As someone whose west Berkeley neighborhood just suffered three shootings in three days, I'm always amused when the university's spokesperson, Dan Mogulof describes People's Park as "attracting crime" as he just did in the San Francisco Chronicle. This is the same university I attended and graduated from which suddenly, absent any factual foundation, described me and former Ashkenaz owner David Nadel in a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) as a "key leader in a violent conspiracy" in 1992 when, as now, a group of us formed to oppose the destruction of People's Park. -more-

For over 50 years I have been writing about foreign policy, mostly America’s, but those of other nations as well. I think I have a pretty good grasp of countries like Turkey, China, India, Russia and the European Union. I regret that I am less than sure-footed in Africa and Latin America.

During this time I have also learned a fair amount about military matters and various weapons systems, because they cost enormous amounts of money that could be put to much better use than killing and maiming people. But also because it’s hard to resist the absurd: the high performance US F-35 fighter jet--at $1.7 trillion, the most expensive weapons system in US history--that costs $36,000 an hour to fly, shoots itself, and can decapitate pilots who attempt to bail out. There are, as well, the $640 toilet seats, the $7,622 coffee maker, and the fact that the Department of Defense cannot account for $6.5 trillion in spending.

I have also become fairly conversant with the major nuclear arms agreements and I know what Article VI of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty says (more on this later).

This is a farewell column, so I ask for your indulgence. Having (hopefully) beaten back cancer, I have decided to spend more time with my grandkids and maybe return to my three novels (I have at least one more in my head). But I would like a last hurrah about what I have learned about the world and politics over that last half century, so bear with me.

First, wars are really a bad idea, and not just for the obvious reason that they cause enormous misery and pain. They don’t work, at least in the sense that they accomplish some political end. -more-

The Regents of the University of California are poised to vote this Wednesday for the destruction of People’s Park in Berkeley. The Capital Strategies Committee will recommend whether to move forward on a massive new 12 story housing project on the site, located ¼ mile south of the UC Berkeley campus. -more-

The success of the week was at the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) meeting. There are two of us who have been attending regularly educating ZAB on habitat, native plants, bird safe glass, down lighting, bird migration, ecosystems, keystone plants, heat island effect, permeable paving and more. We haven’t made a dent with the Berkeley Planning Department staff, but ZAB is responding and Thursday evening we had a big success with 2015 Blake. The up lighting was caught and changed to downlighting, the balance of exotic non-native plants was reversed with a threshold of 80% native plants and the project will come back to DRC (Design Review Committee) on EV charging stations (ZAB request) and the bird safe glass.

There are three things that contributed to this success, 1) persisting in educating ZAB at meeting after meeting for months, 2) a willingness of ZAB members to listen and 3) cooperation from the developer. On the last piece, Mark Rhoades is on this project and he should know better than to bring a project with up lighting and non-native plants.

It is not enough to speak up once or twice or write an occasional letter. Making change requires persistent follow through. Success can never be taken for granted and sustaining forward motion requires paying attention.

It is hard to know what is in the heads of the Planning Department staff, but one thing for certain is that no matter how many meetings we attend, no matter what we present, they are unmoved to act in any different way than they always have. From all appearances it is a narrow world without vision. -more-

Gene Poschman, a towering stalwart of Berkeley civic life, died at home on September 8. He was 86 years old. As a longtime member of the Zoning Adjustments Board and the Planning Commission, he used his unparalleled knowledge and political acumen to ride herd on development interests and their enablers in City Hall. He was the strategist behind the successful No on T campaign, which thwarted the Bates council’s 2012 attempt to transform light-industrial/artisanal West Berkeley into a warren of multi-block office parks.

When he retired from the Planning Commission in April 2018, after serving twenty-two years on that body, Mayor Arreguin and the council issued a proclamation honoring him as “a treasured community advocate and dedicated volunteeer, who for decades has given generously of his time, wisdom, and wit to the citizens of Berkeley.” -more-

Worth Noting:

Monday morning the Council Safety Committee meets at 10:30 on Ghost Guns, The Agenda Committee meets at 2:30 pm on the draft agenda for the 10-12-2021 Council regular meeting, The Children, Youth and Recreation Commission and the Zero Waste Commission both meet at 7 pm.

Tuesday morning the Council Land Use Committee meets at 10:30 am on the Affordable Housing Overlay. The Regular City Council meeting is at 6 pm with Baseline Zoning and Objective Building Standards on the agenda.

Wednesday the Police Accountability Board meets at 7 pm.

Thursday the Reimagining Task Force meets at 6 pm. The Housing Advisory Commission meets at 7 pm.

Saturday Ride Electric with electric vehicles and eBikes will be at the downtown Farmers Market from 11 am – 3 pm. The Independent Redistricting Commission meets at 1 pm to provide instruction in how to submit maps for new council boundaries. The Berkeley Tenants Union meets from 4 – 6 pm



The full draft agenda for the October 12^th City Council regular meeting and the full agenda for the Tuesday evening September 28^th City Council meeting follow the daily list of city meetings.



Register for Citywide Virtual Evacuation Drill on Friday, October 8 and Saturday, October 9 at 9 – 11 am

October 8 all participants to review household evacuation plan – use registration link for bulletin with resource for drill and evacuation planning, October 9 virtual drill at 9 – 11 am,

Registration link https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CABERKE/bulletins/2f47115

-more-

Even though the various claims of evidence alleging a stolen 2020 election — “The Big Lie” — have been exhaustively investigated and litigated and found wanting, a May 21, 2021 Ipsos/Reuters Poll found that over half of Republicans believe Donald Trump is the actual President of the United States. And Trump’s stronghold over the Republican party remains. His refusal to concede the 2020 election and calls of widespread fraud have raised doubts about the integrity of its results among his Republican base. Consequently, 56% of Republicans believe the election was rigged or the result of illegal voting, and 53% think Donald Trump is the actual President, not Joe Biden. -more-

The just released Cyber Ninjas’ audit (or "fraudit" as some have called it) report of Arizona’s Maricopa County found that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, and by more than originally thought. No fraud was uncovered. -more-

When we as mental health consumers are dealing with therapists, we may never get a sense of how they truly see us. They project to us an image of themselves as caring and helping people, who assume no superiority over us. The piece of the jigsaw puzzle that we're missing can be gleaned from overhearing how they speak about us to fellow therapists. Another method is to know someone who is a therapist, such as a family member or an acquaintance who works in that field. -more-

The Pentagon Admits It Kills Children

Here's the latest addition to my collection of "Letters the Chronicle Didn't Print."

[Professor and former dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate school of Journalism] Edward Wasserman makes a good case ("Whistleblower reveals deadly truth," Sept. 22) for freeing whistleblower Daniel Hale, imprisoned for revealing how the Pentagno's "killer drone" program has murdered hundreds of innocent civilians.

Hale's release would be especially welcome in light of the recent drone strike that killed Afghan aid worker Zemari Ahmad and nine members of his family—including 7 children.

CENTCOM commander General Ken McKenzie has publicly taken responsibility, stating: “It was a mistake…and I am fully responsible for this strike and tragic outcome.”

That is not enough, general. -more-

When a cop killed Alan Blueford in East Oakland as he lay on his back, his hands raised and empty, Blueford was saying “I didn’t do anything.” The cop shot him three times anyway. When Mr. Powell kept telling the court, "I’m trying to deal with what the city wants; I have no objection to fixing up my house, I just don’t have any money,” the court put the house in receivership anyway, and thus put Mr. Powell in horrendous debt. The city could have worked with Mr. Powell; but instead it refused to listen to him, and chose to offer him fake assistance. The court too could have worked with Mr. Powell; but instead, it refused to listen to him, and chose to hear the city’s fabricated arguments about drugs in the house, a public nuisance to the neighborhood, disobedience to city processes. -more-

After experiencing colossal military failures and $trillions in wasteful spending, it is time to identify the real threat to our very existence, the existential threat of climate change. California is in the fourth year of a very serious drought significantly affecting agriculture. Wildfires rage in California, and New England amid changing climate. Reservoirs are at about 30 percent of capacity Tube wells are being dug deeper and deeper to access diminishing ground water. Oregon and Washington experienced draught conditions this year. Texas and Louisiana have been awash with severe flooding causing billions of dollars damage. If ever there was an environmental battle exemplifying a game of ping pong, it would be the stop-start story of the Keystone XL pipeline. We should pay more attention to indigenous people’s voices who revere the land, rivers and the natural habitat more than the fleeting pleasure of corporate profits. -more-

After decades of humiliating defeats, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan, . . - American credibility is in the dog house. But the shooting war is not over. Drones will be launched from “over the horizon” ships using highly unreliable aerial surveillance to home in on their targets. Many US drone operators have left the military vehemently opposed to this type of remote warfare which results in 90 percent of civilian casualties. Taliban fighters are quick to seize the moment persuading the grieving families to “switch sides” and embrace the anti-American crusade. -more-

Now that the recall is over and a sigh of relief in the outcome is in order, we can put our focus on the other ballot, KPFA. KPFA is having a station board election and the deadline will arrive on October 15, 2021. To vote in this election you must have donated to KPFA between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. If you donated and cannot find your electronic ballot the website https://www.kpfaprotectors.org/ (the candidates I am supporting) has the information and links.

The Agenda committee on Monday was as usual poorly attended with the Mayor and Councilmembers Wengraf and Hahn sifting through the draft for the September 28th regular council meeting. Taplin’s proposed ordinance requiring plant materials to be native to Berkeley and Northern California and drought tolerant was referred to the FITES Committee (facilities, infrastructure, transportation, environment and sustainability). -more-

Have you ever had that nightmare where you are standing all alone in a strange place, surrounded by people looking at you silently in deadpan, and there is a man looking down on you with a sneer on his face, saying “We’re going to help you”?

In the dream, you know what it means. They will help you lose all your money, lose your property, lose your ability to walk across the street without their permission, lose your life. -more-

I would like to introduce you to my sister, Roxana Gillett.

"Roxie" is a musician, novelist, and playwright currently residing in Las Cruces, New Mexico with her husband. She boasts an unusual resume.

After a stint as a Hollywood stunt-person (she went toe-to-toe with a demon dog in the film version of Stephan King's Cujo), she became a performer with the country's last traveling circus and wound up spending more than 15 years caring for lions, tigers, and elephants, including a long Bay Area stint at Marine World / Africa USA.

Roxie turned to writing, in part, because she wanted to communicate "the beauty and loving hearts wild animals have and the dignity and respect they deserve when they 'allow us' to be part of their lives."

Her first book, The White Elephant Kneels, was inspired by her travels to Africa and her long experience working with African and Indian elephants. She is currently polishing two new musicals and there's another novel in the works.

The following "true-life mini-memoire" was written decades ago and a friend recently discovered it posted online. It had me laughing and seemed worth sharing. So here, after many years, is a frisky tale of one of my sister's worst days during her career as a circus performer.

Ta-Tas…..Breasts….The Girls.….Let’s Talk…..
By Roxana Gillett -more-

Creepy or cuddly? You be the judge.

A full-page ad in a weekly news-rag recently caught my eye. It showed a baby sucking on a pacifier and dressed in a blue pajama outfit. I thought the ad was for the outfit but it turned out the ad was for "Oliver," the baby.

As the ad explained, Oliver was a doll. A very life-like "touch-activated" doll that "breathes and coos and has a 'heartbeat' you can feel."

These are not your grandma's stuffed-cloth rag dolls. Oliver is part of a new generation of hyper-realistic playthings that are not only bewitchingly believable but are also ready to engage -more-

The September 14, 2021, California recall is over and Governor Gavin Newsom won a resounding victory. What does this portend for California politics? There are four takeaways: -more-

Even though the various claims of evidence alleging a stolen 2020 election — “The Big Lie” — have been exhaustively investigated and litigated and found wanting, a May 21, 2021 Ipsos/Reuters Poll found that over half of Republicans believe Donald Trump is the actual President of the United States. And Trump’s stronghold over the Republican party remains. His refusal to concede the 2020 election and calls of widespread fraud have raised doubts about the integrity of its results among his Republican base. Consequently, 56% of Republicans believe the election was rigged or the result of illegal voting, and 53% think Donald Trump is the actual President, not Joe Biden. -more-

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is one kind of mental illness. It is distinct from Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective, Depression, and so on. Yet, many people get a mixture of two or more mental illnesses that could fall into any of these categories. I've met people who've described themselves as having a little bit of everything. Diagnoses don't define who we are, and it is inappropriate for treatment professionals to define us as objects that they are expected to manage and/or repair. Some with mental illness have had stellar careers. But this doesn't automatically make them narcissistic. -more-

Chelsea Manning Is Coming to Oakland -more-

Worth Noting:

Monday the Civic Center meetings resume at 12:15 pm

Tuesday the 4 x 4 Task Force meets at 3 pm on the housing Fair Chance and Source of Income Discrimination ordinance. The City Council Special meeting at 6 pm is on the Housing Element. Now, that Newsom has signed off on SB 9 & 10 it is going to be critical to track what is happening locally with the housing element and where Berkeley can add 8934 new dwelling units between in the next cycle from 2023 – 2030.

Wednesday is packed seven city meetings. The Energy Commission starts at 5 pm, the Civic arts Commission and Independent Redistricting Commission start at 6 pm, the Grove Park Community meeting is at 6:30 pm and the disaster and Fire Safety Commission and the Police Accountability Board both start at 7 pm.

Thursday is another full day with the Budget Committee at 10 am reviewing the proposal to allocate marine hotel tax to the marine fund instead of the general fund and the pilot incentive program to electrify housing. In the evening the Rent Stabilization Board, Mental Health Commission and Zoning Adjustment Board all meet at 7 pm.

Friday is the city sponsored outdoor movie Madagascar at Glendale La Loma Park at 7:15 pm



The September 28 City Council regular meeting at 6 pm full agenda is at the end. Council will vote on the baseline zoning ordinance and objective standards. These deserve your attention. -more-