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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Omen for the New Year?: Casselton, North Dakota Train Derailment Explosion



Sightline's series on coal and train transportation in the Northwest is here. This is the third or fourth major oil train explosion in recent months (See here and Endnotes below). The increased rate of oil train derailments and subsequent explosions is probably the result of increased shipments of fracked shale oil. The fracking of shale oil is a clear result of our failed attempts at developing non-carbon based energy economy.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Fwd: SEP Newsletter: Jobless benefits cut off for 1.3 million Americans



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Socialist Equality Party <sep@socialistequality.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 10:06 PM
Subject: SEP Newsletter: Jobless benefits cut off for 1.3 million Americans
To: "rferrisx@gmail.com" <rferrisx@gmail.com>



World Socialist Web Site

Socialist Equality Party Newsletter

Below is a selection of articles appearing on the World Socialist Web Site last week. Six days a week, the WSWS publishes on all the major political, social and cultural developments. To sign up for the daily newsletter, click here.
Contact
Socialist Equality Party
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Phone: (313) - 409 - 8083
sep@socialistequality.com
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A cruel Christmas gift: Jobless benefits cut off for 1.3 million Americans

Kate Randall and Barry Grey
28 December 2013

Friday, December 27, 2013

341 Telegraph Road Meridian Neighborhood Development (Updated 12/31/2013)

Snipped and annotated (in red) From COB Notice for site development at MERIDIAN CAP2013-00070 DRC2013-00024 VAR2013-00031 SEP2013-00046 341 Telegraph Rd : PDF  MapLocation here
Note: I submitted the comment below the break tonight to COB planner Steve Sundin regarding an application for "Development of a 154 unit age-restricted residential complex with associated parking, landscaping, certain street improvements along Telegraph Road".  Because, I walk this area frequently, I am all too well aware of lack of pedestrian facilities in these parking lots and on Telegraph Rd. Comment must be submitted by December 31st, 2013 at 5:00 PM. (Update (12/31/2013) COB will continue to receive comment on this until there decision. See Below)  There is a developer request for a "for a variance from street frontage improvement requirements on Telegraph Road."   Thanks to Wendy Harris and the Whatcom Watch facebook group for notice of this. I think (!) this link will give you an aerial view of the site.

Whatcom County GE 2013 Wrap Up: Who Voted and Who Didn't: Part II

Lattice Graphics (R) Matrix of the 2013 Whatcom County General Election for 200 Series (Bellingham) Precincts.

Some Charts of the 2013 General Election in Whatcom County are below. Red is percentage, blue is number of votes.  Top two charts are all (178) precincts. R and SQL code on request. Click graphics to enlarge. The code for this post is available here.

Fwd: Today on the WSWS

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: World Socialist Web Site <list@wsws.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 26, 2013 at 9:56 PM
Subject: Today on the WSWS
To: "rferrisx@gmail.com" <rferrisx@gmail.com>


World Socialist Web Site

New Today -- 27 December 2013

Perspective

Japanese PM revives militarist traditions

Abe's visit to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine to Japan's war dead is part of his campaign to whitewash past war crimes in order to prepare for new ones.

News & Analysis

US prepares strikes against Islamists in Iraq

Two years after Obama declared the US war in Iraq over, Washington is shipping Hellfire missiles and preparing for direct intervention against the same Islamist forces it backed in Syria.

Catalan nationalist parties set date for independence referendum

German Greens, Christian Democrats seal coalition pact in Hesse

Austrian grand coalition government intensifies austerity

Hundreds of thousands face Christmas holidays without electricity in US and Canada

Young worker and father of two killed at Detroit area steel mill

Half a million in the UK deprived of social care over the last five years

Elizabeth, South Australia: A city devastated by General Motors Holden

French humanitarian group alleges Sri Lankan security forces executed aid workers

The Bankruptcy of Detroit

Cancel Detroit's debt!

Arts Review

The year in music: Favorite recordings of 2013

Read more at wsws.org

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Fwd: Why unemployment insurance is a big deal

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "The White House" <info@messages.whitehouse.gov>
Date: Dec 20, 2013 12:39 PM
Subject: Why unemployment insurance is a big deal
To: <rferrisx@gmail.com>
Cc:


The White House Friday, December 20, 2013
Why unemployment insurance is a big deal
If Congress doesn't act soon, more than a million Americans will lose their unemployment insurance benefits. This money is a vital lifeline that helps folks pay the bills while they work hard to find their next job.
Whether you're part of a family relying on unemployment insurance -- or if you know someone in your community who is -- we all have a stake in protecting this lifeline for millions of Americans.
That's why Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, sat down for a special edition of On the Clock to explain why this issue is so important -- in under 60 seconds.

Stay Connected
 
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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Fwd: Today on the WSWS

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From: "World Socialist Web Site" <list@wsws.org>
Date: Dec 20, 2013 8:52 PM
Subject: Today on the WSWS
To: "rferrisx@gmail.com" <rferrisx@gmail.com>
Cc:

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Bellingham Downtown Planning, Old vs. New Economy, and Fracking the Bellingham Field

Schematic of the "Bellingham Basin Gas Play" from Johnson, S. Y.; Tennyson, M. E.; Lingley, W. S., Jr.; Law, B. E., 1997, Petroleum geology of the State of Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1582

Last night I attended "The Downtown Plan" Open House.  This was a topical affair with the Mayor and staff briefing the 100 plus  concerned citizens and staff packed into an Encore Room lined with dozens of presentations on zoning, building heights, parks, and civic space. On one chart I found graphics on  economics and employment.  There was a brief presentation on downtown revitalization for the last ten years: some pretty pictures of street art, redone plazas, public facilities and public spaces.  The general themes of the evening were of self-congratulatory comment, community planning euphemisms and "look what we have done so far" type rhetoric. If it weren't for the two steely-eyed Bellingham cops guarding the entrance, one could almost say 'civic spirit' pervaded the entire Encore Room.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Whatcom County GE 2013 Wrap Up: Who Voted and Who Didn't: Part I

This post is long, wonky, has SQL console output formatted in small print and is generally ugly. On most browsers you can you use the keystrokes CTRL + to zoom out. Click to enlarge the graphs. Standard caveat for all my data is that I do my best to ensure accuracy. I don't recommend quoting or using my work unless you verify it first with your own analysis. I don't recommend reading this unless these types of numbers matter to you. - RMF

Many precincts showed high turnout percentages in hte 2013 General Election.

This chart ranks precincts by lack of participation or the inverse of turnout. Some important Democratic precincts showed abysmal turnout percentages indicative of  either (your choice): apathy, vote suppression, or ballot theft.

For my $10, I received a 12.03.2013 voter database history from the fine folks that work the election desk downtown; one of a number I have collected this year as I ponder whether or not to run for the 42nd LD Senate seat.  If nothing else, my skillsets in PostgresSQL are improving. Here we go into the data. 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Fwd: Invest in the Next Generation

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Matt James <Matt_James@mail.vresp.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 4:15 PM
Subject: Invest in the Next Generation
To: rferrisx@gmail.com


December 5, 2013

NG-Logo 2    DonateButton 3

Dear Friends,matt_j_appeal letter 2

As we head into what is known in non-profit circles as "The Giving Season," I know you will be receiving plenty of letters like this one, asking for your financial support. Let me make the case for why you should support our work at Next Generation.

Fwd: Today on the WSWS


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: World Socialist Web Site <list@wsws.org>
Date: Thu, Dec 5, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Subject: Today on the WSWS
To: "rferrisx@gmail.com" <rferrisx@gmail.com>




World Socialist Web Site

New Today -- 6 December 2013

Perspective

The struggle for Ukraine

The protests in Ukraine bear the label "Made in Germany," "Made in the EU" and "Made in America."

News & Analysis

Detroit bankruptcy ruling triggers calls for pension cuts across the US

Within days of a federal judge's ruling in support of the Detroit bankruptcy filing, the devastating implications for the working class across the US are becoming apparent.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela dies

Biden lectures Chinese leaders on "human rights"

US congressional intelligence chiefs promote terror scare

US officials will no longer to provide information on Guantanamo hunger strikers

France steps up military intervention into Central African Republic

Poverty skyrockets in Ireland as the ruling elite gets richer

Russia moving to devalue the ruble

Nepal's Maoists suffer landslide election defeat

Qantas Airways announces another 1,000 job cuts

New York: Basic safety system absent in Metro North crash

The Bankruptcy of Detroit

Video: SEP holds press conference to announce workers' inquiry

Commentary

As tensions in Asia mount, danger of world war emerges

Arts Review

Alexander Payne's Nebraska: How a great many people live today

Workers Struggles

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa

Read more at wsws.org

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