"Extraordinary attempt by the Bush administration to kill off the fight against climate change"

Bush's negotiators attempting to derail next round of climate change action:

"If they get this text through, then it will give a free pass to any nation that wants to keep polluting."

The proposed US text uses phrases such as "as appropriate", "depending" and "may" in reference to emissions cuts, which would effectively make any agreement reached voluntary. Last night it was understood that the US move was being supported by Canada, but fiercely opposed by the EU and Britain.

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Bali talks launch new process: World looks beyond the lame duck

Skid - Crash - @#^$!

I haven't ridden down Westlake since the SLUT construction crossed Mercer Street. Today's Mike Lindblom piece in the Times is not an incentive for me to try it now:

Cyclists, skinny tires, streetcar rails -- not a good mix

New streetcar tracks on Seattle's Westlake Avenue have turned into a trap for bicyclists.

The tires on a standard road bike are narrower than the 1 ¾-inch groove that holds a streetcar wheel. If a bicycle veers into that gap, it can easily get stuck, pitching the rider onto the street.

Seattle bike activists plan a wheeled protest next Wednesday, when the South Lake Union streetcar begins service from Westlake Center to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Despite the goal of Mayor Greg Nickels to triple bicycle use, the new streetcar line includes long stretches of track in the curb lanes of Westlake Avenue, where bicyclists normally ride. Many riders have adapted by riding on sidewalks, to the left of the tracks — or in the left lane, which aggravates motorists.

"The streetcar isn't operating yet, and we're already seeing people crashing," said Seattle Likes Bikes member Michael Snyder, who said he has heard of eight or nine accidents.

. . .

Alan Durning, founder of Sightline Institute, an environmental think tank, calls the Westlake situation one example of "bicycle neglect" — the American tendency to treat bikes as recreational vehicles, not primary transportation. A street posing similar hazards to cars would never be designed, he said.

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Also in the news

Mayor Nickels want to give City employees "free bus passes." Very laudable. But free??? Someone's paying for it down the line, Greg-o.

SLUT is cruising South Lake Union...

... I have been informed. What a great acronym.

When the Waterfront trolley goes back into service, they'll probably rename it Waterfront-Harbor Operating Rail Express.

Today at my local Starbucks

Customer: I'm having a latte and a breakfast sandwich.
Cashier: What kind of sandwich was that?
Customer: Um- aren't they all the same price?
Cashier: We track them separately.
Customer: It's the pepper-bacon. You mean some manager might be saying 'Uh-oh, the pepper-bacon is trending down'?
Cashier: I'm totally not laughing at that.

Interest in truth?

Find out about those poor, maligned people working in the field of payday loans: the Predatory Lending Association.

From the people who brought you Mystery Science Theater 3000...

...Cinematic Titanic!!!



(H/T Generik)

No, Joe: Seattle City Council, Position 1

Freakshow 2007^®

Joe Szwaja seemed like a good choice: liberal, teacher, environmentalist, surface+transit, living wages, unions, congestion pricing. The clincher were his strong answers to my community group's questionnaire on pedestrian and bicycle safety.

So yeah, on my absentee ballot I blacked-in the bubble next to his name.

Now I want my absentee ballot back, because Szwaja has gone negative in last-minute radio ads against incumbent Jean Godden.

It's basically a smear campaign, stating as fact ethics charges against Godden, when those charges have been dismissed by the Ethics and Elections Commission. Sure, it's under appeal—to keep it alive until Election Day. And who filed the complaint with the commission in the first place? A Szwaja volunteer.

Totally. Freaking. Despicable. VOTE EARLY AND GODDEN.