It’s easy to become numb to warnings about the future, these days. Every minute of every day the mainstream media bombards us with shrieks about some new “crisis” or another “war on…” whatever, to the point of exhaustion. However, every once in a while, the fire drill is for real.
This week, I watched an extraordinary analysis of two new California housing laws coming up for a vote in Sacramento: SB-9 and SB-10. The presentation was the work of Maria and Jeff Kalban, the founders of United Neighbors in Sherman Oaks, California. It would be an understatement to say that, if passed, this legislation will bring about the biggest changes to zoning law and city planning in California, in the past 100 years… and none of it for the better.
So, if you're okay with signing, please let the People's Park Committee know by emailing them ASAP, at: peoplesparkhxdist@gmail.comPlease include your "affiliation" -- and if you're a Berkeley resident, UC alumnus, or hold an advanced degree, please include that too. Also, if you can forward this message to others who might consider signing, that will also be a great help! (Especially Berkeley residents, those who hold advanced degrees, and UC alumni or faculty).
Thank you so very much!,
Open Letter to: The Chancellor, Mayor, State Legislators, the Regents and the Governor
No northern city was more affected by the great social and cultural movements of the ‘60s than Berkeley and no event in Berkeley history brought together more of the diverse forces of that era than the conflict over People’s Park in 1969. That is why the park is designated as a landmark by the City of Berkeley and the State of California and is deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
And that is why the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group and the undersigned call upon the University of California to work with the Berkeley community to protect and enhance People’s Park. Just as the nation preserves the great battlefields of the Civil War of the 1860s, so should it preserve places like People’s Park that commemorate the great social and cultural conflicts of the 1960s.
Instead, the university proposes to destroy the park in order to build a 17-story student housing structure. UC argues the destruction of the park is necessary to respond to its housing shortage, yet the university has identified several other possible sites for student residences. Of all the jurisdictions dealing with the Bay Area’s regional housing crisis, only UC Berkeley proposes to destroy a public park of national historic importance. UC’s development plan would also destroy the view from the park and overshadow the surrounding other distinguished local, state and national landmarks, e.g., Maybeck’s Christian Science First Church.
In destroying the park, the university is eliminating the only public open space in Berkeley’s most densely populated neighborhood. Over the past several years, UC has over-enrolled the number of students, violating its own plans and increasing the number of budget-padding out-of-state enrollees. This greatly increases the population density of the area. Doesn’t the university have a responsibility to maintain and enhance the one piece of restorative nature still open to the public in this over-crowded neighborhood?
The university argues the park is a place of great crime and violence, a claim vehemently denied by park users and their supporters. The university’s unacceptable “solution” is to displace the poor, the unhoused and other park users by paving over the park. UC has clearly allowed the park to deteriorate; however, maintaining it as well as other city parks could ensure that People’s Park could be a safe, well-used public space frequented by all.
Shouldn’t a great university, with a brilliant faculty and immensely talented students, use its resources to work with neighbors and park supporters to create an inclusive public open space welcome to all? Shouldn’t the university’s architecture faculty help design truly affordable low-income housing projects in other Berkeley locations? Such efforts would be consistent with UC’s mission of public education and service and consistent with the best values and ideals of the ‘60s.
Please join with us not just to preserve People’s Park, but to make it a place that respects and commemorates its history and celebrates and serves its diverse surrounding community.
When Joe Biden called Putin a killer, it brought back memories of the Vietnam War. On arriving to the US in 1967 I was swept up in the drama of the mandatory draft and rioting on college campuses opposing the war. I must confess I was puzzled why America declared war on Vietnam which was just recovering from the yoke of French colonialism. In the communist hysteria at the time this struggle was interpreted by the American political elite as Vietnam’s embrace of communism and therefore presented an existential threat to the US and its allies. This was an easy sell to most Americans except many college students and the Rev. King who spoke eloquently against the war.
In attempting to bring a speedy conclusion to the war the US military, and the CIA used everything in its arsenal with no concern of the enormous collateral damage that would occur to the Vietnamese peasants, American soldiers and later to the people of Laos and Cambodia. B52 bombers continued their saturation bombing around the clock. Cluster munitions and chemical weapons, such as the dioxin Agent Orange, and napalm were used in large quantities on a predominately civilian population raising the spectre of war crimes and genocide.
President Nixon secretly widened the war to neighboring Laos and Cambodia and prolonged the war for half a decade to frustrate President Johnson’s reelection prospects. Many historians have leveled charges of war criminals on President Nixon and his faithful National Security adviser, Henry Kissinger.
Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. sprayed 21 million gallons of Agent Orange over southern Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia, to defoliate dense forests and improve visibility for US military pilots.
Susan Hammond, a US researcher visited Laos in 1991 fell in love with the country and decided to stay. She soon heard disturbing stories of the devastating impact of Agent Orange and decided to document its impact on the local population. She co-founded the War Legacies Project (WLP) with her husband Jacquelyn Chagnon and an associate, Niphaphone Sengthong. They meticulously documented the severe health impacts of Agent Orange. Under orders from General Westmorland the US military and the CIA included Laos and Cambodia with Vietnam in its in saturating bombing campaign of Agent Orange.
What followed was a textbook definition of genocide.
Every family they encountered shared horror stories of severe birth defects, children unable to sit, stand or talk, others suffered chronic debilitating pain.
A conservative estimate, of at least 600,000 gallons of herbicides rained down on Laos. The Laotians find themselves trapped in a hostile toxic environment for generations to come. US officials were under strict orders to remain silent lest they be liable for $billions in cleanup operations and reparations.
Chagnon’s daughter, Miranda, was born with multiple birth defects, a stark reminder of the long term health effects of dioxin.
One small 10 year old suffered intellectual disabilities and suspected arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a condition that causes joints to permanently contract.
Club feet are commonplace. So are cleft lips, sometimes accompanied by cleft palates.
So, Mr. President when you accused Putin of being a killer I wonder how you would describe the “shining city on the ill” of poisoning innocent people in multiple countries for generations to come with devastating pain and misery. Does the US ever apologize for its horrific war crimes?
For millions of disabled Americans who do not file tax returns because we live on disability benefits, the third stimulus payment hasn't yet arrived in our bank accounts.
The federal government under the Biden-Harris Administration is in its early stages of being put together. They've probably had to rebuild many, many things from the ground up--this is because the Trump was too busy golfing and trying to stage a coup to attend to running the U.S. Government.
However, it was a relatively simple task for the Social Security Administration to hand over records to the IRS, so that the payments for disabled and seniors, which happen to be those in the most fragile positions, so that we could be paid. The one-month delay, when we were essentially promised otherwise, could have devastating effects on many, who may have banked on getting this much needed money.
I borrowed eighty dollars from my brother, and that's the limit of it. This is because I had my doubts of whether things would transpire as promised. Yet, there could be thousands of people living on Social Security and/or SSI who believed the government would deliver what was promised, when it was promised, and who may have banked on this. This could lead to falling out the bottom trapdoor built into society, a door that leads to homelessness and/or incarceration, and/or death. Is there an ulterior motive? It would be paranoid to believe that. But is there?
Our system seems to be designed with some built in boobytraps. For example, overdraft on bank accounts. If you do not keep a hawk's eye on banking, and if you are poor, it becomes a real possibility that your account could become overdrawn, leaving you without enough money to pay rent. This is because any overdraft invokes massive fees.
A generalized example: not knowing and following the various laws that can get you in trouble. As soon as you have an arrest record, you are unable to do a number of things. This is partial exclusion, and it may prevent being able to secure adequate employment.
There are many ways that society has for ejecting people. The one-month delay in the stimulus money qualifies as one of those ways.
A recent Gallup Poll found that Americans, in general, are happy with the Biden Administration. Except for Republicans. Another poll indicated that most of us want to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Except Republicans. What's wrong with the GOP?
The most recent Gallup Poll (https://news.gallup.com/poll/339977/biden-approval-ratings-diverge-gender-education-race.aspx ) found that 56 percent of respondents approved Joe Biden's job performance -- versus 39 percent who disapproved. While 96 percent of Democrats viewed Biden favorably, he earned the support of only ten percent of Republicans (and 55 percent of Independents). (Not surprisingly, Biden polls worst with non-college-educated, rural, white men.)
To determine the true level of Biden's support, it's useful to study national opinion regarding the Covid relief bill. A recent Pew Research poll (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/03/09/broad-public-support-for-coronavirus-aid-package-just-a-third-say-it-spends-too-much/) found that 70 percent of respondents supported the Biden proposal -- including 41 percent of those who were "Republican/lean Republican." The poll indicates that roughly two-thirds of voters support Biden's policies -- as opposed to supporting Biden personally -- including a sizable chunk of Republicans, (That is, about one-third of Republicans support Biden's major initiatives even though they may not admit that in public.)
This makes sense because two-thirds of Republicans believe the 2020 presidential election was "invalid." ( https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/540508-majority-of-republicans-say-2020-election-was-invalid-poll?) "[Former] President Trump's rhetoric seems to have had a profound impact on his base’s outlook on the election. Across all regions, our participants by and large opposed alternative voting methods, believed that those methods opened the election process to fraud, and felt that the 2020 election result was invalid.” At the moment, two-thirds of the GOP feel cheated and, therefore, aren't going to support Biden no matter what he does. In contrast, the one-third of Republicans who believe the election was "valid" are prepared to move on. They are prepared to consider the Biden-Administration agenda on an item by item basis -- in contrast to most Republican members of Congress who appear to be opposed to anything Biden or Democrats propose.
Of interest was the PBS/NPR/Marist poll finding that 30 percent of respondents have no intention of being vaccinated for the Coronavirus: 49 percent of Republican men. Therefore, there is a "Trumpian" bloc of the electorate who believes the election was "invalid," will not support any Biden/Democratic policy initiative, and will not be vaccinated. (They are prepared to "eat worms.")
There are three consequences of the current political reality. The first is that, at the moment, Joe Biden has the support of a substantial majority of the electorate and, therefore, can move a lot of legislation through Congress. (Obviously, the Senate's filibuster rule will determine how much.) That's a good sign. Democrats can't bank on it, but it does indicate that Dems, at the moment, have political momentum.
The second consequence is that Republicans are fractured. In the 2020 presidential election exit polls: 37 percent of respondents identified as Democrats, 36 percent identified as Republicans, and 26 percent identified as Independents. Of the 36 percent that identified as Republicans, it appears that two-thirds are "Trumpians." In other words, at the moment about 25 percent of the electorate are hardcore Trump supporters.
There's early indications that in many 2022 Republican primaries, Trump will run his own slate of candidates; that is, back candidates that "fully supported" him in 2020. For example, in 2022, in Georgia, Trump will field a Republican candidate -- Jody Hice -- as an alternative to incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger. (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-endorses-challenger-against-georgia-elections-chief-brad-raffensperger)
Heading into the critical 2022 midterm election, Republicans are fractured. While the majority of the GOP supports Trump -- and his policies -- there is strong support for other conservatives. Therefore, in many GOP contests there will be a "mainstream" Republican candidate and a Trump candidate. This will negatively impact Republican fundraising. (In email appeals, Trump is advising his supporters to send money to his PAC and not to the regular GOP outlets such as the Republican National Committee. (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/09/trump-tells-donors-to-give-him-money-not-republicans-in-name-only.html))
The third consequence is that Democrats are remarkably unified, at the moment. The Democratic National Committee's (DNC) fundraising is off to a strong start: "The DNC fundraised $8.5 million in February and $18.4 million since the beginning of the year, which is a blistering start for the Democrats in a non-presidential election year... According to the DNC, 67 percent of the funds it raised came from small donors, meaning people who gave $200 or less."
At his March 25th press conference, President Biden was asked if he expected to run against Trump in 2024 responded: "Oh, come on. I don't even think about - I have no idea... I have no idea if there will be a Republican Party. Do you?" Perhaps Biden was musing that in 2024 the Republican Party will split and Trump will run on the MAGA ticket. The Grand Old Party is suffering from moral cancer and refuses to acknowledge this.
Bob Burnett is a Bay Area writer and activist. He can be reached at bburnett@sonic.net
Emerging from depression is an uphill battle. After a bout with psychosis, often a patient will experience depression. We may mistakenly believe the symptoms of depression are caused by being medicated with antipsychotics. However, this is mostly not so. When we return to tracking reality, the brain needs an extended recovery period, and part of that may include being depressed. The reader should realize that this depression will eventually clear up.
Emerging from depression, again, is an uphill battle. We must find ways to make ourselves happier, and at the same time, we may have responsibilities that we dread fulfilling. Returning to tracking reality includes that we no longer have a set of delusions that in some ways may have made us falsely happy. We may face a more difficult reality compared to how we thought it was going to be.
I've had an extended period of very mild psychosis that heavy medication, therapy, and cognitive techniques together, were not enough to completely resolve. I haven't felt safe in my life circumstances. I've been uncomfortable with perceived uncertainty about my living situation. Now that I am calming down, I find myself depressed. Maybe I was depressed before but was unaware of it.
The coronavirus is certainly part of the issue. Being deprived of social situations is hard. Now I'm at a lower level of adrenaline, and this means that my brain is no longer creating a natural "speed" to feed the synapses. In the long run, this is probably healthier. Yet for now, it seems more difficult. I've experienced my fair share of despair, an emotion that many Americans and people of other countries feel, from the effects of COVID. People who would ordinarily have no mental health issues, because of what the species is up against, are getting a taste of what it's like for us.
There is such a thing as "post psychotic depression," just as there is "postpartum depression." When there is a major change in the body, this has a major effect on mood. People with heart disease frequently feel depression. I've resolved a part of my depression--in this way: on a deeper, transcendent level I am not depressed. However, my body and mind are still depressed.
Because emerging from depression is an uphill battle, it can be incredibly hard to enact the changes we need to make so that things will be better. Emerging from depression can require a lot of effort. Yet, if we can't take a few steps to start making things better, then we fall back. And we endanger ourselves of going into a deeper pit, one that is even harder to get out of. Depression doesn't always go away unless we make it go away. And sometimes this is a call for action. And when depressed it can be awfully hard to act.
In January of this year, the U.S. government was close to being decapitated in a deadly attempted coup. Russia is a grave threat to the U.S. now more than it ever was. Putin recently remarked he hoped our President is in "good health". This is clearly a threat to the President's life, issued by the head of Russia. How much more do we need to see? Russia likes Mr. Trump and would like to see him regain full Presidential power.
Misinformation is a massively powerful weapon, and this weapon is being deployed by multiple people in multiple places.
All of the above facts are terrifying, and they present difficulties if a person wants to feel safe. If we can manage to feel safe because we've dotted all of our "i's" and crossed all of our "t's", by that I mean we've dealt with all of the necessary details of life, that's when the depression begins to set in. Once we've dealt with survival, we then calm down and that's when the emotions begin to come up that we were too threatened to feel.
Yet, the depression passes. We must find things that bring us joy or find the joy in things. Either of those will work. A book and a cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon. Watching and listening to birds. The birds are watching you too.
Those in a battle must eventually stand down. While my "battle" isn't physical, it is genuine just the same. Sometimes the battle is against a part of myself. In other cases, the battle becomes trying to survive when my efforts to be successful are repeatedly stymied--often because of the sabotage of others.
If we fail to eventually stand down, we run the risk of running our bodies, minds, and souls "into the ground"--akin to excessive use and lack of maintenance of a good car. And some amount of depression comes with the territory.
Berkeley's TJ outlet is always adding small artistic updates to its walls and columns. Sometimes an entire aisle is dedicated to a respected celebrity. This week I noticed that one of the shopping aisles boasts a new street sign named after Notorious RBG. The column now bears the title: "Ruth Ginsberg Ct." (And that's "Ct" as in "US Supreme.")
The shelves at the Berkeley Joe's also offer hidden tutorials in the form of hand-drawn snippets dealing with history, food, and culture. A recent example (sharing space with the posted prices for various bags of noodles) included a surprising historical correction. It read: "Though Marco Polo sometimes gets credit for bringing the first noodles from China to Italy, trade between the two countries was already centuries old."
Exceptionally Rogue
World Beyond War founder and prolific author David Swanson recently hosted a mini-webinar on US militarism. It contained some stunning stats, including: Since the end of WWII, the Pentagon "has killed or helped kill some 20 million people, overthrown at least 36 governments, interfered in at least 85 foreign elections, attempted to assassinate over 50 foreign leaders, and dropped bombs on people in over 30 countries. The US is responsible for the deaths of 5 million people in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and over 1 million just since 2003 in Iraq."
More dreadful data: 95% of all foreign military bases are US bases; 50% of all military spending worldwide is US spending; The US is the world's biggest arms dealer and supplies weapons to some of the world's most oppressive regimes (including Saudi Arabia and The Philippines).
If you think Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion CARES Act is expensive, consider that the Pentagon gets even more money to spend despite a long record of waste, corruption, and unaudited extravagance.
And finally, Swanson askes: If wars are "inevitable" and "necessary," why are they repeatedly based on excuses that turn out to be lies?
Diagnosing a Weakened Earth
Every Sunday, the SF Chronicle's "weather page" features a weekly column called "Earthweek: A Diary of the Planet," in which Steve Newman reviews seven days worth of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and random (and oft-times bizarre) disruptions to the biosphere. In the edition that appeared on March 21, Earthweek cited an outbreak of "seismic sinkholes" in Croatia, a potentially explosive "lava lake" building up steam in the Congo, the earliest appearance of cherry blossoms in Japan's history (linked to global warming), a blinding sandstorm that stretched from Mongolia to China and exposed millions to deadly dust that was 150 times higher than the health limits set by the World Health Organization. But the most wrenching item came from Australia where a native songbird known as the Regent Honeyeater "is slowly fading into extinction as it loses its mating song crucial for its survival." The young birds are imperiled because the parent birds are disappearing before they can pass on their mating tunes. A lead researcher's stark observation: "This lack of ability to communicate with their own species is unprecedented in a wild animal."
The Fantastic Prize that Never Arrives
The folks behind the Publishers Clearinghouse (PCH) Sweepstakes dollarpalooza are starting to look like scam artists who, once contacted, never let you go. Back on September 10, 2020, I received an unsolicited "Search Notice Advisory" letter from PCH notifying me that I had been chosen as part of a "nationwide search area for a prize authorized to be awarded soon."
The award—"$1,000 A Day For Life"—was supposed to announced at an "October 31, 2020 Prize Event." There was no further mention of the October prize drawing. Instead, 2020 ended with the arrival of a new, coupon-stuffed PCH envelope containing a letter that declared "Prize Award Authorized for December 18, 2020."
Instead of the promised December announcement, another large envelope (containing an "Important Notice") arrived on January 8, 2021. The mailing advised "a notice you'll receive from us in just two days will include a very important official entry form that could make you the winner of the February 28th prize award that pays $5,000 A Week 'Forever'!"
On February 5, an "Official Dispatch" from the PCH "Department of Content Dispatch," arrived containing an "Imminent Winner Selection" notice that promised the February 28 winner would be "awarded real soon."
February 28 came and went without a peep from PCH.
Finally, in mid-March, another fat envelope labeled "Imminent Winner Selection" arrived to announce "you cannot win from this Notice" without undertaking a "Final Step" to gain "Compliance" to be "eligible" to be "selected" to win "fabulous prizes."
There were two notable updates: the Sweepstakes Award was now upgraded to "$7,000 a week for life" and the "Prize Event" was now set to happen on April 30. Not a word about the ballyhooed February 28 whoop-dee-doo.
As per usual, the oversized PCH packet was stuffed with scores of coupons advertising items that could be purchased in "five payments each."
The items that caught my eye in the latest mailing included: a collection of 100-year-old Silver Barber Dimes (1892-1916; 90% silver); a Solar Powered Crucifix Garden Stake; a pair of "copper-infused, odor-resistant" Compression Socks designed to release "motion-activated menthol … into the sock" and; a 4 fl. Oz, bottle of Coyote Urine to repel skunks, deer, rats, groundhogs, voles "and more." The pictured bottle carried a label that advised the product could protect a 16-foot radius and was effective in "triggering the Flight or Fight Response in Small Animals."
(The coupon didn't explain how to respond if the coyote pee triggered a Fight Response, causing the local chipmunks to go ballistic on your begonias.)
Could Body Heat Heal the Planet?
I just uncovered a 2013 press release about a 15-year-old Canadian girl who was honored by the Google Science Fair for inventing a revolutionary flashlight powered entirely from the warmth of a human hand.
Ann Makosinski was troubled by the millions of single-use chemical batteries that go dead and get trashed every year. She knew that a device called a "Peltier tile" could turn a heat-differential into electric current. (Researchers had already begun exploring the use of human body heat to generate electricity to power entire buildings.)
Given that a warm hand can produce around 57 milliwatts of electric power, Makosinsky designed a "thermoelectric flashlight" that operates on as little as half-a-milliwatt. She picked up some used Peltier tiles on Ebay and went to work. Since the output of the tiles increases depending on temperature differences, Makosinsky created an LED light that was hollow in the middle, allowing cool air to rub up against the hand-held exterior. The cooler the ambient air, the better the flashlight works, making the invention perfect for evening and nighttime use. In the following video, Makosinski demonstrates how well her invention performs—even at standard classroom temperature.
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So what became of this breakthrough invention? A Google search reveals that the last mention of Makosinski's "fleshlight" dates from 2014. A search of similar products currently on the market comes up empty. There are battery-free flashlights that are crankable and magnet-shakable but nothing with the convenience and performance matching Makosinski's marvel. On the other hand (so to speak), there are several flip-the-idea products on the market that use non-reusable batteries to heat plastic handwarmers!
The history of invention is filled with examples of powerful, entrenched businesses conspiring to suppress competing inventions to assure they never reach the market. Could it be that Duracel and Rayovac conspired to pull the plug on Makosinski's revolutionary green-tech alternative?
You Think the USPS Is Underfunded? Check Out the IRS!
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman is back with another stunning critique about "the way Washington works." This time, Weissman is raging about "some infuriating new government data" that will rankle just about anyone who's not a millionaire. He writes: "In 2012—not even a decade ago—the IRS audited most major American corporations but by last year, not even 4 out of every 10 corporate giants were audited. And audits of millionaires dropped 72% during the same time span.
In fact, audits of millionaires—who are disproportionately white—dropped off way more than audits of working people claiming a tax credit meant to help low-income Americans—who are disproportionately people of color."
And why is this? Well, you could take a cue from Trump-flunky Louis DeJoy's reign as head of the US Postal Service. (DeJoy has just announced a "10-year plan" that will increase postal fees while cutting staff, reducing hours, slowing service, and curtailing airmail delivery.)
"In recent years," Weissman explains, "the IRS’s budget and staffing has plummeted—down 15% just from 2014 to 2019—so the agency can’t do as much auditing as it once did.
"The IRS is using its diminishing resources to target working people while the super-rich and giant corporations get away with tax evasion on a colossal scale—to the tune of literally hundreds of billions of dollars every year!"
This being Public Citizen, there's an action petition that's ready to sign. And here's the link.
Since the dawn of the Year of COVID, US billionaires have become $1.3 trillion richer—and another 46 well-endowed American millionaires actually graduated to billionaire status over the past year. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of American families were losing jobs, healthcare, and housing due to the spreading contagion.
In response, House Squadron member Rep. Pramila Jayapal has joined forces with Senator Elizabeth Warren to "level the paying field" by passing an Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act. The UMTA would apply an annual 2-3% wealth tax on the richest Americans and redirect trillions of dollars to serve the survival needs of America's majority. And, yes, there's a petition for that!
Many organizations responded quickly and strongly to the horrific Atlanta killing spree that took the lives of eight people, calling for a National Day of Action on March 27 under the banner: "We Stand Against Anti-Asian Violence White Supremacy."
But there was something about the response that raises concern. While eight people were killed, the political response focused on the six Asian women who were slain. When only some victims are recognized—on the basis of gender, ethnicity, politics, religion, or whatever—this serves to place an "agenda frame" around a tragedy, creating a narrowed focus that places the spotlight on some victims but leaves others in the shadows.
A similar "agenda frame" was imposed in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol Insurrection. The media consistently reports that five people died during the rioting but the only one victim is named—Capitol police officer Brian SIcknick, the only one of the five who died at the hands of Capitol attackers. Three other unnamed officers committed suicide (for unexplained reasons) while the fifth barely-mentioned fatality was Ashli Babbit, an unarmed 12-year Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by Capitol security guards trying to prevent the storming of the House Chambers.
The Atlanta Killings: The Nexus of Religion and Sex
In the Atlanta spa-shooting tragedy, what all eight victims had in common was that they all were engaged in the operation of local massage spas—a fact that aligned with the shooters' "sex addiction" excuse.
As Judith Levine noted in an article posted by The Intercept, the accused killer, Robert Aaron Long was a fundamentalist Christian who hated the fact that he was addicted to porn and paid sex. Instead of acting out of hatred of Asian Americans, Long apparently turned to violence because he hated himself for being sexually attracted to Asian women.
Referencing the foreign policy of the Trump administration and early echoes of sino-phobia from the Biden Bunch, CODEPINK warns that the rising incidence of Asian-targeted attacks "are a direct result of US foreign policy that included bipartisan aggression towards China." The xenophobia that CODEPINK references predates current US-China competition. It goes back to the WWII recruiting poster depictions of "Demon Japs" and, before that, to the "Yellow Peril" memes of the 19th Century.
One issue that remains to be explored in this tragedy is the American system of employment discrimination that assigns certain racial and ethnic minorities to positions in the "sub-economy"—where women frequently find themselves forced into low-rung work as housekeepers, nannies, homecare workers, nail parlor attendants, and masseuses. Despite the attacker's claim that he was motivated by "sex addiction," the press has shown little interest in exploring the issue of Asian women forced to become masseuses and sex workers in order to survive in The Land of the Free.
This Just In
In the wake of the latest mass-shooter-super-spreader event, the New York Times undertook an investigation to find an answer to the question: "Why Does the US Have So Many Mass Shootings?" After a deep dig into existing records, stats, studies, and research, the NYT announced their conclusion: "Research Is Clear. Guns."
And it's not that there is more crime in the US, there's just more gunfire. As the Times explained: "A New Yorker is just as likely to be robbed as a Londoner … but the New Yorker is 54 times more likely to be killed in the process."
One of the Times' findings was that, while the US represents only 4.4 percent of the world's people, American citizens possess 42 percent of the planet's guns.
For Pete's Sake!
It's been great to hear Pete Seeger singing "Hard Times in the Mill" on TV recently but kinda shocking to hear this revolutionary balladeer's voice conscripted to serve as the soundtrack for a 30-second TV car commercial. Granted the product was a Volvo XC80 Rechargeable Plug-in Hybrid, but still….
Here's the rarely broadcast minute-long version of Volvo's ad.
At least Pete's background soundtrack was more palatable than Bob Dylan's pandering and self-promoting ads for Cadillac (2007), and Chrysler (2014).
From the week that is just ending, the big event was Thursday and not much else mattered.
The March 25th special Council meeting called by Mayor Arreguin created a giant uproar with numerous phone calls in all directions, over 300 letters and 250 meeting attendees. As I wrote in the Activist’s Diary last week (March 20th) the special meeting was to cover the bungled attempt to push through Quadplex Zoning. Once the complaint was filed by former mayor Shirley Dean with the Berkeley Open Government Commission alleging that a violation of the State of California Brown Act had occurred, the Quadplex Zoning measure had to be rewritten to be considered by council. (The Brown Act is a state law which protects public access to meetings of California government entities. It prohibits behind-the-scenes discussions by a majority of members of legislative matters which they will vote on.)
I predicted last week that the mayor would come in at the last minute with some supposed compromise that the public would not have had a chance to review before the meeting starts. He did one better. At 29 minutes into the meeting the mayor submitted his “supplemental” ((his own modifications of the original submission which had been authored by the mayor and councilmembers Droste, Kesarwani and Taplin) and then said to the full council they could read the supplemental while they were supposed to be listening to public comment. That should tell you everything thing you need to know about what the mayor thinks of the public—and that is the key difference between the proposal pushed forward by Arreguin and Droste and the proposal authored by Councilmembers Hahn and Harrison.
The late revision from Arreguin substituted words like “consider”, “explore” and “study” for some mandatory language, but these words did nothing to change the original directive, which places the work to update the Housing Element to cover the years 2023 to 2031 in the hands of the Planning Department staff, consultants and the Planning Commission. Hahn, Harrison, Bartlett and Wengraf put the responsibility in the hands of the public with Planning, the Housing Advisory Commission, the Homeless Commission and other appropriate commissions, City Council and City staff with consultants to lead the Housing Element update.
Both approaches are required to work within the same time frame. The new updated Housing Element, which is to plan how to adapt and accommodate the onerous volume of new housing, is due to be completed before January 2023. The actual allocation of housing to be built in Berkeley between 2023 and 2031 is 2446 units (27%) for extremely low and very low income households, 1408 units (16%) for low income households, 1416 units (16%) for moderate income households and 3664 units (41%) for above moderate income households (also known as market rate or whatever the owner choses to charge for rent). Those numbers total 8934 units.
If you feel lost or any of these terms Housing Element, Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are new to you or confusing read item 2. in the agenda, The Initiation of Participatory Planning for Berkeley’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation by Councilmembers Hahn and Harrison. The explanation starts on page 3. file:///Users/kellyhammargren/Downloads/Item%202%20Supp%20Hahn%20(5).pdf
As the McGee-Spaulding Neighbors in Action learned from Councilmember Harrison during the Wednesday evening town hall, the projected population for Berkeley by 2050 is 163,000. And, if the drop in population in California in 2020 is not just a blip, but a trend, there will be no readjustment to the housing allocation that is supposed to be built.
For those who hung on for the entire Council meeting (5 hours and 6 minutes) the mayor near the very end made a motion to accept his changes (the Supplemental) to item 1, the original Droste, Arreguin, Kesarwani and Taplin submission, and also to accept item 2, the Hahn, Harrison, Bartlett and Wengraf submission. Councilmember Wengraf signed on with Hahn, Harrison and Bartlettl. That looks to have been a very significant move in this meeting’s outcome.
Letters and calls do matter, but in the end, it is going to mean showing up, signing on to Zoom and tracking this process until it is completed. The chair of the Planning Commission, Shane Krpata, already declared where he stands on Thursday evening in public comment, steadfastly endorsing item 1, the one which limits public participation. This doesn’t get us off to a very good start if the process is limited to the Planning Commission, consultants and city Planning staff. Right now, that looks too much like group think.
The importance of broad community engagement through the entire process cannot be underestimated. Diverse groups come up with better solutions and that is the key benefit of following the method of Participatory Planning for Berkeley’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) as proposed by Hahn, Harrison, Bartlett and Wengraf.
In the past there was no punishment from the state for not building the assigned volume of housing, but all that is changed for the future. If Berkeley is unable to cough up 8934 new housing units, the threat looms of the State overriding any local zoning codes that restrict housing production. Already there are laws on the books to speed up the processing of mixed-used multi-unit buildings and limit local restrictions. From the laws I have read so far, I haven’t found exactly when overriding local zoning codes kicks in and what we will be forced to swallow with that 8934 unit gulp. The focus is existing transit corridors, which targets San Pablo, downtown, south and west Berkeley. I still have a list to finish. There will be more in the weeks ahead.
We should not forget that the mayor, for all his declarations of concern about climate, has stated he is opposed to the Rights of Nature declaration, item 31 on the March 30 Council agenda. When I took a walk late this afternoon, the air was filled with the sounds of song birds. I wondered how many dead zones we will have if we cover what is left of open space in Berkeley with concrete. Living with and making space for nature is more than creating a pleasurable city to live in for our physical and mental health; urban habitat is gaining critical importance in the midst of ecosystem collapse. Well planned cities can and do support diverse species.
Don’t forget https://calscape.org/ Restore Nature One Garden at a Time for spring gardening.
As to the rest of the meetings I attended during the week, Monday afternoon was a special meeting of the Council Agenda and Rules Committee to discuss two items. The first was to temporarily limit significant new legislation to be considered by the council policy committees or the council as a whole during the pandemic unless it is time urgent, related to COVID-19 or already in process. This item was passed out of committee to be considered by Council in April.
The second item, System Realignment, was discussed and then continued. Systems Realignment defines when and how a major item (i.e. anything that requires new or additional resources) may be submitted to Council for a vote.
On Monday, it seemed like, “why now” when we are getting vaccinated and coming out of the pandemic darkness, but by Friday there was a big jump in the total of new cases in the US and California. The warnings of the B.1.1.7 variant hitting us this spring have been circulating for weeks. We are not out of the woods yet.
I only caught the beginning of The Ashby and North Berkeley BART CAG meeting--enough to hear that 35% affordable housing at each station will be a push. That is a far cry from RHNA, which says that 59% is the need for affordable housing.
I like to end with what I’m reading. I just finished Ten Lessons for a Post Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria, 2020. It is well written and packed with information and much to consider. Lesson one: Buckle-up. We have created a world in overdrive. Lesson five: Life is digital. COVID is breaking down the last barriers to going digital and the changes are here to stay. Lesson Six: We are social animals, cities will endure. This is a book I’d like to read again and there are some things to pull out as we embark on RHNA like lessons one, five and six .
City Council spring recess starts March 31 and extends through April 19.
Sunday – 2 pm rally for Asian Americans at Aquatic Park organized by 7th graders. The Equity Summit is at 7 pm.
Monday – Deadline is at 5 pm to submit an application to be considered for the Police Accountability Board.
Tuesday – The Regular City Council meeting is at 6 pm. The last item on the agenda is The Rights of Nature.
Wednesday – The Homeless Commission meets at 6 pm. The South Berkeley Community safety Town Hall is at 7 pm.
Thursday – The UC Berkeley Long Range Development Plan is on the agenda at the Landmarks Commission. The Public Works Commission Agenda is not available until after Monday.
If you have a meeting you would like included in the summary of meetings, please send a notice to kellyhammargren@gmail.com by noon on the Friday of the preceding week.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Rising Rally with speakers at 2 – 4 pm
Where: Aquatic Park – Meet at Aquatic Park, 84 Bolivar Drive
AGENDA: Learning From Our Elders: Listening And Honoring The Past To Guide The Future (Any trouble joining call 1-510-549-8790) Event led and organized by BIPOC
Monday, March 29, 2021
March 29 at 5 pm is the DEADLINE to submit an application to be considered for the Police Accountability Board
Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 881 3124 5345
AGENDA: single item 2. Adopt ordinance regulating police acquisition and use of controlled equipment and add BMC 2.64.170 (this has been in process since July 2020)
Agenda and Rules Committee at 2:00 – NOTE TIME - MEETING STARTING EARLY
Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 883 4818 8573
AGENDA: single item listed 1. Amendments to the Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA) to regulated officeholder accounts and proposed changes to City Council Office Budget Expenditures, discussion of future agenda items not numbered and Reimbursement Policies (officeholder accounts are contributions/donations to the officeholder, i.e. councilmember, mayor, which then can be used by the officeholder – details/explanation in packet pages 5-13)
Teleconference: 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 816 8062 9249
AGENDA: 1. Conference with Labor Negotiators, employee organizations IBEW, Local 1245, SEIU 1021, Community services and Part-time Recreation Activity Leaders, Public Employees Union Local 1
Teleconference: 1-699-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 Meeting ID: 818 7211 9058
AGENDA CONSENT: 3. Police Accountability Board Ordinance amendment for member LOAs and council-approved alternative commissioner. 4. $24,063 Contracts extended to 6/30/2021 for Center For Independent Living, Pacific Center, & YEAH, 5. Amend Contract add $30,714 total $878,142 with Covenant House – YEAH, Mental Health Services Act Fund, 6. Designate City Labor Negotiators 1/1/2021-12/31/2021, 7. Aide Letter Agreement: Public Employee Union, Local 1/AFSCME Council 57 authorizing 80 hours of additional emergency paid sick leave (EPSL), 8. Amend and extend ERMA to 12/30/2021 $80,000, 9. Contract add $120,000 total $2,154,769 with ESI for IBM hardware and software lease 6/2/2003-6/30/2022, 10. Amend contract add $147,991 total $402,961 and extend to 6/30/2024 with Tyler Technologies for Open Data Portal’s Hosting Services, 11. Contract add $235,000 total $852,200 and extend to 6/30/2023 with TruePoint Solutions for Accela Professional Services, 12. Contract add $68,440 and extend 6/30/2023 with Verint Systems for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software Maintenance, 13. Contract add $76,906 total $141,906 to 6/30/2023 with NextRequest for Public Records Act (PRA) Response Software, 14. Contract add $25,000 total $100,014 extend 6/30/2022 with CBF Electric & Data for Wi-Fi Installation, 15. Contract add $200,000 total $249,500 extend 6/30/2023 with Gray Quarter, Inc. for Accela Professional Services, 16. P.O. $512,000 for Protiviti Government Services: Using GSA for Professional Services thru 6/20/2022, 17. Add $42,000 total $146,400 contingency $42,800 with Lind Marine to remove derelict and abandoned vessels from Berkeley Marina, 18. Utility Agreement $720,000 for sewer line for future fieldhouse restroom at Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex, 19. Add $70,000 total $295,400 and extend 12/31/2023 with Street Level Advisors for Development Fee Feasibility Analysis, 20. Budget Referral Police Foot/Bike Patrol in West Berkeley, Beats 11-16, 21. Budget Referral Stop signs at Dwight and California, 22. Letter to Google requesting inclusion of commercial truck routes on google maps platform, 23. Refer to Disability Commission Discussion on East Bay Paratransit and Transportation Needs of Berkeleyans with Disabilities, 24. Providing Unhoused with Fire Extinguishers Council Safety committee qualified positive recommendation to consider fire extinguishers and other fire prevention tools such as wool blankets, 25. Budget Referral New Project Coordinator to implement Electric Mobility Roadmap and Climate Initiatives, 26. Support AB 20 Corporate-Free Elections prohibits businesses from making campaign contributions to candidates for elective office, 27. Support AB 37 requiring vote-by-mail ballots to all voters for every election, 28. Support AB 854 Ellis Act Reform, ACTION: 29. Hearing Bond Financing for 2870 Adeline (Harriet Tubman Terrace Apt) 30. Ordinance permanently banning less lethal weaponry – Council Safety Committee forwarded with negative recommendation for Council to take no action, 31. Recognize the Rights of Nature qualified positive recommendation to place obligation on City not residents, Information Reports: 32. FY 2020 4th Quarter Investment report ending 6/30/2020, 33. FY 2021 1st Investment Report ended 9/30/2020, 34. Referral 2nd Dwelling Unit/ADU pilot program to house the homeless, 35. Report Worker’s Comp FY 2019-2020,
AGENDA: pre-register using above tinyurl for videoconference link, Mayor Arreguin, Councilmember Ben Bartlett, Interim Police Chief Jen Louis, guests Councilmembers Dan Kalb, Oakland and John Bauters, Emeryville
AGENDA: 6. Protocol for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to unsheltered homeless, 7. Placing vacancy tax on 2022 ballot with substantial revenue to go towards purchase of motels and hotels to house the homeless, 8. Unsheltered homeless in the downtown.
AGENDA: 5. 2246 Fifth Street – review and provide advisory comments on design of proposed rehabilitation project, 6. Annual Report (CLG) to State office of Historic Preservation, 7. Archaeological Resources and Native Cultural Heritage in Berkeley, 8. UC Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) and associated EIR discussion, https://lrdp.berkeley.edu/, 9. Resolution to End Exclusionary Zoning in Berkeley, 10. Potential initiation consideration 2501, 2510, 2514 & 2530 San Pablo Ave.
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