Salem Tattoo Artist Receives Awards at 2014 Body Art Expo

With over 200 tattoo artists on site, the variations of body art were endless.

(RIDGEFIELD, Wash.) - The Body Art Expo, the World’s Largest Tattoo Convention, took place last weekend at the Clark County Fairgrounds. The tattoo world came together for three days, and Oregon Body-Art Center from Salem was there.

It was the perfect place for those with some “killer ink” to show off to the folks who would appreciate it the most, and maybe get another tattoo, or a piercing, by some of the best in the business.

"After I got my first work from Ned, I don't go to anyone else," said Richard Rahn, as he relaxed on Ledhead Ned's table during a short break. "When you find someone this talented, you don't need to keep looking."

One Pet Dies in NE Salem House Fire

No firefighters were injured battling the house fire. One power line did burn and fall down onto the house, forcing crews to work around it.

(SALEM) - The homeowner at the scene of a fire at 2150 Lansing Avnue NE in Salem, told Salem-News.com that he had been welding a short time before discovering the fire. Battalion Chief Cord Van Derahe, confirmed that what turned out to be a two alarm house fire, started in the garage, and extended into the primary residence of the house.

In spite of the flames seen in this video, there was, "...minimal damage to the house, it was mostly just to the garage and one car," Van Derahe said.

SPECIAL SECTION Cannabis De-Classified

PTSD - Medical Marijuana Toxicology - Pharmacology

Say No to Big Money

We’ve already seen the results of Citizens United.  We know what happens when the special interests are left unchecked.  We know what the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove and their deep-pocketed friends can do when they have free reign to spend and spend and spend on political campaigns.

(WASHINGTON DC) - You’ve heard me say it before: The Supreme Court’s recent decision in McCutcheon v. FEC is another crack in the dam standing between us and unlimited political spending.

The decision eliminates the restrictions on how many campaigns wealthy donors can seek to influence. And let me tell you – it’s a step in the wrong direction.

Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers Reacts to Recent ICE Court Ruling

A judge found that the practice of complying with ICE detainers by extending the duration of confinement constitutes an unlawful seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.

(SALEM) - In responses to media inquires Sheriff Jason Myers has issued the following statement regarding the Miranda-Olivares decisions set forth by the US District Court of Oregon.

Effective April 16, 2014, and consistent with the Miranda-Olivares decision, the Marion County Jail will no longer hold inmates pursuant to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer alone. ICE may issue or forward a federal judicial warrant or order authorizing a suspected alien's detention, and the Jail will honor such warrants and orders.

Update from the Common Law Trial of Pope Francis and Others for Child Trafficking and Ritual Killing

Two separate witnesses describe their alleged rape and ritual torture by chief defendant Jorge Bergoglio (alias “Pope Francis”) in 2009 and 2010.

(BRUSSELS) - Following eight days of Court procedure and the commencement of the Citizen Prosecutor's case against the three chief defendants, the first Common Law adjudication of evidence concerning global child trafficking has adjourned for two weeks, until 10 am GMT on Monday, May 5, 2014.

Commencing on Tuesday, the case by the Citizen Prosecutor's Office presented evidence directly linking all three chief defendants with the planning and execution of child trafficking networks within the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches...

American Legion Post #1 Supports Veteran Health Motorcycle Outreach Mission

Portland Veterans support our annual ride to help educate Veterans.

(PORTLAND) - The American Legion Post #1 in Portland made a generous donation to Operation Red Dragonfly, Salem-News.com's Veteran Health Outreach Mission that is taking place for the second year in a row.

Salem-News.com editor Tim King will traverse the nation, giving talks about critical life and death issues affecting Veterans, their families, and all Americans.

Lawmaker Introduces Bill Requiring Veterans To Warn Neighbors Of Their Combat Service

"After reading this i am of the opinion that Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va) would have been better named Jim Moron." - Salem-News.com's Bob Collinsworth

(WASHINGTON DC) - Following a second mass shooting at Fort Hood, at least one lawmaker thinks a bill currently under consideration will ensure the safety of American communities by requiring the estimated 2.6 million unstable veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan to tell their neighbors of their combat service.

The Fortify & Unite Communities to Keep Veterans’ External Threats Secure Act (H.R. 1874) which was introduced on Tuesday, would require military veterans to register with the Department of Homeland Security and periodically “check-in” with a case officer...

Cannabis Goes Viral in Denver Colorado on April 19th

Kannaway Unveils Cannabidiol (CBD)-Rich Hemp Oil Products and Presents Unique Business Opportunity for Households Nationwide.

(SAN DIEGO GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Kannaway, LLC ("Kannaway" or "Company"), the first cannabis network marketing company that focuses on hemp botanical products, is hosting its inaugural convention during Colorado's "420 weekend" April 18th-19th at the Sheraton -- Downtown Denver.

Kannaway currently has over 60,000 marketing professionals in its network and more than 9,500 Brand Ambassadors.

Government Hostages and the Right of Movement in Democratic Sri Lanka

More than 65 people were ‘arrested’ in abduction style by the Sri Lankan military intelligence operatives who claim their identity as ‘Terrorist Investigation Division’ (TID) officers from the SL Police Department, news sources in Ki'linochchi told TamilNet.

(MELBOURNE) - In democratic Sri Lanka the Tamils are denied not only the right of free movement, but also the right to have visitors around. Hostage taking and keeping them in unhealthy conditions has become routine.

Last week a pregnant Tamil lady, taken for interrogation, was handled so badly that she aborted.

''Killing George Bush''

This morning's piece on "Mike Palecek & The New American Dream"

(WASHINGTON DC) - YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN that George H.W. Bush still lives. That old snake that we saw sneering in the backroom on the night his son was dishonestly named President of The United States. The one who lied that he was out of the loop. The one who ordered the killing of thousands of people in Panama.

The one who ordered the building of many new prisons to get tough on drugs and criminals in America, and it was all a scam, all to get elected, gain power.

Amnesty International: Israel... Lift 'Ludicrous' Restrictions on Whistleblower Vanunu Decade After Release

Vanunu had been previously held by Israel in solitary confinement for 11 years from 1986 in conditions that Amnesty International at the time called cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

(WASHINGTON DC) - Ten years after serving a full sentence for his revelations to the press about Israel’s nuclear weapons programme, Mordechai Vanunu still faces severe restrictions that arbitrarily infringe on his freedom of movement, expression and association, said Amnesty International.

The former nuclear technician already served an 18-year-prison sentence...

Oregon State Rep Kim Thatcher Contributes to Motorcycle Veteran's Outreach Mission

I strongly appreciate the donation from Kim Thatcher, I hope it inspires others in Oregon to do the same...

(SALEM) - State Representative Kim Thatcher is the first Oregon politician to contribute to Operation Red Dragonfly.

It is my personal outreach mission to educate Americans about the impacts of military base chemical toxic contamination on Veterans, their families, and civilians who are affected due to residential proximity to polluted bases, many of which are closed, yet no less lethal.

Lunar Eclipse Creates Stunning Blood Moon for Sky Gazers

Millions of people around the world were watching the sky late last night, hoping to catch a glimpse of the "blood moon"

(SALEM) - The "Blood moon" is a sight only witnessed during a total lunar eclipse, when the Earth spins between the sun and the moon.
The shadow of the Earth catches the refracted light from the sun, and the moon has a reddish, almost copper-color sheen cast upon it.

Though the blood moon was to be most prominent in North and South America, most of the United States was cloud-covered and the spectacle was hidden from view.

USD 800 Million Acquisition of House of Fraser, China's Largest Foreign Retail Investment to Date

Clyde & Co has a presence in four locations in Greater China, namely in Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

(LONDON) - The law firm Clyde & Co has advised Sanpower Group Co. Limited (Sanpower Group) in relation to its acquisition of an 89% stake in British retailer House of Fraser.

The deal, signed on 3 April 2014 and valued at approximately GBP 480 million (USD 800 million), is the Sanpower Group’s first major investment in the UK retail sector and China’s largest foreign retail investment to date.

Fifty Years After the Civil-Rights Act, Let's Take ''Yes'' for an Answer

Why not move forward in developing a genuinely color-blind society?

(WASHINGTON DC) - During the second week in April, the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas hosted a summit on civil rights, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

THE ECONOMIST noted that, "The fact that the Civil Rights Act can now be the subject of a major conference is, in itself, a sign of how much this country has changed since its passage..."

Is FDA's Margaret Hamburg, MD Contributing to the U.S. Heroin and Opioid Epidemic by Living in an Ivory Tower?

In the past couple of weeks, the fires continue to rage at the FDA's approval of Zohydro.

(MYRTLE BEACH, SC) - Hamburg has lost touch with reality and is not protecting the country in the heroin/opioid epidemic killing and addicting in record numbers.

Why it's time for Hamburg to be fired from her position and replaced with someone who has not profited financially from pharmaceuticals.

Heads of Decapitated Children Discovered After Buddhist Attacks in Myanmar

Five Muslim men found the severed heads of at least 10 Rohingya in a water tank and some of those were children. How Does it Feel to be a Rohingya?

(KUALA LAMPUR Burma Times) - Since 2012, a place called Rohingya in Myanmar has been grabbing international headlines, with reports of people being hunted down and killed, villages being put to the torch, and refugees being stranded at sea after neighboring countries refused to let them in.

So what’s going on in Myanmar?

But for the Grace of God

I will always wonder what happened to the very sad woman and the happy little guy named Simon.

(OKLAHOMA CITY) - Today, when I was out running errands I saw an older woman and a young boy panhandling on the side of a very busy street. Yes, I admit, it was the young boy that gave me pause.

The woman was holding the boy’s hand and with her other hand was holding up one of those handmade, brown, ragged cardboard box signs. It was written in such a way I could not discern her plea but that didn’t matter.

The Climate Is Invading the Earth!

Ah, but the dark lord of the heat is subtle. He has cells of loyalists among us. They push fossil fuels on us and tell us comforting lies. No longer!

(WASHINGTON DC) - If an alien invader with a face were attacking the earth, the difficulties that governments have getting populations to support wars on other humans would be multiplied a thousand fold.

The most common response to officials calling some petty foreign despot "a new Hitler" would shift from "yeah, right" to "who cares?" The people of the world would unite in common defense against the hostile alien.

Ukraine Falling to Economic Warfare and Its Own Missteps

There has been no movement by the Ukrainian military to make good on its ultimatum; indeed, the messages have been unclear and contradictory.

(LONDON OilPrices.com) - As protests in Ukraine's eastern region turned violent on Sunday leading to the death of a Ukrainian security officer in a shootout with pro-Russian militia, Kiev threatens military action while Moscow flexes its geo-economic warfare muscles.

Pro-Russian militia groups have seized government buildings and police headquarters in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk and Slovyanks--where the shoot-out took place--and despite a Monday morning ultimatum by the Ukrainian government, these groups have shown no sign of giving in.

Stop Playing Politics With Veterans

The American people are urged to write, call their members of Congress and Senate and demand they take positive action providing VA benefits to those in need.

(MEDIA, PA) - Our legislators in Washington must stop playing politics with our veterans, this is especially true of Vietnam war veterans. Will the game playing carry over to our veterans of present day wars?

Will they too become pawns? Veterans have few friends in Washington. Just like the Vietnam veterans, today’s veterans will face what we are up against, little to no support.

Sierra Club: Fracking California... A Disaster Waiting to Happen

The environment is essential, especially since we don’t know the potential health risks associated with fracking.

(SAN LUIS OBISPO) - Sometimes fact is so much stranger than anything even the best novelist could write. Take California, which sits atop a 1,700-square-mile oil shale deposit that is threatened to be accessed by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Fracking is an ugly, largely unregulated process that forces massive amounts of water, sand and an unknown cocktail of chemicals into the ground, the end result of which is to release more dirty fossil-fuel pollution into our environment.