonty"> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/frames-new.html" height="32" width="830" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></TD><TD ALIGN="center" valign="middle" WIDTH="150" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/donations.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/makeadonation.jpg" border="0" width="138" height="23"></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> <!-- end uniform header--> <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> <blockquote><I>"The corporate domination of the new media is producing a dangerous form of depoliticization and moral indifference &mdash; a kind of collective descent into an obsessive compulsive disorder existence &mdash; not allowing people to focus, take their time, develop a sense of compassion and social responsibility, or create the conditions for thoughtful reading and writing."</i> <DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.truthout.org/on-pop-clarity-public-intellectuals-and-crisis-language57950"><I>Henry A. Giroux</i></a></div></blockquote> <!-- =NEWDAY=NEXTDAY= --> <A HREF=http://www.unknownnews.org/1003-22.html><font color=black><BIG><B>This week in America's war against freedom</B></BIG></font></a> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Beth Wolfe, a district judge in Louisiana, has <A HREF="http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2010/fake-giraffe-update-louisiana-court-sides-satirical-website">upheld the First Amendment</A>, by quashing another judge's preposterous restraining order that a web publisher delete a satirical article that made someone at the Global Wildlife Center feel insulted. I've never heard of the Global Wildlife Center, but for taking this matter to court I'm convinced that they deserve every <A NAME=LATESTNEWS></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="365" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><BR><center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="350" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dailyRSS.html" width="350" height="425" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></center></TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="345" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="365" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more </I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/"><B>unknownnews.org/</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> insult they've ever received and more.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm more concerned, though, about Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks, who granted the restraining order in the first place and who inexplicably remains employed as a judge at the 21st Judicial District Court in Amite, Louisiana. Wake up, Louisianans. <!-- =CIVIL LIBERTIES 3.1 --> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams; Pennsylvania pervert and District Attorney George P. Skumanick, Jr. has been at least temporarily <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/sexting-lawsuit/">smacked down in court</A>. As punishment for posing in sexy pictures, Skumanick sought to force three girls to attend bizarre re-education classes, and threatened to prosecute them for child pornography if they refused. They refused, and an injunction now blocks Skumanick's attempt to ruin the teenagers' lives. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Illinois lawmakers are considering <A HREF="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/03/19/Bill-would-lower-teen-sexting-penalties/UPI-17861269000684/">a semi-sane downscaling of the laws</A> covering teen "sexting". <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The American Civil Liberties Union (<A HREF="http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FJ_donationhome&s_subsrc=top_donate_hp">donate</A>) is <A HREF="http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12173186">threatening a lawsuit against the police department in Rapid City, South Dakota</A>, where cops contacted the US Air Force to inform them that an officer living in town is a lesbian, thus ending her career under the Bush-Obama administration's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" anti-gay policy in the military. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100319/NEWS05/100319004/Watts+guilty+of+Blue+Water+Bridge+assault">Canadian sci-fi writer Peter Watts has been found guilty</A> of the wildly improbable charge of assaulting a US border guard. Comparing the news account with <A HREF="http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=1186">Watts' entries at his blog</a>, I have to admire Watts' patience, and I have less than zero doubt that the bad guy here is the border guard, whose name is Andrew Beaudry. <A NAME=fromtheARCHIVES></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=white WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><B><I>From our archives...</i></B><BR><BR> Mar. 1, 2002:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.net/hh030102.html">Why a reporter is dead</A><BR><BR> <I>... What matters, though, and what cost Daniel Pearl his life, is: </i>Someone thought he was a spy.<I> And it isn't exactly a far-fetched idea. U.S. intelligence has a long history of using reporters as agents, and sending out agents posing as reporters.</i> <DIV align="right">... <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/oldnews.html">old news</a>, but still unknown &nbsp;</div></TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Covering this matter in January, a local paper, the <I>Times-Herald</i>, submitted a FOIA act request for the video footage of the confrontation between Beaudry and Watts, but in coverage that's no longer on-line the request was declined with the explanation that the matter was "under investigation". Presumably now that the verdict has been rendered the investigation is closed &mdash; I'd sure like to see the video, but I doubt we ever will see it. It goes without saying, of course, that if the video showed Watts choking the guard it would've been released without any newspaper having to ask.<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; American border patrol cops are making life hellish in Derby Line, Vermont, a town that straddles the Canadian border. <A HREF="http://www.wptz.com/news/22826310/detail.html">Here's the absurd and infuriating story</A> of a local man jailed for crossing the street into Canada, where he was hoping to buy a pizza.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I walked over to Canada on a Saturday night around quarter to nine to get a pizza," Buzz Roy explained. Roy lives and works in Derby Line. He walked down Church Street to the nearest pizza shop, which happens to be in Canada, and said that to his surprise he was stopped by state police and told that crossing on Church Street is illegal. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Steam was coming out of my ears from the treatment by the state cop. I felt that he had been misinformed about my ability to enter the country on Church Street. I've done it my entire life many many many times," said Roy, who obviously has a pre-<nobr>9/11</nobr> pizza mentality. <A NAME=fromDIALOGUE></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" 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/dialogue.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" alt="from recent readers' comments" border="3" width="320" height="179"></a><BR><BR><B><I>From <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">recent readers' comments</a></I></B></center> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialoguesnips.html" width="340" height="2000" marginwidth="5" marginheight="5" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <A NAME=christianity></A><A NAME=religion></A> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Several Religious Right activists and California state legislators have unveiled a new effort to <A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/prop-8-backs-seek-take-control-california-courts">take control of the court system</A> "across San Diego County and eventually America" via elections through a new organization called "Better Courts Now", arguing that Proposition 8 would not have even been necessary if the state had the proper judges. <A NAME=drugs></A> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/special/drug_cops_kill_two_drug_raids">At least two US citizens were killed in their own homes</A> by American police enforcing the war on drugs in a 48-hour period late last week. One was a 52-year-old white grandmother; the other was a 43-year-old black man. Both allegedly confronted home-invading officers with weapons; both were shot to death. No police officers were injured. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=59261">Father-and-son pot farmers</A> in San Francisco have been acquitted by a jury that refused to send them to prison. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; I sure hope the hysteria fades quickly over that damn fool 16-year-old kid who made a rude comment over the p.a. system at a Wal-Mart. I read somewhere (not in <A HREF="http://www.eurweb.com/?p=13875">this article</A>) that the kid's facing up to a year in jail, which is of course ridonculous. His crime was juvenile, but he's 16 and no serious harm was done. <A NAME=world></A><br><br><A HREF=#world><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <b>FROM BEYOND AMERICA'S BORDERS</b><!-- &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; --> <BR><BR><!-- =United Nations --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagUN.gif" alt="United Nations" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that the US will, like all civilized nations, submit its policies and acts to <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031704114_pf.html">review by the U.N. Human Rights Council</A> (HRC).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The usual naysayers complain that the HRC is controlled by such enemies of America as China, Cuba, and Egypt, so this will be a public relations disaster. I'm the opposite (a yaysayer?) &mdash; I see no disadvantage to US participation in human rights matters &mdash; I simply doubt that the US will really follow through on Clinton's pledge.<BR><BR><!-- =Afghanistan --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagAfghanistan.gif" alt="Afghanistan" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top-ranking American military commander in occupied Afghanistan, says gosh darn it, he's going to <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/world/asia/16afghan.html">try harder to slow down the pace of killing ordinary Afghans</a> in his day-to-day work. (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.)<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; McChrystal, of course, <A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/gen-mcchrystal-was-behind-pat-tillman-c">should've been fired long ago</a>. He "suspected" but suppressed information about the cover-up of the true circumstances of Pat Tillman's death and was aware of torture at Camp Nama and aware that Red Cross was illegally blocked from access to the torture facility. <BR><BR><!-- =Afghanistan --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagPakistan.jpg" alt="Pakistan" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program, a Defense Department official set up a network of <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/world/asia/15contractors.html?ref=todayspaper">private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill</A> suspected militants, according to military officials and businessmen in Afghanistan and the United States. (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.) <BR><BR><!-- =Iran --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagIran.jpg" alt="Iran" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; Hundreds of powerful US  bunker-buster bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in <A HREF="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/world-news/final-destination-iran-1.1013151">preparation for a possible attack on Iran</A>. <BR><BR><!-- =Australia--><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagAustralia.jpg" alt="Australia" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; In Australia, <A HREF="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/death-penalty-dead-and-buried-as-parliasment-bans-it-for-good/story-e6frf7l6-1225839834244">the death penalty has been buried forever</A> after Federal Parliament passed laws ensuring it can't be reinstated in any jurisdiction. While no Australian state or territory uses the death penalty, the laws were needed to ensure the situation could never be reintroduced. <BR><BR><!-- =NorthKorea --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagNorthKorea.gif" alt="North Korea" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2010/03/18/72/0401000000AEN20100318004400315F.HTML">North Korea executed a former top finance official</a> last week, holding him responsible for the country's currency reform fiasco that has caused massive inflation, worsened food shortages and dented leader Kim Jong-il's efforts to transfer power to a son, sources said Thursday.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Says <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1003-15-d.html#CS03180408">Charisse S.</A>: "This just sounds very, very reasonable and wise... enlightened, even... There must be a credible deterrent to official incompetence and crime, and I think this could work for us. There is even a Chinese saying: <I>Kill the chicken to frighten the monkey</I>." I'm assuming Charisse's comment is tongue-in-cheek, but not very. <BR><BR><!-- =UK=England --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="65" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flagUK.jpg" alt="United Kingdom" border="1" width="50" height="30"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; He's taking it too far but I gotta admit, I rather like this guy, Karl Winn. He's the owner of the Webeurope net design company in England, who says <A HREF="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1258249/Company-boss-compares-troops-paedophiles-refusing-request-provide-jobs-soldiers.html?ITO=1490">he'd sooner hire pedophiles and drug addicts than military veterans</a> of the Iraq war.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Ex-pedophiles and drug addicts who have been charged and paid the price for their actions deserve a chance to get on with their lives. In my opinion, military personnel who have got away with murder do not. The reality from the north of Ireland, to Afghanistan and Iraq, is that the perpetrators of such atrocities will always be free to get on with their lives, safe in the knowledge that the policy of the British Government is to ensure their protection from prosecution". <A NAME=corporations></a><BR><BR><A HREF=#corporations><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <B>GOVERNMENT OF THE CORPORATIONS, <nobr>BY THE CORPORATIONS</nobr>, <nobr>FOR THE CORPORATIONS</nobr></B> <A NAME=fascism></a><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" 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"><B>fascism</B> : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition<BR><DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism">Merriam-Webster</a> </div></td></tr></table></tr></td></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Company policy at insurance giant Assurant Health <A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62G2DO20100317">targeted HIV+ customers for fraud investigation and policy cancellation</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In what sense isn't that manslaughter? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Mondo insurance conglomerate Wellpoint Health Networks (which operates as Blue Cross of California, Blue Cross of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York, Blue Cross Blue Shield in Missouri and Wisconsin, HealthLink, and UNICARE) promised to give $30-million in health care for uninsured, but <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wellpoint18-2010mar18,0,7460942,full.story">came up $24-million short on that pledge</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Salmonella contamination at a Nevada food-flavoring plant may trigger the <A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-11/recalls-from-salmonella-may-rise-to-10-000-products-update1-.html">recall of as many as 10,000 products</A>, according to a Consumers Union scientist. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; An appeals court reiterates that the Federal Reserve must <A HREF="http://washingtonindependent.com/79820/court-to-wrangle-documents-from-the-feds-cold-hands">reveal the names of financial firms that got $2 trillion</a> in US bailout loans.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Expect another appeal &mdash; this is information that the Fed and the rest of DC's corrupt coalition absolutely do <I>not</i> want you to know. It's going to the Supreme Court. <A NAME=HELP></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" bgcolor=white WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><center><B>You can help</b></center><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If the news frustrates or angers you, please, find a group, plan a picket, and become an <I>active</i> activist. These are some of the key groups we're involved with ...<BR><BR><center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="https://secure.aclu.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2125&2125.donation=form1&s_src=UNW080001C00&s_subsrc=getinvolvedmenu_join_hp&JServSessionIdr006=wnbcqvc7x1.app20a"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/aclu_logo.gif" border="3" alt-"American Civil Liberties Union" width="190" height="74"></A></center><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="275" border=1><TR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fontsm"><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="50" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=36"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thumbtack.jpg" border="0" width="30" height="30"></A></td></tr></table><BR><SPAN class="fontxl"><A HREF="http://movetoamend.org/we-corporations">Move to Amend</A></SPAN><BR><I>(corporations are not 'human')</i></TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="290" border=1><TR></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fontsm"><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="50" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><A HREF="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=36"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/thumbtack.jpg" border="0" width="30" height="30"></A></td></tr></table><BR><SPAN class="fontxl"><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://movetoamend.org/we-corporations">Act Blue</A></SPAN><BR><I>(support progressive candidates)</i></TD></TR></TABLE><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ... but of course, you should join a group that cares about the issues <I>you</I> care about. If you can't your find the group you want to join, you can <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/140535&referer=brief_results">organize that group yourself</a>. Yes, you really can. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, it sounds hokey and futile, but it can actually help if you <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml">contact your elected officials</A>. We recommend sending a post card &mdash; emails and petitions are too easy to ignore, and letters to politicians are often held for weeks for x-rays and security screenings. The brevity of a post card forces you to make your point concisely, makes it more likely your message will be read, and makes a quicker and often deeper impression, especially amidst the daily flood of emails and form letters every member of Congress receives.<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>. Just a buck or two can make all the difference and help keep <I>Unknown News</I> alive.<BR><BR> <center><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/donations.html">Donations</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/advertising.html">Sponsorships</A><BR> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html">Stickers and stuff for sale</A><BR> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/subscriptions.html">Subscriptions</A> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/wishlist.html">Wish list</A><BR> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/credits.html">Thank you</A></center></TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Lehman Brothers promptly fired an executive who <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100320/ap_on_bi_ge/us_lehman_brothers_whistleblower">questioned the legality of its accounting tricks</a>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.slate.com/id/2248288/pagenum/all/#p2">Get to know your tomato paste</A>, and the bland tomato it's processed from. Both will make you sick:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scott Salyer's arrest seems to be the climax of the federal investigation, but food companies have meanwhile filed class action lawsuits against SK and two other big California tomato processors, Ingomar Foods and Los Gatos Foods. The lawsuits claim that the three companies conspired to set domestic prices, a claim they deny. Ingomar and Los Gatos officials have said they rue the day they got involved with Salyer. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Wachovia Bank, a unit of Wells Fargo, <A HREF="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/wachovia-to-pay-160-million-in-drug-money-case/">laundered millions of dollars for Mexican drug cartels</A>. (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.) But presto, a $160-million payment to the federal government means nobody from Wachovia faces charges or goes to prison.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dang sweet deals are always available, when the government is your wholly-owned subsidiary. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/opinion/16herbert.html">Bob Herbert</A> (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.):&nbsp; "California has been very, very good to Toyota. It is one of the largest markets in the world for the popular Prius hybrid. Nearly 18 percent of all Toyotas sold in the U.S. are sold in California. The state has showered the company with benefits, including large-scale infrastructure improvements for its operations and millions of dollars for worker training. California is one of the key reasons that Toyota is the wealthiest carmaker on the planet."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Toyota is closing its NUMMI plant in California, originally a joint operation with General Motors, because when it comes to stabbing Americans in the back Toyota is as American as GM or apple pie. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Google continues its Hamlet-like hemming and hawing over whether it <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031601750.html">might decide to do the right thing</A> and quit cooperating with China's censorship laws. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Here's something worth remembering on those days (I have seven every week) when you're wondering if there's any difference worth spit between Democrats and Republicans. The US Chamber of Commerce has budgeted <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031602040.html?hpid=topnews">$50-million for defeating Democrats</A> in this fall's Congressional election. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Pepsi, succumbing to public pressure about childhood obesity, will <A HREF="http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/6516">stop selling its high-fructose corn syrup sodas in schools worldwide</a>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I'm genuinely startled and impressed &mdash; this is a serious dollars-and-cents sacrifice on Pepsi's part. I'd be more impressed if they'd replace the <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/0909-20.html#Sep24">high-fructose corn syrup</a> with sugar &mdash; and I think most customers would be happy to pay an extra penny or two per liter. <A NAME=JRMOONEYHAM></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="62%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffcc66" class="fonta"><DIV align="right"><small>(an unpaid plug)</small></div><BR><center>"A mind-blowing mix of fact and fantasy,<BR>hard science and well-grounded speculation,<BR>with concrete how-to info to top it all off<BR>&mdash; resulting in some of the best<BR>and strangest stuff on Earth..."<BR><BR><big><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">www.jrmooneyham.com</A></big></center> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; There's only one flatware factory left in the US, a former Oneida plant bought by Sherrill Manufacturing. In spite of the fact that there's a brisk market in flatware in the US, and that the facility is highly productive and state-of-the-art, <A HREF="http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010031222/last-flatware-factory-us-close">the plant will be closed</A> and 80 workers laid off. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Microsoft's next version of its browser, Internet Explorer 9, <A HREF="http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20100319-205492.html">won't work with Microsoft's Windows XP</A>, which remains the world's most popular operating system. That signpost up ahead is Microsoft flipping off its users, again. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Bank of America is participating in the federal government s loan modification program, with heavy underwriting of course, but you'll be un-surprised to learn that <A HREF="http://www.chicagoreporter.com/index.php/c/Cover_Stories/d/Home_Loan_Purgatory">BofA's participation is halfhearted and incompetent</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g_usoclEbvjSIpxxNrmESTyPKX5AD9EH03V00">Gov't orders recall of 1.2 million high chairs</A>, the headline shouts, but the article reveals that the recall of Graco's toppling Harmony brand high chairs is purely voluntary. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honda-shares-hit-by-odyssey-element-recall-2010-03-17">Honda is recalling 400,000+ American-sold SUVs and mini-vans</A> over braking issues. <!-- WANT TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS? --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src=" http://www.unknownnews.net/stupidwars.jpg" alt="Want to support our troops? Stop sending them on stupid wars." border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; K-Mart published a great-deal coupon on line, specifically including the note that it was "valid at all stores". It wasn't. It was intended to drive business to only three of the retail giant's locations, and <A HREF="http://consumerist.com/2010/03/kmart-posts-amazing-coupon-on-internet-then-forgets-internet-exists.html">customers who brought the coupon to other K-Mart locations were treated like scamsters</A>. <A NAME=politicsasusual></a><A NAME=Obama></a><A NAME=democrats> <br><br><A HREF=#politicsasusual><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <b>POLITICS IN LIEU OF&nbsp;STATESMANSHIP</b> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; A provision in the Freedom of Information Act law that allows the government to hide records that detail its internal decision-making has been <A HREF="http://rawstory.com/2010/03/obama-agencies-invoking-secrecy-provision-bush/">invoked by Obama agencies more often</A> in the past year than during the final year of President George W. Bush. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; I gotta say, I love Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). He switched his vote from no to yes on health insurance reform, and then <A HREF="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/from-progressive-holdout-to-whipping-health-care----how-dennis-kucinich-is-helping-dems.php?ref=fpb">worked his ass off to get it passed</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; For an administration that once said that it would pay more attention to Main Street than Wall Street, the failure of the its signature initiative for Main Streeters  <A HREF="http://washingtonindependent.com/79780/five-more-ways-obamas-mortgage-modification-program-fails-americans">the mortgage modification program</a>  should be a wake-up call that it s far past time to pay attention to the problems facing the everyday <!-- WHERE'S THE CHANGE? sideways --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="154" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/right-CHANGEsticker.jpg" alt="President Obama, where's that 'change' you promised?" border="3" width="139" height="450"></a></td></tr></table> Americans whose votes are up for grabs in November. The administration s low-dollar block grant initiative aimed at the worst-hit states and its meager incentive program to encourage banks to take short sells will hardly mitigate the ongoing disasters in its mortgage modification program  and there s nothing but bad news today. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Why is the Obama administration selling &mdash; instead of destroying &mdash; those <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/15/AR2010031502291.html">100,000 formaldehyde-contaminated FEMA trailers</A>? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Democrats are planning &mdash; no, that's too firm a word &mdash; <I>considering</i> a plan to use committee chair positions to <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022852.php">reward Dems who adhere to the party line</A>, and withholding plum positions from Democrats who perpetually sell out and take Republican positions. Of course, Republicans have <I>always</i> done this, since Republicans give a damn about accomplishing things. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Congressman John Conyers (<font color="#cccccc">D</font>-Michigan) <A HREF="http://www.freep.com/article/20100316/NEWS01/3160309/1319/Public-to-foot-Conyers-tab">won't pay the legal bills for his wife</A>, convicted corrupt Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers. <A NAME=hooray></a><BR><BR><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="116" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/hooray.jpg" alt="Hooray!" border="0" width="101" height="117"></td></tr></table> &diams;&nbsp; We give President Obama and the Democratic Party's leadership a lot of complaints because, let's face it, they deserve a lot of complaints. They're playing go-along-to-get-along and yielding on almost everything, when America desperately needs a complete about-face on any number of fronts &mdash; war and peace, civil rights, the environment, the economy, open government, on and on.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But in the interest of fairness, we'll also <B><I>give Obama and the Democrats a whoop of hooray</i></B> when they get something right. This week... <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has stopped construction of the silly, un-American, and wildly expensive <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/16/AR2010031603573.html">"virtual wall" between America and Mexico</A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * And that's about it. <!-- =BUSINESS=ECONOMY=DC 2.2 --> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; President Obama has unravelled a frightful Bush-era executive order that put <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/us/17pentagon.html">"trusted aids" to the Defense Secretary</A> in line to take over in an emergency if the boss died or was deemed incapacitated. (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.) The Defense Secretary in question was war criminal Donald Rumsfeld, so it's a no-brainer that such rules should be repealed, and it makes me wonder why it took Obama's bunch fourteen months to get around to this. <!-- 9/11: DEMAND A REAL INVESTIGATION --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/911investigationsticker.jpg" alt="9/11: Demand a real investigation" border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Senior Bush administration officials <A HREF="http://rawstory.com/2010/03/revealed-ashcroft-tenet-rumsfeld-warned-911-commission-line-should-cross/">sternly cautioned the 9/11 Commission against probing too deeply</A> into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a document recently obtained by the ACLU.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the message, the officials denied the bipartisan commission's request to question terrorist detainees, informing its two senior-most members that doing so would "cross" a "line" and obstruct the administration's ability to protect the nation.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Translation: <A HREF="http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/16/did-addington-oppose-911-commission-questions-to-avoid-independent-evaluation-of-torture-program/">We're torturing the life out of everyone</a> we suspect had anything to do with anyone who had anything to do with anything about 9/11, and we can't let you see any of the torture-induced evidence, because that would reveal the torture. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The Food and Drug Administration has <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803004.html">announced its long-awaited regulation of tobacco</A>, with a list of actions that make good sense to me. Under the new rules, the FDA will:<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ban tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting and entertainment events.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Outlaw free cigarette samples and giveaways of non-tobacco items with the purchase of tobacco.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prohibit the sale of cigarettes in packs of fewer than 20, eliminating so-called "kiddie packs" that public health experts say make cigarettes more affordable.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Restrict tobacco products in vending machines and self-service displays to adult-only facilities, and require stores to place them behind the counter. <!-- WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB? --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/stickerwwjb.jpg" alt="Who would Jesus bomb?" border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Forbid tobacco sales to children younger than 18 and require photo identification for over-the-counter sales.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Provide for federal enforcement against violators, ranging from warning letters to criminal penalties.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition, the agency is weighing whether to issue an additional rule for outdoor advertising, such as billboards. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; New York City Councilwoman Letitia James has filed a personal injury suit against an itinerant laborer after she allegedly injured herself <A HREF="http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/12/33_12_sw_tish_suit.html">walking into his legally parked truck</A>. The owner of the truck, a working stiff named David Day, pleads with the $122,500 per year lawmaker, a Democrat:  Please don t go forward with it. You are famous and powerful while I m a nobody without means who s done you no harm. Pursuing this course to court can bring only ruin all around. <!-- =state=local 2.2 --> <A NAME=stateandlocal></A><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; In the first two months of this year, <A HREF="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/20-0">state and local governments across the U.S. cut 45,000 jobs</A>. Additional layoffs are expected as states move ahead with their budgets for fiscal 2011. Increasingly these budgets, instead of helping people, are hurting them, undermining the quality of their lives, depriving them of educational opportunities, preventing them from accessing desperately needed medical care, and so on.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The federal government has tried to help, but much more assistance is needed. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The Texas Board of Education continues to be <A HREF="http://www.pfaw.org/press-releases/2010/03/texas-board-of-education-rewrites-history">an embarrassment to the state of Texas</A>. <!-- ISN'T THERE SOMETHING IN THE BIBLE? --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/isnttheresomething.jpg" alt="Isn't there something in the Bible about NOT screwing over the poor?" border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; A lawsuit in Oregon accuses the Boy Scouts of America of <A HREF="http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/trial_opens_in_portland_with_b.html">systematically shielding pedophile</a>. Who do they think they are &mdash; <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/030817pedopriests.html">the Catholic church</a>? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; A federal judge in Milwaukee has found that a black man, Johnny Kimble, was for years denied raises because of his race and gender. The employer that discriminated against Kimble is the <A HREF="http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/87074052.html">Equal Rights Division of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The President of the Detroit School Board, Otis Mathis, <A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/article/20100304/OPINION03/3040437/1409/">has difficulty reading, can't write a coherent sentence</A>, and seems to be generally not the kind of person who should be running a school board. But on the bright side, he's <I>exactly</i> the kind of person you'd expect to be running the school board in Detroit. <A NAME=reps></A><A NAME=Republicans></A> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100320/pl_nm/us_usa_acorn">ACORN teeters on the brink of bankruptcy</A>, because the power of the well-funded smear is unstoppable. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Republicans in Congress applauded a heckler in the gallery, who shouted out "The people have said no!" and "You took an oath."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022976.php">Steve Benen</A>:&nbsp; "It's not terribly unusual for some nut to start shouting from the visitors' gallery in the House, interrupting proceedings, and they're always quickly escorted from the room. But I've never heard of an instance in which House <!-- NO SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR HETEROSEXUALS --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/nsrheterosexuals.jpg" alt="No special rights for heterosexuals" border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> members actually applaud the nut. This sort of thing simply doesn't happen in the United States Congress." <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <i>Forbes</i> finds that anti-tax "tea party" activists <A HREF="http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/18/tea-party-ignorant-taxes-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html">don't know squat about taxes</a>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And I do declare, if America survives this ugly era in history, it'll make a great sit-com. Maybe like <I>Hogan's Heroes</i> made the Nazis into lovable bumblers.<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; In another amusing episode of that sit-com, Governor Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina) has admitted no wrongdoing but <A HREF="http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/19/1537242/sanford-pays-fine-for-ethics-breach.html">paid $140K in "ethics fine"</a> and reimbursement.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That's more ethics than I could afford. How's about you? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/can-anyone-be-too-radical-todays-gop">Just how utterly radical does a Religious Right activist have to be</A> in order to become toxic to Republican members of Congress, considering that one who openly calls for the criminalization of gays is deemed perfectly acceptable? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas heads a Teabagger group in Virginia, which is <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-thomas-wife-warning19-2010mar19,0,7929904.story">in violation of the state's law</A>. <!-- BLOOD ON THE HANDS --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/Bloodontheirhands.jpg" alt="The blood is on the hands of those who lied, those who spread the lies, and those who voted for the liars." border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Tea Party protesters have once again descended upon Washington, D.C., and this time, in addition to carrying their obnoxious, misspelled, and vaguely racist signs, they've decided to <A HREF="http://jezebel.com/5498159/tea-party-protesters-shout-the-n%20word-at-spit-on-passing-legislators">spout hateful epithets at passing lawmakers as well</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.lvrj.com/news/grand-jury-issues-subpoenas-in-ensign-probe-88417307.html">Subpoenas have finally started raining down</a> around the obviously corrupt Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada). <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Arizona's wingnut Maricopa County Sheriff <A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/people/890/000046752/">Joe Arpaio</a> says he's <A HREF="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/03/joe_arpaio_still_mulling_over.php">considering running for Governor</A>. Oh, and <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/16/arpaio-mexico-war/">he wants to invade Mexico</a>.  I would run for governor for two reasons, because the people want me, and I know I can do the job, that s not being egotistical". <A NAME=fakeoutrage></A><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; In last week's fake Republican outrage, we saw the right-wing take great phony umbrage over pending legislation that would <A HREF="http://rawstory.com/2010/03/law-abuse-schools-government-takeover/">limit the use of barbarian punishment in schools</a>. ... Can't wait to see what next week's fake Republican outrage will be about. It's always something. <A NAME=health></A><BR><BR><A HREF=#health><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <B>WHAT THEY'RE CALLING "HEALTH CARE REFORM"</B> <!-- 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> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; It's been impressive to see how hard President Obama was willing to work on health insurance reform, over the past couple of weeks. Presumably he wasn't willing to put in that effort earlier, not wanting to work up a sweat until the guts of anything that might have made health care reform <I>real</i> had been extracted and left to rot in the year-long "compromise" to get Republican support. And after all that "compromise", no Republicans voted for the bill, but of course the compromises were never with Republicans &mdash; all the compromises were with Democrats in the Senate and House, and Democratic principles.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I think I'm happier about the end of the enormously frustrating "debate" and perpetual watering-down of every proposal, than I'm happy that this warm puddle of spit they're calling "health care reform" has passed. <A HREF="http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/what-you-get-when-hcr-passes">It's better than nothing</a> but <A HREF="http://www.gooznews.com/node/3308">not by a lot</a>, it's arguably unconstitutional, and it's a life-sucking waste of time, effort, and electoral strength compared to what could have been, should have been. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Of course, passing this mild regulation of the insurance cartel is, to the right-wing's babbling fools, "<A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/its-911-pearl-harbor-war-earthquakes-fall-communism-and-moon-landings-all-rolled-one">a day that will go down in infamy as did the attack on Pearl Harbor</A>." <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Idaho will be the first state &mdash; among dozens, apparently &mdash; to challenge the constitutionality of Obama's health care reform, over its requirement that individuals purchase health insurance.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031800146.html">The <I>Washington Post</I>'s article</A> says constitutional experts think the notion will pass muster, but of course, constitutional experts don't get a vote. It's the Supreme Court that would ultimately decide, and the present Court includes Samuel Alito, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas, men clearly driven by a right-wing agenda. Would anyone honestly be surprised if these guys thought the all-new notion of requiring Americans to buy insurance wasn't in keeping with the constitutional ideal? And would anyone honestly think they'd be wrong if they made that ruling? I for one think they'd be right. <!-- IRAQ.OUT.NOW --></A><table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="60%" align="right"><tr><td class="fonta" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><BR><a href=http://www.unknownnews.org/stickers.html><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/iraqoutnow.jpg" alt="Iraq. Out. Now." border="3" width="350" height="108"></a></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.amnestyusa.org/demand-dignity/maternal-health-is-a-human-right/the-united-states/page.do?id=1351091">Maternal mortality ratios in America have increased</A> from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2006. While some of the recorded increase is due to improved data collection, the fact remains that maternal mortality ratios have risen significantly. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Somebody named Miles Mogulescu at the <I>Huffington Post</i> thinks he has a scoop in reporting that <A HREF="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/ny-times-reporter-confirm_b_500999.html">President Obama made stinky backroom deals</A> with the insurance and hospital industries to make sure that the so-called "reform" was something Big Money interests would like. Of course he did, of course it is, and it was so obvious as it happened that even we pointed it out, but it's a good thing when the sell-out is so profoundly obvious that even the <I>Huffington Post</i> can smell it. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2010/03/get-ready.html">Jonathan Bernstein</A>:&nbsp; "The oddest thing about the health care debate, at least in my view, is that Republicans basically did not engage on the actual substance of the bill. Lots of stuff about death panels, and lots of stuff about procedure, lots of stuff about backroom deals (most of which will be gone after reconciliation) but shockingly little about the individual mandate -- or, as Tim Noah points out, about the actual taxes that really are being raised for this. The only real substantive complaint they highlighted was Medicare, where they argued against their own position.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Now that the bill will pass ... here's what they will do: Republicans will now run against the current health care system. Just as they blamed Barack Obama for every job lost in February and March 2009, they're now going to blame Democrats for every insurance rate increase, every medical error, every complex insurance form, and basically anything that goes wrong with medical care or medical insurance, beginning March 22, 2010." <A NAME=environment></a><BR><BR><A HREF=#environment><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <B>PLANETARY PROBLEMS</B><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="142" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/globalwarming.jpg" alt="global climate change" border="1" width="128" height="94"></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; "Across the country, we're looking at <A HREF="http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/monarch-butterly-population-has-dropped-drastically/19406875">the lowest returning monarch [butterfly] population we've ever seen</A>," said Chip Taylor, professor of entomology at the University of Kansas and the director of Monarch Watch, a group that tracks the butterflies. "It's a bit curious as to the reason we're seeing such precipitous declines, but we do have theories." <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Chrysler Group LLC said on Monday it would introduce an <A HREF="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2219887120100322">all-electric Fiat 500 to the U.S. market in 2012</A>all-electric Fiat 500 to the U.S. market in 2012 and drop plans to develop a hybrid 2011 Ram pickup truck. The electric Fiat 500 will hit the U.S. market at least a year after the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which is to debut in late 2010. <A NAME=journalism></a><BR><BR><A HREF=#journalism><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <b>IS THIS JOURNALISM?</b><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="left"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="left" width="100%"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/blogging.jpg" border="1" alt="This be journalism?" width="100" height="95"></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The <I>New York Times</I>, which loves to be called "the paper of record", <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003210002">still hasn't corrected its known incorrect reporting</A> on the anti-ACORN videos made by a pair of right-wing journo-vandals. At least and at last, the paper's public editor Clark Hoyt has admitted that the <I>Times</i> was hoodwinked, but the newspaper's now-intentional hoodwinking of its readers goes on. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Greg Mitchell was half the heart and soul of <I>Editor & Publisher</i>, but he was laid off when that publication was rescued and reborn as something dull and uninteresting. <A HREF="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100329/editors">He's been hired at <I>The Nation</i></A>, where he'll start in April. The other half of <I>Editor & Publisher</i>'s long-time excellence, Joe Strupp, was <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003080016">hired at <I>Media Matters</i></A> a few weeks ago. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-great-left-coast-newspaper-war/Content?oid=3626956">Absolutely rockin' in-depth story</a> at <I>The Stranger</i>, about the war between the <I>San Francisco Bay Guardian</i> (good guy) and <I>SF Weekly</i> (bad guy) newspapers. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The <I>San Francisco Chronicle</i> offers some <A HREF="http://www.slate.com/id/2248143/pagenum/all/">unintentionally funny fearmongering about drugs</A> and the troubled youth of <strike><font color=gray>1955</font></strike> today. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <I>Politico</i> got punked with a fake Democratic Party internal memo, and responded with the <A HREF="http://mediactive.com/2010/03/20/politicos-lame-excuse-for-posting-unverified-memo/">lack of class and lack of journalistic standards</A> we've come to expect from that half-assed and <I>very</i> Republican-friendly site. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The headline of an Associated Press "fact check" article <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/research/201003170014">falsely suggested that President Obama's health care plan would cause people to pay higher health insurance premiums</A>. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that by 2016 the Senate's version of health care reform -- on which Obama's plan is largely modeled -- would not increase premiums for the vast majority of Americans, and for many, premium costs would decrease. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; In 2008, the US Army Counterintelligence Center proposed a program designed <A HREF="http://wikileaks.org/#us-intel-wikileaks">to damage the credibility of WikiLeaks</A>, the whistleblowers' website. The report recommends that "identification, exposure, termination of employment, criminal prosecution, legal action against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers could potentially damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others considering similar actions from using the Wikileaks.org Web site". <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <I>The Deseret News</i>, one of two major daily papers in Salt Lake City and owned by the LDS Mormon Church, admitted today that <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/strupp/201003120024">it sat on a story in 2002</A> of a state legislator being nude in a hot tub with a teen girl 25 years ago. The paper hasn't yet apologized or said why it wasn't deemed newsworthy. Presumably the paper and the politician were good buddies. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/16/erick-erickson-cnn/">CNN has hired conservative wingnut Erick Erickson</A> as a well-paid political analyst. Further evidence that CNN has no interest in being taken seriously as anything approaching journalism (as if there was much doubt remaining). <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Edmunds, the well-respected publisher of information about automakers, went through the pain of sifting through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration s complaint database from 2001 through Feb. 3, 2010 . After the counting was done, Edmunds came to a startling conclusion: <A HREF="http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/the-truth-about-nhtsa-complaints/">The deluge of complaints about Toyota's deadly acceleration problem is a myth</a>, to put it charitably.  Fabrication would be a better word. Amongst 20 brands,  Toyota ranks 17th among automakers in the overall number of complaints per vehicle sold, says Edmunds. NHTSA s own data shows: Only drivers of Mercedes Benz, Porsches and Smarts have less to kvetch than Toyota owners. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704743404575128031143424928.html">The <I>Wall Street Journal</i> reports</A> that swindler Bernie Madoff was beaten up by another inmate in prison. Prison beatings, of course, are a routine part of prison life, and built into the system as part of the punishment.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What got my attention, though, is that the newspaper had no sources it could name. The only cited sources were an un-named current inmate at the prison, an un-named ex-inmate at the prison, and an un-named "third person familiar with Mr. Madoff's situation". Prison officials deny that the beatdown happened, and Madoff's lawyer won't comment.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So is this news? Or is it just further evidence that the <I>Wall Street Journal</i> can't really be taken seriously as anything approaching journalism (as if there was much doubt remaining). <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1971133_1971110_1971117,00.html">Christopher Hayes</A>:&nbsp; "In the past decade, nearly every pillar institution in American society  whether it's General Motors, Congress, Wall Street, Major League Baseball, the Catholic Church or the mainstream media  has revealed itself to be corrupt, incompetent or both. And at the root of these failures are the people who run these institutions, the bright and industrious minds who occupy the commanding heights of our meritocratic order. In exchange for their power, status and remuneration, they are supposed to make sure everything operates smoothly. But after a cascade of scandals and catastrophes, that implicit social contract lies in ruins, replaced by mass skepticism, contempt and disillusionment."<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Curious that he writes this in <I>Time</i> magazine, an institution no less corrupt, incompetent or both than GM, Congress, et al. <A NAME=Amanpour></A><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Blog chatter has it as good news that <A HREF="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i3f537aa843496fbbac80d47fa397f59a">Christiane Amanpour is the new host of ABC's <I>This Week</I></A>.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So what? All the Sunday chat shows are garbage, and they have been for as long as I can remember &mdash; softball questions for coddled guests and predictable beltway piffle masquerading as intelligent commentary. <I>This Week</I> was the best of the garbage when David Brinkley ran the joint, but George Stephanopoulos spent years making sure the show stank like the city dump. We don't have cable so I'm not well-acquainted with Amanpour's work, but CNN ain't exactly the jewel of American journalism and my impression is that Amanpour is to Stephanopoulos what this week's trash is to last week's. If I'm mistaken and there's some reason to respect Amanpour and click on the telly when she pops up on <I>This Week</i> in August, please let me know. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; McClatchy reports on <A HREF="http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003190012">the despicable tactics of right-wing smear-masters</A>, as they go after an 11-year-old boy whose mother lost her health insurance and died.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On a regular basis, when I stumble across good work by American journalists, the odds are 50/50 that the work is by McClatchy, which is pretty damn sad 'cuz McClatchey is a small and struggling newspaper chain &mdash; where the hell is the rest of the mainstream media? <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; A reader sent an email urging us to check out the news at a website called <A HREF="http://politifi.com/">politifi.com</A>, an aggressively ugly site where we lasted mere seconds before closing the window. Sure, with about twenty seconds work we could have blocked all the scrolling text and fading and emerging imagery and begun reading the text, but in addition to abhorring such distractions we'd also feel sad sending readers such punishment, so &mdash; nope. <A NAME=leftovers></a><!-- =personal --><BR><BR><A HREF=#leftovers><font color=blue>#</font></A> &nbsp; <B>LEFTOVERS AND STUPIDITY FOR DESSERT</B> <!-- =MEDICINE=SCIENCE 3.8--> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.jbc.org/content/285/12/8646.abstract">Cool science news</A>: A lectin isolated from bananas is a potent inhibitor of HIV replication. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; NASA scientists are <A HREF="http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/16/nasa-discovers-life-hidden-600-feet-below-antarctic-ice/?hpt=T2">"just gaga"</A> over the discovery of life in the dark depths under Antarctic ice. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The risk of children suffering from flu can be halved if they take vitamin D, doctors in Japan have found. The finding has implications for flu epidemics since vitamin D, which is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight, has no significant side effects, costs little and can be <A HREF="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7061778.ece">several times more effective than anti-viral drugs or vaccine</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; James Randi is someone I've long admired, and I've never wondered what gives him a boner. Turns out he's gay, and more importantly, he's optimistic about the present and future.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Writes Randi: "Gradually, the general attitude that I d perceived around me began to change, and presently I find that <A HREF="http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/914-how-to-say-it.html">there has emerged a distinctly healthy acceptance of different social styles of living</A>  except, of course, in cultures that live in constant and abject fear of divine retribution for infractions found in the various Holy Books& In another two decades, I m confident that young people will find themselves in a vastly improved atmosphere of acceptance." <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Here's how <A HREF="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-manipulative-meow-cats-learn-to-2009-07-13">cats train their alleged owners</A>. <!-- =INFRASTRUCTURE 3.8--> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; New York City is pursuing an interesting idea to <A HREF="http://trueslant.com/jeffmcmahon/2010/03/11/new-york-green-cart-chicago-farm-fork-financing/">bring vegetables into slummish and downtrodden neighborhoods</A> where grocery stores are miles away. Food carts selling vegetables.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The lack of decent groceries in inner-city areas is a serious health problem for the people who live there, especially if they can't easily afford the long trip to a grocery, so this is a real problem. But to be a real solution, the veggies would need to be reasonably priced, and with start-up costs for a food cart in excess of $3,500, I'm thinking the vegetables will need to be priced higher than I'd be willing or able to pay. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Some car dealerships and lenders have equipped cars with devices that disable the ignition or make the horn honk nonstop when payments are late. We wrote about this last year, but didn't realize that the interface has <A HREF="http://consumerist.com/2010/03/disgruntled-former-employee-bricks-more-than-100-cars-remotely.html">fantastic potential for pranks</A>. And that's how a laid-off car dealership employee was allegedly able to disable the ignitions of more than 100 cars purchased from the dealership. Or set off their horns in the middle of the night. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; After too many years of planning and sluggish development, a small but workable <A HREF="http://www.statesman.com/news/local/rails-long-strange-route-to-monday-opening-410394.html">light-rail system has begun service in Austin</A>, Texas. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/03/16/how-many-hours-do-we-waste-in-traffic-in-major-us-cities/">How much time do you waste commuting to work?</A> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Philadelphia is undertaking preliminary studies to <A HREF="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/88337622.html">rebuild its long-gone light-rain transit line</A>. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Yeah, President Obama is an enormous putz for backing the absurd policy of firing all the teachers in under-producing schools. But it ain't really his decision, just another dumb thing he's said. I was more struck by a small tidbit deep in this article, mentioning in passing that <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/us/02obama.html">more than a million kids drop out of high school</A> in America every year. (Login as <i>unknownnews</i> with password <i>unknown</i>.) <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011384334_apusschoolbusads.html">Ads on school buses</A>. It's in Revelation, people, and seriously, weep for the future, in a country where everyone's grown up with advertisements for giant corporations on everything that sits still long enough to have an ad painted on it. <A NAME=stupidity></A> <!-- flat line --><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="242" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><BR><img src="http://unknownnews.org/flatline.jpg" alt="Flatliners" border="1" width="227" height="86"></td></tr></table> <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Neal Horsley is an anti-abortion and general arch-right activist best known for his "Nuremberg Files" website listing abortion providers and implicitly urging their assassinations. I mostly remember Horsley for <A HREF="http://www.newshounds.us/2005/05/06/bizarre_sex_habits_of_the_extreme_rightwing.php">an unintentionally hilarious interview</a> with Alan Colmes on the radio several years ago, where he admitted having sex with farm animals as a young man and claimed that it's naive to imagine that any young man on any farm isn't boinkin' the cattle.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We mention all this because <A HREF="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/03/12/georgia-man-arrested-for-threatening-elton-johns-life/">Horsley was arrested on March 12</A> for terrorist threats for a video he posted on-line, showing himself protesting outside singer Elton John's Atlanta apartment complex holding a sign that said  Elton John Must Die. I'm annoyingly tolerant of free speech, and uncertain whether Horsley deserves to be arrested for this, but I suppose it depends on whether the video is deemed an implied threat. Neither my interest nor my stomach are strong enough to search for Horsley's video, so in this matter I'll trust the judge. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; The 20,000 court fine against <A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/group/100/000205482/">birther</A> nutball <A HREF="http://www.nndb.com/people/848/000206230/">Orly Taitz</A> has been <A HREF="http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/03/appeals_court_upholds_20000_in_1.html">upheld on appeal</a>, which means that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is in on the conspiracy. Undaunted or perhaps in celebration, Ms Taitz has <A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/17/state/n165903D92.DTL&type=business">filed to run for Secretary of State</a> in California. <A NAME=TomHanks></A><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/17/entertainment/main6307437.shtml">Start the clock for an apology from Tom Hanks</a>, though of course he's basically right that America's war with Japan, 1941-45, was largely driven by racism and religion. The Japanese, says Hanks, were seen by Americans "as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods". Well, yeah. Duh. You'll notice that the US didn't drop atomic bombs on Germany, where the people are generally white and Christian. <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; Raj Patel denies that he's the Messiah, but <A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/19/raj-patel-colbert-report-benjamin-creme">still the believers believe</A>. <!-- =HATTIP--><BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &diams;&nbsp; <I>Unknown News</i> is updated once weekly, usually on Tuesdays. It's our attempt to spotlight news that was underplayed, ignored, or simply lost in the non-stop news cycle. <A HREF="http://unknownnews.org/bighowdy.html">Have a seat and some cheese puffs</A> but please, no smoking. <BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A tip o' the hat to Daniel D., the letter Z, AK for CSS help, <A HREF="http://www.jrmooneyham.com">JR Mooneyham</A>, <A HREF="http://badattitudes.com/MT/">Bad Attitudes</a>, <A HREF="http://carlosmiller.com/">Photography is Not a Crime</A>, <A HREF="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/">Right Wing Watch</A>, <A HREF="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/">Pharyngula&lt;/a>, <A HREF="http://theagitator.com/">The Agitator</A>, <A HREF="http://eandpinexile.blogspot.com/">E & P in Exile</A>, <A HREF="http://prorev.com/indexa.htm">Progressive Review</A>, <A HREF="http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/">Newshoggers</A>, <A HREF="http://bobcesca.com/">Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog</A>, <A HREF="http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/">Little Green Footballs</A>, <!-- Feb -->Jim B., Sherri B., Cassandra, Joseph D., Joe G., Lon Garm, J.S. (not the Watergate felon) Magruder at <A HREF="http://www.eattheblog.blogspot.com/">Eat the Blog</A>, Andrea O., HughBris, Comrade Q., SirJ, Bill T., wlgriffi, and the love of my life (who prefers to remain anonymous).<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Please let us know if any of our links require a password, and we'll share ours. Prepared using <A HREF="http://docs.google.com/">Google Docs</a>. Hosted at the censor-free and technically reliable <A HREF="http://www.pair.com/">pair.com</a>. An emeritus hat-tip to our first web-home at <A HREF="http://pitas.com/">pitas.com</a>, a good place for new bloggers to start. <BR><A NAME=dialogue></A><BR><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"><!-- =change --> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1003-15.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/leftarrow.jpg" alt="arrow pointing left" border="0" width="75" height="11"><BR>Older news</A><BR><BR><BR><!-- =change --> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1003-15-d.html#dialogue"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/leftarrow.jpg" alt="arrow pointing left" border="0" width="75" height="11"><BR>Older comments</A></TD><TD ALIGN="center"VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="54%" class="fonta">Compiled by Helen &amp; Harry Highwater<BR><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.org/logo.gif" alt="UNKNOWN NEWS" width="150" height="31" border="0"></A><BR><!-- =change --> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1003-22.html">Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2010</A></TD><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="middle" WIDTH="23%" class="fonta"><!-- =change --> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1004-06.html"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/rightarrow.jpg" alt="arrow pointing right" border="0" height="10" width="75"><BR>Newer news</A><BR><BR><BR><!-- =change --> <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/1004-06-d.html#dialogue"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/rightarrow.jpg" alt="arrow pointing right" border="0" height="10" width="75"><BR>Newer comments</A></TD></TR></TABLE><BR><BR> <table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="120" align="right"><tr><td class="fonty" vAlign="top" align="right" width="100%"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html"><img src="http://unknownnews.org/dialogue-bubbles.jpg" border="3" width="125" height="125"></A></td></tr></table> <BIG><B><I><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">Readers' comments</a></I></B></BIG><BR><BR><SPAN class="fonta">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <I>We welcome readers' comments, questions, or criticisms sent to <A HREF="mailto:unknownnews@inbox.com">unknownnews@inbox.com</A>, and on <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/dialogue.html">our comments page</a> we publish any emails that (in our subjective opinion) add to the discourse. </i><BR><BR> <DIV align="right">&mdash; <I>Helen & Harry Highwater</i>, <i><b>Unknown&nbsp;News</b></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><BR><BR> <BR><center><HR NOSHADE width="535">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://thinkprogress.org">ThinkProgress</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington&nbsp;Monthly</A>&nbsp; &nbsp;<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.truthout.org/">TruthOut</A>&nbsp; <HR NOSHADE width="535"></center><BR> <A NAME=thanksmore></A><center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="300" border=0><TR> <TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"> <center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/support-wide.html" width="600" height="550" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></TD></TR></TABLE></center> <center><BR>© &nbsp; 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<A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.twitter.com/unknownnews"><img src="http://www.unknownnews.net/twitter.jpg" alt="Follow us on Twitter" border="1" width="54" 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><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor=white class="fonta">Like the URL says, this website is about unknown news.<BR><BR>We present a once-weekly wrap-up of news that was underplayed, ignored, or simply lost in the non-stop news cycle. Our news comes only from mainstream, professional journalists or (rarely) other sources we trust entirely, with <A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/nonuts.html">no nuttiness</a> and no interest in the same news you see everywhere else.<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><BR> <A NAME=height></A> <A NAME=debunk></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk-frame.html" width="295" height="2222" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=black class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/debunk.html"><B>unknownnews.org/<BR>debunk.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=rwradicals></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/rwcause.html" width="295" height="2222" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=red class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/rwradicals.html"><B>unknownnews.org/<BR>rwradicals.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=cops></A><A NAME=cops-box></A><!-- =cops= --><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" class="fonta"><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/policelog.html" width="295" height="2222" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="375" bgcolor=blue class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/cops.html"><B>unknownnews.org/cops.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table><BR> <A NAME=oldnews></A><A NAME=unymhm></A><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" bgcolor="#eeeeee" WIDTH="100%" class="fonty"><TABLE CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="center" WIDTH="100%" BGcolor="#eeeeee" class="fonty"><center><iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews-frame.html" width="295" height="2222" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe></center><TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="295" bgcolor=darkred class="fontbox"><TABLE CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=0><TR><TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" class="fontsm"><I>Scroll down or click for more&nbsp;</I><BR><A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/oldnews.html"><B>unknownnews.org/<BR>oldnews.html</B></A>&nbsp;</TD></TR></TABLE></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><BR> <TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="295" border=2><TR> <TD ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="100%" bgcolor=white class="fonty"><BR> <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html"><b><i>Our mystery&nbsp;links</i></b></A><BR>(mostly just for fun) <BR><BR> <FONT COLOR=red>Links in red are not safe for<BR>work</FONT>, and <FONT COLOR=magenta>links in pink<BR>include audio and/or video.</FONT> <BR><BR> <iframe src="http://www.unknownnews.org/myslinks.html" width="270" height="350" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="auto" frameborder="0"></iframe><DIV align="right"><A HREF="http://www.unknownnews.org/mysterylinks.html">... more mystery links</A>&nbsp;</div> </TD></TR></TABLE><BR> <A NAME=introduction></a><TABLE CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="8" WIDTH="295" border=1><TR><TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="300" bgcolor=white class="fonta"> <B><I>If you're new to Unknown News,</I></B>&nbsp; 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