The news you need, COMMENTARY DIALOGUE NEWS |
for the week ending 6/20/2003 Return to today's Unknown News. |
Click any * to return to the top of the page. In Australia, one in three adults needs drugs to cope with psychological distress. But of course, if you choose a different drug than the Prime Minister, you're going to prison. In liberated Iraq , US soldiers admit they're shooting at civilians and killing them, because hey, Iraqi civilians are trying to kill Americans. It's an ugly, grisly, and utterly predictable scenario, pretty much exactly what anyone who gave it ten minutes thought would've seen coming after an invasion. And of course, it's not exactly surprising, but accidentally killing four Canadians will lead to zip-zero-nada prosecutions. Now and then, PBS's Frontline does dang good work. Objective journalists aren't allowed to say it in so many words, but the prescription benefit being battled about in the US Congress is a great big shit-pile of nothing. Seems they've figured that out in Maine, and they're setting up an actual prescription benefit plan instead, and the pharmaceutical giants are not at all happy about that. In police news, today's reported rapes by cops outnumber drunk driving cops, 3-1. It's not news to anyone that they buy and sell judgeships in Brooklyn, and censorship is all the rage in today's edukashun news. And today's dialogue is a keeper, I think, with the usual assortment of unusually thoughtful notes plus a moving letter from Khadijah on "dealing with the mindlessness of those who cannot handle freedom with responsibility." As always, we enjoy the conversation, and you're invited to participate. * Mayor declares art "too disturbing" for Orlando * Baptists to Gays: God wants you to redirect your libido * Baptists to "Family Video": God wants you to have no libido, not even in a back room * Cop fired for smoking tobacco A seven-year veteran of the police force has recently been fired for smoking tobacco products in violation of a little-known state law banning smoking among public safety officials. * Teen diagnosed with freedom, legally kidnapped to Mormon boot camp Alex was officially diagnosed with "Oppositional Defiance Disorder," which is defined as a disorder including symptoms such as often losing one's temper, arguing with adults, actively defying or refusing to comply with adults' requests, deliberately annoying people, blaming others for mistakes, being touchy or easily annoyed, and often being spiteful, vindictive, or angry. In a workshop during the National Conference on Organized Resistance in January it was joked several times that with a definition like that almost all those with radical and anti-authoritarian beliefs could be labeled as "disordered." * E-mail censorship snags city boner monitors Rule makers at Utah's Department of Alcohol Beverage Control apparently are too foul-mouthed to get their e- mails past the state's censor patrol. A proposed rule change dealing with private clubs was posted earlier this week by the Division of Administrative Rules. The rule was not sent to subscribers, however, because it was blocked by the Division of Information Technology Services, which is programmed to automatically eliminate messages containing offensive words. Division Director Ken Hansen said the problem has been solved and the rule was resubmitted on the electronic highway. The offensive words: "sexually oriented adult entertainment." * Baywatch star harangued on flight for someone else's anti-war views * Enron Hubbard: Rich corporate guys rob everybody blind and walk away untouched while powerful government figures shrug and attempt to look mystified. * Pentagon may make embedded media standard issue This system worked so well, most Americans still have no idea what happened in Iraq. * Hatch uses unlicensed software on web site Woolley makes his living from his software. Like a lot of independent programmers, he struggles to get people to conform to his licensing terms, let alone pay for his software. "We don't want blood," he said. "We just want payment for the hard work we do. We work very, very hard. If they're not prepared to pay, they're software pirates." * June 19: Hatch wants govt to hack your computer The Senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer." * Parody: Hatch introduces bill to burn peoples eyes out * Action alert: Roll back the FCC's rule changes * Puritans froth at the frock over nekkid children * Christian Science Monitor apologizes to Galloway The Christian Science Monitor has admitted that a set of documents upon which it based its story on were "almost certainly" fake. ... However the Glasgow MP has refused to accept the apology and is demanding to know who forged the documents. ... Mr Galloway also called for the prime minister to investigate the source of the documents. Point of interest * Witnesses and documents unveil deceptions in a reporter's work The New York Times continues dissecting the half-assed reporting of Jayson Blair. * Boston Globe pays attention to memos from the loony Right Here's a bit of dialogue on this. * Cop-killing may be prosecuted by feds ... because Vermont has no death penalty One thing Ive learned is never to underestimate the creativity of the Ashcroft Justice Department in finding a federal hook to get the case in federal court and go after the death penalty. (John) Ashcroft is a true believer, especially in states that dont have the death penalty. * Commentary: Tomorrow's news today Headlines from 2015 * 50 years ago: Betrayal and the bomb Most modern historians agree that Julius Rosenberg was a spy. The case against his wife, Ethel, is far weaker. Current events have conspired to render the Rosenbergs' fate extraordinarily relevant. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Rosenberg case has taken on new meaning and is teaching an old lesson. When a nation feels threatened, it reacts. Sometimes, it overreacts. * Commentary: Homogenized news or one-size-fits-all entertainment A single media giant, up to now allowed to own television stations reaching slightly more than a third of the nations viewers, will soon thanks to Floodgate be able to reach nearly half, a giants giant step toward 100 percent penetration. And as for cross-ownership the ability for newspapers to buy TV and radio stations in the same city and vice versa the FCC as much as said Cmon in, local domination by a media powerhouse is fine. THE POLICE: LINK HERE * Cop charged with raping 16-year-old in police car's back seat Officer, on paid leave, says the girl initiated sexual contact against his will AFRICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * UN muckymucks meet in Tokyo to talk about African refugees * Liberian President won't step down Renounces his peace pledge to cede power * Peace monitors set for Liberia * Commentary: Bush's Africa trip really an oil safari * CNN African Journalist of the Year competition boots Standard writer over "uncertainties" ASIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * India considers broad censorship of "vulgarity" * Chinese judges warned on torture They will lose their jobs or be prosecuted if they try to extract confessions with torture * Chinese Police detain man over T-shirt Police in eastern China briefly detained a foreign man after local residents complained they were offended by his T-shirt listing staring, overcharging and other common gripes of foreigners in China, a newspaper reported Friday. Police were called following an altercation between the man and diners in a restaurant in the eastern city of Nanjing, the Beijing Today weekly reported. The man, whose name and nationality weren't given, was taken to a precinct station and allowed to leave after about an hour after promising not to wear the shirt again, it said. The paper said the back of the man's T-shirt was printed in Chinese with a list entitled "Ten Warnings for Chinese," that included "don't stare at foreigners," and "charge foreigners the same prices as Chinese," the paper said. It said the man told police he bought the T-shirt from a vendor in China. * Outcry forces Beijing to scrap vagrancy law * Japanese encephalitis kills 18 children, infects 211 in south China EUROPE LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * European Union leaders back "historic" draft constitution * Queen quite contrary about Blair's abolition of 1,400-year-old Lord Chancellor position * Commentary: The abolition of the Lord Chancellorship has brought out all of Tony Blair's old vices contempt for established institutions, arrogance, unthinking support for anything that can be called "modern" - as well as a new one: ineptness. It is now clear that the Prime Minister had no idea of the consequences of what he was proposing, even on the most technical, procedural level. An office that has existed for 1,400 years, and the delicate constitutional arrangements that surround it, is being rubbed out on a passing whim. THE MIDDLE EAST LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Iranian opposition plans terrorist attacks, say French * US says action against Iran "an option" IRAQ: LINK HERE * CIA takes over hunt for illegal weapons* 'No court martial' for U.S. airmen who accidentally killed Canadians * Iraq's museums: what really happened * What really happened at the Baghdad museum? Choose your reality. LIFE IN LIBERATED IRAQ LINK HERE * "I just pulled the trigger"." NORTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Court says New Orleans can't ban sidewalk book sales * Naperville local access TV stays censor-free * Nine Canadian provinces will accept same-sex marriage * Tonight on 60 Minutes: Terrorist chicken laundering "CBS News aided and abetted a disguised and anonymous character assassin's hit-and-run tactics," says Nancy Luque, a Washington lawyer for the Muslim groups. Luque is demanding $80 million for her clients in Washington. Her Atlanta colleague, former federal prosecutor Wilmer "Buddy" Parker, seeks an unspecified amount that's certain to be in the millions. * Google calls in the 'language police' * Commentary: Stop the graduation phobia about the 'G' word * Reparations case lawyers claim 104-year-old man was enslaved till 1960s * Wbhat Republicans' crooked redistricting will mean in Colorado * A bit about Alberto R. Gonzales now the White House counsel, and widely regarded as a likely future Supreme Court nominee OCEANIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * One in three adults needs drugs to cope with psychological distress * Report warned of risks two days before Bali attack * Australian govt may appeal ruling against child detention * Outrage over plan to fight child detention ruling * June 19: "Detention" for children seeking asylum ruled illegal * June 19: Queen's Councilor warns release of children could take time SOUTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Ecuador wants US to pay for refugees from drug war in neighboring Colombia * Scientists find rare birds in Guyana * Chavez wouldn't be elected to third term, says poll * Earthquake rumbles Amazon BUSINESS & LABOR I'M ALL RIGHT JACK, LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * How bad is the jobless rate? Historically speaking, unemployment could be a lot worse, but it should be an awful lot better The article doesn't mention it and I couldn't find the facts in a few minutes of Googling, but I distinctly remember recent changes to the definitions and assumptions the unemployment rate is built upon changes that make the unemployment rate lower than it would have been under previous definitions and assumptions. * Insurers dropping more customers who file claims "Right now, we are in a classic hard market, which means essentially the cost of insurance for companies is higher so it is more expensive to offer," said Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the New York-based trade group Insurance Information Institute. "Over the last 10 years we've paid out more in claims than we took in in premiums." Right. And the world is made of green cheese. EDUCATION AND OTHER FORMS LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Parents petition for more control over "controversial" school curriculum * High school's "underground" paper under fire School officials wont comment publicly, but students have said administrators are angry over this years publication and want to put a stop to future editions. * Canada: 11th-grader sent home for "inappropriate hairstyle" The board and school say Yeadon is not suspended and could return as long as his hair is styled according to the norms of society. I think the kid in the picture pretty much is the norm in society ... Don't you? Looks like any kid anywhere to me. The principal is Bruce Hatton, and his email address is bruce_hatton@rainbow.edu.on.ca. GOVERNMENT A SYNONYM FOR LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * DA unsurprised by Ex-Judge's revelations "Look, it is common street talk that this has been going on for eons," Hynes told reporters at City Hall, where he attended a news conference on a budget-related announcement. "Would I be surprised if there were judgeships for sale?" Hynes said. "I'd be naive to think it doesn't happen." Hynes said there was "too much smoke" indicating the sale of judicial spots happens. * June 17: Ret'd Judge says he paid Democrats $35k for Judgeship Carrying a bag full of money, Jones said, he traveled from his central Brooklyn home to Fortune's dry-cleaning business, located on Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. There, in a scene that was surreal to Jones, the judge-to-be and party boss Fortune counted out the thousands of dollars in bills. * June 18: Court buzzing about Judge's candor "The general feeling is it is all true, it has always been known and it is not news," said another attorney who did not want to be named. "The basic feeling, is it has been part of the system for a long time ... I don't know what to do about it." * Public Citizen wants investigation of DeLay * Army Officer pleads guilty to stealing from fellow Ft. Huachuca soldiers * Flow of federal cash fed housing scheme * In bribery charge, bill refers to 2 city officials * Former county worker admits he double- billed HEALTH & SCIENCE THOSE DARN EXPERTS LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * The other drug war The launching point for this report is the story of how a group of frustrated senior citizens led the state of Maine into battle with the powerful pharmaceutical industry. Frustrated by the skyrocketing cost of their prescription drugs, hundreds of Maine seniors began organizing bus trips across the Canadian border, where they found they could purchase the exact same prescription drugs for a fraction of what they were paying in the United States. Having to make the journey was inconvenient enough, the seniors said; but it was when they learned that people in Mexico, Japan, Germany, and most other developed nations were also paying much lower prices for drugs invented in the U.S., that their frustration turned to outrage. "I think it's disgusting," Maine senior Carleen Simpson says. "Every country practically in the world gets drugs cheaper than we do. The seniors' activism eventually led to proposed legislation that would force pharmaceutical companies to sell their drugs in Maine for the same price they were charging in Canada. The pharmaceutical industry reacted quickly. PhRMA, the industry's trade organization, dispatched lobbyists to Maine in an attempt to kill the bill, which came to be known as Maine Rx. When that failed and the bill passed, the industry won a court injunction barring the state from implementing Maine Rx. ... * White House urged EPA to delete global warming from report * wine trade wants to replace bottle corks with screwtops But the side-effect is an ecological disaster that spells the end for one of Europe's oldest industries * Cigarettes now leading cause of death in developing world * The semantic web ... search engine of the future? * Computer error led to incorrect cancer treatment An investigation is under way at Sydney's Prince of Wales hospital into how a computer error led to 10 terminally ill cancer patients not receiving proper radiation therapy. The problem dates back to 1999 when the computer was programmed. The hospital's head of Clinical Oncology Professor John Dwyer says the problem was discovered on Tuesday. * What you should know about monkey pox, from the Centers for Disease Control ET CETERA AND NOW, THE REALLY LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Villagers demand reinstatement of atheist vicar * Business owner chases, runs over robbery suspects in Hummer It is not known if the man, identified only as Peter, will face charges. Click any * to return to the top of the page. Now and then, it's good to revisit and ponder our previous insanities. It can occasionally provide some insight into the insanities of the present. So the story of eight dead Cold Warriors likely found caught my attention. There's some delightfully pessimistic commentary from Liberez L'Ours, and in dialogue, a few good brickbats about yesterday's arch-Republican letter, and an update on my husband's health rapidly improving since we walked out of the hospital against medical advice. We've got police brutality and corruption that never stops, and a few random examples of your tax dollars swirling down the toilet. Other than that, today's hypocrisy round-up is what you make of it. We think it's fairly obvious from the avalanche of evidence, US government is out of control. But we don't do a lot of lecturing, we just point to what they're doing, day after day, lie after lie, war after war. * A pox on both their houses! * Town holds cemeteries liable for gunfire salutes at gang funerals * "This is not an anti-church movement," says Mayor, as new zoning eliminates churches, synagogues and mosques City wants tax-paying businesses * Head of Nicaraguan IRS embezzled $500,000 to underwrite US businesses * Press conference about imperiled Constitution got no press * Justice Dept prohibits racial profiling But agents can use it to identify alleged terrorists * Was Muslim soldier singled out for suspicion after fragging incident Two soldiers who saw an Army captain shot to death during an ambush in Kuwait last March testified Tuesday that they do not believe the assailant was Sgt. Hasan Akbar including one witness who was so certain that he declared the 32- year-old Los Angeles native was "absolutely not" the attacker. Other witnesses testified that some soldiers were so angry and upset after hand grenades were tossed into three Army tents that some seemed to rush to judgment about Akbar's guilt. * Visa errors allow suspected terrorists in U.S., government says * Legislature fails to protect privacy Cattle rustlers fail to protect herd ... Carjackers fail to protect vehicle owners ... Vandals fail to protect statues ... * Missouri court strikes down law prohibiting cheating in marriage * Nursing home fined $75,000 for patient's death No manslaughter charges, and no apology the nursing home is appealing the slap-on-the-wrist. * Commentary: Less freedom of information The Bush administration has been notably hostile to the Freedom of Information Act. Attorney General John Ashcroft all but told government agencies to ignore it. And now the principle of open government has taken another beating, this time at the hands of a sharply divided three-judge appeals panel in Washington. The panel overruled a lower court's order that the Justice Department publicly disclose the names of 1,200 or so foreigners it rounded up for immigration violations in the wake of 9/11. The judge also had ordered the disclosure of the names of the detainees' lawyers and the reasons for the detentions. This seems elementary in a free society that prides itself on open government. As the lower court judge wrote, "... the public's interest in learning the identity of those arrested and detained is essential to verifying whether the government is operating within the bounds of law." The judge's reservations seemed borne out when a Justice Department internal report found "serious problems" with the treatment of the detainees. But the appeals court ruled that all of those reservations were trumped by the administration's invocation of national security. * Sept. 11 Commission reports 'substantial request' for documents In other words, even they haven't been told much of the facts. * General Accounting Office ponders FBI's terror priorities Nearly half of the FBI agents who once handled drug cases are now concentrating on the fight against terrorism, a shift that has caused concern in Congress about a possible lack of attention to other crime problems. The General Accounting Office, in testimony Wednesday to a House committee, found that the number of FBI field agent positions dedicated to drug crimes had dropped from about 1,400 in fall 2001 to just over 800 today. * Homeland Security releases redacted documents on hunt for Democrats The new documents, like those released Monday, were edited to remove names and other personal information. * Texas governor calls legislative special session on redistricting Sigh, here we go again. Maybe they'll handcuff the Democrats to their seats so they can get a vote this time. * Cliff Notes for Project for the New American Century Policies advocated in "RAD" are being enacted with terrifying speed, such as denigration of the UN, importance of Homeland Security, abrogation of international agreements, revamping of the US nuclear program and the spread of American military power into all corners of the globe by preemptive engagement. In Iraq we have seen the embodiment of "RAD" directives that call for the subjugation of regimes considered hostile to US interests and the prevention of military build-up in countries that may challenge US power. Bush's "Axis of Evil" nations Iraq, Iran and North Korea are mentioned numerous times as potential trouble spots and there is repeated insistence that the US establish military outposts in the Middle East and East Asia. * US denies permission to attend Cuban Ag Expo Even the Wall Street Journal said once that it's the embargo that keeps Castro in power. * Riots rock Michigan city * Michigan Police quell second night of riots "We have no history of a real problem with the people in the community," Police Chief Samuel Harris said Wednesday. "We're basically predominantly a black community," he said on the ABC program. "Many of our police officers are white, but I seldom have complaints of the racial nature." * June 17: Crowd hurls bricks, bottles after police chase ends in motorcyclist's death in Michigan A motorcyclist being chased by police for allegedly speeding died in a crash, and the following night several police officers were hit with bricks and bottles and three police vehicles were damaged. Police said gunshots were fired during the three-hour conflict that ended about 2 a.m. Tuesday. Police said they themselves did not shoot. There were no reports of injuries. The violence followed the death 24 hours earlier of 28-year-old Terrance Shurn, who lost control of his speeding motorcycle before it crashed while being chased by a Benton Township officer. Police said he was dead at the scene. The crowd dispersed after police using a loudspeaker warned they would be charged with felonies if they didn't go home. * Hatch wants govt to hack your computer The Senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer." * Christians aghast as wacky shrinks talk about ending medical "sickness" status of pedophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, transvestitism, voyeurism and sadomasochism * Embattled New Mexico lab searches for missing plutonium * Doctor doubled as photographer during Florida woman's fatal boxing match * Consider universal healthcare What we all know is that our current system "rations" healthcare right now. Truly free choice of doctors is reserved for those Americans who can pay cash, up front, for any medical procedure that they wish. How many people do you know in that category? For the rest of us, our choices are limited by the doctors on staff at our HMOs, by the insurance our employers offer (if we're employed) and by what we can afford. That feels a lot like rationing to me. Communist!! Go back to Russia. Over here, in the Unites Snakes, it's every man for himself. * Truth embargo on Lynch "rescue" unwinding * Kerrysays the obvious Bush misled Americans on war * Graham sings same tune They were silent, of course, when speaking out could have made a difference. * Commentary: Democrats' high-risk strategy If America get hits again by a major act of terrorism, which most security officials think is inevitable, Democrats seem to be making it perfectly clear that they will hold George W. Bush responsible. In fact, the party's nine hopefuls for the 2004 presidential nomination already are preparing for such an eventuality, expressing what is shaping up as a major unifying theme of their campaigns that the president has neglected the war on terrorism to pursue the one in Iraq at potential high risk to the nation. Bolstering their allegations that Bush has failed to make great headway in the fight against al Qaeda have been the deadly explosions in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, carried out apparently by suicide bombers closely linked to that network and its allies. * Commentary: Guilt won't allow folks to leave Clintons alone I had to force myself to start Blumenthal's book, "The Clinton Wars," because I'm still exhausted from the whole megillah, but then I couldn't stop reading it. It's perversely fascinating. The year this country wasted on the impeachment was the most tawdry, the nastiest, the ugliest, the sorriest chapter I've ever seen in politics. THE POLICE: LINK HERE * Grand Jury will review abuses at girls' prison AFRICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Relief agency wants oil payments revealed The U.S. State Department did not respond to telephone calls seeking comment on whether it supports the transparency initiative. Gary, from Catholic Relief Services, characterized the U.S. position as favoring a voluntary system, and then perhaps only in a handful of small nations as a pilot program. * Nigerian leader orders probe into bribery allegations against Halliburton Wants his kickback, no doubt. * Cheers, skepticism greet cease-fire pact in Liberia * Coca-Cola admits rigging market test * Wells Fargo dishing out bank data ASIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Conservation 'ultimatum' illegal, say whalers * Pardoned Japanese journalist back from Jordan EUROPE LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Finland's Prime Minister resigns amid allegations of leaked documents * Italian lawmakers pass bill giving Premier immunity just as his bribery trial was nearing verdict * Eight dead Cold Warriors likely found The DC-3 and its eight-man crew were last heard from on June 13, 1952. For some 40 years, Sweden maintained it was on a training mission, and the Soviet Union said it didn't know what happened to it. In the late 1980s, Sweden acknowledged the plane was surveying Soviet military installations in the then-Soviet Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all now independent states. Shortly before its 1991 collapse, the Soviet Union admitted its fighters shot down the twin-engine plane. The Swedish marine explorers said they found the wreck last week after a three-year search. Photographs and video from a remote-controlled deep-sea camera confirmed that it was the missing plane, lead researcher Anders Jallai said. * No-show at air show suggests US vindictiveness * Charges dismissed in French AIDS-tainted blood case THE MIDDLE EAST LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * NATO considers plan to send troops outside Afghan capital IRAQ: LINK HERE * British ex-Officials reiterate, Iraq claims were exaggerated LIFE IN LIBERATED IRAQ LINK HERE * Mortar hits coalition office in Iraq NORTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * L.A. City Council approves lap dance ban in concept This reminds me of a comment by Herbert Marcuse "Obscene is not a woman who shows her pubic hair in public. Obscene is a general who shows his medals of domination and killing." * Falun Gong followers press genocide lawsuit against Chinese leader * Hispanics become largest U.S. minority OCEANIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * "Detention" for children seeking asylum ruled illegal * Queen's Councilor warns release of children could take time * 'Sorcerers' buried alive, burnt, raped and stoned, says minister * American journalist in Aceh says he fears for life SOUTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Peru says 60,000 may have died in Maoist revolt In a dramatic upward revision of the number of victims, a Peruvian commission found that 40,000 to 60,000 people died or disappeared in the two decades when government forces battled an insurgency by Shining Path guerrillas, the commission's president said Tuesday. Previous estimates held that 30,000 were killed and 6,000 disappeared during the violence from 1980 to 2000. * Artist's 'disrespectful' work banned by Venezuelan government * Commentary: South America's new-style military coup Today's new militarism is characterized by leftist military men who lead a rebellion, are jailed for it, and then emerge with the popularity to win the next presidential election with large majorities of the vote. With the patriarchal blessing of Fidel Castro, the model of new militarism started with Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan colonel who led a failed coup in 1992, served two years in prison, and returned to capture the presidency in 1998. Ecuador's President Lucio Gutierrez an Army colonel who led a successful indigenous rebellion in 2000, was jailed briefly, and was elected president last November has consolidated the trend that, without a doubt, will spread. There are imitators of these caudillos everywhere on a continent where confidence in free markets has been shaken and prevailing public opinion is that democracy has failed. BUSINESS & LABOR I'M ALL RIGHT JACK, LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Electronic Data Systems will lay off about 2,700 workers * Racetrack insider is suspected of ticket fraud * Medicaid provider is charged with fraud, money laundering * Police raid 13 Toronto brokerages Stock market manipulation alleged * Abercrombie & Fitch too white, says lawsuit EDUCATION AND OTHER FORMS LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * School goes from failure to first-class in seven years * New York Priest admits fondling altar boy * Illinois Priest's abuse charges upheld GOVERNMENT A SYNONYM FOR LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Town Councilman gets probation for resisting arrest, contempt of court, violating court order, allegedly spitting on and shoving cops * Ret'd Judge says he paid Democrats $35k for Judgeship Carrying a bag full of money, Jones said, he traveled from his central Brooklyn home to Fortune's dry-cleaning business, located on Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. There, in a scene that was surreal to Jones, the judge-to-be and party boss Fortune counted out the thousands of dollars in bills. * Court buzzing about Judge's candor "The general feeling is it is all true, it has always been known and it is not news," said another attorney who did not want to be named. "The basic feeling, is it has been part of the system for a long time ... I don't know what to do about it." * Oakland calling on Big Brother to watch workers As part of City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente's plan to fix up the city's rundown parks, the city would install global tracking devices in 150 city work trucks to keep an eye on everyone. The city would also buy a slew of digital "real time" cameras that crews would be required to set up and take "before" and "after" pictures of the work done at parks. This way "we'll know where they are," De La Fuente said Tuesday. * Florida child welfare agency eliminating 160 positions Critics call this a "funeral dirge for abused and neglected children." This is the agency much criticized for neglecting children under their supervision. Staff reductions could hamper their ability to lose children. * Corrupt Ex-Councilor sentenced A contrite Angel Rodriguez, once a candidate for the powerful job of City Council speaker, was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison Tuesday for his role in the shakedown of a Brooklyn waterfront developer. Brooklyn federal judge Frederic Block meted out a prison term in the middle of the sentencing guideline range, saying the crime was serious and affected the perception of the public about the honesty of government. * 30 city workers in alleged post-9/11 ATM thefts at gov't credit union * Supervisor of Elections overbilled seven cities * Former West Kendall Community Council members charged in mortgage fraud scheme HEALTH & SCIENCE THOSE DARN EXPERTS LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Study links farm chemicals to low male fertility Yes, but farm chemicals make lots of money for the big chemical companies. And that's all that matters. * Depression treatment criticized * Wake up and smell the genetically-modified coffee ET CETERA AND NOW, THE REALLY LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Illinois man gets 10 years for crash that killed girlfriend while they were having sex * Trial begins for woman who allegedly hit a homeless man with her car, drove home with his body stuck in the windshield and left him to die in her garage Click any * to return to the top of the page. Let's start with an enthusiastic fuck you to either Oscar Meyer Foods, Frank's Kraut, Always Save mustard, Heinz catsup, Best Choice pickles, or PriceChopper bread. One of these products made my husband's hot dog literally sickening on Monday night. The emergency room was infuriating, as emergency rooms usually are. They were literally handing out numbers I had to make a ruckus to "cut in line," and move Harry's obvious emergency (he was delirious, couldn't stand without help, sweaty, drooling) ahead of half a dozen people who looked uncomfortable but were clearly, obviously not facing a life-threatening situation. It was no fun living through six hours in the ER (during which we got perhaps 15 minutes of medical attention), but at least there was a little medical attention there. After being admitted to the hospital itself, though, it's as if the medical attention has ended. In 30-some hours since admission, Harry's seen exactly one doctor, and that was for only a few minutes. The nurses and other staff may give a damn (they're so short-staffed, it's hard to know which ones do or don't), but all they're doing is replacing his drop-IV every few hours (it's just saline solution, salt and water, and it's been empty both times I arrived to visit) and giving him the exact same all-liquid "meal" three times a day tepid and near-tasteless soup, sugary juice, sugary jello, a glass of tea with two sugar packets, and a sugar-drenched pre-manufactured dessert. Harry is diabetic, and they're feeding him nothing but sugar and then jabbing him full of insulin after every meal. Pardon my lack of medical expertise, but that's fucking insane. He's getting better, but not because of medical attention; they're not really giving him any medical attention. He's getting better just because he's a tough old fart, and because if food poisoning doesn't kill ya, you do start getting better. But if they're doing anything for him that I couldn't do better, much better, here in our apartment, neither of us knows what it is. We have no insurance, no possible way to pay hospital bills, and we're still being hounded by collection agencies over Harry's $4,000 hour-and-a-half in the ER a year ago. So with at least two nights in the hospital this time, who knows how many thousand dollars they'll be billing us? Let's play The Price Is Wrong Will it be $10,000? $20,000? $50,000? Your guess is as good as the hospital's, but it's all academic: we can't pay and that's that. After today's page goes on-line, I'll be there when visiting hours start (11AM, five hours from now). And unless someone makes a good impression on us, I'll hand Harry a pair of his pants (the hospital has lost the pants he was wearing when he came into the ER) and we'll walk out of there, with or without anyone's alleged "permission." Meanwhile, since I hate worrying, I've channeled all my energy into today's page, which is a bit bigger than average. We've got the usual assortment of murdering, raping, thieving, and otherwise crooked cops, and the standard bribery, extortion, kickbacks, and other corruption in business and government. We've also got two original articles that busted me out of my blues, a moment of optimism from The Blue Rajah and some righteous al Qaeda sympathizer sympathizing from Liberez L'Ours. Most days, the news we link to is so relentlessly bad, anger is the only sane response. Once in a great while though, there's a piece of news that doesn't stink out loud, and instead leaves me crying for joy. Today it's word that Canada, riding in the opposite direction away from America, won't spend years and millions of dollars to fight against simple, obvious human rights for gay people. On the more typical side of things, where "news" is a short way to say "bad news," there's lots. I'll just say, if you're missing Page 2, you're missing most of the news. And in the dialogue section, some bozo wants to feel proud of America's victory over Iraq, and I'm in no mood for such garbage. Also wit and wisdom from The Blue Rajah, Pat N., Lilith, and Glynnis O. * Propaganda hedge artists: "We have detained suspected suspected-Al-Qaeda-sympathizer sympathizers!" * And now, we pause for a moment of optimism: I think a bunch of them sheep have noticed how standing united for Shrubya places them with their face in some Republican appointee's asshole. * Mother of teen murdered by soldiers is annoyed that his killers are back on active duty in Iraq * Smart cell phone makes reservations before you know youre going anywhere * Governor has misgivings about law he signed, authorizing seizure of homes of nursing home patients after they die * Former Bush Aide takes aim at War on Terror Five days before the war began in Iraq, as President Bush prepared to raise the terrorism threat level to orange, a top White House counterterrorism adviser unlocked the steel door to his office, an intelligence vault secured by an electronic keypad, a combination lock and an alarm. He sat down and turned to his inbox. "Things were dicey," said Rand Beers, recalling the stack of classified reports about plots to shoot, bomb, burn and poison Americans. He stared at the color-coded threats for five minutes. Then he called his wife: I'm quitting. Beers's resignation surprised Washington, but what he did next was even more astounding. Eight weeks after leaving the Bush White House, he volunteered as national security adviser for Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), a Democratic candidate for president, in a campaign to oust his former boss. All of which points to a question: What does this intelligence insider know? * Should Americans be above international law? The United Nations Security Council seems to think so. * Commentary: What is happening in America? The war in Iraq has been the most extreme manifestation of this new America, and almost a casebook study in totalitarian techniques. First, an Enemy is created by blatant lies that are endlessly repeated until the population believes it: in this case, that Iraq was linked to the attack on the World Trade Center, and that it possesses vast "weapons of mass destruction" that threaten the world. Then, a War of Liberation, entirely portrayed by the mass media in terms of our Heroic Troops, with little or no imagery of casualties and devastation, and with morale-inspiring, scripted "news" scenes such as the toppling of the Saddam statue and the heroic "rescue" of Private Lynch worthy of Soviet cinema. Finally, as has happened with Afghanistan, very little news of the chaos that has followed the Great Victory. Instead, the propaganda machine moves on to a new Enemy this time, Iran. * Canada won't fight court order on gay marriage Courts in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have ruled that the exclusion of gays and lesbians unjustifiably violates equality rights. Ottawa was already preparing its response to those verdicts when it was last week by a bold ruling in the Ontario Court of Appeal. Gays and lesbians were allowed to marry immediately after the Ontario verdict, and did so, under a new right denied to them throughout most of human history. Ottawa was left with two major options: fight the ruling in the Supreme Court or rewrite the law. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon convinced his cabinet colleagues to drop their gloves. "It's a great day for Canada," he said. "I'm very proud to be part of this country. This (decision) is important for freedom, for values, for what we believe and what we have in our Charter of Rights and freedoms." * Evidence points to mass extinction Have a good day! * Commentary: U.S. media caved in to the Bush agenda: Maybe Americans have become brain-dead from too much TV. Maybe they don't care terrorism is surging, or that recent polls show the U.S. is reviled, hated, or distrusted around the globe thanks to this administration and its neo-con mentors. Maybe they don't understand that over 288 Americans and an estimated 26,300 Iraqi civilians and soldiers have so far died in a totally unnecessary conflict. Or that the U.S. in now stuck in an ugly little colonial war in Iraq, its very own West Bank and Gaza. * US officials lied about investigation of US bombing of Iraqi market In late March, after an American missile hit a marketplace in Baghdad and killed plenty of people Iraqi officials said 58 Major General Victor Renuart of Central Command said: "With every one of those circumstances, we ask the component ... who may have had forces involved, whether it's land, sea, or air, to do an investigation, and that takes a number of days to do that. The air component in this case is completing his review. We think that will be complete within the next day or so. And as soon as ... the review is completed, we'll make that available. "As to what do we determine to be the cause, I think certainly there are a number of possibilities. We want to make sure that if in fact there was an error on our part, that we found that out and made that available." A couple of days later, Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, the deputy director of operations for Central Command, said: "There is an ongoing investigation; still I think we are starting to come to a high degree of closure on it. We are still accounting for every weapon system that we released into the Baghdad area. And once we've gotten to closure on that, I think we will be able to say one way or another what role we may have played, or not." On April 1, Brooks was asked by a reporter if he could give a date to give the results of the investigation. Brooks responded by saying: "Well, I can't give you a date. I mean, it takes as long as it takes. And it ought to be thorough. We're not going to waste time with them, but we are going to be thorough about the work that's being done.... Our designs are to minimize the casualties to civilians as much as we can. We'd like to see that be zero. That is not something that's ever been achieved in warfare. We believe our efforts have driven it as low as it has ever been driven in warfare." Two and a half months after the prattle, we now have the terrible truth. There never was an investigation. That fact was embedded (pun intended) in an Associated Press report this week that it has so far counted 3,240 Iraqi civilians killed in the invasion, including nearly 1,900 in Baghdad. The AP quoted Central Command spokesman John Morgan confirming the nonexistence of an investigation. * PATRIOT Act at the bank "We are required by law now to ask these questions and get answers for every new account. If we don't get the answers the account does not get opened." And then she added, "This is part of the PATRIOT Act." Big Brother is not only watching, he's counting. * PATRIOT Act requirements for financial institutions to screen customers now effective Under Section 326, financial institutions defined as banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, money service businesses, mutual funds, broker dealers, casinos, etc. must take steps to verify the identity of account holders and to eliminate financial transactions and flows of money to terrorist organizations. The new regulations call for these institutions to compare the names of new account applicants against lists of known terrorists and/or terrorist organizations, verify and confirm the identity of the account holder and maintain related records. Failure to comply with the law carries the threat of daily penalties as well as potential jail time. Boards of directors must approve and monitor such compliance programs, and bank examiners must audit such programs. * Court OKs forced drugging of defendants * Controversial measure would let "illegals" obtain drivers license * 'Roe' seeks to overturn historic abortion ruling * Nevada legislation criminalizes publishing radio frequencies * Shelter offers hearty meal, clean clothes and rest at last stop before U.S. border * Unmanned drones explored for border use Big brother is watching, and watching and watching. * Poll suggests world hostile to US And now let's hear it for a poll the president's not going to brag about. Wow! can they try for 100% next time? And check the headline well, tell me something if that external aggression Bush and Blair laid on Iraq was not an act of supreme hostility, than what the hell was it? * Peace activist's mother speaks at commencement One student was noticeably absent. Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old student activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli military bulldozer three months ago today. She was trying to protect a Palestinian home in the war ravaged Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Rachels parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, have tried to continue their daughters legacy, traveling the country and speaking about her work as an activist for peace and justice. On Friday, Cindy Corrie accepted an honorary degree from Evergreen State College. * A timely example of why we [Canadians] must have the CBC And what Americans are missing by settling for PBS * 5 years waiting for trial, 15 minutes for acquittal "In a murder case, a reasonable time in jail would be 1-1/2 or two years," he said. "Anything over two years is ludicrous." The Wrigleyville Three walked free in May. But another 29 men and women held for at least five years in Cook County Jail remain behind bars; most have never had their day in court. And 66 more inmates have been held in the jail longer than four years. * Amendment VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial. * Attack survivor on earnest quest Injured in crash at Pentagon, he seeks answers about 9/11 This guy sounds "perfect" for the job there's no hint that he's asking any questions that could make anyone anywhere raise an eyebrow. * U.S. residents run for office in Mexico Jose Jacques Medina is one of six U.S. residents seeking a seat in Mexico's lower house of Congress in July's midterm election * Court ponders if U.S. firm liable for abuse, torture it underwrites abroad Unocal is appealing to an 11-judge appeals panel of the Ninth Circuit Court a decision handed down by a three judge panel of the same court in September 2002 that said the company could be sued. The three judge panel, which overturned a lower court judge's ruling that the company could not be sued, compared Unocal's actions in Myanmar to the German armaments firm Krupp which used slave labor during World War 2 and was tried for war crimes afterward. It said a jury should be allowed to decide if Unocal was liable for human rights violations. The State Department has asked the court to dismiss the entire case. In its brief, the Bush administration expressed concern that similar suits could be brought against some of its closest allies in the country's war on terror. It also cited the possibility that prisoners in Guantanamo Bay could file suits against the U.S. government. * May 15: Ashcroft attacks Human Rights Law A new legal brief filed by the US Justice Department would roll back twenty years of judicial rulings for victims of human rights abuse, Human Rights Watch warned today. On May 8, Attorney General John Ashcroft filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief for the defense in a civil case alleging that the oil company Unocal was complicit in forced labor and other abuses committed by the Burmese military during the construction of the Yadana gas pipeline. The case, John Doe I, et al. v. Unocal Corporation, et al., was originally filed in 1996 and is currently being reheard by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Justice Department brief went well beyond the scope of the Unocal case, however, and argued for a radical re-interpretation of the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). For over 20 years, courts have held that the ATCA permits victims of serious violations of international law abroad to seek civil damages in US courts against their alleged abusers who are found in the United States. The Justice Department would deny victims the right to sue under the ATCA for abuses committed abroad. * June 2: US seeks nullification of human rights laws Supporters of the law said that it enables people to enforce rights guaranteed them under international agreements such as the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party. Ending or severely limiting such lawsuits would deprive victims of political torture and murder of one of the few legal remedies they have, advocates say. * June 7: Ashcroft sides with torturers Unocal and the crimes of Burma THE POLICE: LINK HERE * Notre Dame football player says he'll sue over police beating AFRICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Africa's wars hit turning points Liberia, Congo bloodied by key conflicts * U.S. Marines' path home diverted to Liberia * Rebel ship explodes off Sri Lanka coast * Pleas for help, then death for U.N. workers Their mutilated bodies were found in Congo. For days, they had begged to be evacuated * French troops, Congo gunmen exchange fire * Groups demand halt to sex abuse in Congo ASIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Crime follows television to Bhutan Four years ago, Bhutan, the fabled Himalayan Shangri-la, became the last nation on earth to introduce television. Suddenly a culture, barely changed in centuries, was bombarded by 46 cable channels. And all too soon came Bhutan's first crime wave - murder, fraud, drug offences. * Police in Bangkok arrest man in sale of radioactive material * Boy-jockeys trafficked Plucked from their homes when some are still babies, the camel jockeys of the Persian Gulf are tied on camels' backs and often beaten because their cries make the animals run faster. A U.S. State Department report, released on Wednesday, identifies Pakistan also India and Bangladesh as the source countries for camel jockeys and the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar as the destination. Bottom line accreditation says "Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International." Every year they run this story? Sounds familiar to me. I think we link to it every year they publish it. EUROPE LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * A British barbecue: Press feasts on Blair George W. Bush bloody well has it easy. He doesn't have to put up with the hour-by-hour pounding that the British press gives Tony Blair, with journalists calling him a liar and worse in a raging debate over whether Iraq really had weapons of mass destruction. And why is that? * It's time to re-think presence of U.S. troops in Germany * Labour Party website hacked On Monday morning the site's usual content of Labour Party news was replaced by an image of US President George Bush carrying his dog with Tony Blair's head superimposed on it. THE MIDDLE EAST LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Afghan insurgent attacks rise, U.S. says * Rampant administrative corruption and bribery are hampering investment, says Afghan puppet President * Arafat reasserts authority in talks * Saudi Report: Raid in alleged holy city kills 5 WHAT A CURIOUS TIME FOR LINK HERE * Iran blames America for turmoil in streets IRAQ: LINK HERE * Iraqi mobile labs nothing to do with germ warfare, report finds* Vanished into thin air It is eight weeks since Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi deputy prime minister, gave himself up to United States forces in Baghdad. A powerful man, he was a familiar face in the corridors of power around the globe, one of the few Iraqi leaders whose name was as well known outside his own country as inside. But since he surrendered on 24 April, Aziz has disappeared. He is not alone. Out of a list of 55 of Iraqs most wanted senior figures published by the US Defense Department, 29 were in custody as of yesterday. They have also vanished from public view. Ask where they are being held, in what conditions or what will happen to them and the shutters come down. * Turning the tanks on the reporters Iraq will go down as the war when journalists seemed to become a target LIFE IN LIBERATED IRAQ LINK HERE * U.S. troops raid more homes outside of Baghdad NORTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Haiti to France: Your account is past due Please pay $21,685,135,571.48 * Mother fighting promotion of general involved in her son's friendly-fire case * Castro to Powell: "Show a modicum of decency and correct" false report on sex trade * The war on ... liberty? Some now think that the United States has gone too far in fighting terror * "When confronted with the possibility of a red-light camera, people panic and slam on their brakes. They don't want to take a chance of running the red light. You end up with rear-end collisions. In one Carolina city, they ended up with a 100 percent increase in rear-end collisions." * June 4: Report: Terror system flags David Nelsons * David Nelson, could you step aside for a few moments? "There is a 'no-fly' list," he says. "That's people who cannot fly, period," because they've been determined to be or are suspected of being "a threat to civil aviation or to national security." Details about the list are "considered sensitive security information and cannot be released to the public," Nico says, but the Wall Street Journal suggests there are about 300 names on the "no-fly" list. There's another list that Nico calls the "selectees list." Might as well call them "suspectees." This is a much larger list of names, accumulated, Nico says, from information obtained from intelligence agencies and the airlines. These folks may be allowed to fly but only after they're intensely scrutinized by airline, law enforcement and security personnel. People whose names are on the two lists undergo what is not a routine security screening, in which you're asked to remove your shoes or empty your pockets. This week 18 men named David Nelson, all residents of Oregon, confirmed they have been repeatedly delayed at airport counters and security checkpoints in the last year or so. * Thousands bike, walk across closed LA freeway in car culture snub * Vice Admiral to Navy's porn-swapping midshipmen: If so much as a word leaks out, "I will kill you" * CBS dangles multiple deals in bid for Jessica Lynch "story" CBS' dangling of movie, television and book deals in front of potential interview subjects has troubled some media critics who worry that in an age of media conglomerates, where news operations coexist with their entertainment counterparts, journalistic independence can suffer in the race for synergy. CBS News said there was nothing untoward in the way it approached Lynch or Ralston. * The myth of Private Jessica * California woman facing espionage charges was 'asset' to FBI, lawyers claim * California man wins suit over airplane toilet ice that damaged his boat * Nov. 19, 2002: It's just a matter of time, and a question of who will be killed * Illusion of Internet anonymity crumbling under rulings, new laws * Commentary: Have you no shame or, like, anything? So now there's an internal Justice Department report that the department had been overzealous in identifying and detaining suspected terrorists. This is not exactly news to people who have been paying attention, but it's nice that the Justice Department is copping to it. Except, really, it's not. Attorney General John Ashcroft said he and his underlings "make no apologies" for the way they handled the situation. In other words, we messed up and developed dim-bulb arrest criteria and threw innocent people in jail, but we're not sorry. Why? Because we looked so darn strong while we were doing it. * Guidant changes defense in wrongful death, injury lawsuits Guidant Corp., which has already agreed to pay a record criminal fine for hoodwinking federal regulators about the safety of one of its medical devices, is altering its defense strategy in civil lawsuits that blame the same device for deaths and injuries. * Guidant subsidiary to end production of killer aortic graft * Federal jurors rejecting execution, study says Prosecutors obtained death penalty in 1 of 16 cases over past year * Hatfields and McCoys sign truce * Protesters say Arab, Muslim men unfairly singled out "What the government is doing is targeting immigrants instead of terrorists," said Jayashri Srikantiah, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. About 13,000 men mostly from Middle Eastern and Muslim countries face deportation after they registered with federal authorities under a program that officials said would help ensure the nation's security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. * 30,000 child caregivers arrested in California this year * Teen who was 14 when he kidnapped businessman, shot at police, gets life in prison with no possibility of parole * 70% of Canadians with Chrétien against Iraq attack * Hypocrisy: On this Flag Day, keep respect for Old Glory strong Why isn't Mr. Hatch, lover of American ideals and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, crying out over the erosion of the Bill of Rights by Ashcroft? Waving an intact Old Glory over a destroyed American democracy is an empty gesture. SOUTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Brazil, Argentina push trade accord, create common currency * Colombia: Outlaw army fights on amid peace effort "If you turn yourself in, they kill you" * Colombian civil war weapon: coaxing guerrillas to desert * Ill-paid police making a point Bolivian leader unable to cope with protests * Villagers attack Guatemalan legislator * June 13: Genocide disqualifies Guatemalan Presidential candidate BUSINESS & LABOR the idiotic intricacies of economics LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Death of worker caught in meat machine probed OSHA cited the manufacturer more than two years ago for more than 50 federal health and safety violations. At the time, OSHA officials said the violations could have resulted in serious injury or death. * Lotsa drivers pee in bottles Highway workers are not amused * Honeywell claims exclusive worldwide right to make round thermostats * Netscape buys its way out of legal trouble $100,000 fine for spying on New Yorkers, no prosecution, no admission of anything * Commentary: Is the supply of oil about to begin it's permanent decline? Optimists argue that the issue is still years away, and to their support is that it has never happened before and it's too often been predicted. And each time the future looks bleak, the optimists argue, it's always darkest before dawn. It is also interesting how many people basically look at undiscovered reserves and basically say that we really don't know how much we still have left to find, and that's true, but we also, with the evidence of the reserves, there's no guarantee that the reserves are actually there. I come back to the basics and say I think that one thing that we do all know is that oil and gas resources are genuinely non-renewable and so someday they will basically run out. And also, we are using 28 billion barrels a year, that's a lot of energy to be consuming. And peaking, as you all know, is different than running out. Is "peaking" an important question or issue? * Court decides sex.com case Reporter just cant stop smirking * $5.1 million age discrimination award upheld against Nestle Food * Gay websites are here, they're queer, and they're profitable * Foreign media control? No thanks, Canada says Canada is sounding more and more unAmerican. Maybe we'd better fabricate a terrorist story and take their butt's over. It's worked a couple of times already. * Putting migrants on road to rights Laborers urged to join ride to East Coast rally * The cola wars get personal Coke employee fired for drinking Pepsi on the job EDUCATION and other forms of child abuse LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Annual rash of suicides following final exams in India * Are computers better qualified than humans to grade student essay exams? * School closely tracks cheaters Throughout the year, the names of students caught cheating were placed in a computer file that students call "the cheaters list." As names were added by the assistant principal, e-mails were sent to teachers informing them that the list was updated. Teachers could dig through a few files on the school's secure computer server to see if any of their students were on the list. "This all began with the concern that if a kid was shortcutting in the English class, why shouldn't we be concerned that he's also doing it in the social studies and math classes?" Assistant Principal Mike McGuire said. * Three Riverside college administrators charged with fraud * Super Diaper Baby conquers Riverside Unified School District * Faculty group condemns University for firing professor charged with terrorism GOVERNMENT a synonym for corruption and incompetence LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Ex-Mayor gets 37 years for repeated rapes of prepubescent girls at City Hall * Campaign finance controversy offers insights The only surprise about Washington's latest campaign finance imbroglio, many observers say, is that we all got a look behind the curtain. A look at what many corporate executives, like those at Kansas-based Westar Energy Inc., expect for their money. And a look at how those donations can create the appearance that members of Congress, like Republican Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, may be acting on behalf of corporate donors. Observers said the recent incidents one involving Westar and the other involving Blunt and tobacco company Philip Morris USA could help supporters of campaign reform as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a challenge to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. "The only time this stuff ever sees the light of day is when there's an investigation or a lawsuit," said Matt Keller, legislative director for Common Cause, a group that supports campaign finance reform. "In any other place but Washington, this would be viewed as bribery." * GOP Whip quietly tried to aid big donor Only hours after Rep. Roy Blunt was named to the House's third-highest leadership job in November, he surprised his fellow top Republicans by trying to quietly insert a provision benefiting Philip Morris USA into the 475-page bill creating a Department of Homeland Security, according to several people familiar with the effort. * Reports show senators' holdings in oil, drug industries; same Senators work on energy and health care bills That's the way God wants it, else it wouldn't be so. * Government says it may think about possibly maybe cutting business with MCI-WorldCom * May 20: MCI-WorldCom settles SEC probe, wins Iraq contract * Wisconsin's once-clean political image, damaged by recent scandals in state, county and city government, could be further sullied this week as a trial begins for a Milwaukee Alderman accused of extortion and fraud. * Conflict of interest in California Governors office * Detroit City Councilwoman investigated for $100000 loan * New York Governor [says he] wants new ethics watchdogs for Legislature and courts * FBI outlines bribery probe of former Connecticut Treasurer * $30 million error slams taxpayers For more than two decades, Camden County illegally gave its retired government employees one of the most lavishly financed health plans ever offered in New Jersey, and now the bills are coming due. Since the program began, county taxpayers have paid at least $30 million all for benefits that should never have been offered. Officials admit they broke state law by paying lifetime health benefits for retirees who held a county job for as little as five years. The state required employees to work 25 years before benefits were paid. * Broward County Commissioner investigated for conflict of interest in airport bonds * Generous subsidy for Pennsylvania lawmakers' cars will cost $850,000 this year * Air Force officer pleads no contest to peeping, gets probation * County Tax Assessor, two others jailed on drug charges * Tax assessor-collector arraigned * No reason she can't keep her job, though * Former Portsmouth zoning officer sentenced for abusing his public position HEALTH & SCIENCE those darn experts and academics! LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * CDC threatens to cut funding for AIDS workshops that are too relevant to real world The CDC specifically criticized a Stop AIDS workshop that offers guidelines on "safe and friendly relations" with male prostitutes, another that discusses oral sex, and a third entitled "Bootylicious" that provides tips for successful anal intercourse. * New Texas Law makes hospitals harder to sue Patients will find it tougher to collect damages from nonprofit hospitals that care for the poor Makes me think of 007. He had a license to kill, too. * Judge says farming can continue on national wildlife refuges * Massive diesel fuel spill in Pensacola bay * Founders of herbal products company face criminal charges that they laced pills with addictive prescription drugs * Lead poisoning killing California condors, studies say * Ritalin use may worsen cocaine abuse * Press release: New low-dose birth control pill may have less stroke risk for young women * 1 in 3 kids at risk to get diabetes, CDC expert warns * Unapproved Alzheimer's drug offers hope * Genetically modified glow-in-the-dark fish OK'd as pets * Buzzwords of history, revealed by computer scans, indicate new ways of searching the Web * Press release: Supposedly "safe" levels of mercury are unsafe * Cattle eat your leftovers, and far more repulsive things * Fishing mishaps called ruinous for dolphins, whales * Flush toilets called 'environmental disaster' Forget the convenience and sanitation of the flush toilet that industrialized nations have enjoyed for most of the past century. A growing number of environmentalists are now advocating the expanded use of compost or dry toilets worldwide to combat what they see as an international water crisis. * Hey, Dr. Bozo: Please engage brain before cutting In a letter in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a family medicine resident at McMaster University says medical staff should go further by writing "Cut me" on the correct limb, and "Malpractice" on the other. RELIGION keeping an eye on God LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Mount Sanai moved to Mohammed, says Prof * Former Charles Manson follower tells of redemption He found Jesus! * Church leaders apologize for abuse It's like confession. "We're sorry," now back to business as usual, until the next "sorry." Wouldnt such apologies seem more sincere if they came from prison? * Phoenix Bishop who facilitated kiddie-rapes now arrested in fatal hit-run * Defiant Keating rips Catholic Bishops "My remarks, which some bishops found offensive, were deadly accurate. I make no apology," the former Oklahoma governor wrote in his resignation letter to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. hierarchy. "To resist grand jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church." * Scandal affecting church's credibility * Former People's Temple building is open to possibilities The congregation has no members left over from the People's Temple days. Pastor Larry Glass says people doing historical research sometimes visit but that the Jones connection isn't talked about in the pews. * Church rues its links to Rudolph Group with history of white supremacist views helped bombing suspect in 1980s ET CETERA and now, the really important news LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Large penis enters Dutch Parliament Despite all this stiff competition, the large penis stole the headlines. It remains to be seen however if the MPs will be impressed by the new member. * Truck filled with yogurt for the homeless is stolen * Depraved attackers sexually abused horses in a sickening series of assaults which caused one animal's bloody death Click any * to return to the top of the page. Probably no update today, sorry. Family emergency. We hope to be back tomorrow. Click any * to return to the top of the page. Today we've got commentary from a new voice at Unknown, Todd J. Schneider, on rallying 'round the Democrats. And Mexico Doug has translated a remarkable speech from a Mexican mucky-muck that cuts through a lot of Bush crapola on the slaughter in Iraq. Not much dialogue today, just three notes Tomas N. Pain, on how Judaism and Zionism are separate, and Annie and Sander take their daily shots at Squango. As ever and always, you're invited to participate if there's something on your mind: xoxounknown@ yahoo.com. In news beyond the front page, New Zealand is talking about squelching your right to act as your own attorney, Senator Lugar wants America to attack Hamas (which means Palestine), the details from Uganda's atrocious war are gruesome, there's a startling editorial called The illusion of another Vietnam from, of all places, Arab News, the Brits seem to think Homer Simpson is a great American, and we've got your daily dose of brutal cops and corrupt politicians. And more. Today's crop of crap is a bit short, because hubby and I each had to work overtime over the weekend, but we'll be caught up by Tues or Wednesday. Meanwhile, to make up for it, try my pork & kraut stew, with fair warning if you don't like pork and/or you don't like sauerkraut, you won't like this at all: 2 onions, chopped 2 tablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons paprika 2 pounds of boneless pork butt, or, if times are tight, substitute one can of Spam, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups sauerkraut, drained 1 tablespoon flour 2 cups sour cream Combine the onions, butter, garlic, paprika, pork or spam, salt, and kraut in a good size pot and simmer on low, covered, for at least four hours till the pork is cooked and soft. Then add the flour and sour cream, stir, and cook at high for ten minutes. Eat and enjoy. * An open letter to Greens: The forces arrayed against us are the most powerful in the history of mankind, with endless resources at their disposal. This stands to only get worse. * Commentary: Suppose that an individual approaches an agent of the Public Ministry soliciting authorization to enter a house by force. Its occupant, argues the individual, is armed to the teeth and shelters terrorists. In addition, he abuses his family ... * Second woman says same cop raped her, too Former Officer Smith did not deny raping the woman, but he said he could not remember her. * The Police: To protect and serve * Some Vermonters aghast that freedom may become an option Kids might smoke demon weed! * China wages silent war on dissident thought Beijing has used the war on terror as an excuse to round up more than a thousand people on charges of endangering state security * Home-schooling standoff in Waltham Both sides agree that the children are in no way abused mentally, physically, sexually or emotionally, but legal custody of the children was taken from Kim and George Bryant in December 2001. The children will remain under the legal custody of DSS until their 16th birthdays. The parents have been ruled as unfit because they did not file educational plans or determine a grading system for the children, two criteria of Waltham Public School's home schooling policy. * Commentary: What is going on in Washington? What is the larger agenda behind the amazingly aggressive right wing moves coming from the White House? US democracy: R.I.P. Today's Propaganda Spinner Winner * Flag poet reads flag poem on flaggity flag day A [Kansas City area] poet is getting national attention. Jerry Plantz will read one of his more popular poems, I Held the Flag Today, on Saturday at the national Flags Across America, Flag Day celebration in Pittsburgh. The event, sponsored by the National Flag Foundation, was organized to "put the flag back in Flag Day," said David White, the foundation's executive director. He expects hundreds of other ceremonies to be held nationwide on this first Flags Across America celebration. Plantz will recite as dozens of Boy Scouts carry a 1,800-square-foot flag into Flag Plaza, across from Mellon Arena in downtown Pittsburgh. Ironically, Plantz did not set out to write a patriotic poem. He submitted the work to the Flag Day people only after it was rejected by the Gay Pride Month Committee under its original title, I Held the Fag Today The author says he one day dreams of reciting the original version in public while 1,800 Boy Scouts act it out. * Police say ex-Marine killed bar manager over comments on Iraq invasion I wonder why more people aren't speaking up against the war? Maybe because they know what the opposition is like? * US to be free one day, like China? I got goose bumps while reading this article about the new freedom in China! Imagine what it would be like to live in a land with such liberties: At a SARS press conference in Beijing this week, with every word broadcast live on television across the country, a Chinese journalist stood up and boldly asked an impudent question. ... A few years ago, hardball questions and sharp exchanges between Chinese journalists and government officials would have been unthinkable. The media were fully controlled by the state. They were respectful and bland, pumping out a daily quota of propaganda. There was never a hint of independence in their questions at press conferences, which were almost never televised live. Journalists who questioned the official version were liable to be harshly punished. But the competitive demands of the capitalist revolution, along with the soaring popularity of the Internet and the growing hunger for information during the SARS crisis have combined to strengthen the independence and professionalism of the media. Newspapers and television channels are still a long way from independence, and heavy-handed state control of most media continues to predominate, but the first signs of free-thinking journalism are beginning to emerge. ... "Modern forms of government are characterized by transparency and openness," Xue Baosheng, a researcher at Beijing University's School of Government Administration, writes in the official publication of the Communist Party's Central School. "The right afforded to the media and law to supervise should be fully guaranteed." How sad that Amerikans must turn to official organs of the Chinese Communist Party for instruction on these matters. However, in spite of our sadness let us rejoice for the happiness of the free Chinese people! * Mine hero kills himself after conflict over movie deal * 129,000 pounds of chicken with glass, please And make mine USDA inspected ConAgra Poultry Co. is recalling 129,000 pounds of chicken because the packages may contain glass, the Agriculture Department said yesterday. The company is asking distributors in five states New York, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina to return 3.5- to 4-pound bags of "Country Pride Fresh Chicken" packages that have a sell-by date of 6-20-03, 6- 21-03 or 6-22-03. The packages are marked with an establishment code of P-177 inside the USDA inspection seal. * Boy Scouts Council "cowardly and untrustworthy certainly two qualities good Scouts should never display" * Church sued for $2 million over "dramatic youth service" The suit claims the girl suffered personal injuries as the result of "a dangerous, cult-like event that was unlawfully and deceptively conceived, sponsored, promoted and supervised by Forest Hill Baptist Church, its pastor, its deacons, its youth director and several of its members." Forest Hill Pastor Harry Sherrer said the event referred to in the suit was designed to help young people in the church learn more about and better understand the persecution of Christians in other parts of the world. "Everyone else involved was impressed by the whole activity. It was a very positive event," Sherrer said. "We are saddened that members of this family feel wronged by our church." * Commentary: Terrorists operating in Blount County? I am enraged beyond words. I had no idea churches were engaging in the kidnapping and torture of children in the name of "cultivating spiritual maturity" and "developing a close-knit relationship with Jesus". They sure have picked a hell of a way to go about "glorifying God". Somehow, I don't think Jesus would approve. In fact, true believers who practice real Christianity would probably think he is weeping in shame at the things done to these children in his name. * Predator suit raises questions The parents of a 10-year-old Hollywood girl are suing Publix Super Markets, alleging their daughter was sexually abused by a convicted sexual predator the grocery chain had hired, but whose criminal background it failed to divulge to other employees. * Intelligent airline seats could automatically alert busy cabin crew to nervous, shifty passengers, who might be terrorists or air-ragers * Murray muscles a win for ports Here's to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who exerted some senatorial muscle to ensure that money Congress intended for port security programs went to port security. And she won. Ya gotta wonder, is anyone in the Bush Administration even slightly interested in protecting America from terrorism? Is it all just BS and boondoggle to these bozos? * Commentary: Your vegan holistic President Sure an odd, spiritual guy like Dennis Kucinich doesn't have a chance in hell. But it sure is nice to dream Are we so deeply and repressively beaten down with war and terror and fake Orange Alerts and the idea that we absolutely positively must, no matter what, have a cold and corporatized iron-fisted leadership hell-bent on expanding American empire at all costs, that we can't even conceive of a sincere and pacifistic alternative? Apparently, we are. That far gone. That far removed from what this nation actually stands for, stood for. At least for the moment. The tyranny of fear is in control. We are so absolutely goddamn certain we are facing a brutal and heartless world that wishes us perpetual violent ill that we simply must have an equally heartless and guns-drawn pseudo-fascist leadership to match it. This is, quite simply, utter bull. We have chosen our own path. We have actively elected to become the strong-arm rogue superpower. We have created our own warmongering circumstance far, far more than it has been imposed on us. * Commentary: Americans losing the war on their freedoms We do not know: How many "enemy combatants" of what nationality are being held, and why, in Guantanamo Bay without charge or access to lawyers, in violation of the Geneva Convention. How many people in America have been arrested beyond the 1,200 announced back in 2001. How many are in jail and where, and who they are. How many have been deported, beyond the announced 505. How many have been identified by the FBI for questioning, beyond the 8,000 announced in the fall of 2001. * Cable company pays employees to spot satellite dishes "If The Chronicle knew that the San Jose Mercury was being delivered to certain addresses, "I'm sure The Chronicle would be just as aggressive in trying to win back that business," he said. I asked Steve Falk, the newspaper's publisher, if this was the case. "We offer incentives for employees to sell subscriptions," he replied. "But we don't ask people to hunt down competitors and offer a reward for turning them in." * Bill Clinton makes $9.5 million from speeches, Hillary Clinton $1.1 million on book * Intelligence Officer challenges Bush Administration on 'why they hate us' * Commentary: What is Michael Savage's lawsuit against TBTM really about? Here's a hint There is a reason our sites have been targeted by this lawsuit. All three sites are tiny operations. TBTM, with a staff of four people, is the biggest of the three. SavageStupidity is run by a husband and wife, and MichaelSavageSucks is a one-man shop. By filing suit against 3 web sites where the principals barely have two dimes to rub together, the chances are better of a slam-dunk for the plaintiff. ... This lawsuit may seem like relatively small potatoes in the scheme of things, but it's not. This should send chills through anyone who values the right to speak their mind. Because no matter what the stated purposes are here, that is what they're truly after they're seeking legal license to shut you up if they don't like what you're saying. * April 27: Radio host Michael Savage nastygrams SavageStupidity.com * April 28: MichaelSavageSucks.com also nastygrammed by radio show lawyers * May 12: Talk Radio Network sues three small websites * June 5: Savage is attempting to seize our domain name. Lawyers for Talk Radio Network, Inc. (Savage's radio syndication partner) assert that savagestupidity.com is "confusingly similar" to michaelsavage.com and say "Savage Nation" listeners are unable to tell difference between "michael" and "stupidity" (neither can we), they also claim violation of non-existent trademark. * June 9: Shock radio and TV jock Michael Savage, who since March has had a talk show called Savage Nation on MSNBC, regularly calls homosexuals "perverts;" women "whores;" Asians "little soy-eaters;" progressives "filthy slime;" and immigrants or people of color natives of "sacred Turd World nations." So it doesn't seem like Savage would be one to complain about a lack of freedom of speech. But suppression of Savage's freedom of speech is one of the allegations made in a lawsuit filed against four individuals and one company that run three separate Web sites. Savage claims the sites criticized or parodied him and supported boycotts of sponsors of his programs that had been called for by another organization not named in the suit. An encore presentation, * Michael Savage's surprising letter to famous gay poet Dear Allen [Ginsberg], After speaking to you on the phone about how nice the black-white thing is in mountain villages in Fiji, I walked downstairs to the school courtyard, where a little-known black brother looks at me, takes my hand gently, we do some old-world Lower East Side finger tricks, and he peacefully kisses the back of my hand I do the same for his hand. I told him about our brief talk, and he says, "I must have felt the vibes." Now, the dope-smoking, boy-loving grand dame of '60s degeneracy didn't seem like the kind of riffraff a nationally renowned homophobic zealot would have on his buddy list. But we shouldn't have been so surprised. In Savage's thinly veiled confessional novel Vital Signs, the protagonist admits he is allured by "masculine beauty," saying, "I choose to override my desires for men when they swell in me, waiting out the passions like a storm, below decks." More intriguing is the reported existence of a picture of Savage and Ginsberg swimming naked together in Fiji." These days, of course, Savage is more prone to saying, "The gay and lesbian Mafia wants our children!" Ah, the innocence of youth. An encore presentation, * Terror warning over electronic equipment "Please click off your cellphones, laptops, GameBoys, and other electronic devices at this time" Point of interest * War profiteers THE POLICE: LINK HERE * More than 100 troopers investigated in 89 sexual-misconduct cases AFRICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Uganda's atrocious war "They tied me and laid me down. They told me not to cry. Not to make any noise. Then one man sat on my chest, men held my arms, legs, and one held my neck. Another picked up an axe. First he chopped my left hand, then my right. Then he chopped my nose, my ears and my mouth with a knife." * Rebels accuse Liberia's Taylor of attacking them * Reality TV, African style With contestants from across the continent, Big Brother Africa is a runaway - and controversial - hit ASIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * South Koreans hold huge anti-U.S. rallies The largest protest was in the capital, Seoul, where about 20,000 people, many holding candles gathered at a plaza near the U.S. Embassy, chanting "Punish the murderous GIs!" and "Withdraw U.S. troops!" * Laotian authorities won't let U.S. officials see detained American pastor, others * Japan fights whale conservation measure * Taunts, catcalls and deafening desk thumping mark surreal budget debate in Pakistan's paralyzed Parliament * South Koreans sue Japan over years of forced labor Will Wal-Mart be next? EUROPE LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * How much designer bottled mineral water do you need while you address the world's shortage of adequate drinking supply? The answer, in the case of G8 leaders and their media entourage camped out in the spa town of Evian this week, was estimated at 7,800 gallons enough to keep a healthy adult's thirst at bay for 40 years. * Brits picking Homer Simpson as "greatest-ever American" Doh! * The oldest pirate on the radio * Ireland's "Viagra Falls" relishes movie plans Asked about the town's population, Hartnett laughed: "Well, it's 1,200 this week but it could be 12,000 this time next year." THE MIDDLE EAST LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * In Afghanistan, US turns to the Taliban I wonder if after a year or so of unrest in Iraq if we'll be hunting down Saddam not to punish him but to help out in Iraq? * Saudi Official defends his country's payments to families of suicide bombers Unleashed an anti-Israel tirade But his country has all that oil, so it's OK. WHAT A CURIOUS TIME FOR LINK HERE * Commentary: The illusion of another Vietnam Memo to Iran's leaders* Commentary: Has the American Empire passed its apex? With 25 U.S. soldiers dead and counting since Baghdad fell, what the empire now entails is a steady stream of caskets coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq and tens of billions of American tax dollars going the other way to pay the cost of reconstruction of countries we have defeated and occupied. * America's shameful legacy of radioactive weaponry The US Department of Defense (DOD) has shown little interest in pinpointing the medical effects of radioactive weaponry. In the 1991 Gulf War, an estimated 320 tons of DU ammunition was dumped on Iraq, and the Pentagon later acknowledged over 900 American soldiers had sustained "moderate to heavy" DU exposure. Few epidemiological studies have been conducted to assess the damage though, and even worse, US government officials have lied to cover up bad results. For example, a Pentagon spokesperson recently told the NATO press corps, "We have seen no cancers or leukemia" in a group of 60 Gulf War vets involved in a DU-study program, despite that fact that two participants had in fact contracted cancer. And in a press briefing last March, a DOD spokesperson downplayed health risks associated with DU, claiming Iraqis complained about it only "because we kicked the crap out of them." Fortunately, British researchers have taken the DU issue more seriously. Scientific studies in the UK have shown Gulf veterans can have up to 14 times the normal level of genetic chromosome abnormalities, which means their children are also at increased risk for deformities and genetic diseases. It's also been proven that DU-exposed vets have a greater likelihood of contracting lymphatic or bone marrow cancer. Findings like these have prompted the European Parliament to call for a moratorium on DU ammunition (and other types of uranium warheads) pending independent investigations into their possible harmful effects. Similarly, the UN Environment Program has announced plans to test the Iraqi environment for DU, and the World Health Organization may begin similar testing on the human population. VISIT LOVELY PALESTINE LINK HERE * Lugar: US troops to war in Palestine IRAQ: LINK HERE * Pre-war claim Hussein tried to buy uranium was in doubt U.S. agencies did not believe Hussein shopped for uranium LIFE IN LIBERATED IRAQ LINK HERE * U.S. bombs suspected terrorist camp, raids homes NORTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Feds promise to pretend to make changes in handling terror suspects Perhaps they'll tie a string around feds' fingers to remind them there's still a Constitution. * Indian priest arrested for carrying knife into United Airlines A US marshal arrested Nityaprakash Das on Wednesday on board the aircraft after a flight attendant saw him pull out the knife to cut a piece of fruit, said Mike McCarron, spokesman for San Francisco International Airport. The plane took off in Newark, New Jersey and it was unclear how Das passed through security with the knife. * Al Qaeda plotted to 'demolish Brooklyn Bridge' * Maine Legislature approves universal health insurance program * U.S. threatens to yank NATO bucks over Belgian war crimes law * U.S. gets new exemption from war crimes court * Controversial world court gets first prosecutor * House approves bill shifting class-action suits from state to federal courts Opponents call it "corporate welfare" Opponents were scathing about provisions making the bill retroactive to cases where the judge has not yet certified a class such as in Enron's case and allowing appeals of the class certification before the rest of the case goes forward. "This bill would give Enron the power to unilaterally delay the case for many more years," Rep. Martin Frost (D., Texas) declared. * Former TV anchor settles lawsuit over age, sex and race discrimination * New York City tickets people for smoking on the sidewalk * Senate blocks privatization of air traffic control * Commentary: The problem with the Democrats is that they are weak on foreign policy Not like the grown ups (or GOP, as they refer to themselves), who are even now negotiating with moral clarity and God most assuredly on their side. How this can remain conventional wisdom this far into the Bush administration is a testament to the minds ability to filter information as it processes and stores it. * New York Times finds more bull from imaginative reporter It's Jayson Blair again, not Judith Miller. * Three convictions thrown out in 1985 case Three men imprisoned since 1986 in the rape and murder of a teenage roller rink worker had their convictions thrown out Wednesday after advanced DNA testing failed to link them with the crime. * Lawyer wants terror aid charge dismissed A defense attorney asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss charges against a lawyer accused of helping a jailed Egyptian cleric disseminate messages to terrorists. Civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart should be protected by the attorney-client privilege and the First Amendment, said her attorney, Michael E. Tigar. Prosecutor Christopher Morvillo argued that those privileges do not protect a lawyer from violating the law, especially when it involves national security. A lawyer colluding with terrorists, or the government intimidating an attorney? Since at least September 11, 2001, I've never seen "national security" trotted out except as an excuse for atrocities, so I sure have my doubts when it's trotted out here. * Mexico repaying last loans from '82 crisis 16 years before due-date * Castro marches against top trade mates While an announcer chanted ''Down with Fascism,'' Castro marched past the Spanish Embassy as supporters carried signs referring to Prime Minister José María Aznar as the ''little Führer,'' a nickname Castro gave him in a televised speech late Wednesday. Across town, Castro's brother and designated successor, Armed Forces chief Gen. Raúl Castro, led protesters past the Italian Embassy, where placards referred to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as ''Benito Berlusconi'' a reference to former fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Castro's outburst of bitter invective showed his willingness to alienate the 15-member bloc that is Cuba's most important source of trade and tourism. Spain is Cuba's second largest trading partner after Venezuela, and the Spanish-owned Sol Melia chain controls 21 hotels around the island, Larry Luxner, a Washington-based journalist who publishes the monthly newsletter CubaNews, told The Herald. * Miami targets alleged freedom By day, they are your run-of-the-mill Latin eateries, offering everything from medianoche to bistec empanizado to Cuban coffee. But when nightfall comes, police say, some begin serving something else: cocaine, prostitutes, and, on occasion, a free strip show. * Colleagues defend Professor accused in missing-plague case * Commentary: America's imperial delusion * J.Bush's partisan foe going national Tony Welch, the Democratic spinmeister whose zingers got under Gov. Jeb Bush's skin during two elections, is taking his partisan act national, aiming directly at the governor's brother. * Commentary: The history of America is the one story every kid knows >NOBR>The unofficial history of the United States * Commentary: The First Klutz How the media played Carter's killer rabbit, Gerald Ford's clumsiness, and GW Bush's fall from the gyro-balanced Segway * Noam Chomsky, interviewed in Alternative Press Review * N.J. may soon expand records of criminals' DNA for probes Investigators finally solved the crimes after they matched DNA from a crime scene to DNA in a federal database belonging to an Englewood salesman. That man, Charles A. Rawlings, had served a 15-year federal sentence for bank robbery, and upon his release had been required to submit a DNA sample. * Illinois company withdraws chewing gum with KKK play-tattoos * California man faces charges for hijacking Al-Jazeera According to Racine's plea agreement, which was filed Thursday, Racine began working to take control of the site March 24 in response to Al-Jazeera posting on its Web site photographs of captured American prisoners of war and soldiers killed in action in southern Iraq. "After learning that Al Jazeera had posted the photographs, defendant John William Racine II devised and executed a scheme to gain control of the Al-Jazeera Web site, domain name and all of the e-mail traffic sent to Aljazeera.net by making false statements to Network Solutions," the agreement indicated. ... The charges, filed Monday, claim that on March 25 Racine discovered a password that allowed him to reroute those who tried to visit Al-Jazeera's Web site to his own site, which contained an American flag in the shape of the continental United States and the words, "Let Freedom Ring." * Al Franken, interviewed by Buzzflash BuzzFlash You made an appearance on Donahue's show back in January and confronted Bernard Goldberg about his book that claimed liberals run the media. And you made the comment on Donahue's show that so much of the right-wing media is just flat-out lazy in not tracking down sources or context for what is reported. Franken: Well, in that one, Goldberg had a chapter called "Left Wing Hate Speech." He uses as an example something that John Chancellor said in the commentary on Nightly News with Tom Brokaw on August 21, 1991 that was the day that the coup was put down in the Soviet Union, the one at the Parliament where Yeltsin was on the tank and stuff. And Brokaw gives this impassioned opening to the show, something like, "This is the day where the gray men of the Kremlin were finally put down. And history will speak. And that the people of Russia didn't let themselves go back into the darkness, the state oppression, blah-blah-blah." Total anti-communist, anti-Soviet introduction. And then, later in the show, Brokaw asks Chancellor, "What does Gorbachev do next?" Because, at this point, what brought about the coup were these horrible shortages that the Soviet Union was having, which were the worst shortages since World War II. And Perestroika, at this point, was six years old. Gorbachev had dismantled the state economy, and there was really no system there was no communism any more. And so John Chancellor says, basically, Gorbachev is in the position where he can't blame communism the problems are the shortages. And Goldberg quotes this in his book about "liberal bias" and says it refers to the absurd notion that John Chancellor believes that the shortages in the Soviet Union were not caused by communism. Of course John Chancellor isn't around anymore to defend himself. So I'm on the show with Donahue, and I'm in San Francisco on a satellite, which is always hard to do, and he's in the studio. And I asked him what happened on that day. I read him the quote. And I said, "What happened that day in the Soviet Union?" thinking that he knew. And then I would just say, "Then how could you leave out that context?" And in fact, he didn't know. Goldberg just didn't know. And Goldberg says, "You tell me, Al," very indignant that I would ask him. And I said, "No, you tell me. It's your book. You tell me." And basically he said, "OK, I don't know." Milton Friedman would have agreed with what John Chancellor was saying that day. But when you confront the right-wing media about their reporting, all they do is they get mad. Instead of saying, "You know what? I really screwed up." Well, what happened was Goldberg just regurgitated something he got from a right-wing media research center, and just put it in the book and thought that, oh, this proves that John Chancellor thought that communism wasn't a problem or something. * Proposed overhaul of kid-protection agency not nearly enough, child group says OCEANIA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * New Zealand's "legal fraternity" proposes end to right to represent yourself in court It's to save the government money, you see. And make money for the lawyers. * More truants found in Auckland sweep Police have found 971 Auckland youngsters evading school in the third week of a crackdown on truancy -- 48 more than in the operation's first week. * Aussie businessmen 'received secret commissions' SOUTH AMERICA LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * US voted out of human rights body in symbolic rebuke The member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS) have for the first time voted to exclude the US from representation on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, considered the most prestigious human rights monitoring body in the Western Hemisphere. * Genocide disqualifies Guatemalan Presidential candidate * Peru's teachers given a raise, end month-long strike Also, leaders' remarks raise questions about kidnapping On Tuesday the day the 71 kidnapped pipeline workers were rescued Toledo praised the armed forces, national police and intelligence service for their ''efficiency and professionalism'' in the rescue. The next day, Defense Minister Aurelio Loret de Mola told Congress that the kidnappers released the hostages before the soldiers arrived. BUSINESS & LABOR LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Upscale brothel opens in Nevada Employees call lush decor a 'class act' * Upscale pizzeria served with sexual harassment suit * Office manager gets jail time for taking $982k, $3,000 at a time * Montco firm to pay fine for charging customers' cards No word about how much this company stole, but ringing up $79.99 to $89.95 a pop from 1998 to 2001 would seem likely to add up. Nobody's going to jail, though. Funny how that works. * Computer jobs are as rare as mainframes * Commentary: Derivative alert raised to orange Freddie Mac and the SEC * Reports detail intimidation by top WorldCom executives * Cigarette makers spending more on advertising EDUCATION LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Cover-up charged in dorm fire The two students charged with setting the deadly Seton Hall University fire three years ago stonewalled investigators from the start and engaged in an elaborate cover-up aided by relatives and friends, according to sweeping indictments unveiled yesterday. * Teacher's alleged theft of $10,000 from students mars class graduation * Could we hold up the deification of retiring Schools Superintendent for just a moment? * Teaching how viruses work draws ire of security field GOVERNMENT LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Political cash: Thinly disguised bribery This smelly example is further proof that America must clean up the political cash sewer. * GOP Whip quietly tried to aid big donor Only hours after Rep. Roy Blunt was named to the House's third-highest leadership job in November, he surprised his fellow top Republicans by trying to quietly insert a provision benefiting Philip Morris USA into the 475-page bill creating a Department of Homeland Security, according to several people familiar with the effort. * Assemblyman an accomplice to rape, says alleged victim The woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's top aide two years ago yesterday charged Silver himself was ultimately responsible for this week's alleged rape by the same staffer. Former Assembly staffer Elizabeth Crothers who rocked the state Legislature in 2001 with her rape charges against Silver's chief counsel, J. Michael Boxley said Silver "sat by" after she came forward, failed to rein in Boxley, and was therefore to blame for the latest alleged attack. * Wild on Albany: Drunken deviants of 'Sin City' * "You want your kids? Get on all fours and suck my d---" A Brooklyn lawyer who had been accused of bribing a judge to rule for his clients and then nailed a sweetheart deal with prosecutors in exchange for gathering evidence against the judge was caught on tape boasting that he could get sexual favors to fix a custody case, The Post has learned. * Frauds must pay $2m after railroading MTA * New anti-nepotism policy proposed If the ordinance passes, relatives of Camden city officials will not be able to hold municipal jobs In other words, there is lots of nepotism there now. * Judge violates court order by buying woman a drink Judge Langton, of course, routinely orders defendants to stay out of bars and abstain from alcohol while their cases are pending in his court. Late last month, he jailed a defendant on $50,000 bond for violating a bail condition about drinking. * Federal probe is prompting details of billboard deals On a February weekend last year, two large cranes pulled up to the rear of a health club here and went to work on a billboard that only recently had been erected. By Monday morning, the sign was back up but 15 feet higher making it even more conspicuous to motorists racing by on the New Jersey Turnpike. While the billboard was more visible than ever, still hidden from public view were its connections to longtime Woodbridge mayor and now governor, James E. McGreevey. HEALTH & SCIENCE LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Pew study says malpractice caps hurt patients * Chimps got 'father' of HIV by devouring other monkeys * Human transmission of monkeypox feared * New Jersey residents none too pleased about contaminated soil * Protesters want antibiotics out of Burger King meat RELIGION LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Ex-Church worker jailed for fondling teen boys * Alaskan pastor to stand trial in killing of chapel intruders * June 10: Autopsy shows Pastor shot burglar in the back * Former vicar jailed over internet child porn * Mexico extradites Priest to Italy * Former Priest found guilty of indecency with a child * Apocalypse now AND NOW, LINK HERE TOP OF PAGE * Chess disagreement ends in stabbing death Who said chess players were wimps? * Elderly woman run over by her own car Because of the direction in which the tires were turned, the car continued to roll in reverse in a circle, and paramedics believe it backed over the woman a second time before a bystander was able to stop the car. * Inmates lien on judges in copyright con Everyone needs a hobby * St. Paul man sentenced in sex partner's bondage death * Woman sentenced to jail for ripping toenails off godson * Wisconsin man charged with stalking high school sweetheart from 1970s * Commentary: When the obituarists went west The Fifth Great Obituary Writers' Conference was held last weekend at Las Vegas not, alas, the Nevada gambling paradise beloved of Fr Joseph Fahey, the Jesuit priest who "played blackjack for the greater glory of God." This was Las Vegas, New Mexico, a cowboy town about two hours' drive into the desert from Albuquerque. * $2 greenback making comeback again Unknown News is updated We present a daily round-up of "unknown news" from credible sources, along with intelligent (we try!) commentary and dialogue on current events. Unlike CNN and your daily newspaper, Unknown News is not "fair and impartial, objective journalism," because we'll never pretend not to care. We are deeply concerned about fading freedoms in America, and US foreign policy that exports death instead of liberty. If you're concerned too, we'd love to say howdy and show you around. We try not to whine too much or too loudly, but we are poor and this site eats a lot of money and time. Your kind contributions, even just a buck or two, make all the difference andPLEASE BUY OUR STUFF RUN AN AD OR GIVE WHAT YOU CAN THANK YOU
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