drugs

metal, drugs, bikes and treehuggers

Nothing else matters: Iraqi heavy metal returns

“I’ll see you die at my feet! Eternally I smash your face! Facial bones collapse as I crack your skull in half!” he roared.

Two years ago, these kinds of threats in Iraq typically came from members of al-Qaeda, or violent sectarian militias. Saturday night, they were directed at 250 Iraqi fans of heavy metal music who fearlessly donned eye shadow, anarchist pendants and black T-shirts and came out of hiding to attend Iraq’s first metal concert in five years.

Traces of hallucinogens found in mummy hair

Portland bike traffic up 28% over last year
Data Confirms Cycling On the Rise in New York City
Urban Cyclists: Stick Together, Don’t Inhale?

Michigan State arsonist sentenced to 9 years
Eau Claire man pleads to reduced federal charge
Eight months after arson, Street of Dreams is a ghost town

Bureau Proposes Opening Up Utah Wilderness to Drilling

One of the areas set to be auctioned off is Upper Desolation Canyon, which was named by explorer John Wesley Powell in 1869 while he traveled down the Green River, which traverses the canyon, to the Grand Canyon.

In a 1999 assessment, bureau officials wrote that Desolation Canyon “is a place where a visitor can experience true solitude — where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape,” and heralded the area’s “cultural, scenic, geologic, botanical, and wildlife values.”

“What makes this action by the Interior Department so deplorable is that BLM itself determined these areas to be wilderness-quality lands,” said Stephen Bloch, conservation director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, an advocacy group, in a statement. “Nonetheless, BLM is condemning these lands to a future of oil rigs and gas pipelines and almost certain disqualification from future wilderness designation.”

return of the news

I’m dipping my toes back in the water tonight, so just a quickie.

Starting with something local for my bike people:
Portland bike light enforcement starts soon

Portland Police have been giving out warnings and bike lights for the past week to those cyclists they catch without a front white light – but they’re about to run out, and when that happens, they’ll start giving out tickets instead.

Stone Age man took drugs, say scientists

They found ceramic bowls, as well as tubes for inhaling drug fumes or powders, which appear to have originated in South America between 100BC and 400BC and were then carried 400 miles to the islands.

They consider that drugs were being used to induce spiritual or trance-like states by people who had religious beliefs.

Britain releases UFO files, dispels some mysteries
U.S. pilot was ordered to shoot down UFO

And finally, it’s long been known that defending against zombies has been an essential element of homeland security. It’s good to see, then, that alert citizens are on the lookout:
Student Arrested For Terroristic Threatening Says Incident A Misunderstanding

“My story is based on fiction,” said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. “It’s a fake story. I made it up. I’ve been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies.”

(by way of Green Is The New Red, thanks to Katie Monster)