The Battle of Portland. Coming to a town near you!

An impressive overview from a journalist reporting at the protests in Portland.

Update:

Trump always wanted a Secret State Police Force like his hero's Gestapo

Federal Law Enforcement Use Unmarked Vehicles To Grab Protesters Off Portland Streets

“You have laws regarding probable cause that can lead to arrests,” he said. “It sounds more like abduction. It sounds like they’re kidnapping people off the streets.”

Ashlee Albies, a civil rights attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, said Pettibone’s detention is an example of intimidation by federal law enforcement, and noted that people have a First Amendment right to demonstrate. She also said law enforcement officials have to follow procedures when they detain someone. 

“I would be surprised to see that pulling up in an unmarked van, grabbing people off the street is an acceptable policy for a criminal investigation,” Albines said.

A clear look at the events on the Bundy Bird Sanctuary take over and trial

Spocko's Brain explains it all excellently. And makes me feel so much better.

The gnashing of teeth and the wailing of women...

How DARE Obama get the prisoners out of Iran using diplomacy!11!!1  We need a WAR to prove how manly we are!1!!1

The oceans are warming at a faster rate than we calculated. They are also filling up with plastic.

Nuclear gypsies:  those who are attempting to clean up Fukushima.

George Washington was right.

Actually, there hasn't been a mass shooting every day in 2015.

Now they are not allowed to tell us where our meat has been raised or processed.  That makes me feel so safe.

The Onion actually has a good take on the idiots in Oregon.

Quantum knots.

Monsanto Files Lawsuit to Stop California From Listing Glyphosate as Known Carcinogen

Bundy's Bozos blunder into boobies' base

Bundy militia standoff escalates when another heavily-armed group arrives to provide ‘security’

Audubon Society of Portland Statement on the Occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Bundy's Bozos caught using government computer, may have accessed social security numbers.  And are harassing government employees.

That'll show'em!

Update: a discussion on what the Oregon idiots are about.

What's wrong with these stories?

Seattle bank teller chases robber, loses job

US Marshals seize sanitizer for bacteria problems

Obviously what will win the 'war on terror' is bigger bombs.... which is what we've said ever since we dropped the A bomb on Hiroshima:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced U.S. bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.

The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs.

If Congress agrees to shift enough funds to the program, Northrop Grumman Corp's radar-evading B-2 bomber "would be capable of carrying the bomb by July 2010," said Andy Bourland, an Air Force spokesman.

Crazy Landlord Fights Heat Wave With Air Conditioning Ban

An Oregon landlord refuses to let his tenants install air conditioners because he thinks they "look tacky." Tenants of the Arbor Creek complex in Aloha who choose to sacrifice aesthetics for comfort have ten days to correct their mistake before facing eviction. One tenant's kid already landed in the hospital thanks to heat stroke.

China wants perfect astronauts:

Would-be astronauts competing for China's next space programme must comply with 100 rules - excluding those with bad breath or a runny nose.

The list, intended to recruit "super human beings", also prohibits those with body odours, tooth cavities or scars which may "burst open" in space.

Dammit! Americans have ruined the British class system by making people not buy fish forks!!

Cute: Why one should not draw faces in public.

I guess the question should be: Are people actually still evolving? Or are we now going backwards, sinking into primordial stupidity?

Don't answer that!

Get used to more articles like this

Salmon fishing was banned along the West Coast for the first time in 160 years Thursday, a decision that is expected to have a devastating economic impact on fishermen, dozens of businesses, tourism and boating.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez immediately declared a commercial fishery disaster, opening the door for Congress to appropriate money for anyone who will be economically harmed.

The closure of commercial and recreational fishing for chinook salmon in the ocean off California and most of Oregon was announced by the National Marine Fishery Service.

It followed the recommendation last month of the Pacific Fishery Management Council after the catastrophic disappearance of California's fabled fall run of the pink fish popularly known as king salmon.

It is the first total closure since commercial fishing started in the Bay Area in 1848.

Truly, it can't have taken people by surprise, right? You know... People fish something completely to extinction in one area and then are astonished the the natural fisheries collapse? What? The concept that you must leave some fish to make other fish is unknown?

Department of Peace

From an email sent to me:

Dear DoP supporters,

I have an action item I'd like to ask your participation in. As most of you know, I have been working with a group of students from West Linn High School who wanted to take a resolution in support of the Dept. of Peace legislation to their city council. On Monday, Nov. 10th, they successfully presented their testimony and supporting arguments to the council. By unanimous vote, the council passed their resolution that night! West Linn became the fourth Oregon city to do so; joining Lincoln City, Corvallis, and Portland.

We have the chance to get President-elect Obama's transition team's ear right now. They are asking for public feedback on their website.

One of our supporters, Rhonda Case, came up with an idea that I think is a good one. What if we all sent a personal message to the transition team with the same subject line, "Students Promote a Dept. of Peace in Oregon" on the same day? If there were enough of us, we could very easily catch their attention and shift some of their focus onto this important issue.

Since youth were a powerful constituent in Barack Obama's success, we could use the example of our own West Linn High School student's success garnering their local government's support of the legislation, as a lead-in for our own reasons why we support it and why the new president should as well.

Below are links to the West Linn Tidings newspaper article (you can forward the link with your message) about the students as well as the Obama transition team's website where they are taking input from the public (you can also access this from the Peace Alliance website, www.thepeacealliance.org).

http://www.westlinntidings.com/news/index.php

http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact

Please join me this Wednesday, November 19th in sending a message to Barack Obama! Together, we can make a difference…YES WE CAN!

Thank you!

Ken Bryan

Volunteer Organizer

Dept. of Peace Campaign, OR

www.dopcampaign.org

Update: Another way is to just send a postcard.

We won't help you live a little longer

But we will help you die faster:

The 64-year-old Oregon woman, whose lung cancer had been in remission, learned the disease had returned and would likely kill her. Her last hope was a $4,000-a-month drug that her doctor prescribed for her, but the insurance company refused to pay.

What the Oregon Health Plan did agree to cover, however, were drugs for a physician-assisted death. Those drugs would cost about $50.

This occurred in early summer of this year. Her doctor was able to arrange giving her the medicine for free. In googling her story, it seems that she has since died.

As the climate changes

We're going to see more of this:

Hundreds of Humboldt squid have washed up on northern Oregon beaches in the past few days in a rare die-off attributed to their coming too far north in search of food.

The squid, about 3½ feet long, have been reported as far south as Cannon Beach. Most of the deaths, however, were reported in the Columbia River at Astoria. A number of dead squid also washed onto rocks at the boat basin in Westport, Wash., last week. Because of the large number of squid available, the Aberdeen Daily World reported the state Fish and Wildlife Department lifted its five-squid daily limit for several days.

See an amazing deep sea contact with a Humboldt squid in this video.

When the federal government is run by morons

You turn to the states to make good:

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Seven U.S. western states and four Canadian provinces unveiled Tuesday a regional climate initiative that will cut greenhouse gas pollutants through an emission trading system.

Under the so-called Western Climate Initiative, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington as well as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec will issue industries permits to pollute but with a cap. The permits could then be traded by the industries among themselves to cheaply cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The initiative also allows participating states and province to offset emissions by planting trees or capturing landfill emissions, which are considered cheaper alternatives than installing expensive equipment to cut fossil fuel burning or switching to cleaner power.

The Western Climate Initiative.

The Los Angeles Times:

"We're sending a strong message to our federal governments that states and provinces are moving forward in the absence of federal action," said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, adding that the effort would spur renewable energy development and create "green jobs."

California, which passed a landmark global warming law in 2006, is well on its way to curbing emissions. But other states and provinces will have to overcome opposition in legislatures and from influential businesses. And several states have yet to sign on, including Nevada, Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming. Nevada has the fastest-growing population in the nation, and Colorado and Wyoming are booming energy states.

The plan also relies on a complex trading system in which businesses can buy and barter their way out of trimming emissions. Europe has instituted a carbon market, but not without some controversy. And many economists say that a tax on carbon would be a more efficient way to reduce global warming.

The initiative comes as studies suggest that climate change is taking a toll on the Western region of the U.S. and Canada. Scientists say that without dramatic cuts in the global burning of fossil fuels, Western states will suffer disproportionately from water shortages, severe wildfires, coastal flooding and species die-offs.

The Western plan covers about 20% of the U.S. economy and more than 70% of the Canadian economy, affecting power plants, industrial facilities and transportation, among other economic sectors. The seven states are Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The Canadian provinces are British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Gee. Even our local politicians recognize that before their state begins to look like this...



...people are expecting them to do something. NOW. As in immediately.

Thank you, Governor Gropenator, sir.

I bet he left the lid up, too

Because he certainly forgot to flush:

Washington D.C (AHN) - Fossilized feces, dating back some 14,000 years, is said to be the oldest evidence of human habitation found in North America. The ancient poop offers new DNA evidence about the identity of the first North Americans.

Researchers from the University of Oregon and University of Copenhagen made the discovery after examining DNA found in the oldest of the droppings recovered from caves in Oregon. The sample was carbon-dated and found to be approximately 14,340 years old.

The fossil contains two main genetic types of Asian origin considered unique to present-day Native Americans. The new findings offer proof that immigration took place more than 1,000 years earlier than otherwise believed.These genetic data suggest that the earliest North American settlers hailed from Eastern Asia and Siberia.

Researchers published their findings Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science.

University of Oregon archaeologist Dennis Jenkins found the feces in the Paisley caves, which are located in the south-central part of the state.

And so marriages around the country are collapsing

....aren't they? Society falling apart? Married couples take to the street with guns?

Well... it IS just Oregon....

Salem, OR (AHN) - Delivering on a campaign promise, Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed legislation Wednesday that will give same-sex couples in Oregon many of the legal rights that only married couples now enjoy.

With the democratic governor's signature, same-sex couples in the Beaver State -- beginning Jan. 1 --will be on the same legal footing as married couples when it comes to estate planning and medical decision-making, but the Oregon stops short of civil union laws on the books in Vermont and Connecticut.

The Family Fairness Act, as it is formally known, was introduced in the Democrat-led Legislature as a "civil unions" bill, but to allay criticism, the bill's supporters changed the bill to "domestic partnerships," which they say is a more accurate description, and more politically acceptable to religious moderates who might oppose gay marriage but support the notion of domestic partnership.

"I started this legislative session declaring that this is the session of opportunity, where we will succeed in affording all Oregonians the same rights and protections under the law - and where we will formally recognize that diversity and equality of opportunity makes us all stronger, not weaker," Kulongoski said in a statement.

The governor also signed into law a bill that beginning Jan. 1 bans discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in employment, housing and access to public accommodations.