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Just Another Day In Oakland

Former California Senator Barbara Boxer was assaulted and robbed in Oakland’ Jack London Square neighborhood on Monday.

Boxer, 80, was pushed in her back and the assailant stole her cell phone then took off in a getaway car.

 

They Elected Him -Twice!

Mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler has welcomed citizens of the city to take part in a lively "Welcome Back to the Heart of Portland" festival, offering "fun, family friendly activities" - but many city-dwellers are hardly in a festive mood.

Announcing the event on Twitter, the mayor promised live concerts, roller skating, and other "fun" activities from Friday to Sunday, but the response in the comment section has been tepid at best.

Actually, "tepid" hardly comes close: many here are mocking him due to his lack of leadership. Personally, I never voted for the guy to begin with - he's always been a weenie.

The city of Portland has been hit by frequent Black Lives Matter protests that have occasionally been marred by confrontations between demonstrators and the police. The protests, ignited by the death of George Floyd, have caused substantial damage to the once vibrant city centre, which is now scarred by graffiti and smashed windows.

 

The Steaks Are High

Food prices have been facing meteoric rises recently, but they are about to go even higher because the U.S. agricultural production is being absolutely devastated by what is being considered the worst drought in all American history. California produces over 60% of the vegetables, fruits, and nuts Americans consume all across the country, this is a major indicator that we will see food shortages and soaring food prices once again in the next couple of months. The truth is that all organic grains, which tend to be grown in concentrated areas, some of which are located in major drought regions, are in a particularly critical situation at the moment.

And it's not just fruits and nuts, either - the prices of meats here have already nearly doubled, though there are still decent prices on seafood at present.

 

Planning Ahead

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Washington state health officials are noticing an alarming increase in overdose cases related to fentanyl in recent months compared to this time last year.

Health officials said in a news release Tuesday that cases are reaching record-breaking levels and are now urging people to carry naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, if they plan on taking illicit drugs.

Yes indeed. Because druggies are paragons of foresight and planning, this approach is bound to succeed. Who knew?

 

Wave Of The Future!

Flooding was caused by a slow-moving, low-pressure weather system that sat over the region from 15 July, releasing two months’ worth of rain in two days. Over 10 inches of rain fell continuously in some places in the hilly Ardennes, Eifel, and Ruhr regions; in many cases, this was then channeled down steep-sided river valleys, unleashing massive destructive power in towns and villages in the water’s path.

There's nothing quite like modern rail; just ask the Germans:

That's not going to buff right out...these lines will be down for months (and in many cases, years).

You can see why so many politicians here in America are so eager to dump millions of tax dollars into modern rail.

 

 

You Can Die In U.S. National Parks, But It's Rare.

Banish Shea & Boyle LLP data showed that drowning, motor vehicle crashes, “undetermined” causes and falls were the top four killers, highlighting the rural and scenic nature of most sites.

Washington’s North Cascades National Park was the most dangerous, statistics-wise, with 652 deaths per 10 million visits.

You sort of have to work at it, but it can be done.

 

Buckled Roads

Different kinds of roads behave very differently under heat. In the US, roads are typically made of one of two materials — asphalt or concrete. “You can’t design for everything. Some things just break your infrastructure.” “It’s just sort of wait for something to break and then fix it when it breaks.”

And that's what happened across the Pacific Northwest - the extreme heat not only buckled roadways; it killed hundreds of people. Many were simply not expecting it to be so hot for so long, and air conditioning is relatively uncommon here. Many who died were at home, with no A/C. Our climate is generally mild, so residences are built more to withstand strong winds and the occasional cold snaps.

“That’s why Phoenix isn’t falling apart — it’s not Armageddon there because it’s hotter.”

The problem is that when some of these roads in Washington state were being designed, using those materials or design techniques would have been overkill — the area doesn’t normally get as hot as Phoenix, so there was no need to build with extreme heat in mind.

 

 

Well, She Was From High Street...

A 27-year-old Nazareth woman was charged Wednesday with causing the death of a person by shooting him up with meth after he overdosed on fentanyl in February, court papers say. Marissa Metler, of the 400 block of West High Street, was arraigned midday before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner on charges of third-degree murder, drug delivery resulting in death and two counts of possession with intent to deliver drugs, court papers say.

Metler told police she got the meth from the pipe, court papers say. A Pennsylvania State Police lab confirmed the residue in the pipe was meth, police said.

She's now looking at 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

And girls just wanna have fun.

 

 

The U.S. Military Tries "Anti-Aging Pills" For Troops

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the organization that administers America’s Spec Ops forces, says it will soon start clinical trials of an “anti-aging pill” that could halt some naturally degenerative effects of aging.

The hope seems to be that these will make them bigger, stronger, and able to quickly recover from injuries in order to rejoin their comrades faster than would normally be the case with their untreated counterparts. Presumably, they're going to have to wait a while in order to assess the relative effects of the treatments.

“We have completed pre-clinical safety and dosing studies in anticipation of follow-on performance testing in fiscal year 2022,” Navy Commander Tim Hawkins, a SOCOM spokesperson, told Breaking Defense.

 

 

Better Than Expected

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti had a tearful day in court on Monday as he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to extort footwear giant Nike to the tune of possibly as much as $25 million.

I'd assumed that, being a lawyer and all, he'd be allowed to simply walk. Apparently, not so. That's good; prison seems like a good thing for him - although he still should have received a longer sentence, it's still better than expected.