IntenseDebate

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Tensions rise in Longv... · 0 replies · +6 points

One thing that boggles my mind is that when we get 20 peaceful, non-violent demonstrators in downtown Portland, they are tear-gassed, beaten and arrested. Why are the officers up there backing down to 500+ demonstrators who have been violent from the start and who are wielding bats? At that point, a bat is a deadly weapon. Time to bring out the tear gas, bean bag guns, tasers and arrest all of them.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Tensions rise in Longv... · 0 replies · +13 points

Well, Brookie... Seems like you have the same attitude as the poop flinging monkeys up at EGT.
This was never an issue of people taking away the ILWU's jobs. This work was never promised to them. They were never included in the contract.
If my dad were on the other side, he would look for work elsewhere. It's happened before and it's not the end of the world. These people act like it's do or die time.
I imagine that if these exact longshoremen were on the other side of this issue, they would have no problem being 'scabs', either. Work is work. Nowadays, people can't be too picky. But staying up there is tarnishing any future opportunities of employment or contracts for ILWU members.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Tensions rise in Longv... · 1 reply · +19 points

That was precisely why he left. If nothing is done, EGT will be no more and these criminals wil think they can always get away with this debauchery.
Well, it was between that and my constant begging for him to quit. Everyday, the stories of what went on up there just got worse and worse. We knew where this was heading if no one stepped in and it seems we were correct in our assumption.
It is crazy to think that people are willing to harm others just because they got a job they wanted. I couldn't stand the thought of people threatening to kill him over that. How senseless.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Tensions rise in Longv... · 7 replies · +42 points

This story makes me incredibly angry. My father was one of the first people up there from an outsourced union. So-called "scab" as the longshoremen liked to yelled at him, among other nasty slurs. Their behavior then, which was a while ago, was unfathomable. I am glad this situation is finally in the news, but I'm concerned at how long it took to get major attention.
These longshoremen would throw bags of feces, spit on people or their cars, threaten to harm and kill people. Some even boasted about having friends or family with the Longview Police through which license plates were ran to retrieve addresses of these men. They's threaten to go to their homes, my father was followed (more like boxed in on the freeway by multiple cars) on his way home. This behavior is beyond unacceptable. My father finally decided that it wasn't worth all the trouble and chaos that was inevitably coming. Boy, am I glad he left.
What is it going to take to end this? These longshoremen are taking this out on the wrong people. Look to your own Union Reps and leaders for signing a contract that blatantly excluded you. Stop harming people who have done nothing to you and who are just there to earn their own paycheck.
The federal government needs to step in before someone gets killed.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - ABC Exclusive Video: I... · 0 replies · +2 points

Good work, gentlemen. Adios, UBL!

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Legislative prank beco... · 0 replies · +6 points

Bwahaha. They got RickRolled!

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - GOP seeks another exte... · 0 replies · +5 points

A few things are interesting here....
"They [congress] directed their aides to work through the night in pursuit of a deal." -- So what is it exactly that the members of congress do and why on earth would we continue to pay them but not the military? Especially when later in the story they claim that the congressmen themselves are 'working through the night'. Riiiigghtt.

"Twin government shutdowns in the mid-1990s damaged Republicans, then new to power in Congress, and helped President Bill Clinton win re-election in 1996." -- Didn't Obama's re-election campaign begin in recent days/weeks?
"Obama flashed a veto threat even before the bill passed on a 247-181," -- And if Obama can veto anything before it get's to a vote, why didn't he do so - unless there is something I am not understanding. It just seems a bit coincidental with his re-election campaign and possibly attempting to make the Republicans look bad?
Interesting string of events and I am anxious to see how it plays out today.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - 1st-grade teacher susp... · 0 replies · +6 points

I was going to say the exact same thing. Call them like they see it. I can appreciate that.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Thousands of chickens ... · 6 replies · +8 points

"Chickens that survived continued on to the processing plant where they were eventually killed, deputies said." O_o
There is something off about that statement. I wonder if any were able to make a run for it. I am glad the driver was OK and not seriously injured.

13 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - For al-Qaida, Detroit ... · 3 replies · +5 points

Glad he was unsuccessful.
If he was planning do die, why was he worrying about the cost?
"But tickets were too expensive, so he refocused the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit."
Key word there is he. If someone was backing him, that's a different story.

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