I will say, however, as cops go, the number of allegations of misconduct are fewer in the PNW than almost anywhere else in these united States of America, so it is kind of a surprise the backlash appears to be beginning here.

PARKLAND, Wash. – A gunman walked into a coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in what sheriff’s officials described as a targeted “execution.”

The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Parkland with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a man came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The officers were obviously targeted because they were in full uniform, their marked patrol cars were parked outside and no one else was shot at, Troyer said.

“This was more of an execution. He walked in with the mind of shooting police officers,” Troyer said.

It wasn’t immediately known if any of the officers were able to return fire. They were declared dead at the scene.

Troyer said two employees and a few customers were in the Forza Coffee Company shop at the time but no one else was hurt. “As you can imagine they are all traumatized,” he said.

Authorities scoured the area for the gunman, who fled from the coffee shop on foot and may have gotten into a nearby vehicle. The shooting suspect was described as a “scruffy”-faced black man in his 20s or 30s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10 and wearing a black jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt, and blue jeans.

“We are in the process of searching multiple locations,” Troyer said.

Nearby McChord Air Force Base was put on alert.

No advance threats
The victims were three males and one female, all officers with the Lakewood Police Department southwest of Tacoma, Troyer said.

There were no specific advance threats against the officers, Troyer said.

A $10,000 reward was being offered for information leading to those responsible.

“This is an example of the danger that police officers and deputy sheriffs and state troopers face every day,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said. “The person or people who did this not only harmed us, they harmed the good that we can do in the community.”

There was no indication of any connection with the Halloween night shooting of a Seattle police officer, Troyer said. The suspect in that shooting remains hospitalized.

I read ‘The Road’ and found it to be the most depressing thing I’d ever read. I can’t imagine wanting to watch it as a movie.

Also, back in 2007, Mark Thornton pointed to Burj Dubai as another one of the warning signs saying the “Skyscraper Index predicts economic depression and/or a stock market collapse to occur prior to the completion of the skyscraper”.

Thornton wrote an article on the Skyscraper Index that appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics in 2005, titled Skyscrapers and Business Cycles.

An early peak inside the Burj Dubai, which is supposed to open in January.

Methinks Dubai is experiencing a tiny bit of buyers remorse regarding their unique development plans.

Troubles in Dubai

• Big spending: In recent years, Dubai has expanded with ambitious, eye-catching projects such as its palm-shaped islands and the world’s tallest skyscraper in hopes of becoming tourist- friendly. In the process, the state-backed networks nicknamed Dubai Inc. have racked up $80 billion in red ink.

• Debt default: Dubai’s main investment arm, Dubai World, revealed this week that it was seeking at least a six-month delay on repaying its $60 billion debt. Credit agencies responded by slashing debt ratings on Dubai’s state companies.