Amazons erotic/exotic biospheres will be completed in the near future.
Amazon's erotic/exotic biospheres will be completed in the near future. Charles Mudede

A Famous and Very Handsome Venture Capitalist Says Amazon Could be Worth $3 Trillion: His name is Chamath Palihapitiya. He is the CEO of a company with a neoliberal-sounding name, Social Capital. His own words: “This is a story that’s just beginning. In fact, we believe and our models indicate that this is a $3 trillion company in the next ten years.” Amazon and Mircrosoft have made Seattle the cloud capital of the universe we are aware of.

Amazon Housing 9,000 Rare Plants: Plants that used to stay at University of Washington's Botany Greenhouse, are now residing in a Redmond facility that Amazon uses to "propagate plants for Amazon's alien-like biospheres" (Ana Sofia Knauf). Those biospheres are to Seattle what the fictional Xanadu is to Citizen Kane.

Anti-Trans Ballot Measure Could Cost Washington $4.46 Billion a Year in Federal Funding, Report Says: Sydney Brownstone writes that "Washington State could lose as much as $4.46 billion annually in federal funding—and much of it for the state's public schools—if voters pass anti-trans bathroom initiative 1515."

Man Chased by Police Crashes Car, Flees on Foot, But Then Returns to Crashed Car to Get His Pet Monkey: This really happened in Burien. The suspect was arrested with a monkey on his back. Both were taken into custody. The monkey was later released. All of this brought to mind this fine line in a pop tune: "Why can't you do it? Why can't you set your monkey free?"

Investigation Reveals Bald Eagle Caused Plane Crash that Killed 4 Humans in Alaska: The remains of the bird were found in the plane's tail. This accident is going down in US history as the first fatal civilian plane crash to result from an impact with a bald eagle.

Golden Eagle Missing From Oregon Zoo Is Found: The brown bird's name is Deschutes. It has been with the zoo for 12 years. A 2004 accident with a car left him blind in one eye. Recently, some crows ganged up on him. He flew this way and that (you know how crows do) and eventually got lost. He is not fit for the wild anymore. But the radio transmitters fitted on him informed the zoo's caregivers of his location. This story has a happy ending.

If You Buy the Weyerhaeuser Mansion in Tacoma, You Aren't Allowed to Throw Big Parties in It: That is what a judge recently ruled. But what are you supposed to do with a huge place (52 rooms, 15,600 square feet, nearly 6 acres of land) like this? You can't live in it. Looking like a robber baron isn't cool any more. The Weyerhaeuser mansion, which is asking for $5.5 million, is only good for pretended splendor. It's like those backdrops in African studio photographs. The place is perfect for the exuberant expenditure of weddings and other events of that nature. But its neighbors have had enough of the "loud music, parking problems, rowdy guests and open consumption of alcohol." Tacoma's News Tribune has the story. (Note: What you also get with the mansion's 52 rooms is an ideal whorehouse.)

Hello Nasty: King County has its first case of the Zika virus, a disease linked with global warming. Mosquitoes are looking forward to a warmer world.

The Vulcan Empire Expands: Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Vulcan Real Estate paid $45.35 million for its "first-ever property in downtown Bellevue." The company, which is owned by Paul Allen, a local billionaire, also recently purchased Promenade 23 Shopping Center in the Central District. It is important to note that capital accumulated from making things (production) is now being used to accumulate property, a financial asset. This is how capitalism usually works.

We Can All Guess What the Popular Weatherperson Cliff Mass Would Say About This: An apocalyptic-looking wildfire in the heart of Canada's oil country, northern Alberta, has forced 80,000 people to leave the area. This is the largest mandatory evacuation in the province's history. The fire is so massive that it has caused oil prices to go up and up. Its thick smoke has clouded the future for oil speculators. The wildfire may even burn down a big part of a small town, Fort McMurray. Slate points a finger at global warming. Mass would not.


Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President: The numbers speak for themselves.

Sadiq Khan: Will you please be London's mayor? You would be doing us a really big favour.


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