Pakistani Problems: With Musharraf gone, America evaluates its options.

Florida Meets Fay: Tropical Storm Fay brings rain, wind, loss of power, but fails to reach hurricane strength.

Georgia On Their Minds: Russian troops reported to be digging into positions throughout Georgia, despite ceasefire agreement.

iPod Immolation: Japan warns consumers as three accounts of iPod nanos bursting into flames are reported.

Walk Hard: Nickels wants you walking this summer.

Basketball Battle: Sonics season ticket holders demanding that they get two free seasons of seats in OKC.

BBK: Obama appears to have picked either Biden, Bayh or Kaine to be his VP nominee. The suspense builds!

Watchmen Lawsuit: Who will watch the Watchmen after everyone gets done suing one another?

TODAY IS A PRIMARY!:

Find your poll location in King County.
Or call 206-296-VOTE.
Polls are open 7AM to 8PM.

What's remarkable in this image that ornaments a very pro Knox story in the Seattle Times?
The T-shirt worn by Amanda's sister, Deanne Knox, says: "Free Amanda and Raffaefle." What's remarkable is not the absence of Rudy, but the very presence of Raffaele's name on the shirt. (Raffaele Sollecito is Amanda's ex.) Why is it there? While in Italy, I heard with my own living ears Raffaele's father dismiss Amanda. He wanted to separate his son from her ("a strange woman"). Why all of sudden this show solidarity? Pure PR. It's not for us to see this T-shirt; it's for the Italians. The Knox family wants the Italians to link Amanda's fate with one of their own.

When will the mist clear from this case?

The Seattle Department of Transportation has set a firm deadline for the man working to save Seattle's last newsstand. SDOT has given Ben Gent until August 27th to apply for permits so he can continue operating his newsstand at 3rd and Pike.

Gant's been battling with the city for over a year now.In November 2007, SDOT cited Gant for failing the maintain and regularly operate the newsstand. Gant filed an appeal with the city's hearing examiner, and was told he'd need to get the stand re-permitted before he could renovate it and officially reopen.

I wrote about Gant's fight to save the nearly-90-year-old newsstand, and last week the LA Times picked up the story.

If the city does not receive an application from Gant in the next nine days, SDOT spokesman Rick Sheridan says the city will refer the matter to the city attorney's office, which would likely get a court order to remove the stand. "At this juncture, it’s been several months since the hearing examiner ruled against Mr Gant," Sheridan says. "We feel we’ve been patient with him."

Gant says he's nearly ready to move forward with his permit applications—he's waiting to hear back from a few architects and engineer.

Continue reading "City Sets Deadline for Seattle's Last Newsstand" »

SFGate:

Doctors in California must treat gays and lesbians the same as any other patient, regardless of religious objections, the state Supreme Court ruled today.

In a unanimous decision, the court rejected a San Diego County fertility clinic's attempt to use its physicians' religious beliefs as a justification for their refusal to provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.

...

Today's ruling, three months after overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage, strengthened the state's law that prohibits businesses, including medical clinics, from discriminating against customers because of their sexual orientation, as well as their race, sex or religion. The court said religious beliefs do not excuse discrimination.... In today's ruling, the court also rejected the doctors' claim that their freedom of speech was being violated, saying they remain free to criticize the anti-discrimination law as long as they comply with it.

In Fay's Way:Tropical Storm Fay wreaks havoc in the Caribbean, is expected to be upgraded to hurricane before hitting Florida.

The Dam Bursts: Evacuations continue as heavy rains collapse a dam near the Grand Canyon.

Commuted Sentence: I-405 remains open next week as the Willburton tunnel demolition proceeds ahead of schedule.

Pakistan: Musharraf resigns rather than face impeachment.

Pineapple Express: Hawaiian sovereignty leader's plot to seize power fails.

High Times: And that was the Seattle Hempfest that was.

Meet Your New Veep: Obama likely to name Vice-Presidential nominee this week as Dem convention approaches.

Ellen Luvs Portia: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi get hitched, Hollywood swoons.

Going Our Own Way: We may dominate Olympic swimming, but who will challenge China's hold on badminton?

Also, our country may someday be ruled by enthusiastic fans of The Olive Garden:

The traveling band of U.S senators that is the McCain campaign must have just wanted unlimited breadsticks for their straight talk.

Along with his wife and some top aides, John McCain and his campaign road pals, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, ate dinner at the Olive Garden here last night, a day before McCain was to speak to at the conference of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mel Martinez, the home state senator who had appeared at an event with the trio earlier in the day, also stopped by.

The pool of reporters that follows the candidate around everywhere was not allowed to join the McCain team, instead heading to the Bahama Breeze across the street where our waitress wondered why McCain would pick the Olive Garden of all the places in Orlando to eat.

According to McCain's aides, it's not the Arizona senator, but Graham who is a devoted Olive Garden fan.

Withdrawal: Russia says it will begin pulling troops from Georgia on Monday.

Tiger army: Sri Lankan authorities uncover intricate Tamil Tiger training grounds.

Police state: Authorities roll into Kabul after violence in Afghanistan claims 88 lives.

Warhawk: A look at McCain's response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Warren piece: For the first time, Obama and McCain discuss issues on-on-one.

8: Phelps captures historic medal after relay victory.

Hurricane Fay: Vacationers in Florida Keys pressed to pack up and go home.

Air show: Boeing and Machinist union lock themselves in hotel to negotiate contract.

Remembering: Community members gather to mourn high school student slain in South Seattle.

Ferry Elwha: San Juan ferry pulled out of service yet again.

Hot Rice: Condoleeza Rice, from Tbilisi, demands Russian departure from Georgia; Russia says it agrees to terms but remains inside the country.

Summit to be excited about: Regional leaders gather in South Africa to discuss turmoil in Zimbabwe.

Impeachment in Pakistan: Ruling coalition presses Musharraf to resign.

Law suit: Attorneys file suit against Gonzales, Justice Department.

Spies: Justice Department proposes looser guidelines on collecting intelligence for all local and state police agencies.

Phelpswatch 2008: Michael Phelps snags gold medal no. 7 in tight race.

"Poisoning the parks": $48 million Marijuana growing site in the Ross Lake National Recreation area busted; authorities discuss weed cultivation's negative effects on national parks.

Manslaughter: Teen charged for shooting hiker he thought was a bear.

Sold: City unburdens itself of space-age toilets for a mere $12,500.

Gangland: Seattle officials take another look at city's gang problem.

Governor Gregoire is looking for ways to cut costs in the state budget, and it looks like she's considering shortening the work week.

The Spokesman Review has the scoop:

Dear fellow state employee:

In my last e-mail to you, I asked you all to give me suggestions on creative ways to save money, cut fuels costs and help us meet our service obligations in these challenging economic times. I asked for ideas on how to avoid trips - even across town - and still get your very important jobs done. In fact, I asked you to be as creative in increasing savings as you are with your own family budgets. And if you came up with ideas that can be applied across state government, I wanted to hear from you.

I knew I could count on you and was pleased to receive over 300 responses. Some of the ideas included improving the state’s buying policies, encouraging more mass transit, vanpool use and teleconferencing, and eliminating cell phones and Blackberries. However, the most popular idea was implementing a ten-hour workday four days a week.

I have asked my senior staff and cabinet directors to investigate the feasibility and cost saving possibilities of each idea. Some of your ideas were very specific to your agency or division, and I have asked agency directors to look into those.

I also want to let you know that the suggestion box is still open. As I said in my earlier message, "when all is said and done, it is each of you making thousands of decisions every single day who will determine how effective these steps will be."

You are a major part of one of the best state governments in our nation. I thank you for your service and look forward to more ideas for saving money and cutting fuel costs.

Once again thanks for your help.

Chris

Could this be the end of Casual Fridays???

I realize it's only August—man, is it ever August—and there are lots of other pit bull fanciers out there. We won't stop taking nominations for Pit Bull Fancier of the Year, of course, but I don't see how any other pit bull fanciers could possibly hold a candle to these two.

A couple who received a $210,000 settlement from the city of Richmond after police shot and killed their pit bull are in custody after two of their other pit bulls—abducted from a Sacramento County animal shelter after attacking a utility worker—were shot and killed by a sheriff's detective.

At about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Sacramento County sheriff's detectives went to a motel on the 7800 block of College Town Drive to arrest the couple for allegedly robbing an 80-year-old woman of her purse on July 9. When Peters opened the door, two large pit bulls charged out of the room and "viciously attacked" a 57-year-old motel maintenance worker who was walking nearby, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

Fearing for the man's life, a detective fired numerous shots, killing both dogs, Curran said. The maintenance worker was taken to a local hospital for severe dog bites to his arms and legs. Investigators learned that the two pit bulls had attacked a Sacramento Municipal Utility District worker in Carmichael on June 16. After that attack, the dogs were impounded by animal control officers.

The couple is suspected of breaking into the animal control facility at 4290 Bradshaw Road on July 8 and taking their dogs, Curran said. When investigators went to the couple's Carmichael home, they learned that the two had been evicted, authorities said.... The investigation into the animal facility break-in and abduction of the dogs is ongoing.

What a heartwarming story of devotion! Breaking into an animal control facility to free your precious dogs after the animals had proven themselves to be vicious! I imagine that Dreamworks has probably snapped up the rights already.

And without a doubt the first cop, the second cop, the motel maintenance worker, and the utility worker all did something to provoke those dogs. We actually know what the maintenance worker was doing: He was "walking nearby," which I shall add to the list of things one is not supposed to do when one leaves the house, lest one provoke some good-natured pit or other into mauling one nearly to death.

Oh, and I don't doubt that that 80 year-old woman did something to provoke these pit bull fanciers into stealing her purse.

Thanks to Slog tipper TPF.

Skaters, meet your new Seask8 replacement skatepark:

Click to enlarge

The designs aren't completely finished—they're still working out how to implement some of the obstacles in the park—but this should be fairly close to the final design.

The park should be completed sometime next June, although the major festivals at the Center could keep Seask8 closed for several months during the summer.

UPDATE:THE SEATTLE CENTER IS NOT CHARGING ADMISSION TO THE SKATE PARK!!!! The admissions booth is for the festivals.

So... Russian tanks are within 15 miles of the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, and Condi Rice is in Tibilisi right now hanging out with the clearly unstable president of Georgia. (As opposed to one unstable president George.) What happens if the Russians capture Condi Rice? Would it be a violation of any quaint Geneva Conventions for the Russians to use "enhanced-interrogation techniques" on an actual member of the Bush administration?

Oh, and Russia is absolutely furious that Poland has agreed to let the US build SDI missile-launching sites on Polish soil, and has let Poland know that US missiles makes 'em a target for Russian nukes. George Bush is mad, John McCain is sending advisors to Georgia (isn't that presumptuous of him?), and Barack Obama is still on vacation, where he's having shaved ice and his ass handed to him.

Fuuuuuck.

Yet here I am, sitting at my desk, more concerned with whether or not Michael Phelps shaved off his pubic hair along with his pornstache before the Olympics. For this I blame Towleroad for directing me to pictures like this one over at the Chicago Tribune's website...

There are more pictures of Phelps's crotch at the Chicago Tribune. We're all going to die and so go enjoy them while you can.

Just look what they did to this motorist in Florida:

Police recently arrested a woman they said deliberately hit a bike rider and crashed two separate cars, and then ran off naked.

Holly Highfield faces DUI and several other charges after witnesses said she intentionally struck a bicyclist, took off her clothes and ran around the crash scene, then drove off the road while attempting to leave the scene in someone else's vehicle.

She probably saw one too many bikers roll through a stop sign—something drivers don't do—and just snapped. Damn cyclists.

Taking sides: Bush demands withdrawal of Russian troops, says U.S. will side with Georgia in the conflict.

Making threats: Russian says Poland's decision to accept American missile receptor base could expose them to a nuclear attack.

I can see clearly Mao: Nepalese parliament elects Maoist as new prime minister.

An extended affair: Lawyers who provided evidence for Edwards in December may have been a part of a long effort to cover up the affair.

Ad nauseam: Banks went out of their way in advertising efforts to lure customers into debt.

Golden boy: Phelps grabs sixth gold medal.

All in the family: Report blames teen drug use on negligent parents.

Rising value: Homeowners surprised by increase in assessed value of some King County homes.

Shuttle f*ck: Federal rules bar Metro from continuing park and ride service to Seahawks games.

Paper 'plaints: Lawyer's concern over a 1998 article in the SPU student newspaper leads to dispute between school administrators and student editors.

Seattle Police have arrested an 18-year-old man following a shooting in Judkins Park earlier this afternoon. A 20-year-old man was shot in the head, but he was able to flee from the scene.

The Seattle Police Department's gang unit is assisting in the investigation.

The University of Washington has officially announced that a CIA agent will be on campus next year.

Dr. Tim Thomas will teach 133t haxxor skills to students enrolled in UW's information school.

I wrote about Thomas's class a few weeks ago. You can check out the story here and the program website here.

In 1991, students and faculty at Seattle University protested after the school offered a CIA officer temporary position in the school's history department. The school later rescinded its job offer.

Classes at UW start September 24th.

Alaska:

A pit bull that severely mauled a young girl inside her East Anchorage home Tuesday afternoon was shot by a neighbor who followed screams to the scene to find the girl's baby sitter fighting the dog in the front yard.

The girl's injuries were so severe that witnesses at first told police the 6-year-old was dead, killed in the attack by one of her family's pets....

Officials were still working to determine what will happen to Dozer, who neighbors said has caused problems in the past. "That one's been aggressive the last few days," said Shawnee Hart, who lives nearby. "We're trying to tell (the owner) the dog's aggressive."

But, Hart said, the owner told her, "'No, no, no, they're friendly dogs. They're just security dogs.' Well, you know, your security dog just tore up your child."

You gotta love that this kid's mom was defending her pit bull—that would be Dozer—after the dog mauled her own six year-old nearly to death.

More details here.

Crisis continues: Russia backs separatist Georgian states on eve of Condoleeza Rice's trip to the region.

Escape plan: Iraqi foreign minister says agreement with U.S. includes scheduled withdrawal of American troops.

Inflated: Prices for American goods increase sharply as transportation costs rise.

Deflated: Zimbabwe government stops opposition leader from traveling to South African summit.

Fare deal: American Airlines and British Airways plan to team up to cut costs.

Taking the lead: China continues to rack up gold medals, leading the U.S. 22-10.

Hot smog: Higher temperatures in Seattle will lead to increased pollution, air agency says.

Shorter sentence: Woman convicted in ecstasy death will be sentenced in juvenile court.

Shipped off: Last wooden Arctic research vessel finally retired.

Dirty Des Moines: City halts couple's sexy parties.

I was wrong about Iraq so, hey, maybe I'm wrong about this too. But, uh, this seems like a really, really, really bad idea. NYT:

In response, Mr. Bush sent American troops to Georgia to oversee a “vigorous and ongoing” humanitarian mission, in a direct challenge to Russia’s display of military dominance over the region. Mr. Bush demanded that Russia abide by the cease-fire and withdraw its forces or risk its place in “the diplomatic, political, economic and security structures of the 21st century.” It was his strongest warning yet of potential retaliation against Russia over the conflict.

Is sending troops into Georgia really in our best interests? Do we really wanna go to war with Russia over a couple of break-away provinces there? Are we really that fucking nuts?

A group of North Seattle residents have won an injunction against the Seattle Public Schools, halting the districts plan to remove a grove of 68 trees from Ingraham High School's campus later this week.

Haller Lake residents claim the district has violated the city permitting process and have lobbied the school district to leave the trees. Last night, the school board held a emergency meeting to discuss the issue and decided to proceed with the plan. Now, school district must now go before a judge on August 25th and make the case for removing the trees, which were to be cleared to make room for a 12 classroom expansion at Ingraham.

Despite the temporary ruling, the district doesn't believe it has done anything wrong.
"The restraining order doesn’t reflect on the merits of the case," says Seattle Schools spokesman David Tucker."We went through a complete environmental process. We have students that need new classrooms. Our priority is going to be first and foremost in meeting the needs of these students."

The school district has signed a contract with a logging company to remove the trees on Friday, and the delay may force the district to pay $10,000 and $17,000 to the company.
A judge ordered the group Save Our Trees to put up a $7500 bond to cover costs if the school district prevails in the suit.

They do in Arkansas.

A gunman entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday and shot the party chairman, who was hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. The gunman asked to speak to the party chairman, Bill Gwatney, and fired three shots.

"He came in and went into this office and started shooting," police Lt. Terry Hastings told reporters near the party headquarters.

Gwatney, a former legislator, was in critical condition, Hastings said.

Here's hoping it's not another deranged gun nut killing liberals.

Fighting continues: Despite truce, Russian tanks take over the streets of Gori, Georgia.

Death in detention: Mistreatment cases in U.S. immigration jails draw Congressional attention.

All about the benefits: More Americans getting married for the health insurance.

Bus bomb: At least 14 dead in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Medal machine: Phelps claims medals no. 4 and 5 as Chinese win controversial gymnastics gold.

Expensive contracts: KBR, Blackwater contracts have cost taxpayers $85 billion.

Owl be gone soon: Spotted owl numbers continue to fall in Washington State.

Toll trolls: City Council wants tolls on 520, I-90 to pay for new bridge.

Sting: Lynnwood police use Craigslist to nab prostitution ring.

Son of salmon: Fisheries experts blame three pesticides for salmon problem.

The ever-so-fascinating Ingraham High School tree saga continues:

Save the Trees, a group apparently comprised of a few neighbors in Haller Lake, has filed a lawsuit against the Seattle School District for its plan to remove a grove of 68 trees from Ingraham High School's campus.

However, Save the Trees will not get the opportunity to go before a judge until September 2nd. By then, the trees will likely be gone as the district says it still plans on removing the trees later this week.

The school board is holding an emergency executive session tonight to discuss the litigation.

...Dino Rossi. They're "Rossi's Goons," says Goldy over at HA, but citizens of Seattle pay their salaries. Goldy's got the videotape.

Georgia: Fighting in the country continues as Russia officially stands down.

Kashmir: Indian forces kill at least 10 protesters as disputed region becomes destabilized.

Pakistan: Taliban admits to carrying out deadly attacks that claimed around 14 lives.

Hackers: Feds take down elusive Internet crime ring; lead culprit turns out to be their main informant.

Slackers: Programmers for opening ceremonies admit nine-year-old Chinese Olympic starlet lip-synched to an another girl's performance.

Swimmers: Phelps wins gold no. 3; Coughlin and Peirsol also earn first-place nods.

Roller coaster: Oil prices drop due to stronger dollar, decreasing Chinese demand.

Frozen frontier: Coast Guard ship heads north to gather data on America's Arctic land claims.

SPD officer on trial: South Dakota convenes grand jury to hear testimony in Sturgis shooting case.

Garbage: Seattle residents to pay heftier sums for trash pickup.

Bad press: Democratic Party cameraman tossed out of Rossi event.

Tanker contract: Boeing gets ready to meet with Federal officials on $40 billion tanker deal.

EADS responds by challenging Boeing officials to Vulcan death match:

"Russian aggression must not go unanswered," says Dick Cheney. So... are we going to go to war with Russia? Over Georgia? And, gee, maybe this was a mistake:

The fighting raised tensions between Russia and its former cold-war foes to their highest level in decades. President Bush has promoted Georgia as a bastion of democracy, helped strengthen its military and urged that NATO grant the country to membership. Georgia serves as a major conduit for oil flowing from Russia and Central Asia to the West.

But Russia, emboldened by windfall profits from oil exports, is showing a resolve to reassert its dominance in a region it has always considered its “near abroad.”

And, um, that John McCain person seems pretty anxious for us to go to war with Russia. The good news? No war with Iran then. The bad news? Nuclear war, nuclear winter, the destruction of the planet, etc. But at least we won't have to wait for the film version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road to come out. We'll all be living it.

Seattle's last newsstand—a small blue shack on Third and Pike, which I wrote about in July—is featured in today's LA Times.

Gant's still in the process of getting new permits for the stand and has put together a design for a new kiosk, which will be renamed Turco's Last Stand.

Gant is looking for donors and volunteers to help him keep the stand open. If you've always wanted to be a news vendor, you can contact Gant here.

When will people learn. Pit bulls are lovely, lovely dogs—so long as you don't provoke them by going out in public if you're elderly, another dog, or a child. Oh, and don't clap your hands—unless you're prepared to lose 'em. And if you don't have the sense to stay inside if you're old, a dog, a a kid, or prone to breaking into applause—or if you're not carrying a gun—you really have no one to blame but yourself for this sort of thing.

A vicious attack by a pit bull that badly injured a 79-year-old man in Notre Dame de Grâce has re-ignited the debate about what to do about aggressive dogs and their owners.

The Côte des Neiges/Notre Dame de Grâce borough needs to discuss the issue before doing anything, said Marcel Tremblay, city councillor for the N.D.G. ward. He said he has asked the borough to determine if it's legal to adopt a bylaw banning certain breeds of dogs. In the meantime, Antonio Nitti, his bloodied arm in a sling, sat at the kitchen table of his son's home on Oxford Ave., surrounded by family.

The elderly man's left hand was heavily bandaged after a pit bull bit him several times and tore off a large amount of skin while Nitti was walking his son's Lhasa Apso, named Gizmo, in a park across the street Thursday. The dog "came at me. It was going like 200 miles an hour," Nitti said in Italian.

The dog that attacked Nitti, who also lives on Oxford Ave., has a history of violence, neighbourhood residents said. Jim Eden and his wife, Gail, live on Harvard Ave., one block west, and said the same pit bull attacked their dog, a Maltese, about six weeks ago. The pit bull "tore a big chunk of hair off its tail," Eden said. A week later, Eden added, he was in the park and saw the dog knock down a young child. Luckily, the child was unharmed, Eden said.

Down the street from the Iturbes' home, the owner of the 2-year-old pit bull and her boyfriend still hadn't heard a word yesterday about their pet's fate. The couple, who refused to reveal their names, said their dog, named Sugar, had never attacked humans before and "it wasn't in her character."

See? Sugar never attacked before—well, never attacked humans, anyway—until that old man left the house with his dog. Dumb old man.

New front: Russia launches second line of attack, refuses to observe ceasefire.

Group therapy: Mugabe, Mbeki and opposition party members continue hammering out power-sharing deal.

Exile in the Philippines: More than 130,000 estimated displaced as troops and Islamic separatists clash.

"Job killing machine": Leaked McCain memo spells out strategy for trashing Obama, winning Americans on the economy.

Costly cover-up: Former campaign aids ides say Edwards cover-up cost Clinton the nomination.

Gold medal no. 2: Lezak, in freestyle relay race, earns Phelps another gold.

International relations: Women's basketball team destroys Chinese team in 108-63 victory.

Isaac Hayes: Dead at 65.

Baggage claim: U.S.-Canada border entry at Blaine shut down after woman said her bag contained "something suspicious."

Mad cabbies: Taxi drivers say they were coerced into signing form letters to the City Council.

Watching the water: Washington State struggles to find funds, short on staff members to monitor water pollution.

Fireball of the day:

Happy Monday.

The sphere-o-sphere is going to hate this op-ed in today's NYT:

But the results of several studies suggest that the very fact of a woman being obese during pregnancy may predispose her children to obesity. For example, one study found that children born to women who have lost weight after radical anti-obesity surgery are less likely to be obese than siblings born before their mother lost weight. Another study looked at women who gained weight between pregnancies; the results showed that babies born after their mothers put on weight tended to be heavier at birth than siblings born beforehand. Since the mother’s genes haven’t changed, the “fat” environment seems likely to be responsible for the effect.

...

If this is right, it raises the alarming possibility that the obesity epidemic has a built-in snowball effect. If children born to obese mothers are, owing to the environment in the womb, predisposed to obesity, they may find staying thin especially hard. Reversing the epidemic may thus rest on helping women to lose weight before they conceive and helping them to eat a balanced, non-junk-food diet while they are pregnant. The well-being of the next generation may depend on it.

Ceasefire(?): Georgia offers peace talks, claims it pulled out of disputed region; Russia continues to drop bombs.

Straining: Stable relations between U.S. and Russia may not outlast attacks.

Timeline: Iraqi leaders say scheduled departure of U.S. troops should be a part of security pact.

Gold medal no. 1: Phelps commences Olympic-sized ass whooping.

Making progress: Negotiators optimistic Zimbabwe power-sharing deal will arrive soon.

Border attacks: One hundred estimated dead after intense fighting near Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Where's Maury when you need him?: Edwards mistress will not pursue paternity test.

Some not-so-dismal, actually-really-awesome news: Scientists come closer to making things invisible.

Left behind: State Children's Administration struggles to care for foster children.

Hog tied: Seattle cop held in Sturgis melee.

Raking it in: Alaska provides shining example in windfall tax debate.

Local filmmaker and former city council candidate and monorail activist Grant Cogswell and a friend were attacked in Belltown last night in what appeared to be a gay-bashing that sent both men to the hospital.

At about 1:30 this morning, Cogswell says, he and a friend (who was in drag) were leaving a party at the Free Sheep Foundation in Belltown when a group of men in a late-model, red Dodge Magnum wagon began harassing them. One of the four men in the car shouted "you fucking faggots," at Cogswell and his friend. (Cogswell says his friend is straight and he is "mostly straight".) Cogswell yelled back “go back to Yakima if you don’t like seeing people in drag."

The car stopped and as the four men piled out, Cogswell says he sat down on the sidewalk, hoping to avoid a physical confrontation. "I don’t know how we’d have outrun these four dudes and I didn’t want to square off in fisticuffs," he says.

When the men approached Cogswell, he says, he asked them, "Guys, what's up? There's four of you [and] my friend's in high heels." Cogswell says he spoke briefly with one of the men before one of them attacked him, kneeing him in the face several times.

Cogswell ran out into the street, turned back and saw the men were attacking his friend. Bystanders approached the group of men, who then jumped back in the car and drove away.

Cogswell and his friend were taken to the hospital, where Cogswell received five stitches in his cheek, and doctors found that his right orbital bone—one of the bones around the eye socket—had been fractured and his front teeth badly chipped. Cogswell says there's a possibility that his fractured orbital bone could pinch a nerve or a muscle and require surgery. Cogswell's friend had with scrapes and bruises.

Cogswell was only able to give police a vague description of his attackers, but he says the man who kicked him was about 5'8 and Hispanic, wearing a white T-shirt. Cogswell says the attacker was accompanied by two tall black men—one of whom was wearing a blue jacket—and a tall white man with brown hair.

In the last year, there have been a number of recent violent attacks in Belltown, but Cogswell—who used to live in the neighborhood—says he's never seen anything like this happen.

I'll update with info about the SPD investigation when it becomes available.

A new war: Russia invades Georgia; 1,500 civilians reported dead.

An old war: South African president Mbeki travels to Zimbabwe to mediate power sharing deal.

Olympics, day one: Opening ceremony viewership breaks records; Phelps off to quick start.

Also in Beijing: Relative of U.S. volleyball coach killed.

Hot spot: Hindu-Muslim tensions play out in clash over 98 acres of holy land in Kashmir.

Bernie Mac: Dead at 50.

Edwards affair: John Edwards admits to 2006 affair, denies fathering baby.

Strange but true: Joseph Lieberman on the list to be McCain's VP pick.

Hypocrites: Washington Democrats accept large sums from BIAW.

The sound of change: Pollution Control Hearings Board sets rules for development in Puget Sound area.

Cougar hunting: State considers scaling back legal hunting.

Mayor Greg Nickels' Office is getting in on the fight between North Seattle residents and the Seattle School District over the district's plan to remove nearly 100 trees from Ingraham High School's campus.

The dispute has been tied up for months while the district waited for permits but yesterday, residents near Ingraham received letters from the school district, informing them that the district had pulled its permit applications, and would be moving ahead with the tree removal sometime next week.

"The city is not happy with the school district," says Mayor Nickels' spokesman Alex Fryer."To submit an application and withdraw it…is just not the way anyone should do business. It certainly looks like an act of bad faith."

Fryer says the city plans to "apply some political and moral pressure" on the district and look at whether the city has any legal authority in the matter.

School District spokeswoman Patty Spencer was not available for comment.

Pissed off tree lovers in North Seattle

This is breaking: He had an affair and lied about it, he says.

OMGOLYMPICS! Live blogging the opening ceremonies at the Bird's Nest.

Thou Doth Protest Too Much: Chinese officials arrest three Americans who planned to wave “Free Tibet” flags at the opening ceremonies, deport uppity foreigners, detain Chinese, close Tiananmen Square.

Cause du Jour: Reporters Without Borders hack airwaves in China to broadcast a 20-minute program in Chinese, English, and French. Meanwhile, thousands protest Chinese policy in major Asian cities, where the governments aren’t quite so repugnant.

Cancer in the Duwamish Valley: State’s Department of Health reports South Seattle residents face increased cancer risk, blame air pollution nearby industry and particularly within 200 yards of highways.

Recession Watch: Fannie Mae reports $2.3 billion loss—three times more than expected—as bellwether of future economic tumult.

Apple Kills App: The “I Am Rich” icon displayed a ruby. That’s it. Eight people paid the Apple Store $1000, until Apple yanked it last night.

Monitoring: Christian Science Monitor creates pseudovoter email accounts around country to track email messaging by presidential campaigns. They find that Obama’s emails are steady nationwide and localize issues, but McCain fails to email voters in some battleground states and messages are more conservative than television ads.

Smearing: Fellow Republican ousts incumbent in Tennessee primary by linking him to “big oil.”

Pakistan: Government officials begin to shuffle positions in response to impending move to impeach President Musharraf. Proceedings could begin by next week unless Musharraf declares state of emergency.

Texas: Thirteen people, all members of the Vietnamese Martyr Catholic Church, die in after bus blows a tire and careens off an overpass; bus found unfit for interstate travel last month.

On the Left, Exhibit A: Prosecutors reassemble a Ford Mustang in King County courtroom to prove how suspect may have committed murder.

Beleaguered Mayor: Detroit’s Kilpatrick will get out of jail for misconduct to face assault charges.

Open the Floodgates: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wants to spend $20 billion bulking up Afghanistan’s army.

We’re All Going to Die: European scientists endeavor to build a collider on 17-mile underground track to smash protons together and test the origins of the universe.

Watching the Opening Ceremony: We can't see it on US television until primetime. But you can watch it on the tubes right now.

..of being exploited by Fred Phelps and PETA on the same day.

From the Edmonton Sun:

A fundamentalist church group from the U.S. has announced it plans to picket the funeral of [Greyhound bus victim] Tim McLean Jr. in Winnipeg, declaring, "God is punishing Canada." Led by pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas issued a release saying they would picket McLean's funeral this weekend.

Phelps' daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said about seven church members are expected to come to Winnipeg. "What we're doing is trying to connect dots," Phelps-Roper told Sun Media last night. "We're trying to get you to see that your rebellion against the standards of God, your disobedience to the commandments—your idols, your false gods, your filthy ways have brought wrath upon your head."

And from the CBC:

An animal rights group has posted an ad on its website comparing the recent stabbing and decapitation of a young Winnipeg man to how humans kill animals for food. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the advertisement is meant to make people understand how animals suffer when they are killed in slaughterhouses. The group posted the imageless advertisement on its blog site Wednesday.

"PETA's ad…is meant to spur people to think about the terror and pain experienced by animals who are raised and killed for food. The group aims to demonstrate that animals — just like humans — are made of flesh, blood, and bone and deserve protection from needless killing," said a statement on PETA's website.

Gotta love the tragedy vultures (though, it must be said, PETA is 800,000 times less repugnant than anything Phelps.)

Neighbors in North Seattle have been locked in a heated battle with the Seattle School District over a plan to remove 92 trees on Ingraham High School's campus, to make way for new classrooms. The project has been slowed by permitting and environmental studies but a recent move by the district to circumvent the city process has caught neighbors off guard, and perhaps without recourse.

Neighbors protested the tree removal plan at several planning meetings this winter and had hoped the city's Department of Planning and Development would refuse the district's permit requests. But today, neighbors received certified letters from Seattle Schools, informing them that the district has rescinded its permit applications. The district now claims it doesn't need permits to remove the trees and plans to send in construction equipment sometime next week.

"They decided they can’t win the process and are cutting the public out of it," says Steve Zemke, who lives two blocks from Ingraham. "They don’t care what the public thinks about this. They’re cutting down a park like area that’s been used by the community for years."

While Zemke and his neighbors are fuming over the district's tactics, Seattle School District Spokesman David Tucker says the district provided adequate public process and are moving forward with the tree removal for the safety of students. "There’s been a public process all along." he says. "We looked at all the best possible designs for the school. This design is the most academically and environmentally sound." Tucker says the district will plant three trees for every one removed, which could add nearly 200 more trees to the school's campus.

It's unclear whether the district can move forward with the tree removal without city approval—DPD's spokesman was not available for comment—but Tucker says the district needs to move forward now so the process can be finished before the beginning of the school year. "The ideal for us it to have the trees removed when there aren’t students on campus and to avoid using heavy machinery during the wet weather," Tucker says. "We’re doing this because we want to make sure we do this in the safest fashion possible."

Zemke and his neighbors are now scrambling to find a way to halt the impending tree removal, and are planning to protest at Ingraham next week. Zemke also says neighbors will fight any future plans for construction at the school.

By now, most of you you have probably read and reread the Stranger Election Control Board's mind-blowing primary endorsements a few thousand times. Which means you would've seen this:

[Current State School Superintendent Terry] Bergeson has consistently defended the WASL as a high-stakes requirement for graduation. We decided it would be funny to present Bergeson and her challengers with a few sample questions from the WASL and she bombed the test. Bergeson only answered two out of the three questions we put to her and both her answers were wrong.

It's totally true. Here's the evidence:

As you already know, the SECB endorsed Bergeson's opponent Randy Dorn. Mostly because Mr. Dorn's tidy handwriting does not indicate a predilection for the taste of human flesh.

The three sample questions—from grades 3, 7 and 10—are from the Port Angeles School District's website.

Answers after the break.

Continue reading "State School Superintendent Bergeson Fails WASL, Has Serial Killer Handwriting" »

Micro-Protests: Chinese police scramble to sweep up decentralized demonstrations against human-rights abuses.

The Great Firewall: China Internet police scan online activity; Olympics reporters bemoan hamstrung Web access.

Impeachment: Pakistan's ruling parties want to impeach Musharraf for unpopular economic policies and refusing to step down despite sketchy election, require two-thirds majority.

Bad Grades: Audit finds Seattle Public Schools' program for students learning English is one of the worst in the country.

Bar Tab: Sims suggests that King County cities each build their own jails.

Belltown Crash: Collision of pedicab, scooter and van leaves one dead and five injured.

Crazy Junta: Mauritania's new government promises free elections, but also fires teargas at citizens holding signs.

500: Afghanistan death toll hits milestone.

Maverick Moment of the Week: Obama picks up the maverick message in ads and speeches.

Screwy: Malaysia charges opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with sodomy as he runs for parliament. He faces 20 years in prison.

The Surge at Home: Jobless rates hit a six-year high.

"Dressed for Dinner": Festival in Peru involves dressing up Guinea Pigs and then, well...

The Audacity of Hope: Delusional Hillary backers plan to march through Denver during the Democratic national Convention to demand her delegates are counted and win the nomination!

Olympic kick-off week: Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10s in 1976.

Maybe physician-assisted suicide—or end-of-life pain management, as I prefer to call it—isn't the real outrage. Maybe our obscene, for-profit "health care" system, which is profitable only so long as it successfully denies care to the sick, is the real problem. This just in from Oregon:

The news from Barbara Wagner's doctor was bad, but the rejection letter from her insurance company was crushing.

The 64-year-old Oregon woman, whose lung cancer had been in remission, learned the disease had returned and would likely kill her. Her last hope was a $4,000-a-month drug that her doctor prescribed for her, but the insurance company refused to pay.

What the Oregon Health Plan did agree to cover, however, were drugs for a physician-assisted death. Those drugs would cost about $50.

"It was horrible," Wagner told ABCNews.com. "I got a letter in the mail that basically said if you want to take the pills, we will help you get that from the doctor and we will stand there and watch you die. But we won't give you the medication to live."