Columnists

The first casualty of being a mental health consumer is Your Truth. When you speak your truth, you are contradicted. You are told that what you've said isn't real. You are told that your judgment isn't valid. You are never taken at your word. The assumption is that you are mentally sick and thus anything you say should be either ignored or disregarded. If you tell people a fact that you know for certain is a fact, they may contradict that and they may say they have notes that tell them otherwise. Do they really have such notes? Or are they just telling you that because the assumption is you're wrong? -more-

It's been more than two months since Russia invaded Ukraine (February 24). We've learned enough to be able to predict what will happen next and what the geo-political consequences will be.

1.Russia will lose the war: At the beginning of the invasion, most observers believed that Russia would overwhelm Ukraine. That didn't happen and, as time passes, it seems more unlikely to happen. The conflict may drag out but eventually, Russia will lose.

There are multiple reasons why Russia has performed so poorly. The first is that the Ukrainians have out-fought the Russians; the Ukrainians are highly motivated and the Russians are not. The second is that the Russia military has been "hollowed out" because Russia is a kleptocracy and Putin and his cronies have siphoned funds, that should have gone to defense, for their own purposes. In all facets of the Russian invasion we see indications that the invasion was underfunded, and terribly managed.

Russian soldiers are poorly trained. There is inadequate communication between front-line troops and battlefield commanders. The Russian generals have made bad tactical decisions; for example to invade the Donbas region in the spring while the ground is very wet. The Russian supply infrastructure is inadequate. Russians seemingly have no capability of repairing vehicles that break down in the field. Because of the EU sanctions, Russia cannot get critical parts it needs to repair or replace its equipment. (While Russia has shown the capability to build prototypes of advanced weapons, they cannot manufacture these.) -more-

Do Mosquitos Have a Political Bias?

During his time in office, TrumpleThinSkin did a lot to dismantle the good work of the Environmental Protection Agency. Now it looks like nature's getting even. New research reveals that pro-Trumpers are more likely to suffer from mosquito bites.

According to University of Washington biologists, biting insects attracted by the CO2 in human breath favor targets wearing black jeans, cyan shirts, orange bandanas, and MAGA-red caps. Research published in the journal, Nature, has some good news for environmentalists and healthcare workers—mosquitos were shown to steer away from humans wearing hospital-worker white, first-responder blue, Lady Gaga purple and Sierra Club green.

Some Options Aren't Optional

On Earth Day, Rep. Barbara Lee (my favorite congressmember) emailed an invitation to "Sign on as a citizen endorser of the Green New Deal." Lee has joined Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey in a campaign to rally "citizen endorsers" to "match the scale of the climate crisis with a bold, comprehensive plan to promote environmental justice." But the petition only called for an email address, a postal code ("optional") and a First Name (also "optional").

How can it be called a petition if it doesn't require the name of the person signing? -more-

“ee with his stated goal of focusing on services and rehabilitation instead of incarceration. That’s why I am voting “no” on Proposition H, the Boudin recall.

The San Francisco Chronicle analyzed data from the San Francisco Police Department and concluded, "While the pandemic significantly affected crime as San Francisco is getting back to ’normal,' so are its crime rates. Boudin likely hasn't had an impact one way or another." And Boudin has not been accused of any unethical or illegal activity.

What crime wave? According to the proponents of the recall, District Attorney Boudin is “failing to keep San Franciscans safe.” Yet, an analysis of police data for 2021 shows an uptick in crime from 2020, but overall lower crime rates than pre-pandemic levels. True murders have increased but murders are not just a San Francisco problem as murders in major U.S. increased in 2021. In sum, the police data may be subject to different interpretation but clearly do not show a crime wave in San Francisco. -more-

My father passed away in 2012. He once said of people with my condition, "Judgment is the first thing to go." And I've discovered that to be a very astute observation, potentially a truism. I don't have him to help in a crisis anymore. Other family members continue to help a lot. They want me to rely on myself when possible. And this is for the best. If I'm able to survive with little or no help, it only helps me. -more-

When I picked up my iPhone this morning checking the news banners, NPR caught my attention, saying that birds in North America are in trouble. The article reminds us that if birds are in decline, the ecosystems are in decline and our own health is tied to this shared environment.

NPR lists eight actions:

1. reduce habitat loss and degradation, grow native plants (calscape.org will help you choose)
2. reduce pesticide use (better yet eliminate pesticides, birds need those bugs for food and buy plants that are not pretreated with neonicotinoids)
3. purchase bird friendly products (like bird friendly coffee)
4. advocate for bird-friendly environmental policies and expect the same from elected and appointed officials
5. reduce bird deaths, keep your cat indoors
6. make windows more visible to birds (install bird safe glass, or add window film with dots or lines https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/products-database/, use exterior screens)
7. turn off lights you are not using especially at night,
8. if you have a bird feeder clean it regularly to prevent spread of disease.

Bill Shrader, part of the Austin Group, introduced his apartment project at 2440 Shattuck, “The Lair”, to the City of Berkeley’s Design Review Committee and proudly showed off the planned green wall of plants on the exterior and interior at the lobby entry. Erin Diehm pointed out that the interior plants will attract birds who will crash into the wall of glass, and asked if bird safe glass will be used. Shrader answered that bird safe glass is new and he will check into it. He said he doesn’t want dead birds by the entrance to his building.

Bird safe glass is not new. San Francisco has had an ordinance in place for over a decade. It is just Berkeley that can’t get it together and has left the Bird Safe Ordinance languishing at the Planning Commission. -more-