The unfolding situation in Gaza, characterized by the tragic loss of innocent lives and widespread destruction, has brought to light a perplexing dichotomy in the Biden administration's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict. On one hand, the United States has been actively supplying Israel with military aid, including precision-guided munitions valued at thousands of dollars each, ostensibly to bolster Israel's defense capabilities. On the other, President Biden has been making appeals to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging a reduction in the bombing campaigns that have led to significant civilian casualties in Gaza. -more-

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC is an annual gathering of some of the most influential far-right politicians that helped launch people like Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Matt Gaetz onto the national stage.

The first speaker started off the very first day with, "Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn't get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this, right here."

And the crowd went wild. -more-

Our discourse surrounding global conflicts and the critique of national actions is steeped in accusations of hypocrisy, especially from Russia towards the U.S., citing the latter's history of intervention in Iraq, the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay, and the pending extradition of Julian Assange. However, this narrative of whataboutism overlooks the nuanced stance of many observers and human rights advocates who consistently condemn injustices worldwide, regardless of the perpetrator's identity. -more-

Author's note: This work I had found randomly on my hard drive, and it looked like it had not been used, but I could be wrong. If you are seeing this piece a second time, that would be the explanation.

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When someone loses good health, it can be very challenging to regain it. This applies to both mental and physical health. In some cases, people lose their mental and/or physical health to the point where it isn't coming back. A lot of this has to do with age. When young, it is far more likely that you can bounce back from a physical or mental health problem. -more-

As I close out this Diary, late again from my Saturday February 24. 2024 target, the protest vote from Michigan is in with over with 100,000 as uncommitted. The Democratic leadership is banking on the protest voters coming home in November to support Biden against Trump who is known to be worse for Palestinian recognition, but will they? Will the MSNBC weekday and weeknight anchors and pundits falling all over themselves to praise Biden be enough?

Only two of the former three Muslim anchors remain with shows on Saturday and Sunday. Mehdi Hasan who gave the strongest coverage of the Israel Hamas war and toughest interviews is gone.

The Hilary Clinton team thought they could count on Democrats too in 2016, but in Michigan voters checked the down ballot boxes and left the president box blank. Conspiracies abounded over those empty boxes, but it was yet another protest by voters. -more-

The New York Times is embroiled in controversy and conducting an internal investigation to pinpoint the leak concerning its handling of a contentious article about Israel and Gaza. The article in question, published on December 28, alleged that Hamas members engaged in systematic sexual violence on October 7. However, the article's credibility was soon questioned due to emerging discrepancies, including contradictory statements from key witnesses and a lack of solid evidence.

Adding fuel to the fire, it was revealed that one of the article's authors, Anat Schwartz, had previously liked social media posts advocating violence against Palestinians, raising concerns about bias and journalistic integrity.

This situation took a new turn with The Intercept's in-depth report, which scrutinized the Times' reporting process and the article's genesis, further complicating the narrative. The New York Times' refusal to comment on the internal investigation, as stated by its international editor, Phil Pan, underscores the delicate balance between journalistic trust and accountability. This episode highlights the challenges media outlets face in maintaining objectivity and credibility, especially when reporting on highly sensitive and polarized issues. -more-

This month I have three mystery/thriller novels to recommend and two to avoid.

(A) The Busy Body -- Kemper Donovan (Five stars)

A mystery set in Sacobago Maine.

Great set up: after a narrow loss in a three-way presidential election, Maine Senator Dorothy Gibson retreats to her primary residence and decides to write her memoir with the considerable assistance of an unnamed ghostwriter. Imagine that Dorothy Parker was hired to write Hillary Clinton’s bio and you get the picture. -more-

Worth Noting:

The March 12, City Council meeting agenda with notes from Agenda Committee review follows the calendar of meetings and is available for comment.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am – 12 pm and 1 – 3 pm (lunch break from 12 – 1 pm) is the free preteen vaccine clinic for uninsured children up to 18.

• Monday:
  • At 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee meets in the hybrid format to finalize the March 19 draft agenda. Discuss Legislative Systems Redesign and public comment at City Council meetings.
  • At 7 pm the Peace and Justice Commission meets in person,
  • At 7 pm the Personnel Board meets in person.
  • From 6 – 7 pm Speaking Up for Point Molate sponsors a presentation on the Sierra Club Alive Campaign.
• Tuesday – Primary election, turn in your ballots before 8 pm. If having problems https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/news/march-5-election-vote-mail-drop-box-or-vote-centers
• Wednesday –
  • At 10:30 am is the Solano-Peralta Park Ribbon Cutting.
  • At 3 pm is the Grove Park Playground Ribbon Cutting.
  • At 6:30 pm the Board of Library Trustees meets in person.
  • At 6:30 pm the Human Welfare and Community Action Commission meets in person.
• Thursday:
  • At 3 pm the City Council meets in closed session in the hybrid format.
  • At 6:30 pm the Landmarks Preservation Commission meets in person.
• Saturday:
  • At 9:15 pm check in opens for the tree planting at Aquatic Park.
  • At 10 am the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council meets by videoconference on ZOOM

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/

Directions with links to ZOOM support for activating Closed Captioning and Save Transcript are at the bottom of this calendar.



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BERKELEY PUBLIC MEETINGS AND CIVIC EVENTS -more-