Category: My Work

  • A Shrinking Illinois

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    Brendan Barry
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    Last week we looked at the data on Pennsylvania from the US Census Bureau and found the Commonwealth’s population is shifting from west of the Appalachians to the southeast of the state. That got me thinking about Illinois, one of three states to have experienced a decline in population. Is there a similar geographic pattern…

  • Game of Thrones Ratings

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    Brendan Barry
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    No spoilers here, so don’t worry. But Game of Thrones ended last night. And I might be in the minority in that I like the overall ending and direction of the plot. But, I will agree that it would have been better…executed (just a Ned Stark reference) if at least the final two series were…

  • Pennsylvania’s Population Shifts

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    Brendan Barry
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    Last month the US Census Bureau published their first batch of 2018 population estimates for states and counties. Pennsylvania is one of those states that is growing, but rather slowly. It will likely lose out to southern and western states in the 2020 census after which House seats will be reapportioned and electoral college votes…

  • How Does the UK View Their Political Parties?

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    Brendan Barry
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    The United Kingdom crashes out of the European Union on Friday. That means there is no deal to safeguard continuity of trading arrangements, healthcare, air traffic control, security and intelligence deals, &c. Oh, and it will likely wreck the economy. No big deal, Theresa. But what do UK voters think about their leading political parties…

  • Demanding the Impossible

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    Brendan Barry
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    The key problem in the Brexit deal remains what to do with the Irish border. In essence, the UK faces the same trilemma it has since the beginning. It wants three things it cannot have at the same time: exiting the EU single market and customs union, so it can create a free and independent…

  • Amazon’s Selection for HQ2

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    Brendan Barry
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    Well this week Amazon finally chose not just one city for its HQ2, but two—New York and Washington. Of course Philadelphia had been angling for the site. Alas, it was not to be. So let’s work with that for this Friday post. Credit for this one is mine.

  • 119 Wins

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    Brendan Barry
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    The only number you need today, the only factette you need to see today, is this. Well done, Boston. Well done.

  • Government Officials Using Private Devices

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    Brendan Barry
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    Earlier this week the news broke that President Trump refuses to use his government-issued iPhone for all his communications and prefers his private, unsecured device. This of course means, and reports indicate is happening, that Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies can listen in on his calls. So how about those private e-mail servers? Happy Friday,…

  • Swedish Election Results

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    Brendan Barry
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    Sweden went to the polls this past weekend and the results are mostly in, with overseas ballots left to be counted. But the results are clear, a stark rise for the nationalist Sweden Democrats, though not as high as some had feared late last week. Not surprisingly we had the standard parliamentary seat chart, seen…

  • Most Liveable Cities Ranking

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    Brendan Barry
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    There is nothing super sophisticated in these charts, but I love them all the same. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) published its rankings of the world’s most liveable cities and this year Vienna knocked off Melbourne for top spot. But what about the rest of the list? Thankfully the Economist, a related company, put together…