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Op Ed: Point-of-Attack
Now Preparation
For Policy-Change

Same seductive saboteurs seek simplistic situations.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - President Barack Obama was elected by universal recognition that change MUST come in an America now driven towards an historic New Depression.

His ascendance demonstrates clearly and most intriguingly-- what empowers our Constitution and its encompassing Bill of Rights. But already the same slippery-seductive set of those determined to shape for themselves --thus seduce or even sabotage-- whatever President Obama is able to produce are right back at work.

With their lushly-nurtured lobbyists darkly lurking wherever they can find contact, you can bet. They hope to perpetuate “what has been”, as their best way to kill off what MUST be, now.

Hillary Clinton`s Disdain for International Law -- Change We Can Believe In?

Stephen Zunes dispatches this report from South Africa, where he is taking part in an international conference on Western Sahara.

(JOHANNASBURG) - For those hoping for a dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy under an Obama administration -- particularly regarding human rights, international law, and respect for international institutions -- the appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is a bitter disappointment.

Indeed, Senator Clinton has more often than not sided with the Bush administration against fellow Democrats on key issues regarding America’s international legal obligations, particularly international humanitarian law.

Nurses Reject AHIP Proposal as a `Marshall Plan for Health Insurers`

As stocks fall, insurance corporations look for backdoor bailout— guaranteed customers and revenue.

(SACRAMENTO) - The nation's largest organization of registered nurses today rejected the new to healthcare reform proposal by America's Health Insurance Plans as a "Marshall Plan for the health insurance industry."

Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the 85,000-member California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, blasted the proposal released today by AHIP, the lobbying arm of the insurance industry, which she said amounts to a "massive public bailout of one of the wealthiest private industries in America. Rather than subsidizing these industries through laws mandating Americans purchase their products, we would be better off either letting them fail, or simply taking them over, as we have been forced to do with other obsolete sectors."

The WOPR - What is the Price Tag for Oregon Residents?

Our BLM forest lands need to be managed to be economically productive every year, not once in the life time of a human.

(CAVE JUNCTION, Ore.) - Increased logging under the new Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR) will create timber jobs but the BLM acknowledges these jobs may be created at the expense of losing jobs and income in other economic sectors. The BLM provides no explanation in the WOPR of what these losses might be or who will be affected but a downloadable report on Highway199.org provides a good insight.

Land valuation research confirms that natural or forested areas can increase property value by about 5% for properties within view of forested landscapes and 6% for homes within a short proximity of forested lands. Some estimates for the influence of natural areas on the value of property go as high as 20% for areas where a forest interfaces with suburban neighborhoods.

Travel and recreation industry jobs can never be taken from a community by outsourcing but these jobs can be eliminated by thoughtless destruction of forest assets that support these industries. This is what the WOPR threatens to do.

New Public Toilet to Be Unveiled‏ in Portland

"The Portland Loos are meant to be a unique solution to a universal problem."- Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard will unveil the first of a new line of public toilets called Portland Loos on Monday, December 8th 2008 at 11:00 AM.

The first Loo will be installed adjacent to the Greyhound Bus Station on NW 6th Avenue in Portland's Old Town.

City officials say Old Town is fraught with large homeless populations and late night bars and clubs. The city has long sought a cost-effective solution for providing these populations with a safe and sanitary, 24-hour per day bathroom. Leonard intends for the Loos to be that solution. Eventually, the city hopes to install Loos in other high-need areas similar to Old Town.

Portland Air Guard Base‏ Range to Receive Environmental Assessment

A final Qualitative Assessment Report will be prepared and delivered to the Portland Air Guard, Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, as well as the Air National Guard Headquarters in early 2009.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Weston Solutions, Inc. will be conducting an environmental assessment of the Small Arms Range and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Proficiency Unit at the Portland Air National Guard Base, located at the Portland International Airport in Multnomah County, Oregon.

Oregon Guard officials with the 142nd Fighter Wing say the assessment is part of a Department of Defense- wide initiative to determine the potential for munitions constituents to migrate off military installations towards human receptors.

DOD Directive 4715.11 requires all DOD components to assess the potential for munitions migration at every operational range (air-to-ground ranges, small arms ranges, grenade ranges, machine gun ranges, EOD units, etc.).

Only a Handful of Oregonians Pay the Estate Tax, Study Shows

"Given the challenges now facing our country that require substantial new investments, today's report makes the case for Congress to maintain this important revenue source that applies only to extremely wealthy households"- OCPP's Chuck Sheketoff

(SILVERTON, Ore.) - Only a handful of Oregonians are subject to the federal estate tax, and their ranks will shrink further next year, according to a study released today.

Only 111 Oregon estates paid the federal tax in 2007, according to Citizens for Tax Justice's analysis of Internal Revenue Service data. The estate tax is typically paid in the year following the death, and preliminary data from the state's Public Health Division shows that there were 30,415 deaths in Oregon in 2006.

Thus, just four out of every 1,000 deaths in Oregon triggered the federal estate tax, according to the Washington, D.C.-based research institute. The ratio was 13 per 1,000 in 2000, before cuts to the estate tax were enacted in 2001 under the Bush Administration.

Corvallis Bank Robbery Suspect Sought

Bank robberies in Oregon appear to be on the increase as the state economy worsens.

(CORVALLIS, Ore.) - Police in Corvallis say a female entered the Key Bank on 1817 NW 9th Street Tuesday at 4:50 PM, approached a teller, provided her with a note demanding money, then fled the business to the north east on foot after receiving an undisclosed amount of money.

Benny & Sid`s Your Public Service Announcements #23

The latest edition of Benny & Sid's Your Public Service Announcements- Salem's only original Online cartoon series.

(Salem) - Black Friday has come and gone, and the question is are any of us the better for it? Benny was shoved out of line by a little old lady while waiting for Wal-mart to open.

Having spent a good deal of his Thanksgiving time standing in the cold he was primed to receive an epiphany when someone handed him a copy of the DVD "What Would Jesus buy?"

Read the following installment and learn of his experience.

Oregon Officials Will Meet Group Protesting Guard Deployment

Demonstrators staging a 24-hour-a-day vigil and fast on the capitol steps in protest of sending Oregon Guard troops to Iraq, get a glimmer of hope as state officials agree to meet with them.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A group protesting next year's deployment of Oregon Guard soldiers to the war in Iraq received news Tuesday that representatives of the state governor's office and leadership elements of the Oregon Guard, will sit down and meet with them on Friday.

Michele Darr of "Camp Homebound", the anti-war group demonstrating and fasting on the capitol steps, has asked repeatedly for a meeting with Oregon's Governor Ted Kulongoski and while they still have a way to go to reach that point, they believe meeting with representatives of the governor is an indication things are headed in the right direction.

"The Governor 'won't be available' to meet personally, but it's a start and we are grateful and eager for the opportunity of furthering dialogue," Darr said.