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Wildfire: It`s Not If, but When

Your chances improve when you take prevention measures, and maintain them

(SALEM, Ore.) - This fire season has shown to be a long and grueling one. Stretching across the state from Klamath Falls to La Grande to Veneta, it started early and seems not to have an end in sight yet.

Defensible space around your home is the critical piece to improve the survivability of your home in the event of a wildfire, and there is still time to create it this fire season.

Portland: Health Advisory Issued for Willamette River

Visual observation of scum on river from southern end of Ross Island to Fremont Bridge

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The Oregon Health Authority is issuing a health advisory today, September 16, based on visual observation of scum on the Willamette River, extending from the southern end of Ross Island downstream to the Fremont Bridge in Multnomah County.

Water monitoring is underway to determine the species and amount of blue-green algae cells present in the river.

Cascade Policy Institute Gives Support to Measure 91 for Marijuana Legalization

Oregon Think Tank Supports Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Cascade Policy Institute’s Board of Directors recently voted to support the latest marijuana legalization initiative, Measure 91, which will be on Oregon’s November ballot.

While Cascade has always supported the decriminalization of cannabis on both philosophical and practical grounds, this is the first actual ballot measure in which the organization sees the positive features outweighing the negative features.

Over 2 Trillion Becquerels of Radioactive Waste in Pacific in Only 10 Months

This enormous amount of Radioactive Waste flowed from Fukushima Plant into the Pacific Ocean

(MONTREAL) - At least 2 trillion becquerels’ worth of radioactive material flowed from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean between August 2013 and May 2014, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has admitted.

The rate of release was 10 times higher than TEPCO’s pre-meltdown threshold for radioactive material.

Outrage Over Missing Emails But Not the US Opioid/Heroin Epidemic

The US Senate Committee on Finance focuses on Lois Lerner and the IRS emails and not the prescription opioid/heroin national epidemic!! Why?

(MYRTLE BEACH, SC) - On May 8, 2012 Senator Charles E. Grassley and Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the US Senate Committee wrote a letter to John H. Stewart, President and CEO of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin. Here is the first paragraph of the letter:

"As Chairman and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, we have a responsibility to the more than 100 million Americans who receive health care under Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.

UO Ducks Preparing For Different Sort of Challenge at WSU

After three weeks of defending pro-style offenses, the No. 2 Ducks (3-0) will face Washington State's wide-open passing attack on Saturday

(EUGENE, Ore.) - After three weeks of defending pro-style offenses, during No. 2 Oregon’s perfect run through nonconference play to start this season, the pendulum is about to swing dramatically in the other direction.

The Ducks (3-0) go on the road to open Pac-12 Conference play on Saturday when they play at Washington State (7:30 p.m., ESPN). The Cougars (1-2) lead the nation with 517 passing yards per game, more than 30 more than second-place Western Kentucky, and are coming off a win over Portland State in which they threw for a Pac-12 record 630 yards.

The Guardian Of Big Money

Britain is on the verge of tribal and nationalist fragmentation at the time the Middle East is going through the exact same process.

(LONDON) - The Guardian is backing a "No" vote in the Scottish independence referendum. “Nationalism is not the answer to social injustice,” the paper’s editorial suggested yesterday.

Not that I want to enter this debate. I am an immigrant in the UK and I do not feel entitled to take part in this discussion. However, this tense political situation deserves our close intellectual attention.

Oregon`s Deception Complex Fire Update

A Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity is in effect through 8:00 p.m. Sunday.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - The Deception Complex fire is expected to become more active, especially from noon through 5:00 p.m., as relative humidity drops to 10 to 15%. Winds will generally be out of the southwest to west at 10 miles per hour. However, as a surface low pressure system moves over the area around mid-day Saturday, winds could become very gusty and erratic.

Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team 4 with Incident Commander Brian J. Watts assumed management of the fire at 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

Antique Typewriters on the Come Back!

I still have a manual Smith Corona typewriter and I don’t know how I ever had the strength in my fingers to produce anything on that machine.

(EUGENE, Ore. ) - Hang onto your old typewriters because they are coming back. After whistle blower Edward Snowden leaked information about the NSA’s massive spying program, computer users worldwide were faced with the dilemma of knowing that everything they did on the Internet was an open book and being monitored by the US government.

Assuming American leaders are capable of being embarrassed, most embarrassing for Obama was when Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel learned that the US government had been tapping her cell phone conversations for six years.

Israel: Thousands Coerced Into Leaving the Country

Sudanese, Eritreans Seeking Protection Faced With Indefinite Detention

(SALEM, Ore.) - Israeli authorities have unlawfully coerced almost 7,000 Eritrean and Sudanese nationals into returning to their home countries where they risk serious abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Tuesday. Some returning Sudanese have faced torture, arbitrary detention, and treason charges in Sudan for setting foot in Israel, while returning Eritreans also face a serious risk of abuse.

The 83-page report, “‘Make Their Lives Miserable:’ Israel’s Coercion of Eritrean and Sudanese Asylum Seekers to Leave Israel,” documents how Israel’s convoluted legal rules thwart Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers’ attempts to secure protection under Israeli and international law.