More on Portland's Masked Hero

Oregon Live has the story. More data on the 'phantom bike hero' who rides Portland at night.

I love this story and it just feels so right that it is happening in Portland.

Texas Teacher Suspended for Atheism

My Father is a retired English and History teacher, he also happens to be a retired Presbyterian minister. This story from Texas would disgust him. The story of Richard Mullens is a sad commentary on the situation in Texas as pertains to education. Follow the link and read it there, I don't want to quote the entire article.

I do hope that Richard Mullens gets good legal representation and sues the heck out of Bookeland's School Board. The behavior of the school board here is utterly reprehensible.

Cyclist killed in Ballard

Cyclist killed in Ballard, I don't normally note cycling accidents but this one was not far from me and the cyclist killed was my age. His name is Kevin Black.

The cyclist was riding downhill (Southbound) on 24th Ave approaching the 65th St. A van was swinging right to make a wide U-turn, Kevin assumed the van was turning right, and passed on the left, when the van came about Kevin realized what was happening and laid the bike down, going under the van. Here is a link to google maps street view . As you can see there is no room for a U-turn there and a U-turn is illegal in that spot. Given the speed that Kevin had from the hill I don't see how this could have turned out well. My suspicion is that the van driver will face no citations or charges for her actions.

Jessica Alba pwns BillO

Now I know that pwning BillO isn't a lifetime achievement or anything but check out this story and accompanying video from C&L.

Basically BillO was upset that when Jessica Abla was ambush interviewed by his "reporters" she said some unpleasant things about him. During the exchange she called BillO an asshole. So a week after said event he has a story calling Jessica Alba a "pinhead". He sent another ambush crew over:

Well, when Alba was again cornered by one of Fox's ambush-squad camera crews, she turned the tables by getting out her camera and asking questions of her inquisitor. When he refused to answer because he's a "journalist" (note: this is a fake excuse) she asked, "Why not? Be neutral. Be Sweden about it."

BillO then tried to pounce on air on the Sweden comment. Saying it is Switzerland who is famous for its neutrality. Jessica replies via a Myspace post:

I want to clear some things up that have been bothering me lately. I find it depressing that in the midst of perhaps the most salient time in our country's history, individuals are taking it upon themselves to encourage negativity and stupidity. Last week, Mr. Bill O'Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people...it's so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_during_World_War_II if you want to see what I was referring to. I appreciate the name calling and the accurate reporting. Keep it up!!

Poor BillO, he really should be careful attacking people who are smarter than he is.

Great Montage

Benwilker.com pulled off a very nice bit of work, check out his montage of news headlines.

More about Gaza

It is better to follow this link and read it there then to listen to my outrage. Really it is utterly unjustifiable for Israel to commit the war crimes it has been doing against the Palestinians in Gaza. This is horrific stuff and deplorable for Israel to be doing this considering their history.

Over one BILLION gallons of coal waste dumped in Tennessee

One billion gallons of coal ash and toxins have been released in Roane County, Tennessee. This is a horrible tragedy though predictable. This ash dump is filled with the kind of toxins that cause cancer, cause genetic mutations and generally turn an area unlivable, for how long we don't know, but I suspect this area will be toxic for decades. Follow the link and you will see that the TVA who is responsible for this has been trying to downplay the story and underestimate the effects. Additionally it is obvious they are criminally negligent. Hopefully we will see criminal charges and massive fines levied but the environmental and human damage is done. My heart goes out to the Tennesseans affected by this tragedy.

Israel attacks Gaza

Insanity and violence rule Israel now as Israel attacks the Gaza strip ending a six month ceasefire in bloody violence. The attack was done at mid-morning when schools and other civilian buildings were full. The attack was directed at Hamas which Israel brands a terrorist organization but Hamas are the elected leaders in Gaza. Israel has blockaded Gaza for the last six months reducing the people in Gaza to eating grass to survive.

I worked for Israelis for 6 years, I have been to Israel more than a dozen times in the '90s. My sympathies are normally for the Israelis but this is insane. My heart goes out to the Palestinians in Gaza and all the victims of this conflict. Hopefully the international response to this will re-instate the ceasefire and we can send aid into Gaza. Please let that be the case.

Blackwater Mercs indicted

Finally some of the Blackwater thugs who massacred civilians, some of whom where fleeing or had hands up, will face justice. One of the mercenaries has flipped and will testify against the five other guards.

I saw the news on Firedoglake. It is a damn good thing that we are finally willing to stand up to the lawlessness of our mercenary forces in Iraq. It is insane how much crap we let Blackwater, KBR, and crew get away with. If we value the rule of law we need to put these criminals in front of a judge.

Hunters beware, your prey isn't always so facile

A hunter recently discovered that his prey was not as helpless as it appears in a recent incident occurring in Montana. I think this hunter rediscovered the risks of hunting include more than just indiscriminate hunters who fire at anything that moves and Dick Cheney.