Helen & Harry's cranky weblog of news and opinion.
|
"News that's not known, or not known enough." Helen & Harry's cranky weblog of news and opinion. |
|
|
| 
|
|
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 ♦ After three nuclear power plant meltdowns in recent weeks (three things you probably haven't seen on the teevee news), Germany and Switzerland are getting ready to unplug from nuclear power, and even Japan seems suddenly much more receptive to solar power. That's a silver lining, I guess, on the radioactive clouds. ♦ It's been obvious for ages, but what the hell, let's do the rerun, courtesy of Scientific American: Heavy rains, deep snowfalls, monster floods and killing droughts are signs of a "new normal" of extreme U.S. weather events fueled by climate change. ♦ George Takei rocks. ♦ Ginormous cinema chains like AMC Entertainment don't even know how to project a damned movie on a theater's screen. Or worse and more accurately, they don't even care. ♦ Our real-life lives are extra hectic right now, so Unknown News postings will probably be brief or non-existent for a few weeks. More news at 
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 Las Vegas police officer arrested for strangling ex-wife New Orleans cop is finally fired for his involvement in cover-up of 2005 murder Philadelphia police harass, threaten to shoot man legally carrying gun; then charge him with disorderly conduct for recording them California drug cop charged with marijuana crime New Jersey police officer charged after allegedly pulling gun in bar confrontation Florida deputy arrested for producing child porn Video shows California police officers on tape possibly stealing property Oregon woman wins $82K, after asking cop for ID and getting arrested San Antonio police officer fatally shoots unarmed teen who scared him Oregon deputy arrested on assault, mistreatment charges Scandals plague "controversial" wingnut Arizona sheriff Florida deputy gets plea deal on domestic violence charges Texas deputy sentenced to 6 years in prison for his role in a plan to smuggle contraband into county jail L.A. County to pay nearly $5 million in deputy's drunk driving crash Illinois police officer charged with stealing drugs Michigan police officer gets five years in sex assault case New York cop arrested for assault California deputy arrested, suspended on domestic violence charges New York cop gets one year in jail for bribery, coercion Immigration officer gets 5½ years in prison for accepting bribes Georgia ex-cop charged in bookstore threat New revelations of unchecked misconduct among LA traffic cops Mother and son Louisiana police officers arrested after nightclub fight Massachusetts K-9 officer starved dog to death North Carolina police officer on leave after arrest on assault charge
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 Mystery links are offered with no implied endorsement of whatever's at the other end. You may be shocked or disgusted, but we don't care. Links in red are not safe for work, and links in pink include audio and/or video. Monday, May 16, 2011 ♦ Here's a good, succinct explanation of "voter ID" laws, which should more accurately be called Jim Crow-lite laws. ♦ And here's a good, succinct explanation of the risk inherent in taking libertarian thought seriously. ♦ Award-winning science journalist Brian Deer explains in London's Guardian why he scuttled a deal to write for the respected science journal Nature. They sent him a contract in which he — the writer — had to indemnify Nature — the science journal — against any manner of legal dispute over the article. ♦ Our real-life lives are extra hectic right now, so Unknown News postings will probably be brief or non-existent for a few weeks. More news at
Monday, May 16, 2011 California cop allegedly robbed prostitutes whose operations were competing with his own brothel New York cop accused of rape says woman tried to seduce him Arizona cops said guy they shot 71 times shot first, but that's not true Washington cop in videotaped stomping incident will get to keep job Pennsylvania cops' story doesn't pass smell test Two NYPD cops eyed in case of Long Island killings Two curiously un-named Wisconsin deputies arrested in separate incidents City in New Jersey pays $15,000 to settle lawsuit against four police officers Veteran Florida cop charged with sexual battery and lewd and lascivious battery Un-named New York sheriff's deputy charged for illegal drug possession Fired Oregon deputy accused of rape California cop arrested on rape charge North Carolina police officer, cadet arrested in 2007 car break-in Former California police officer arrested for security fraud Kansas lawman charged in wife's death Former Illinois police officer charged with theft of guns Illinois police officer suspended for part in strip club brawl Louisiana deputy fired, charged with indecent behavior Georgia police officer charged with theft of tools, suspended Lawyers explain that Illinois cops charged in sex assault are guilty only of bad judgment Illinois cop accused of planting evidence to get promotion
Monday, May 16, 2011 Mystery links are offered with no implied endorsement of whatever's at the other end. You may be shocked or disgusted, but we don't care. Links in red are not safe for work, and links in pink include audio and/or video. Tuesday, May 10, 2011 ♦ A friend says: "The killing of Osama Bin Laden raises doubts about the truthfulness and/or intelligence about Obama and his advisors. "Supposedly defeating Al Qaeda is the reason we're waging a Global War On Terrorism (GWOT), and one might imagine that being able to interrogate the Commander In Chief of Al Qaeda would be extremely valuable to Western Intelligence (sic). "But the attack on OBL's mansion was planned from the start to kill OBL. "Why is that? Could it be that Osama's information is more damaging to Amerika than anything they might learn from him? "Or was it decided that a dramatic death would serve a higher and better purpose politically than something minor like winning the fucking war? "P.S. Bringing someone to "justice" is different than assassinating him. But killing the greatest military leader in the history of the planet is more glorious than justice :-) We don't need no stinking trials anyway..." To which I say only: Yup and yup again. Killing Osama bin Laden wasn't at all about "justice," it was just bloody propaganda. ♦ It's more than sickening but less than surprising that the official story of bin Laden's killing has been more fluid than a glass of lemonade. Who the hell knows what really happened? I don't really doubt that bin Laden was executed, but I agree with Michael Moore that the American people should be told the truth about it. Cripes, though — from the Gulf of Tonkin to this morning, I don't think we've been told the truth about any of the big things, or many of the small things. ♦ I've been wondering what Wisconsin Republicans would do to circumvent the recall elections coming this summer. My prediction was that the Republicans, who control both houses of the state Congress and the Governor's office, would rush through legislation to abrogate the recall process. They haven't tried that yet, but this could be almost as effective: They're rushing voter ID legislation that will disenfranchise lots of poor folks, college students, and senior citizens. ♦ Our real-life lives are extra hectic right now, so Unknown News postings will probably be brief or non-existent for a few weeks. More news at
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 California city suspends its "ride-along program" after second deputy is arrested for having sex with teen Explorer Scout Kansas cops break saggy-pants high school sophomore's arm and Taser him Florida sheriff says jail guard propositioned inmate Massachusetts deputy busted for trafficking coke Idaho deputy is arrested after wife is strangled to death Michigan deputy charged with forgery, theft Mississippi police officer charged with felony child abuse Once-fired Florida police officer in trouble again Former Virginia cop ordered to register as sex offender Ohio police officer gets prison term in stalking case Louisiana police officer who was key witness in Katrina shooting trial arrested for alleged hit-and-run California police officer arrested on child molestation charges Texas police officer arrested on theft charges California police officer jailed in drug unit scandal Tennessee police officer sentenced to prison after shooting an unarmed man North Carolina police officer is convicted of lying at trial Oklahoma police officer is arrested on sexual assault complaint
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Mystery links are offered with no implied endorsement of whatever's at the other end. You may be shocked or disgusted, but we don't care. Links in red are not safe for work, and links in pink include audio and/or video. Monday, May 2, 2011 ♦ As you no doubt know, President Obama broke into prime time teevee last night to announce the death of the despised terrorist Osama bin Laden: "Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body." That line made me go hmmm. Assuming that the President's words are chosen carefully, bin Laden was executed "after a firefight," not killed in battle. Maybe bin Laden was rushing at someone while waving a knife or a sword or a gun? I hope so, but pending further details as yet unknown, it sounds like an on-the-spot execution, which seems odd and improper to me, and will probably seem odder and more improper to people who sympathize with ObL's agenda. I've always had doubts about bin Laden's guilt in the 9/11 massacres, but there's little doubt that he was a bad guy, a ghastly and murderous character. Still, the world would be a better place if ObL had been captured alive and then tried in a genuine courtroom, with evidence and testimony the presumption of innocence, and guilt legally proven. Ah, but America doesn't offer fair trials like that even for Americans any more, so bin Laden was never going to see a courtroom. This was the only end possible for him, by American policy. Still, so long as airport security remains an insult to human decency, so long as cops go bonkers and clear the block when a lunchbag is left on a public bench, so long as surveillance is the norm and privacy is neither respected nor expected, the terrorists have clearly won. America is not what it was in 2000, and never will be again. And of course, America's ongoing wars against so-called terrorism in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Pakistan, in Libya... will go on. ♦ Hundreds dead as tornadoes sweep the American Midwest and South. Hell of a tragedy, but something's missing in the media coverage: "Extreme weather" is just another way to say climate change, so when severe weather strikes and it's reported as "historic" or record-setting or the worst such event in decades, the link to climate change really ought to be mentioned. It's like the way cancer rates go up near industrial dumps. You can't prove conclusively that any particular cancer was caused by the chemical dump, and you can't prove conclusively that any particular tornado was caused by climate change. But it's inarguable that industrial dumps make cancer more common, and it's inarguable that climate change makes severe weather events more common. ♦ Despite Obama administration lies that they'd stop pushing medical marijuana raids and prosecutions, it continues to be ♦ Since I don't have many years left in this life, I tend to look at America in short-term terms, and in the short-term, Barack Obama being re-elected is better than any plausible alternative. But that said, for long-term thinkers who see themselves living into the 2030s or beyond, I'd have to agree with Ian Welsh that America will be better off, long-term, if Obama loses to a Republican in 2012. ♦ The International Association of Firefighters gets it: They're done donating to the Democrats' federal candidates for office, since Dems at the federal level have made it so clear (with only the rarest exceptions) that they don't give a rip about workers' rights. The Firefighters' union is shifting its donations to the state and local level, where the idea that Democrats will stand up for little people isn't yet completely laughable. ♦ Which of your local commercial TV stations are owned by scumbags? In my town there's no commercial channel free of paid ads by this lying douchebag, so it's obvious scumbags own every channel on the dial that ain't PBS. More news at
Monday, May 2, 2011 Washington cop won't be disciplined for sleeping through Amber alert while 12-year-old girl was murdered Ohio chief deputy charged with rape, gross sexual imposition, endangering a child and kidnapping Michigan deputy charged with forgery, theft New York police officer pleads guilty to 100 armed robberies, stealing 250 kilograms of cocaine and $1M Off duty New York cops guilty in attack on motorist Denver deputy behind bars for sexual assault on a child Georgia police officers accused of excessive force in melee at IHOP Missouri city pays $130K to settle police brutality lawsuit North Carolina sheriff's detective charged with molesting a child; fired by department Ohio police detective arrested on felony charge Florida police mistakenly raid judge's home and order family out of house at gunpoint during Easter dinner Seattle police officer informs handcuffed suspect that "I'm going to beat the f*cking Mexican piss out of you, homey" and delivers as promised Veteran Indiana police officer accused of stealing from drivers during traffic stops Alleged illegal searches byNYPD may be increasing marijuana arrests Former North Carolina local law enforcement officer arrested for sexually abusing his own child California sheriff's deputy arrested on suspicion of having sex with an underage girl Louisiana sheriff's deputy charged with assault, battery California deputy charged with domestic violence Justice Dept. probe of Seattle Police aided by self-incriminatingSPD video, court evidence
Monday, May 2, 2011 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Mystery links are offered with no implied endorsement of whatever's at the other end. You may be shocked or disgusted, but we don't care. Links in red are not safe for work, and links in pink include audio and/or video.
For in-depth news updates, we recommend Media Matters, ThinkProgress, and Washington Monthly. A tip o' the hat to A.K. for CSS help, Daniel D., the letter Z, The Agitator, Bad Attitudes, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog, JR Mooneyham, Newshoggers, Pharyngula, Photography is Not a Crime, Progressive Review, and Right Wing Watch. Our website is prepared on a refurbished PC bought cheap and occasionally repaired by the good guys at Madison's Computer Store West. Typed and edited using Google Docs. Chairs from Goodwill, chips from Hy-Vee. Site hosted at the censor-free and reliably on-line pair.com, with an emeritus hat-tip to our first web-home at pitas.com, a dang fine place for new bloggers to start. With no thanks at all to a few faux progressive sites that probably do more harm than good, including the ethically empty Huffington Post and the ceaselessly snarky Wonkette; with a full-frontal fart in the face to Francis Boyle, makethemaccountable.com, RadicalViews.org, free-lance reporter Sherwood Ross, TomDispatch.com, and anyone else who's added us to their email list without even asking (the answer would've been no); and with an enthusiastically flipped finger to the closeted Republican mouthpiece Politico. The blog's homepage is unknownnews.org, and we welcome your comments at unknownnews@inbox.com. Our Twitter trail is twitter.com/unknownnews.
|
