The Bangor Eight Peace Activists Found Guilty in US District Court

The activists were charged with crossing the "thin blue line", trespassing onto a US nuclear weapons base.

(TACOMA, Wash.) - Eight activists crossed the blue line onto Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which represents the largest operational concentration of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal, in an act of nonviolent civil resistance.

Some staged a die-in, spreading ashes around others’ bodies on the asphalt, while two members of the group attempted to deliver a letter to the base commander urging him to uphold international law regarding nuclear weapons.

Bernie Sanders Says We Have Got to Re-Think the 'So-Called' War on Drugs

Bernie Sanders spoke to thousands in Portland, Oregon

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - "But when we talk about drugs, all of us have got to recognize that in my state of Vermont, neighboring New Hampshire, and all over this country, we have a major crisis in terms of opiate addiction, heroin addiction, and people dying every day from overdoses.

"What we have got to do as a nation is to understand the most effective way to deal with drug and alcohol abuse is not making them crimes, but making them health issues."

Linn County Looking for Search and Rescue Recruits Ages 14-18

Applicants must attend a recruit meeting at the Sheriff's Office on April 11th or May 9th

(ALBANY, Ore.) - Successful applicants will be eligible to attend the 11 day Search and Rescue Training Academy in June.

The training will include classes in wilderness survival, shelter building, search tactics, first aid/CPR, map and compass reading, rappelling, and many more topics. There will also be a three day field exercise in the Cascades that include a 20 mile hike.

SPECIAL SECTION Cannabis De-Classified

PTSD - Medical Marijuana Toxicology - Pharmacology

Artist Dom Martin Remembers the Plight of Palestinians on Land Day

Lest they be forgotten. 1.8 million people live behind closed walls, in Gaza.

(LONDON) - Gaza epitomizes the epicenter of the harrowing ethos and pathos of human conscientiousness — the thesaurus to every psychological algorithm imaginable or inflictable upon a dispossessed people.

For more than 60 years and several generations going forward, the people of Gaza — who were culturally and ancestrally uprooted from their homeland — have since steadfastly endured the abysmal scourge of survival and strangulated coexistence.

Marijuana Extracts NOT FOR SALE! (Yet) for 21+ in Oregon

OMMP must draft rules before stores may sell products to the recreational market.

(SALEM, Ore.) - On Tuesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill that allows anyone 21 and older to buy cannabis (marijuana) extracts and pot-infused edibles from Oregon dispensaries.

However, the Oregon Health Authority added that it must draft rules for the sale of extracts and edibles before stores may sell them to recreational users.

RADAR Speed Sign Erected on River Rd

This should help slow drivers as they enter the city.

(KEIZER, Ore.) - In June 2013 the City of Keizer purchased two RADAR speed signs which were installed to increase speed awareness. One sign was erected just north of the Salem Parkway on Verda Ln NE and the other was placed just west of McLeod Ln NE on Lockhaven Dr NE.

These driver feedback signs are powered by solar energy and can be placed anywhere there is ample sunlight.

High Wind Watch Issued for Western Oregon Areas

Batten down the hatches! Windstorm is Forecast.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The National Weather Service has announced a High Wind Watch is in effect from Sunday morning through Sunday evening for the greater Portland and Vancouver metro area, the Willamette Valley, Lower Columbia and I-5 Corridor in Cowlitz County.

South to Southwest winds are expected to be 30 to 40 mph, with gusts to 60 mph.

Uncensored & Unscripted: Human Rights Activist Ken O'Keefe to Speak in Salem/Portland

“I am first and foremost a lawfully declared world citizen, meaning my ultimate allegiance is to my entire human family and to planet Earth.” ~ Ken O’Keefe

(SALEM, Ore.) - In February, ex-US marine and Gulf War Veteran Ken O’Keefe was detained from boarding an airplane because he opted out of the TSA body scanner, agreeing instead to a physical body search, and was refused. That was the last thing O’Keefe needed, or expected. He travels a lot, and this response was a first.

Ken is standing up to the injustice he experienced. If it can happen to O’Keefe, then any of us are at risk.

Group Asadullah: New Killer of the Kurdish Nation

The Asadullah Group are militants tied to Sunni Islamist and nationalist policy with no clear identity of members.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In a Tweet on his personal page, an expert on Turkish affairs revealed the true identity of the Asadullah Group that has recently shown up in the Kurdish regions of Turkey.

Ozcan Turkan is a Turkish analyst and expert on affairs, and is also known as "The Magician" among journalists and regional analysts because of his hidden connections with influential figures and political circles in the region.

Corruption is a Tool Used by Some Azerbaijani

A mafia network in Azerbaijan expands their monopoly of gambling clubs.

(BAKU, Azerbaijan) - Following the economic crisis and the sharp decline in the value of Manat against the dollar, and the spread of unemployment and poverty, as well as extensive modifications throughout offices and commercial and non-commercial centers, we witness the formation of the a social crisis in Azerbaijan and some greedy treacherous officials of the country benefit from increased profits and control social emotions through the spread of drugs, gambling and corruption centers.

Islamic Iran: a Guarantee for Middle-East Stability

Tehran sends a message of peace and stability to all neighboring countries.

(TEHRAN) - Iran witnessed the first spectacular missile war-game after the historic nuclear deal, better known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In spite of ill-considered western reaction to Iran's missile drill, Iranian politicians stressed that Iran pursues peaceful agenda and its military might is solely deterrent and its part of Tehran's inalienable rights to defend its sovereignty and national interests.

Turkey and Extremist Rebels Breach Syria Truce

Syrian people blame Turkey and Saudi Arabia for stoking the fire

(MOSCOW) - According to the Russian language newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, radical Wahhabi militants and their key regional backer, Turkey, have not been observing the temporary ceasefire agreement.

The hard-line Jaysh al-Islam rebel group has declared that the Syrian army is preparing itself to advance in the rebel-held areas after the termination of the internationally mediated truce...

Praise for Passage of Oregon Bill to Implement Comprehensive Rape Kit Reform

Oregon SB 1571 addresses the embarrassing backlog of untested rape kits.

(NEW YORK) - DNA evidence is an invaluable investigative tool. When tested, rape kit evidence can identify an unknown assailant, confirm the presence of a known suspect, affirm the survivor's account of the attack, connect the suspect to other crime scenes, and exonerate the wrongly convicted.

Yet too often the decision is made not to test these kits. Right now, there are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits sitting in police and crime lab storage facilities across the country. We don’t yet know the extent of the backlog in Oregon. But we are soon to find out.

HB 4040 Delists Wolves as Positive Action for Ranchers, Wolves and Oregon

The outcome of this bill gives additional support for the Oregon Wolf Plan that was previously agreed on by multiple stakeholders.

(SALEM, Ore.) - After months of hard work, long conversations and countless meetings, HB 4040 passed the senate on a 17-11 vote Wednesday evening.

This bill, sponsored by Representative Barreto, gives support to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and their decision to delist the wolf. All that remains is for Governor Kate Brown to give final approval.

The Godfather of Terror: Anti-Iran Terrorist Mujahadeen-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) Cooperates With ISIS

Iraqi media disclosed MKO's role in Saudi-led campaign in tarnishing Mobilization Forces' image.

(BAGHDAD) - According to well-informed security sources, Iraqi Federal Police foiled a suicide attack by a group of MKO terrorists who attempt to target a gathering of prominent Sunni clerics.

Although the source, an Iraqi Police spokesman, was reluctant to go into further details, it was confirmed that previous confessions made by arrested ISIS members show the great degree to which MKO is cooperating with the so-called Islamic State.

Hashtag #usaweaponskillsyemenis Goes Viral, Reaching 250 Million Tweets

The Wall Street Journal, in a scathing attack on Obama's policy in the Yemeni crisis, claimed that America has violated the laws of war by taking a side in the hostilities.

(SANA'A, Yemen) - Last Wednesday, American anti-war activists launched the hashtag #usaweaponskillsyemenis campaign and inundated social networking websites with waves of international condemnation against the negative U.S. negative in the so-called 'Arab Spring' countries, namely Washington's cowardice support for Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Int'l Women's Day Proves Strength and Tenacity Year after Year

Women’s day is about actions against injustice, in deeds, not simply words.

(OCCUPIED PALESTINE) - On this International Women's Day, I am in Amman attending the Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance Conference where most presentations are by brilliant women (thank you Rita Giacaman for excellent coordination/organizing).

In this conference, public health issues are discussed in the regional context and in the context of Israeli colonial occupation. I was inspired mostly by people here: good dedicated experts who present the data regardless of how they get attacked by the powerful elite who profit from war, conflict and inequality.

Social Media Websites Overlook Freedom of Expression with Deletion of Pro-Resistance Pages

Is Saudi Arabia behind the removal of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's Fan Pages?

(BEIRUT) - Instagram users are complaining of the rising crackdown on pro-resistance fan pages. Access has been lost to the official page of Lebanon's Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, without any previous notice.

Recently, an Instagram page, highly popular for sharing materials from Hezbollah's vantage point, was deleted for the fourth time in a row.

Charges Dropped Against Lena Hendry Human Rights Activist After Three Years

No Fire Zone director Callum Macrae described the charges against Lena as “a disgrace”.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The acquittal of leading human rights defender Lena Hendry on charges of breaching Malaysia’s draconian censorship laws has been welcomed by film-makers, actors and artists around the world.

Ms Hendry was accused of screening the award-winning documentary No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka – a film about human rights abuses at the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war – to an invited audience in July 2013.

Refugees in Europe on the Verge of Humanitarian Disaster

"...a life worse than that of prison"- Anna Sabatova, on visiting a refugee camp in Czech Republic.

(SKOPJE, Republic of Macedonia) - The Greece-Macedonian border witnessed a lugubrious scenes of a large influx of Iraqi and Syrian asylum-seekers. Human Rights organizations cited reports of Police clashed with a group of 300 refugees trying to cross the border fence.

The police are reported to have fired tear gas at crowds.

WikiLeaks: Sudanese Gov't Collaborates with Saudi Arabia to Betray Palestinian Cause

The Halayeb Triangle is a disputed region between Egypt and Sudan

(KHARTOUM, Sudan) - A confidential letter from the Saudi embassy in Sudan to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was leaked out and provoked controversy in Sudanese media.

The letter purportedly reports a meeting between Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, Saudi ambassador to Sudan and an European expert on the sidelines of the Twenty-sixth African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

Why Vegan Foods are 2016's Top Trend in the Restaurant Industry

Veganism is both a practice and a philosophy.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In recent years, the restaurant industry has experienced a significant amount of change with various popular movements related to ideas about food.

One big trend that is expected to rise this year and next is the prevalence of vegan foods in more typical dining settings.

Meredith, Unconventional Studios Announce Video Content Partnership

Nationally Syndicated Daily Entertainment Television Show will Be Featured Across Meredith Digital

(NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ ) - Unconventional Studios produces branded entertainment content and experiences for video platforms spanning digital, mobile and broadcast television, with studios in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

As part of the partnership, OK! TV will be rebranded "Celebrity Page" beginning March 28, 2016 and will feature lifestyle content from many of Meredith's most recognized brands such as Better Homes and Gardens, Shape, Parents, Martha Stewart Living and Allrecipes.