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You've had the luck of the draw, friend. You may not have been on a bus with a screaming lunatic, but I have (in Portland, OR, with its good transit system, yet).

On the other hand, I haven't had the misfortune to get robbed or assaulted on public transit.

I think it's more a problem with the original poster not knowing wtf he's talking about.

1. All waste from the Portland Metro area is collected by private contractors, and delivered to Metro (the regional governmental authority). Metro then aggregates it all together, and has a contractor haul it out to Eastern Oregon for landfill deposit.

2. Metro, the Port of Portland, and the Portland Development Commission has been very big into diverting this waste to as many recycling outfits as possible, including trying to attract biomass business to take care of it right here in the area ( http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=118670251320280000 ) because they don't like hauling all that shit 200 miles east on I-84.

3. Change doesn't happen overnight. Facilities and infrastructure have to be built. Already, the environmental quality here in Portland is night and day different than what it was on the first Earth Day in 1970. You can actually touch the Willamette River without developing an instant tumor. You can see Mt. Hood when it's not raining. Once they are done with the "big pipe" project, the sewer overflow issue will be taken care of. Even as I write this, the city is changing the recycling plan to use rollaway mixed-recycling bins to make things easier, and larger capacity.

Yeah, I think that actually knowing wtf you're talking about is a good place to start.

I live in Gresham, work in Portland, and attend the 2600 meetings, so I suppose we'll have a chance to argue in person if you want. :)

Your characterization of Portland is pretty unfair. Crime is low, but hardly the lowest in the country. Gresham has lower crime, if you're just comparing areas called cities to other areas called cities, and if you'd like a more "comparable" city, well, what do you mean by comparable? Population size? Land area? Number of police? Complaints?

I don't read about Portland police shooting unarmed persons that often. I'm sure it happens, but I actually can't remember an incident off the top of my head. I did grab the Portland Tribune and look at the most recent story of a shooting, and it's about the port shooting of a security guard on routine patrol last night. It's here if you would like to read it. The next most recent one is about gang activity.

All in all, most of my experiences with the Portland police have been good, and they are a decent department. I will admit I saw one give a probably-racially-motivated jaywalking ticket to a black guy once. That sucked, though everyone involved was professional about it. I was particularly impressed with how well the unknown black gentleman conducted himself in the face of a ridiculous ticket. I'da been pissed myself. That's the only bad experience I can say that I've had with the Portland police, though. More than 20 years living in the metro area, and one bad personal experience with Portland police? I can hardly complain about that.

Overall, I think that Gresham's police are far, far worse than Portland's (and even they aren't that bad). I have a lot of respect for the Multnomah County, Portland, Troutdale, Wood Village, Fairview, Beaverton, Hillsboro... the list goes on... police. I get nervous when I see a Gresham, Sandy, or Tigard car coming around the corner. But that's just me.

And even with all the negative contact I've had with them: No guns drawn down on me.

I'd venture to say that, if you and your friends are truly getting harassed this much by Portland police, then perhaps you should change your friends and re-evaluate your behavior.

I do all the normal screwing around that an early-20-something is expected to do -- driving too fast, getting drunk, and generally being loud, annoying, boisterous and disorderly -- but unlike most, I do it while openly carrying a firearm in a city where firearms are banned without a special permit (Oregon CHL). Never once have the assault rifles, shotguns, or submachine guns come out on me. If the police were over zealous, don't you think that, by now, I would have at least had one stop me, much less get drawn down on?

Personal experiences are what they are, which is why both of ours have been so much different. However, on the whole, I've come to the conclusion that the Portland police are mostly Ok. A few bad apples? Sure. Every department has them. It sucks. We, as citizens, have a duty to do what we can to fix it. And I do what I can to that end.

However, based on the choice of language in your post, it sounds like you're reaction is mostly (understandably, if you've really had this much trouble) based on emotion and lacks introspection into and thought about what the real problem is.

Perhaps it's not the police. Perhaps it's you?

I can't really say without knowing you, just hope to have given you something to think about. All I can tell you is that my experience is vastly different. I'm not a police apologist by any means, but of all the corrupt and detestable departments out there in the country, Portland hardly ranks among the worst. They do a decent job.

See you next month!

Ehrm... Right here in Oregon...

http://www.portlandtribune.com/simpsons/

Yes, yes. I read the arguments about the other towns. BTW, was that the Didcot power station in the opening scenes of the movie...? Being from Oxford originally, it looked familiar....

It's Portland Oregon no doubt about it.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=123 92

Don't encourage people to move here. Oregon is full and unemployment is bad enough without more Californians moving up here and fucking it up that much worse.

So first you tell people not to move here and then you go on to extoll Portland's virtues...

732 Evergreen, Lake Oswego (Childhood home of Matt Groening, house was inspiration for The Simpsons house of the same address in Springfield

I don't think it's in Lake Oswego, otherwise how did he go to LHS and Ainsworth? It's in NW Portland. In fact you can find more connections between the Simpsons' Springfield and Groening's Portland here.

And the 400,000 people who rode AMTK from portland to chicago are a 'wilted industry'?

With constant whining about airport 'security' and congestion, that's 1,000,000 people who *did not* fly out of portland international airport last year. An airport that is getting more crowded...

The source for my numbers?? the Portland Tribune
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=282 75

or check out the graphics at http://narprail.org/amtrakzerofy06.htm
they relate funding levels between highways, air travel, and passenger rail.

We need a coherent national transportation policy, that can be energy effecient. Killing rail to spend more money on bailing out airlines, and building more roads is not balance.

James Jerome Hill

Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning that. I was hoping someone would when I saw the article on the front page.

While Portland is only a subsection of Metro's area, I don't know if I'd say that the site only has "limited data". While the amount of info is a little scarry, it was very intresting finding all about a tiny triangle of property that was in the paper.

Oh, and there's a news story in Real about the whole e-govt.

(I live just down in Salem) http://www.jasonmchuff.net/

In case you haven't heard, Microsoft (MSFT) has been deeply unprofitable since 1996, when it began to rely on holes in the GAAP accounting standards that allowed it to report historic profits in its NASDAQ filings. Large fund managers bought into it to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, making MS at its peak ($700B) which for comparison made it the largest component of the S&P 500, the equivalent of the 16th largest country or ~1.5% of the GDP of Earth. Though billed (no pun intended) as a success story, when the bubble burst investors lost billions.

Who cares? The biggest funds involved were pension funds of large social programs across the US, e.g. the California Teachers Union, who automatically invest in S&P components at rates proportional to the components' value. MS paid for its bottom line with those peoples' money, so much so that pensioners are majority owners of MS today. Too bad for them that the bottom fell out of MS stock and their savings are worthless. But it did help create two of the richest personal accounts on Earth.

You could argue that this was all legal and that they won the king of the hill prize. Perhaps. But is it ethical to block GAAP reforms via corporate shills in Congress (e.g. Joe Lieberman) so your huge losses won't be exposed? Enron execs are being hung out to dry for being only slightly on the other side of that thin line in the sand. No, it's likely MS knew what it was up to. As Bill Parish, who broke the story, tells:

"Microsoft's perspective is best reflected by Bob Herbold, Chief Operating Officer, to whom the CFO reports. Bob very sincerely [explained the situation to Gates], "Bill, everyone is doing it.""

Buildup of atmospheric C02 is moderated by "sinks" on the earth's surface that use some C02 and store much of the carbon in living organisms, organic matter and carbonate minerals, says soil scientist H.H. Cheng. These carbon sinks include the oceans that cover more than 70 percent of the earth surface, forests and other vegetation covering the land, and organic matter in the soil.

Interestingly, this article talks about soil as a possible source of CO2 buildup in the atmosphere, making the El Nino effect not always a good indicator of how much a rise or fall in atmospheric CO2 should be. Finally, here is article that that argues that rises in atmospheric CO2 are not a cause for alarm: PortlandTribune.com | Rise in CO2 levels is no cause for alarm

It seems, at least according to this review that it's because Will Smith is in it.

We should all jump up and down over product placements and shitty "summer blockbusters" because Will Smith is the star.

And the MPAA wonders why people don't want to pay to see movies? Let's buy the rights to a great author's novel and then make his work trivial by just using the name.

Some reasons why Microsoft owes many of us money.

In case you haven't heard, Microsoft (MSFT) has been deeply unprofitable since 1996, when it began to rely on holes in the GAAP accounting standards that allowed it to report historic profits in its NASDAQ filings up until this very day, so making it look like the hottest business since ACME, Inc.. Large fund managers bought into it to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, making MS at its peak ($700B) which for comparison made it the largest component of the S&P 500, the equivalent of the 16th largest country or ~1.5% of the GDP of Earth. Heh, and we thought it was Windows.

Who cares? The biggest funds involved were retirement funds of large social programs across the US, who automatically invest in S&P components at rates proportional to the components' value. MS paid for its bottom line with those peoples' money, so much so that pentioners are majority owners of MS today. Too bad for them that the bottom fell out of MS stock and their savings are worthless. But it did help create two of the richest personal accounts on Earth.

You could argue that this was all legal and that they won the king of the hill prize. Perhaps. But is it ethical to block GAAP reforms via corporate shills in Congress (e.g. Joe Lieberman) so your huge losses won't be exposed? Enron execs are being hung out to dry for being only slightly on the other side of that thin line in the sand. No, it's likely MS knew what it was up to. As Bill Parish, who broke the story, tells:

"Microsoft's perspective is best reflected by Bob Herbold, Chief Operating Officer, to whom the CFO reports. Bob very sincerely replied, "Bill, everyone is doing it.""

The Portland Tribune did have an article the next day. Two actually. They had other articles and probably will have future ones too so here is a search for all articles on Hawash.

The Portland Tribune did have an article the next day. Two actually. They had other articles and probably will have future ones too so here is a search for all articles on Hawash.

The Portland Tribune did have an article the next day. Two actually. They had other articles and probably will have future ones too so here is a search for all articles on Hawash.

You can get some more perspective on the whole case and series of events - if interested in information - from the Portland Tribune.

Another great breakdown here and here.

You can get some more perspective on the whole case and series of events - if interested in information - from the Portland Tribune.

Another great breakdown here and here.

Another great breakdown here and here.

Another great breakdown here and here.

Fully agree. Actually, I'd describe myself as fairly right-wing, but I suspect that many conservatives would agree that there's nothing to leech $$$ out of a city like a Major-League team of anything. Not to mention the antics of such people, who in any other walk of life would be spending their time in Salem Correctional instead of the Rose Garden (see "Portland Trailblazers" for more details).

There's no good reason to have a major-league baseball team in Portland, other than the self-aggrandizement of local politicians like Mayor Katz. If you're a Portlander who likes baseball, check out these guys instead.

Sorry, this nation was founded by the people and for the people. All laws need to be for the good of the people first. If any secondary effects of those laws also benefit corporations, then that is just a plus. When laws start to put big corporate profit over the freedoms of Americans and when politicians listen to bribe money over our voice, then I say it is time to reach for our guns and rebuild America to the great nations she once was. And many of us feel that this has already happend.

Oh, and corporations have it far easier when it comes to taxes then the average American. They get out of all kinds of payments and find all kinds of loop holes.

See also this article in the local paper.

You may have a point:

click me

The replies to this article mostly seem to run in two veins:
"Those Indian engineers can do OK with the low-end, simple development tasks that we don't want to do anyway."

and

"My job is safe because I'm at the highend architectural level ... blah, blah"

The first type of reply smacks of some sort of racism that tends to think that no other country can be as good at software development as the US so we don't have to worry about the 'good' jobs leaving. The second type is just naieve.

Sure it _was_ the lowerlevel software jobs that were being sent over to India at first, but now that's changing and we'd better be ready for this change... It essentially means that even after this recession ends and the economy is doing well again that it will still be difficult for sofware engineers (and hardware engineers too, those jobs are starting to go overseas as well) to find jobs.
Why? Because the jobs that are being sent over now will lead to more of the same as companies find that they can significantly cut their costs. In the 'global economy' if you're being paid significantly more than your employer could pay someone somewhere else to do the job (and just as well) then it's only a matter of time... and this is especially true of engineering jobs which are much easier to 'export' than manufacturing jobs were (no equipment or materials to move).

A couple of weeks ago a local paper interviewed
a local venture capitalist and asked him where he thought the Oregon economy was headed. His analysis is actually pretty good... he focuses on outsourcing of engineering jobs and how that will slow the recovery in the high-tech sector. He then gives the example of Mentor Graphics and how they're going to invest $40million in a R&D center in India. When he asked them why they were going to do this, they told him: "they said they can't hire anyone graduating from engineering schools here because they're just not prepared, they're just not ready to go into that sophisticated end of the business." Now of course I think their reply is disingenuous - in the current economy they could find plenty of engineers to staff their R&D center if they built it here, but that's beside the point. The point is that here is a company that's going to move some of the 'sophisticated' engineering jobs over to India.

Another data point: This past summer I did a contract job at Intel. I've kept in contact with the people I worked with there and I've asked several times if they'll be hiring again and of course the reply is always that there's a hiring freeze. Last week I had lunch with one of these guys and he told me that he'd like to hire me again but they can't do any hiring in the US and then added "But if you were in India, we're hiring over there".

Experience has shown that 'shipping jobs overseas' actually CREATES more jobs here at home

And what kind of jobs might those be this time? Starbucks? Burger King?

I can kind of see your point when it comes to manufacturing jobs, but now that the 'thinking' jobs are leaving I'm not sure what'll be left for us to do . In the 80's as manufacturing jobs left the US many of those displaced workers were encouraged to get into software engineering since it paid better anyway. What should software engineers be studying now? Dentistry? Auto Mechanics? (at least those jobs can't be sent overseas)

Software development isn't an incredibly difficult skill.. in particular the types of software development that is being shipped overseas.

You're deluding yourself if you think that it's only the lower-end development jobs that are being sent overseas. Check this article
. It's an interview with a venture capitalist about his take on where the Oregon economy is headed. Towards the end he talks about the impact of outsourcing engineering jobs and how that will slow the recovery in the high-tech sector. He talks about how Mentor Graphics is opening a $40million R&D center in India. When he asked them why, they told him: "they said they can't hire anyone graduating from engineering schools here because they're just not prepared, they're just not ready to go into that sophisticated end of the business." Now personally, I don't think that's the real reason (the real reason is that they can pay Indian engineers about 1/3 of what they pay their American counterparts) but that quote should be sending chills down the spine of every US developer who reads it.

I have made it a strong point to become an expert in system architecture and design, and that has kept me very comfortably employed no matter the economic conditions. ...keep dreaming. Read the article that started this thread. India is moving into the high-end of the development process now. It's time we software engineers woke up and smelled the chai.

Enclosed, careful descriptions of how Microsoft is (1) going bankrupt; and (2) ripping everyone off in the process; and (3) effectively stealing from every US taxpayer; and (4) thereby destabilisiing the whole economy. Who needs terrorists?

Proposed HP Merger: Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) Found Not Independent and along with Barclays plays key Role in Microsoft Pyramid Scheme

Inside Story on Microsoft and Enron

Senate Proposal Could Cost Microsoft Billions

Microsoft Circles of Influence and Enron's Collapse

http://www.billparish.com/20010404americaonline.ht ml and Microsoft Collapses AOL Part II - FTC Inquiry Requested

Buybacks Backfire, Microsoft Loses $8.4B Speculating on Own Stock

Microsoft Scheme Costs Seattle Its Largest Employer, Boeing

"How Cisco Systems and Microsoft Avoid Tax"

Microsoft Financial Pyramid Summary and Microsoft Financial Pyramid Summary Updated

How Microsoft Pays No Federal Income Tax on Current Income ...and so on, ad nauseum, plenty more waiting to be read...

According to an article in the Economist from August 5, 1999 entitled " Share and share unalike."

" For instance, Microsoft, the world's most valuable company, declared a profit of $4.5 billion in 1998; when the cost of options awarded that year, plus the change in the value of outstanding options, is deducted, the firm made a loss of $18 billion, according to Smithers."

Also keep in mind that not only are OpenSource/Free Software breathing down their neck with increasingly viable desktop alternatives, but Oracle, Sun, IBM as well. Plus an increasing number of governments, lately Peru, China and Germany, are getting tired of their busness practices.

Now think about the software situation. Linux, QNX and others have them beat in the embedded OS market. Windows as a server OS is beat by Solaris, Linux, *BSD. Windows as middleware is becoming decreasingly competetive with Gnome and KDE. Aqua has it beat hands down, you can even run legacy apps like Ms-Word, which is about the only thing currently holding GNU/Linux back from the general desktop. However, OpenOffice and others are filling the gaps left by Lotus-123, Borland's Quattro, WordPerfect.

Then there are indications that there is no improvment on the horizon. For example the shift from software, to marketing to legislation. The way MS is working the punishment phase of the antitrust trial it looks that their products are unable to compete in a free market. Even die-hard MS fans cannot refute EWeek's report that "[Allchin] later acknowledged that some Microsoft code was so flawed it could not be safely disclosed." Maybe coincidentally, Bill has been shifting investment money out of Microsoft. If the rest of the top execs are offloading also, (this is speculation and it would be nice to see some real figures, but where can that type of info be looked up) then it would indicate no confidence.

So with out a cash flow or at least investor confidence, all Microsoft's troubles would bite them hard. Death by a thousand small bites, plus a few medium sized ones. Perhaps the SEC backed off to avoid popping Microsoft's baloon like just another overratted dot-com.

Or would it turn out to be a collapse more like Enron's.