Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street in Berkeley were both opened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic today, less than three weeks after a raging fire forced the demolition of a 39-unit apartment building at the intersection. 

Pedestrians can now use the sidewalks on the east and south sides of the Telegraph-Haste intersection to travel throughout the Telegraph business area. Vehicles can also return to normal northbound travel on Telegraph and westbound travel on Haste. 

The sidewalk and traffic lane immediately adjacent to the former mixed-use building will remain closed while debris is removed and the Telegraph-facing storefront is stabilized (the revised traffic plan is here). 

“We know that the fire and the closure of this intersection came at terrible time for Telegraph merchants,” said Economic Development Director Michael Caplan. “City staff and the property owner worked quickly and cooperatively to make the building safe and re-open the intersection. We encourage everyone to include Telegraph Avenue’s many unique stores in their holiday shopping plans.” 

The Telegraph Holiday Street Fair is also still scheduled for December 16, 17, 18, 22, and 24 from 11 am to 6 p.m. More than 200 artisans come every year to sell their handcrafted items on the Avenue. Shoppers are urged to use the Telegraph/Channing Garage, which has easy access from Channing Way and Durant Avenue. 

Fortunately, no one was reported injured in the fire, which occurred on Friday, November 18. More information about the fire and traffic is available on www.cityofberkeley.info.

Last Saturday the wrecking crew employed by Kenneth and Gregory Ent, owners of the Sequoia Apartments, began demolishing what remained of the mixed-use apartment building at the northwest corner of Haste and Telegraph,which was the subject of a fire on November 18 of still undetermined origin that left the building uninhabitable, and also necessitated the evacuation of the apartment building directly west on Haste. 

The crew left the first floor and clerestory windows on the Telegraph frontage intact, as their permit required, but when they began knocking down the entire Haste frontage, in violation of the permit condition requiring them to leave the entire first-floor façade intact, ex-building tenants monitoring the demolition phoned the city. Several city employees arrived rapidly and halted the demolition, but too late to save all but the easternmost 10 feet of the southern façade. 

When Berkeley Fire Marshal Bill Finch asked why they were exceeding their permit, the foreman said they had done it because they were confused. The fire marshal later in the day ruled it an accidental demolition. The city then changed the permit to make it appear that the excess demolition was actually originally permitted. 

Thus when I arrived at 4 pm on Saturday and asked the foreman, (first name Alfredo) why he had exceeded his permit, he wasn't technically misleading me when he told me that they had obtained a permit modification and were in full compliance. Maintaining the Haste frontage would have been much more problematic for the owner, because, unlike the stone Telegraph façade, it was composed of un-reinforced brick and would have needed careful buttressing.  

Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who represents the area, told the Planet that every day the street and sidewalk are blocked, the small businesses on Telegraph continue to suffer dramatically. He speculated that if the demolition crew had approached the site from the right direction, pedestrians would have less to fear. He said that Amoeba record store owner Marc Weinstein had suggested a metal canopy which would have shielded the sidewalk, but neither the city nor the building owner agreed to pay for that solution, 

The city has a long history of illegal excessive demolitions. The only one to my memory that has resulted in any penalty was on the lot holding what is now Futura, further up Telegraph at the southwest corner of Durant, which the owner tore down one Saturday 20 years ago (the city generally has poor response on weekends) without any permit, rather than continue fighting with the city over its preservation value, judging that the inevitable fine would be a reasonable price to pay to get his project underway. 

It is often confused with Occupy Cal, especially on-line, has launched no major actions, and has not distinguished itself from thousands of similar-sized Occupies—but it has something that other Occupies, (including O.C.) might envy—it has survived. 

Occupy Cal is on vacation, and a New York Times on-line header calls Occupy Cal, Occupy Berkeley. O.B. is a good half mile from Cal. 

But, hey, O.B. made Glen Beck's radio show Dec. 2. The controversial conservative talk-show host and TV personality for Fox News was "irritated" when he heard an interview with a camper at O.B., who was discussing alleged sexual offenses within the camp. 

It is now no secret that the burgeoning encampment is troubled. So much of the general assembly's time is spent with inter-camp squabbles that it can do little else. 

Still, O.B. has managed to hold a folk concert (David Rovics, Nov. 19, reviewed on SFGate) and stage a knit-in the following week that was publicized on KQED F.M. 

O.B. made nice with the Berkeley Farmers' Market 20th Annual Holiday Crafts Fair (an Ecology Center benefit), Saturday, and will be cooperating with them on future weekends, as they share the park, according to the key-person coordinating for O.B.. 

O.B. still enjoys the all-but sponsorship of the city of Berkeley. Last week, according to Larry Silver, a long time Berkeley activist, fire officials asked tent-dwellers to move their tents away from over-hanging limbs during the weekend's fierce winds. According to Silver, a two month O.B. camp veteran—campers mostly co-operated, and the firemen left without incident. 

Through thick and thin (and there has been lots of thin) O.B. has showed its scruffy ability to survive. However, O.B. is always a few steps from self-destruction, according to O.B.'s own print newspaper, the Occupy Berkeley Herald, which notes, "Over the last few days there has been a large influx of Oakland Folks into the camp. There has also been an increase in alcohol use and fights." 

When I visited the camp Monday afternoon, I was surprised at the size of the encampment, which has grown from 25 to 50 tents and dominates the grounds of Civic Center Park, a goodly chunk of the park's 2.77 acres. 

I talked to two groups of eight in the park on a cold, but clear and sunny afternoon Monday. One group was self-proclaimed high-school dropouts which said, resentfully, it was their park before the tent city moved in. 

The other group was campers gathered in an outdoor kitchen composed of a stove and pots of cooked food. A cooked chicken-in-a-pot looked good, and the campers were willing enough to share, although they were not happy with the kitchen wars between O.B.'s kitchen and theirs. 

Later, I was told by several O.B.ers that their kitchen was "stolen" by the other camp. 

There are, according to Silver, no more than five overnight O.B. campers holding down the O.B. camp, vastly out-numbered by a huge tent-city. The two camps are split, and the new, beefed-up camp, while sympathetic with O.B. in principle, has its own agenda. 

At the general assembly, Monday evening, the history of the kitchen squabbles was aired in elaborate detail. The kitchen wasn't exactly "stolen," but rather, claimed, after O.B.ers, tired of being "bullied" by often-unruly adjoining campers—abandoned their kitchen. 

According to the bigger camp, when O.B. walked away from the kitchen, it was theirs for the taking, and they moved the O.B. kitchen into their camp. 

Later, a representative of the kitchen-rich camp spoke at GA, inviting O.B. to use its "stolen" kitchen under the auspices of the larger encampment. O.B. has been swallowed whole by the visiting encampment, but at least has a dinner invite. 

It is now no longer a matter of O.B. feeding the camp, as O.B. had hoped, but the camp feeding O.B.. 

Silvers says the kitchen, which he once helmed, was a "Dadaist work. Each day, we would build up the kitchen, but by the end of the day it would be destroyed [by the other camp]. The next day, we'd start all over again. They just wore us down, but it was really an art piece." 

Yet another fallout from the other camp is oppositional campers, who disrupt the GA, often, with invective and insults. Veteran facilitator, Miles Murray, a high school English teacher, who was in the process of defining, "persona non grata," was vilified by just such a non-grata person. 

Murray later explained that disruptions stem from a decision among facilitators to open the meetings to unrestricted discussion, a shift away from the goal oriented, proposal process, after some members of the GA had complained about restrictions. 

According to Murray, the ranks of facilitators are thinning, with many facilitators, suffering from what he called "burnout." 

Murray invited members of the GA to lead a GA. 

Drayco, who was allegedly "stabbed" in a tree in People's Park in January, when he confronted "Midnight" Matt Dodt in his tree during an ill-fated tree sit, blared threats from the edge of the GA. "I'm gonna rebar [a steel bar] the other camp tonight and take back your kitchen," he roared. 

Drayco, a full time avenger and self-styled fixer, apparently was fixing People's Park in January when he confronted the tree-sitter, whom Drayco reportedly believed was responsible for an increase in citations in People's Park. 

But, unappreciated, he has been repeatedly asked to leave GAs and to leave the camp as well, and he was reportedly denounced recently on IndyBay website, an activist bulletin board and radical news source. 

Drayco ended the People's Park protest, trying to reduce police presence. He could end this one by bringing police to the camp to stem mayhem. 

__________________________________________________________________ 

Southside reporter, Ted Friedman, made a point of using his kitchen Monday night, and he made sure he was alone. As his story shows, too many chefs spoil the kitchen.

The Occupy Wall Street encampment in downtown Berkeley is creating more issues now that it is growing in size but there still aren't any serious problems there, Berkeley City Councilman Jesse Arreguin said today.

The encampment in Civic Center Park, which began in early October, along with similar encampments around the country, initially had only 30 to 40 tents but now has reached about 100 tents. 

Arreguin, whose district includes the encampment and who can see it from his office in City Hall, said it has grown since authorities closed down the Occupy Oakland encampment last month and may grow some more if authorities in San Francisco disband the encampment in their city. 

Arreguin said there are concerns about sanitation and crime and city officials "will have to have a conversation" about what to do if the encampment continues to grow. 

However, he said "there's no sense of urgency for us to go in there and kick people out." 

Arreguin said if the encampment becomes too big for the park he would prefer to ask people to leave voluntarily rather than have police use force to get people to go. 

Referring to what he said was an excessive use of force by police officers at the Occupy Oakland encampment, Arreguin said, "We don't want an Oakland-type response" and said he was "outraged" by tactics used by police in Oakland and at the Occupy Cal encampment at the University of California at Berkeley. 

Arreguin said he supports the goals of the Occupy Wall Street protesters but wonders about the effectiveness of camping in a park as a political statement and if another strategy would be better, although he's not sure what that would be. 

Perhaps there should be "a focus on other ways of trying to advocate these important issues," which include corporate greed and the redistribution of wealth, he said. 

Principal Pasquale Scuderi of Berkeley High School, which is across the street from the encampment, is also concerned about its growing size. In a recent letter to parents, Scuderi said the situation at the encampment "has complicated our supervision of students in the park during the lunch hour and after school." 

He said, "Keeping an eye on our students is a bit more challenging in the park at present with administrators and safety staff having to visually identify students amongst increased numbers of adults, young adults, college students, teenaged non-students and almost 90 tents." 

Scuderi said, "As always, we will have two administrators monitoring the park during the lunch hour and we continue to offer plenty of supervised space on the campus for students to eat lunch." 

Scuderi told parents that the school hasn't had any negative interactions with campers so far and he doesn't want to cause "unnecessary anxiety" but he wants to inform them about "some logistical and supervisory concerns." 

Berkeley police spokeswoman Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said there has been "a slight increase" in reported crimes in the park in the past week. Police believe that some crimes aren't reported by Occupy Berkeley campers and victims of several recent batteries have refused to cooperate with authorities, she said. 

Kusmiss said one person at the park who was a suspect in a battery incident was detained on Sunday after a brief foot chase and is being held for allegedly violating his probation and resisting arrest. 

City of Berkeley spokeswoman Mary Kay Clunies-Ross said the city has accommodated the Occupy Berkeley protesters by adding some garbage cans to help with the increased waste at the park and by cleaning the portable toilets, which already were there, more often. 

Arreguin said, "We're monitoring and managing the situation as best as we can." 

Jawzilla, the monster jaws-on-a-crane was quiescent Thursday, as city hall convened an impromptu permits meeting to clear the way for returning Telegraph Avenue to "normal," after demolition of the fire-gutted Sequoia Apartments rained bricks that closed North-South foot traffic.


Had the removal of the Sequoia been shut down more than briefly, killer disruptions to the Ave, could have de-toured the 28th Telegraph Ave Holiday Street Dec. 16-18, and 22-24. The fair is a chance this year for Berzerkers to support Telegraph in its moment of travail.

Jaws, and scoops of re-construction, began their end-stage savagery Friday morning, much to the relief of everyone who wants to see the avenue cleared. "Freddy" Pena, demolition crew-chief, said Friday that resumption of demolition puts clearing plans back on schedule. 

Pena added that his estimated completion date (3-5 days) for restoring Telegraph foot-traffic, would be met. He rotated his hand, gesturing maybe. 

You could hear a collective sigh of relief from Teley businessmen, some of whose businesses have either been shuttered or remain open--devoid of customers. 

As the usual gawkers gathered for the grim spectacle of destruction,Thursday, it soon became apparent that demolition had shut down.  

Meanwhile, the structural engineers for the Sequoia owners met at 11 a.m. with various department personnel within the city manager's office to craft a solution to a permit violation, which occurred when mortar overheated Wednesday, causing the Sequoia to sink beneath the twenty-nine and one-half foot limit of the demolition permit. 

By late afternoon, additional departments met to go over new engineering plans which had been submitted earlier by Sequoia engineers. 

Friday morning, Jawzilla, seemingly rested, and now joined by his cousins, a couple of scoops on a crane, looked on approvingly as removal of rubble proceeded. 

As debris removal approaches ground floor cornices, slamming, bashing, and battering will give way to more gentle methods to protect the ground floor and adjoining businesses. According to Pena, demolition will now be "brick-by-brick. 

_________________________________________________________________ 

Ted Friedman, a 30 year South sider, is rooting for Jawzilla, so Teley can rise from ashes once more, as it did after the Berkeley Inn fire.

When I wrote that the Sequoia Apartments fire was a death-blow to Telegraph businesses (Planet: Nov. 20), I never considered that all of us had received the death blow. 

While reporting on the effect of the fire to the intersection of Haste and Telegraph, I had missed the story of a lifetime—that we had all been murdered, as in the famous film noir, D.O.A. (dead on arrival), 1950. 

But especially high winds Saturday, and the usual congregation of Sequoia demolition-gawkers, squawkers, and rumor-mongers, brought home the death point, and a few others. 

A messenger of doom descended on us Saturday, gesticulating, screaming, and just freaking out—warning everyone we would all die in thirty years from breathing asbestos. I had witnessed less dramatic warnings near the demolition site last week, including a few gawkers wearing dust-masks. 

None of them matched the vehemence of the asbestos prophet-of-doom. 

I'm not saying we won't all die someday. 

Workers at the demolition site wore industrial-strength gas masks, even as dust from falling walls and bricks were continuously water-hosed throughout the later stages of the demolition. 

Still, the high winds and a stink, like burning rubber filled the air. It was my longest day on the scene, as I refused to leave for fear of missing a photo of the last crumbling apartment house wall. 

I don't want to make light of the asbestos danger to people who actually have thirty years to live. 

I don't have that long. 

And I don't want to alarm anyone either, especially people who live and work in the immediate vicinity—which includes me, because I practically live at the notorious Cafe Mediterraneum, almost across the street from the Sequoia. 

I'm just raising the asbestos issue so that my fellow demolition-gawkers, last week, can consult their doctors. 

Let's call the asbestos alert "street supervisor's" hearsay at this stage. Rumors ran wild among gawkers all week. It gets boring during waits between raining bricks and thunderous thuds. 

Some of the street supervisor's observations follow: 

"Why didn't they just blow it up, or use a wrecking ball? Why didn't they plastic wrap it, like the building on Haste (Edith Head apartments, presently wrapped in plastic). Why can't they let us walk through to Channing on the West side of Telegraph? When will Raleigh's and Intermezzo re-open?" (That last one was me, and I foolishly clung to such hopes even though I was recently asked to leave Raleigh's for not ordering food at the bar during a football game, and wouldn't eat a—Intermezzo's—salad, a salad taller than me. 

At Sequoia, there's little left to gawk at , as all but a corner section of the first floor—which endangers an adjacent building, is picked apart brick by brick. Only the lone remnant of the Sequoia stood Sunday, awaiting more precision brick extractions Monday. 

Monday, the Sequoia will be gone, a pale footnote in the history of Berkeley fires, which includes a 1923 fire that consumed some 640 structures, including 584 homes in the densely-built neighborhoods north of the university. 

Monday, the city will meet with the Sequoia's owners, and the demolition team, to map out plans for debris removal and restoring foot-traffic between Channing and Haste, now requiring a three block detour by foot that has reportedly kept shoppers from nearby stores. 

Representatives of the city met at cafe Mediterraneum Friday afternoon with Telegraph property owners to brief them on demolition progress. City representatives are trying to open the block between Haste and Channing in time to avoid re-locating the 28th annual Telegraph Holiday Fair, Dec. 16-18, and 22-24. 

But Janet Klein, organizer of the popular event says that the walks will have to be ready no later than three days before the event to avoid re-routing. 

Recent seismic activity in the East Bay has been the latest series of events to highlight the importance of retrofitting Berkeley's apartment buildings. Unfortunately, 86 of the 269 apartment buildings surveyed in March 2011 are not even in compliance with the first, basic step (Phase I) of Berkeley’s Soft-Story Ordinance (passed in 2005), which requires landlords of soft-story buildings to notify their tenants of the buildings’ inherent seismic instability and to commission an engineering study. Soft-story buildings refer to construction that has a garage, commercial space, or other space in an area where a solid supporting wall would otherwise be built. 

More than 75% of the buildings surveyed earlier in 2011 are not seismically retrofitted, and would be susceptible to partial or total collapse in a Richter magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake, such as one that is predicted to happen over the next 30 years according to a 2008 U.S. Geological Survey study. Efforts to mandate seismic retrofitting of soft-story residential or mixed-use properties by the City of Berkeley (Phase II) and to enforce the existing Phase I have been stymied over a lack of funding, staffing, and prioritization. 

This Saturday, a coalition of concerned neighbors and tenants takes matters into their own hands by informing tenants of soft-story buildings of the fact that their landlord is not yet in compliance with Berkeley’s Soft-Story Ordinance, and of the tenants’ rights under the municipal code. In addition, tips about points of contact in the City and disaster preparedness suggestions will be provided. 

A press conference featuring elected officials and concerned community members will take place on the Steps of Sproul at noon on Saturday, December 3. Immediately following the conference, these community members will walk to buildings in the vicinity of the UC Berkeley campus to inform their tenants of the high stakes.

Accidents will happen.

That’s the truism that links the reports on the biggest Berkeley happenings in the last month, the police break-up of the Occupy Cal demonstration and the big fire which destroyed the Sequoia apartments. Something unpleasant takes place, and the people in charge report that they are shocked and surprised by the outcome—which, however, could have been predicted. 

Let’s take the Sequoia disaster first. It’s a great graphic story, amply reported complete with photos on this local site and others, in the corporate press and by the many eager young folks who report for the Daily Cal. If you’ve missed anything, take a look at two recent stories which will bring you more or less up to date on the details: Carolyn Jones’ story in today’s Chronicle and Doug Oakley’s story in the Bay Area News Group papers. 

The gist of it is that the building, close to a hundred years old, has been deteriorating for a long time. The tenants knew about it and complained—one even won a Small Claims lawsuit when an electrical malfunction destroyed his computer. The elevator—reported in the Chron to be an old-fashioned bird-cage of the type now found mostly in Paris apartments—hasn’t worked right for a long time. There’s some question about where the complaints ended up. Perhaps they only reached the landlord, not the city of Berkeley. 

So the Berkeley fire department checked things out this week and concluded that the fire was just “accidental in nature and was not intentionally set.” But there’s a lot of grey area between the two black-and-white poles of accident and arson, under the general heading of negligence. It’s wrong to conclude that no one’s at fault in this situation, 

If someone had died in the fire authorities might have been looking at a charge of negligent homicide. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. But under the circumstances the students who’ve been literally left out in the cold might have to sue the owner of the building in order to be reimbursed for their destroyed property. 

And they’ve suffered other kinds of injuries too. Probably many of the displaced students won’t be able to complete their school work in this grading period, and even if instructors are lenient it will cost them more time (and more tuition) to progress toward their degrees. Lawsuits, however, are expensive to pursue, even if you might eventually win. 

Besides the apparent liability of the building’s owners, what’s the responsibility of the city of Berkeley for what happened? 

From the BANG story: 

“Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong said he didn't know anything about the fire escape problem, but the department is researching its records to find out if there were any problems with previous yearly fire inspections.”I don't recall this building being a problem property," Dong said. "But it doesn't mean there were not previous inspection problems." 

Dong said there may well have been electrical and other problems in the building that the landlords did not pay attention to, but if tenants did not report it to city officials, there's nothing the city could have done. 

"You can't fix a problem if nobody in the city knows about it," Dong said.” 

What’s the point of city inspections if they don’t identify obvious sources of potential problems? Didn’t anyone notice that the elevator where the fire started was close to 100 years old? 

It’s time to take a hard look at the city of Berkeley’s policies for inspecting and regulating rental properties, not only in the fire department but also in the building department. It appears that city policy is that enforcement of safety regulations is almost all complaint-driven. This is obviously inadequate, especially where student rentals are concerned, since tenants turn over fast and are often young, with little experience dealing with bureaucracy. 

Rent Board Commissioner Igor Tregub and Councilmembers Worthington, Arreguin and Maio are launching a program to inform renters of their exposure to dangers from "soft-story" buildings, which are in danger of collapse in an earthquake. They say that "efforts to mandate seismic retrofitting of soft-story residential or mixed-use properties by the City of Berkeley (Phase II) and to enforce the existing Phase I have been stymied over a lack of funding, staffing, and prioritization." 

Now on to the other “accident” in the news this week, the assault by the U.C. Berkeley police on Occupy Cal protesters and their faculty supporters. By implication, this also includes the Davis pepper-spray assault as well. 

The Berkeley faculty, bless their hearts, rallied round and staged a lively discussion on Monday of what went wrong. Many of them made eloquent impassioned speeches invoking time-honored principles of freedom of speech and assembly, and at the end they passed a variety of critical resolutions by a 10-1 margin. 

But the most interesting part of the program was when three administrators explained what happened from their perspective. From our story: 

“Three U.C. Berkeley executives, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and two of his subordinates, attempted an explanation of their actions on November 9, when students and faculty were clubbed by police. They were greeted with stony silence by the faculty members in the front of the International House auditorium where the meeting was held, and with audible snickers from the students in the back of the room.” 

Birgenau’s apology was nothing short of pathetic: he was out of town, he’d said no pepper-spray or tear gas but forgot to mention batons, it would never happen again in just the same way and even that ”there’s a level of confusion even among ourselves about what actually happened.” 

But Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer, whose speech was captured on audio by the redoubtable Daily Cal reporters, had a pretty clear version of what happened. 

He spoke of a “sense of urgency to remove the tents as early as possible, as soon as they went up” because of apprehension about what had happened with the tree-sitters, at Occupy Oakland, and elsewhere. He said that “tactically it would have been better to wait until the middle of the night to minimize the encounters between police and protesters and observers.” 

Say what? If you’re doing the wrong thing, it’s better to do it in the dead of night when there are no witnesses? 

He’s not mistaken about that. Various half-remembered Shakespeare quotes come to mind here, Lady Macbeth perhaps. Coming from an academic background, he tried to attribute the outcome to a poor choice of analogies in his take on the situation—but that’s much too easy. 

While we’re on the subject of academic jargon, we note with regret that Breslauer spoke of his desire to produce “additional actionable ideas for how to address the underlying socio-economic issues”. The word “actionable” has traditionally been a legal term, defined in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary as “subject to or affording ground for an action or suit at law”. Unfortunately, social scientists and other careless speakers seem to be converting it into what M-W now lists as a secondary meaning: “capable of being acted on”, which is what we assume Breslauer meant. 

But in both of these cases, the Sequoia fire and the assault on Occupy Cal protesters and observers, the first meaning of “actionable” seems to apply. It’s not enough to disclaim responsibility, as both the Sequoia landlords and the city of Berkeley seem to be doing in the fire situation. It’s not enough to apologize, as Birgeneau has done. 

It seems clear that some degree of negligence is involved in both cases, and it’s likely that the legal system will be required to evaluate it. Some of the Occupy protesters who claim injuries have already filed suit against the University of California. It’s quite possible that the displaced Sequoia tenants will have to take the same route to be compensated for their losses unless the landlord or his insurance company offers them a prompt and just financial settlement. 

Accidents do happen, but more often than not bad choices by responsible humans cause predictably bad outcomes. The courts are there to decide about liability. 

Richard Brenneman's blog this week spotlights a remarkable report: that the UC Police Department trained with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department on campus to shut down Occupy camps, and "even more astounding: The exercise was part of a national training exercise that included elements of Israeli border police." 

And he has another startling story about the strange ex-general Steven Chu, now Energy Secretary, brought to Berkeley a couple of years ago, along with some Wikileaks cables he found about the general.

Are you fed up with Millionaires not paying their fair share of federal taxes and not paying their fair share of state taxes? If so, would you be interested in knowing the City of Berkeley has an item on their agenda to provide city tax breaks for local well heeled people? 

My name is Paul Schwartz. I am a resident and taxpayer in the City of Berkeley. I am also an attorney with my practice in the City of Berkeley. I was appointed in March of this year to the Landmark Preservation Commission. I was quite surprised to discover there is a mechanism that gives very large property tax breaks to owners of landmarked properties for maintenance and upkeep. Most if not all of these property owners do not need these tax breaks to maintain their properties. I find this particularly galling when the City is suffering from a significant deficit and is in need of all the revenue it receives from property taxes. 

I am one of 9 commissioners on the Landmark Preservation Commission in Berkeley, California. I was appointed to the commission by my councilperson Susan Wengraf. I want to be clear I am not speaking for the Landmark Preservation Commission nor for my councilperson. This is solely my opinion. 

At the September and October meeting of our commission (we meet monthly), we were presented with four Mills Act applications. According to our chair we do not vote to approve or disapprove Mills Act applications, we merely vote whether the properties are eligible for consideration by the City Council and to forward the applications to the City Council. Mills Act contracts give tax breaks to property owners who own landmarked buildings.  

To date there are 300 landmarked properties in the City of Berkeley and 23 of these properties have been Mills acted. I calculate the revenue loss to the city from already enacted Mills Act contracts to be approximately $6,000 per year per property for a total yearly revenue loss of $138,000 

There are currently four applications pending before the City of Berkeley,(see item 17 on the consent calendar of the agenda for the Dec. 6, 2011 meeting) which would result in significant additional tax loss to the City of Berkeley, the School District, the special districts and the County of Alameda, of close to an additional $120,000 per year. The following is the link to the Dec. 6, 2011 City of Berkeley council meeting. http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=63006 . 

The analysis of the planning department recommending approval of these Mills Act contracts (see the above link) is flawed in at least two ways. One, it states our commission unanimously approved these applications. This is not accurate. We voted to forward them to the City Council. We were told we are required to vote to forward them to the city council and it is up to the city council to approve or disapprove the applications. Two, the amount of tax loss is grossly understated. It fails to properly calculate the amount of tax reduction for each property and it fails to include the tax loss to the school district, the special districts and the county. All these entities suffer from property tax reductions. 

The Mills act is a California statute passed by the legislature in the 1970s. It gives cities discretion whether or not to grant property tax breaks to owners of landmarked properties. The idea behind the act was to help property owners maintain their historic or "landmarked" properties by giving them property tax breaks. The property owners are required to use their tax savings for the upkeep of their properties. The tax breaks per property are significant, amounting to between a 70% to 80% reduction in the property tax bill. 

Who loses revenue when a city approves a Mills Act contract? Property tax bill revenue is disbursed as follow: 33% of your property taxes go to the City of Berkeley. 43% of your property taxes go to the School Dstrict. The remaining 24% is divided between "special districts" (e.g. mosquito abatement) and the County of Alameda (for their countywide services). 

The four properties on the City Council agenda are as follows: 

The First of the applications is for a property on Roble Road. The property was purchased for $2.3 million dollars, and is currently undergoing remodeling and improvements totaling close to $2 million dollars. With its purchase price, remodeling cost (which will be added to the assessment) and its square footage, Mills Acting this property will represent a significant tax loss to the residents of Berkeley and Alameda County. 

A very interesting property, it was recently landmarked. I was pleased the property was recently purchased and is being improved, as I believed it would bring in close to $80,000 a year in property taxes, an amount the city of Berkeley sorely needs for its budget. If the property is successfully Mills acted (a new verb), it would bring in significantly less, I estimate between $15,000 to $20,000 per year, a loss of $60,000-$65,000 per year. I know there is no means test for a property to be eligible for a Mills Act property tax reduction, but I think there should be a means test. I am strongly opposed to any, let alone, significant tax breaks for wealthy individuals, especially when most cities are having trouble raising revenue and facing deficits. Owners of upscale homes are able to maintain them without significant tax reduction incentives.  

The second property is located on Benvenue Avenue. This is a beautiful large home. I estimate it to be worth between $2-4mil. Sorry, I can't be more accurate. I am not a realtor. It has been owned for a long period of time and consequently due to prop 13 has taxes well below its current value. Mills acting this property will likely result in a tax loss of between $6-8,000 per year. The tax loss to the City would not be as significant with this home because it is assessed under proposition 13 and already pays relatively low taxes in relation to its value. There are two problems with Mills acting this property. One is the yearly revenue loss, and two is the Mills Act runs with the property, meaning it will continue on to the next owner. If and when it has a new owner, the city will not be the beneficiary of significant property tax increase revenue. A Mills Act contract is for 10 years and automatically renews each year. It stays with the property and can go on in perpetuity.  

The third property was recently purchased. It is on Arch Street and according to the County records was purchased for $2,150,000. Its property tax bill should be a welcome addition to city, school district and county needs, unless it is given a Mills Act contract by the City of Berkeley. I believe the total property tax loss could be close to $40,000 per year on this property alone. 

The fourth property, on San Antonio Road was the carriage house for the Spring Mansion. I don't know what it recently sold for, I estimate approximately $700,000. It is currently assessed as a school and according to the county tax records has not yet been reassessed. If it is Mills acted by the City of Berkeley, it will represent yet another drain on our revenue. 

Since the Mills Act is a 10 year contract, which renews each year in an ongoing manner, the tax losses to the City are significant. The above four properties could represent a loss to the City of Berkeley of approximately $1,000,000 (without interest) over a ten year period. 

I have been informed that the City of Los Angeles has worried about the loss of revenue and has capped the # of properties it is willing to Mills Act. I have also been told the City of Beverly Hills was thinking of limiting their Mills Act properties to those worth more than $10,000,000. It makes you want to laugh. 

I am in favor of the Mills Act, but I think it should not be used by any city unless that city is running a significant surplus. Why the taxpayers of a city should subsidize anybody, let alone wealthy residents of the city for repairs and maintenance to their properties is beyond me.  

If a city enters into a Mills Act contract with a property owner, I strongly believe the city should have a clause in the Mills Act contract that either party may withdraw from the contract upon one years notice terminating the contract and any tax breaks at that time. That way a city would not be locked into a 10 year decrease in property tax revenues. 

If a city wants a property maintained and the property owners cannot afford to maintain the property, I believe the city should receive a lien on the property in the amount of any tax savings received by the property owner. That way, when the owner dies or transfers the property, the city would receive its delayed property taxes. This would allow individuals who have insufficient income to maintain landmarked property the opportunity to maintain the property by in essence receiving a city loan, not a city tax break. . 

The city should have a Mills Act unit within its planning department, a unit that in conjunction with their city attorney has the ability to monitor Mills Act compliance and the ability to enforce compliance. I don't believe the city of Berkeley has such a unit in place and it clearly presents a problem. 

Do the property owners comply and use their property tax savings for the upkeep of their homes? We do not know. We have no enforcement mechanism in force through either the Panning Department and or the City Attorney's office to follow through and monitor these properties. We basically rely on these property owners to honor their commitments under their Mills Act contracts. Compliance needs to be effectively monitored. 

Drafting of the Mills Act contract with the property owner must be carefully done in a detailed and careful manner clearly outlining all obligations of the parties, penalties and enforcement mechanisms. A well drafted contract will protect both parties and more likely prevent litigation in the future which would be an additional expense to the city. I believe under the Mills Act, cities can draft the contracts to fit their needs.  

To sum up, I believe the City of Berkeley should put in place a moratorium. It should not Mills Act any more properties until the City budget is no longer in deficit territory. It should invite these Mills Act applicants to reapply when our City budget is running a healthy surplus. We can ill afford to give upscale property owners property tax breaks. 

The City of Berkeley has a strong Landmark Preservation Ordinance. That alone should provide the necessary protection to maintain historic properties. Owners of historic properties should maintain them at their own expense as a public service and not receive subsidies from their fellow taxpayers.

This evening, the Berkeley City Council will be considering a framework for revisions to the ordinances governing the demolition and elimination of housing units. I believe that the language in the framework is a huge improvement over previous language that has been shared with me, as it includes provisions for tenant protections.

However, there are two gaping problems with it:

1) Although tenants of the demolished building have the right of first refusal to return to new construction that replaces it, there are almost no provisions that these new units will be at anything other than market rate. Thus, a situation similar to Park Merced in San Francisco could arise, in which low-income tenants are would be unable to move back into the new units. 

2) There is a provision that demolition would not be allowed if there have been verified cases of tenant harassment or illegal evictions in the prior 12 months. This appears to be too short of a timeline, and the Berkeley Condominium Conversion Ordinance has one that is considerably longer. 

You can take action in two ways: 

1) Submit an email encouraging the Mayor and City Council to strengthen tenant protections in the Demolition Ordinance by 4pm today: 

2) Attend tonight's City Council in person at 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. This is Item 40 on the agenda, and is expected to be heard after 8:30pm. 

Berkeley's low-income public housing residents are waiting to learn if their long-time public housing units will be sold to some out of state billionaires, and their billion dollar for-profit housing development corporation. 

Billionaires Jorge M. Perez and Stephen M. Ross of The Related Companies, have set their sights on buying Berkeley's 75 occupied public housing units in a complicated deal that edged out local nonprofit housing developers recently. Many of Berkeley's low-income families may be displaced and placed at risk of homelessness, if the billionaires get their hands on Berkeley's public housing. 

Jorge M. Perez, is known as the "Condo King" of Miami, Florida, because he has developed and owns so many condominiums in that region, through The Related Companies/Related Group. He is also known as a billionaire Cuban American real estate developer. 

Perez is also the majority owner of The Related Companies, which is also the parent company of The Related Companies of California, LLC, another wealthy housing development corporation. 

In recent years, Related suffered over $1 billion in losses, but remained so wealthy that it has managed to survive the unstable housing market. 

After setting their sights on buying Berkeley's 75 public housing town-homes, as recent as September, 2011, the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) announced that it has entered into an exclusive negotiating rights agreement with The Related Companies of California, LLC, that will last 90 days, with a possible 30 day extension to negotiate the full terms of the deal. 

With political connections directly to the White House, Perez a co-founder of The Related Companies has been a major political fundraiser for President Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and was an advisor to ex-President Bill Clinton during his term in office. 

In 2010, it was reported that Perez owned 75% of The Related Companies, and that billionaire Stephen M. Ross a 95% owner of the Miami Dolphins football franchise, owned 25% of the billion dollar development company. 

During the past week, Berkeley's public housing tenants expressed concern about losing their long-time public housing units to some out of state billionaires. 

Anne Marie Dent is disabled and resides in Berkeley's public housing. "I do not like what I am hearing about the takeover of our public housing. I am afraid of being displaced. I believe that it should remain as public housing. I do not think that billionaires should be allowed to grab our public housing. It is not fair. There are too many poor people in need currently, and public housing was never meant to be for billionaires." 

When asked if she thought it was a good idea for a billionaire to get his hands on Berkeley's public housing units, Mary Lightfoot said no. 

Public housing resident Anna Smith said, "All I know is that the rumors are going around, that the building I reside in is being sold to a billionaire that owns a football team. I heard that I would learn more details from the BHA sometime in March. I have lived here in public housing since 1992, and I was told that this was my home to raise a family in. Now I am being told that I will have to move. I have grandchildren living with me that are teenagers in school, and I do not know where I am going to go. I keep hearing about affordable housing projects. But what does that mean? Many people, including myself, cannot afford to reside in affordable housing projects, and there is no place left to go for poor people once all of our public housing is gone." 

When asked what is planned next if the negotiations fail, the BHA's Project Manager, Kathleen Sims, said, "The BHA is in negotiation with The Related Companies of California, and until those negotiations are over I cannot say more about the next step the BHA will pursue with its public housing units." 

In the news, as recently as December 1, 2011, it was reported in the Miami Herald that Perez has agreed to donate $35 million in cash and art to the Miami Art Museum, resulting in a deal to have the museum renamed the Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County. Some of the board members of the museum objected to the deal and renaming of the museum, and three of the board members resigned in protest. 

The Related Group's current portfolio has assets under development totaling more than $10.7 billion, and the company is best known for its many luxury high-rise developments, according to their web site. 

While billionaires, and the rich and powerful all across the nation are refusing to pay their fair share of taxes, it is ironic to many that the rich and powerful are standing in line to get their hands on our nations 1.2 million public housing units. 

Meanwhile, Berkeley's public housing residents are waiting in anticipation to find out if their long-time public housing units will end up in the hands of the out of state billionaires. 

A couple of years ago, the City of Vallejo went bankrupt, blaming unsustainable costs of wage and benefit packages negotiated with employee unions. Two months ago, Pleasant Hill, despairing of a negotiated settlement with the unions, imposed a salary freeze on its workers, and dramatically reduced pension benefits for future hires.[1] 

Then, just last week, San Francisco voters approved an initiative requiring city workers to contribute 7.5% or more of the money needed to fund pension promises made to legions of past employees. This was the progressive solution to a nationwide dilemma. In Wisconsin the result was reactionary: employee unions lost their right to collectively bargain on nearly al meaningful issues. 

What’s happening? All across the nation, the costs of salary and benefit packages far exceed available revenues. 

What of Berkeley, where our Mayor brags about the City’s high credit ratings? Unhappily, His Honor is whistling in the dark. The numbers in fact reveal structural problems that began long before the current recession. If it continues on its present course, Berkeley will be bankrupt in a few years, and its workforce will be on the streets. 

1. Over the last twenty years, wages and benefits have gone up by nearly twice the rate of inflation.[2] 

Clearly, wage and benefit costs have eaten up money that used to go to maintain critical infrastructure. There is an obvious reason why there are holes in our streets, clogged storm drains in low-lying areas, and failing sewer lines nearly everywhere. There is also a reason why the City’s expenditures on social safety net programs for youth, seniors and the disadvantaged have declined by more than one third over the past few years. 

Phil Kamlarz is Berkeley’s long time City Manager, and nobody’s fool. He is now retiring with a $300,000 annual pension plus a $150,000 immediate cash payout. After years of reassuring us that all was well with the City budget, Kamlarz recently reported that "years of limited funding and deferred maintenance have resulted in an aging city infrastructure that needs repair and improvement. We have been taking away from capital improvements in a way which is not sustainable." [4] 2012-13 Biennial Budget. 

2 .When compared to everywhere else, Berkeley has more employees, pays higher salaries, and gives more benefits to Its employees.[5] 

On November 16, 2010, the City Auditor reported that most of the City’s pension obligations were unfunded and that drastic salary/benefit reductions are in the works: 

“In FY 2010 a City Employee earned an average $.54 in benefits per every $1 in salary....To offset [these] costs the City will need to make significant compensation reductions to future and/or current employees. With such high pension rates, in fiscal 2016, salary reductions would have to range from 9% for police and 11.5% for fire to 7% for all other employees just to absorb the CALPERS increases.” Anne Marie Hogan, Employee Benefits: Tough Decisions Ahead (Nov. 16, 2010). 

We are on a collision course. Unlike other jurisdictions Berkeley continues to yield to its unions, for example by funding 100% of the cost of plush pension and health care packages. For this we cannot blame the unions: their job after all is to get whatever they can for their current members. We can only blame the politicians. Their job is to bargain seriously to get the best deal for the voters. Their job is also to tell us the truth, even when it is hard to digest. 

To date, they have failed miserably. 

This is the last of what turned into a series on the female impersonators of the animal kingdom: males that temporarily or permanently mimic the females of their respective species to enhance their mating opportunities. Cuttlefish do it, as do isopods, a whole slew of fish, one snake, a couple of lizards, and at least two birds. (If the phenomenon occurs among mammals, I haven’t located any examples.) One of the birds is the western marsh-harrier, in which 40 percent of males have female-typical plumage and are not recognized as rivals by “normal” males. The other, better-known species is the ruff (Philomachus pugnax), which has a much more complicated arrangement. The Latin name translates as “combative battle-lover.” 

The ruff is a kind of sandpiper, about the size of a dowitcher. Although native to Eurasia, it occasionally shows up in California during migration. I’ve seen three or four individuals here, including one that visited what I didn’t realize beforehand was a gay men’s nude beach near Davenport. That was awkward. Anyway, a fall ruff is nothing special to look at. Spring is when they live up to their name: most males grow an imposing, Elizabethan-style neck ruff, the color of which indicates an individual’s courtship strategy. 

Like a number of other birds—prairie-chickens, some birds of paradise, manakins—ruffs are lekkers. A lek is the arena where multiple males display to attract females, who drop in to mate with their favorites. (Remember Werner Herzog’s documentary Herdsmen of the Sun about the Woodabe people of Niger, whose young men doll themselves up and perform a mass dance for the young women?) Mating is the end of the male’s participation; females go off, build a nest, and rear the young on their own. Multiple male ruffs gather at favored spots in the spring, in open grassy areas. Those whose neck ruffs are reddish-brown, black, or some barred or brindled combination select territories (this is where the pugnax comes in.) A resident males are accompanied by satellite males with white ruff feathers who hang out in the periphery of his territory. The ratio of residents to satellites is about six to one. 

Ornithologists have spent decades watching ruff leks and figuring out what’s going on. Some, like David Lank of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, have reared captive flocks and used genetic analysis to determine the paternity of chicks. They’ve found that females (called reeves) typically mate with more than one male. Although residents get more action, some females choose to mate with white-ruffed satellites. Field studies have shown that females are more prone to visit territories with larger numbers of satellite males. Lekking males also mount other males; not for nothing has lek behavior been called “orgiastic.” 

It was only about five years ago that a third type of male was recognized. Bird-banders had noticed that some female-plumaged ruffs were intermediate in wing length between typical males and females. Two Dutch ornithologists, Joop Jukema and Theunis Piersma, discovered that these birds were in fact males, with a mating strategy of their own. They dubbed them “faeders,” from an Anglo-Saxon word for “father,” although their behavior is no more parental than that of residents or satellites: they’re all just sperm donors. Faeders are sneakers, like Type II midshipman fish and beta and gamma isopods, using their resemblance to females to fool resident males. And like those creatures, they invest heavily in sperm production; the testes of faeders are 2.5 times larger in volume than those of “normal” males. Jukema and Theunis estimate that only about one percent of males are faeders. 

As you might expect, the genetics behind all this are interesting. The difference between residents and satellites is based on a stretch of a non-sex chromosome. That means that both sexes carry both forms of the gene. Females given testosterone implants assume either resident or satellite characteristics. It’s not clear from what I’ve read how the faeder morph fits in. 

Haldane was right: the natural world isn’t just stranger than we imagine; it’s stranger than we can imagine.

Nothing makes you hate people as much as knowing in your heart that you are in the wrong and they are in the right. — Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, author, in his NY Times column, Sept. 3, 2004 

I doubt that readers of the Daily Planet fall into the category of those who nurse a long-time, festering hatred for someone whose words or actions proved their own ideas just plain wrong. But I suspect we can all recall a brief flash of hatred we felt when someone spoke the words that proved without doubt that we had voiced a stupid opinion. 

No point in squirming in shame each time the memory of that moment pops up in our consciousness. The best antidote is this quotation by George Bernard Shaw: 

I never learn anything until a man contradicts me. 

(Send the Berkeley Daily Planet a page from your own Commonplace Book)

I have been writing this column for the Planet for about a year, and have covered a lot of territory about the plight and the needs of persons with mental illness. I have reached a point where it feels like it is time to do something else with my writing career. 

Becky O’Malley and others at The Planet deserve my thanks for taking the risk involved with publishing a schizophrenic man with a less than pristine background. I hope to continue sending opinion and first person pieces to her, some of which, I hope she will publish. 

I continue to sell an e-book on Amazon that contains most of the editions of this column that have appeared in the past year. I continue to have a blog at bragenjack@blogspot.com. You can still see my writing in other places where I hope it will continue to show up. 

Take care, Jack Bragen

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders, which is used in the United States and to some extent internationally, by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and policy makers. The DSM is produced by a panel of psychiatrists, many of whom have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. It is considered the "bible" of American psychiatry. The latest edition— DSM-IV— was published in 1994. 

In 1952, the DSM was a small, spiral-bound handbook (DSM-I), but the latest edition (DSM-IV), is a 943-page magnum opus. Over time, psychiatric diagnoses have increased in the American population and in turn, drugs that affect mental states are then used to treat them. The theory that psychiatric conditions are caused by a biochemical imbalance is often used as a justification for their widespread use, even though the theory in unproven. Since there are no objective tests for mental illness and what is normal and abnormal is often unclear, psychiatry is a particularly fertile field for creating new diagnoses or broadening old ones. 

Medications are widely used to treat the symptoms of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Sometimes medications are used with other treatments such as psychotherapy. 

While I am sure research in mental disorders account for some of this increase, I cannot help but believe that there is a certain amount of disease-peddling going on. That is, instead of promoting drugs to treat diseases, diseases are promoted to fit the drugs. For example, shyness as a psychiatric illness made its debut as "social phobia" in DSM-III in 1980, but was said to be rare. By 1994, when DSM-IV was published, it had become "social anxiety disorder," now said to be extremely common, thus, boosting sales of antidepressants. Now, social anxiety disorder is "a severe medical condition." In 1999, the FDA approved a drug for social anxiety disorder. After a successful marketing campaign, the sales of Paxil soared 

Presently, a revised version of the DSM is set for publication in 2013. The proposed revision has proven quite controversial. A group of psychologists with the Society for Humanistic Psychology, for example, has filed a petition objecting to many of the revisions, arguing that they broaden the definition of mental health disorders, which, in turn, could lead to over treatment with drugs. Some but not all, of the objections of tthe Society — along with the British Psychological Society and the American Counseling Association — to the proposed DSM-V include:  

* The proposed DSM "fails to explicitly state that deviant behavior and primary conflicts between the individual and society are not mental disorders." "Given lack of consensus as to the “primary” causes of mental distress, this proposed change may result in the labeling of sociopolitical deviance as mental disorder." 

* "Several new proposals with little empirical basis also warrant hesitation: For example, “Apathy Syndrome,” “Internet Addiction Disorder,” and “Parental Alienation Syndrome” have virtually no basis in the empirical literature." 

* “…clients and the general public are negatively affected by the continued and continuous medicalization of their natural and normal responses to their experiences; responses which undoubtedly have distressing consequences which demand helping responses, but which do not reflect illnesses so much as normal individual variation.” 

Do we really need more mental disorder diagnoses creating the need for more drugs in a society that some would say is already over-medicated? Let's look at some statistics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44 percent to 48 percent over the past ten years. The use of two or more drugs increased from 25 percent to 31 percent. The use of five or more drugs increased from 6 percent to 11 percent. And in 2007-2008, 1 out of every 5 children and 9 out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the past month. 

And Americans are spending more on drugs. According to the CDC, spending for prescription drugs in the U.S. was $234.1 billion in 2008, which was more than double what was spent in 1999. 

And the pharmaceutical industry is profiting. According to Fortune 500 (May 3, 2010 issue date), the profits for the twelve largest pharmaceutical companies was almost $64 billion in 2010. Clearly, Pharma has a financial interest in a DSM with more mental disorders because it will mean a demand for more drugs to treat them. 

The critics — and the public too — have a stake in the proposed DSM-V. More mental disorders may mean just more drugs in our over-medicated society. 

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once quipped, "If all the drugs were thrown in the ocean, everyone would be better-off . . . except for the fish." While this is a an overstatement, it does contain a grain of truth.

In the aftermath of the Nov. 26 NATO attack on two border posts that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, the question being asked is whether the assault was a “fog of war” incident or a calculated hit aimed at torpedoing peace talks in Afghanistan? Given that the incident has plunged relations between Washington and Islamabad to a new low at a critical juncture in the 10-year war, the answer is vitally important 

According to NATO, U.S. and Afghan troops came under fire from the Pakistani side of the border and retaliated in self-defense. American officials have suggested that the Taliban engineered the incident in order to poison U.S.-Pakistani relations. But there are some facts suggesting that the encounter may have been more than a “friendly fire” encounter brought on by a clever foe, an ill-defined border, and the normal chaos of the battlefield. 

Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Samiullah Rahmani denies they were even in the area—and the insurgent group is never shy about taking credit for military engagements (of course, if deception was involved that is what the Taliban would say). However, this particular region is one that the Pakistani army has occupied for several years and is considered fairly “cleansed” of insurgents. 

The incident was not the case of a drone attack or bombing gone awry, a common enough event. For all the talk of “precision weapons” and “surgical strikes,” drones have inflicted hundreds of civilian deaths and 500 lb bombs have very little in common with operating rooms. Instead, the NATO instruments were Apache attack helicopters and, according to Associated Press, an A-130 gunship. In short, the assault was led by live pilots presumingly indentifying targets to their superiors. 

Those targets were two border forts, architecture that has never been associated with the Taliban. It is true the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is porous and not always clearly defined, but the Afghan insurgents don’t build concrete posts. A “fort” is duck soup for a drone or a fighter-bomber, which is why the Taliban favor caves and hidden bunkers. 

Naturally enough, both sides disagree on what happened. The Americans say they took fire from the Pakistani border, engaged in a three-hour running fight, and called in the choppers at the end of the battle. 

But, according to the Pakistanis, there was no fire from their side of the border, and helicopters started the battle, which went on for a little less than two hours. Pakistan also says there were two Apache attacks. The first struck outpost Volcano, and when the fort’s nearby companion, outpost Boulder, fired on the helicopters, it also came under assault. Pakistan claims that its military contacted NATO to warn them they were attacking Pakistani troops, but the firing continued. The helicopters finally withdrew, only to reappear and renew the attack when the Pakistanis tried to reinforce the besieged forts. 

Might it have been a matter of bad intelligence? 

According to the Pakistanis, Islamabad has been careful to identify its posts to NATO in order to avoid incidents exactly like this. Pakistan Gen. Ashfaq Nadeem said, “it is not possible” that the “NATO forces did not know of the location of the Pakistani posts.” Pakistan Gen. Ashram Nader called the attack a “deliberate act of aggression.” 

Could it have been “deliberate”? Mistakes happen in war, but the timing of this engagement is deeply suspicious. 

It comes at a delicate moment, when some 50 countries were preparing to gather in Bonn, Germany for talks aimed at a settling the Afghan War. Central to that meeting is Pakistan, the only country in the region with extensive contacts among the various insurgent groups. If the U.S. plans to really withdraw troops by 2014, it will need close cooperation with Pakistan. 

“This could be a watershed in Pakistan’s relations with the U.S.,” Islamabad’s high commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, told the Guardian (UK). “It could wreck the time table for the American troop withdrawal.” 

Pakistan has now withdrawn from the Bonn talks, and relations between Washington and Islamabad are as bad as they have ever been. The Pakistanis have shut down two major land routes into Afghanistan, routes over which some 50 percent of supplies for the war move. Islamabad has also demanded that the CIA close down its drone base at Shamsi in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province. 

Who would benefit from all this fallout? 

It is no secret that many in the U.S. military are unhappy about the prospect of negotiations with the Taliban, in particular the organization’s most lethal ally, the Haqqani Group. There is an unspoken but generally acknowledged split between the Defense Department and the State Department, with the former wanting to pound the insurgents before sitting down to talk, while the latter is not sure that tactic will work. Could someone on the uniformed side of the division have decided to derail, or at least damage, the Bonn meeting? 

It is also no secret that not everyone in Afghanistan wants peace, particularly if it involves a settlement with the Taliban. The Northern Alliance, made up of mostly Tajiks and Uzbeks, want nothing to do with the Pashtun-based Taliban that is mainly grouped in the south and east, and in the tribal regions of Pakistan. The Afghan Army is mostly Tajik, who not only make up the bulk of the soldiers, but 70 percent of the command staff. President Hamid Karzi is a Pashtun, but he is largely window dressing in the Northern Alliance-dominated Kabul government. 

There are broader regional issues at stake as well. 

It was no surprise that China immediately came to Pakistan’s defense, with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechu expressing “deep shock and strong concern” over the incident. China is not happy about the NATO deployment in Afghanistan and less so about the possibility of permanent U.S. bases in that country. At a Nov. 2 meeting in Istanbul, China, along with Pakistan, Iran and Russia, opposed a long-term American deployment in the area. 

Iran is worried about the threat of U.S. military power on its border, Islamabad is concerned that prolonging the war will further destabilize Pakistan, and Beijing and Moscow are suspicious that the Americans have their sights set on Central Asia gas and oil resources. Both Russia and China rely on Central Asia hydrocarbons, the former for export to Europe, and the latter to run its burgeoning industries. 

China is also anxious about the Obama administration’s recent strategic shift toward Asia. The U.S. has openly intervened in disputes between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea, and recently signed an agreement to deploy 2,500 Marines in Australia. Washington has also tightened its ties with Indonesia and warmed up to Myanmar. To China, all this looks like a campaign to surround Beijing with U.S. allies and to keep its finger on the Chinese energy jugular vein. Some 80 percent of China’s oil moves through the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. 

A key ingredient in any formula to offset Beijing’s growing power and influence in Asia is the role of India. New Delhi has traditionally been neutral in foreign policy, but, starting with the Bush administration, it has grown increasingly close to Washington. China and India have a prickly relationship dating back to the 1962 border war between the two countries and China’s support for India’s traditional enemy, Pakistan. China claims on part of India’s border area have not improved matters. 

India would also like a Taliban-free government in Kabul, and anything that discomforts Islamabad is just fine with New Delhi. There are elements in the American military and diplomatic community that would like to see Washington dump its alliance with Pakistan and pull India into a closer relationship. A fair number of Indians feel the same way. 

So far, the White House has refused to apologize, instead leaking a story that showing any softness vis-à-vis Pakistan during an election year is impossible. 

In the end, the border fight may turn out to be an accident, although we are unlikely to know that for certain. Military investigations are not known for accuracy, and much of what happened will remain classified. 

But with all these crosscurrents coming together in the night skies over Pakistan, maybe somebody saw an opportunity and took it. In a sense, it is irrelevant whether the attack was deliberate or dumb: the consequences are going to be with us for a long time, and the ripples are likely to spread from a rocky hillside in Pakistan to the far edges of the Indian Ocean and beyond. 

Conn Hallinan can be read at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.wordpress.com and middleempireseries.wordpress.com 

---30---

My curiosity was piqued by people and media references to “TCM.” Aha. Traditional Chinese Medicine. 

I ran it by a Chinese friend, discovered that she too has a conventional, primary care M.D. physician. She says she is part of the system now. 

I ran it by an M.D., who suggested trying Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. “We don’t have geriatrics here,” they respond, although they “accept Medicare for psychiatrics” and something else.  

I ran it by a retired R.N. neighbor, who urged “try acupuncture!!” 

Time to dig deeper. This may be on the final. I discover myriad overlapping, possibly-related terms! 

xxxx 

Alternative medicine refers to treatments used in place of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine involves alternative practices used together with conventional medicine.  

Alternative therapies include acupuncture, massage, meditation, herbs and nutrition. 

Holistic medicine, the art and science that addresses the whole person, body, mind and spirit, is regulated by the American Board of Holistic Medicine, incorporated in 1996. It evaluates the candidacy of applicants desiring certification as specialists in Holistic Medicine and has available a roster of Board certified diplomats. 

The theory and practice of acupuncture is based on Asian medicine (also known as traditional Chinese or Oriental medicine), a comprehensive natural health care system that has been used in Asian countries for thousands of years to preserve health and diagnose, treat, and prevent illness. Acupuncture treats health conditions by stimulating “acu-points” found at specific locations on the surface of the body. Acupuncturists stimulate the acu-points by inserting very thin needles through the skin to produce physiological effects. Other methods, such as heat or finger pressure, are also used to stimulate acu-points.  

The general theory of acupuncture is that proper physiological function and health depend on the circulation of nutrients, substances, and energy called Qi (pronounced “chee”) through a network of channels or meridians. This network connects every organ and part of the body, providing balance, regulation, and coordination of physiological processes. Pain and ill health result when the flow of Qi through the body is disrupted or blocked. This can be caused by many things, including disease, pathogens, trauma/ injuries, and medication side effects, as well as such lifestyle factors as overwork, poor diet, emotions, lack of rest, and stress. 

Acupuncture is considered a major alternative therapy. In 1975, Miriam Lee (1926–2009), one of the pioneering acupuncturists in the United States, was tried in a California court for practicing medicine without a license. Her patients filled the courtrooms to testify on her behalf. The following year, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation legalizing acupuncture in California. 

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Lee was the acupuncture teacher of many practitioners working in Northern California. She popularized a 10-point protocol in her book, Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist: One Combination of Points Can Treat Many Diseases as well as Master Tung Ching Chang's Magic Points, a nontraditional point system. 

The Acupuncture Association of America was founded in 1980 and run by Lee until 1998, when she retired. Its purpose is promotion of public acupuncture education, provision of continuing education for licensed practitioners, legislative advocacy, and acupuncture research. Her students who are teaching classes today include Esther Su (San Jose), Susan Johnson (Soquel), and Frank He (Sunnyvale). 

Chinese Americans’ double identity affords them alternative perspectives on health issues that might not be mainstream. Tom Su, 45, a student of Chinese medicine at Alhambra Medical University, is quoted by journalist Mei Zhou, “From what I observe, unlike the Americans, the average Chinese would not readily go see a doctor when they are sick. They will either purchase packaged Chinese herbs or simply ask their families to send pills from China or Taiwan.” ["Elders Seek Chinese Healers Despite U.S. Malpractice Threat." (New America Media, Oct. 31, 2011)] 

A Consumer’s Guide to Acupuncture and Asian Medicine is available from the California Acupuncture Board, part of the Department of Consumer Affairs, at www.acupuncture.ca.gov. The Board’s mission includes protection of the public through regulation of licensure; development of education standards; provision of consumer information; and enforcement of the Acupuncture Licensure Act.  

Self-help has been a deep-seated tradition in Chinese culture. Because Chinese herbs are available over the counter, many Chinese immigrants to the United States prefer them to pharmaceutical drugs. Chinese seniors may be wary of Western medicine because drugs sold here may include toxic components, e.g. acetaminophen, which, although safe and effective when taken in approved doses, can cause liver damage, according to Shanghai-born physician Dennis Lee, in an article for WebMD’s MedicineNet.com. Dietary supplements and herbs typically labeled as “food” to avoid U.S. requirements that drugs go through extensive clinical tests, fuel an alternative health market rooted in oriental philosophy, oriental medicinal theory and practice, and self-cultivation regimens. There is a close connection between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Chinese philosophy, yin/yang theory in particular.  

I’ll conclude this column with an anecdote that meets both definitions [1. A short account of an interesting or humorous incident. 2. Secret or hitherto undivulged particulars of history or biography]: 

Following major surgery, I was dispatched by ambulance from the nursing-rehabilitation center, with no “support system” in place, i.e. no arrangements for a temporary in-home caregiver. The social worker provided an IHSS [in-home supportive services] application form and a brochure advertising an alerting device-- the kind advertised by “I fell down and can’t get up.” I tried phoning the Visiting Nurse Association, etc. etc. Then I chanced upon a reference to the Asian Network. They didn’t ask whether I was Asian (no) with an HMO (no). Instead, they sent an R.N. to evaluate the situation and a physical therapist, each for several visits over the next two weeks. 

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NEWS 

New York City senior centers’ participants have sent a message to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo – Don’t cut Title XX funding, protect our senior centers. For the past two years, first under Governor Paterson and then during Governor Cuomo’s first term, a threatened cut of about $25 million would have closed 105 New York City senior centers, depriving upwards of 10,000 older New Yorkers of their local senior center. The 15,000 letters – in English, Spanish and Chinese - ask Governor Cuomo not to propose the cut again as he prepares his FY2013 budget.  

A bill to establish universal healthcare through publicly financed administration was authored by former California Senator Sheila Kuehl as Senate Bill (SB) 840. This was the first single payer bill that a state legislature ever sent to a governor in our nation's history. In fact, SB 840 was passed by the California Senate and Assembly twice, in 2006 and in 2008. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill both times. Senator Kuehl was termed out in 2008. In 2009, Senator Mark Leno introduced the same bill, re-numbered and recently reintroduced as SB 810. January 2012 is a crucial month for the bill because it needs to pass the Assembly and the Senate by January 31 or it will be dead for the year. Watch California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) and the Older Women’s League (OWL) website www.californiaalliance.org for further information. 

On Nov 30, 2011 the Census Bureau released data that show there are more age 65+ people than ever before in the United States. According to the 2010 numbers, there are 40.3 million people age 65+, an increase of over 5 million since the 2000 Census. The older population grew at a faster rate than the population as a whole. Males show more rapid growth in the older population than females over the decade, while females continue to outnumber males in the older ages. 

The nation’s largest for-profit nursing homes deliver significantly lower quality of care because they typically have fewer staff nurses than non-profit and government-owned nursing homes. This is the finding of a new UCSF-led analysis of quality of care at nursing homes around the country. It is the first-ever study focusing solely on staffing and quality at the 10 largest for-profit chains. The 10 largest for-profit chains operate about 2,000 nursing homes in the United States, controlling approximately 13 percent of the country’s nursing home beds. “Poor quality of care is endemic in many nursing homes, but we found that the most serious problems occur in the largest for-profit chains,” reported first author Charlene Harrington, RN, PhD, professor emeritus of sociology and nursing at the UCSF School of Nursing.  

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Be sure to confirm. Share by email news of future events that may interest boomers, elders and seniors. Daytime, free or senior-discounted, and Bay Area events preferred. pen136@dslextreme.com.  

Saturday, December 3, 12-1 P.M. UC, B Hertz Concert Hall, free admission. UNIVERSITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA. Mozart "Overture to Don Giovanni" - Miriam Anderson, conductor. Stravinsky "Pulcinella Suite" - Garrett Wellenstein, conductor. Schubert Symphony No. 5 - Melissa Panlasigui, conductor. 510-642-4864.  

Monday, Dec. 5. 6 P.M. Evening Computer class. Central Berkeley Library, 2090 Kittredge. 981-6100. Also Dec. 12 and 19. 

Monday, Dec. 5. 6:30 P.M. "Castoffs" Knitting Group. Kensington Library, 

61 Arlington Ave. Free. 510-524-3043. An evening of knitting, show and tell and yarn exchange. All levels welcome. Some help will be provided.  

Tuesday, Dec. 6. 10 -11:30 A.M. Health & Happiness Workshop Join Helen Calhoun, M.Ed., Certified Acupressurist. Learn techniques and practices that actually work to promote better fitness for body, mind and spirit. Participants will engage in Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Self-Acupressure, and Chakra healing exercise. $10 per person fee. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda. 510-747-7510 

Tuesday, Dec. 6. 1 P.M. Holiday Concert. The Oakland Community Orchestra will perform traditional Jewish and Christmas holiday songs in the Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Free. 510-747-7510. 

Tuesday, Dec. 6. 1 P.M. Jean Johnson-Fields will provide an overview of the Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) offered by the Center for Elders’ Independence. This health plan for seniors age 55+ makes it possible to stay at home with the help of caregivers. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda Social Hall. Free. 510-747-7510. 

Tuesday, Dec. 6. 6 – 8 P.M. Sign-up for lottery at 5:45 P.M. Lawyers in the library. Oakland Public Library Temescal Branch, 5205 Telegraph Av. Free legal information and referral presented with the Alameda County Bar Association. Call in advance to confirm on the day of the program. 510-597-5049. 

Wednesday, Dec. 7. 12 Noon. Playreaders at Central Berkeley Library, 2090 Kittredge. 510-981-6100. Also Dec. 14. 

Wednesday, Dec. 7. 12:15-1 P.M. Holiday Choral Music. UC, B Music Department Noon concert. Hertz Concert Hall. University Chorus and Chamber Chorus
Matthew Oltman, guest director. Hugo Distler: Variations on "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" from Die. Weihnachtsgeschichte, Op. 10. Francis Poulenc: Quatre motets pour le temps de Noel. Michael Praetorious: Variations on Martin Luther's Vom Himmel Hoch. Free. 510-642-4864.  

Wednesday, Dec. 7. 6-8 P.M. Lawyer in the Library. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free. 510-526-3720.  

Thursday, Dec. 8. 10 A.M.-12 noon. Literacy Reading Club. Albany Library. 1247 Marin Av. Practice English conversation. Meet other adults, build confidence in your speaking and discuss a good book. Free. 510-526-3720. Also Dec. 15. 

Thursday, Dec. 8. 10 A.M. Computers for Beginners, Central Berkeley Library, 2090 Kittredge. 510-981-6100. Also Dec. 15, 22 and 29. 

Thursday, Dec. 8. 10:30 A.M. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Free. The New Member Orientation is a must if you are new to Alameda, recently retired, or expecting your parents for an extended visit! This Orientation offers a guided-tour to introduce you to the Center, an information packet outlining the various activities, programs and services, and a coupon to enjoy a complimentary lunch provided by Bay Area Community Services (BACS). Make a reservation by visiting the Mastick Office or calling 510-747-7506.  

Thursday, Dec. 8. 6 P.M. Lawyers in the Library. Berkeley Public Library South branch, 1901 Russell. 510-981-6100. 

Saturday, Dec. 10. 2-5 PM. PEN Oakland 21^st Annual Literary Awards. The ceremony will be followed by a reception and book signings. Free. Rockridge Library, 5366 College Ave., Oakland. 510-597-5017 

Monday, Dec. 12. 12 Noon. Senior Center Lecture - J-Sei Center Center - 1710 Carleton Street, Berkeley "Fall Prevention" Speaker: Andrew Teran - Bay Area Vital Link. To place a reservation for the lecture and/or lunch at 11:30 A.M., call 510-883-1106. 

Monday, Dec. 12. 7:00 P.M. Swedish Folk Music with Mark and Jennie Walstrom. Their instruments include the Swedish Säckpipa (bagpipe) and Nyckelharpa (key fiddle). Tonight’s music will center on the Swedish winter holidays. Kensington Library, 61Arlington Avenue Free. 510-524-3043. 

Tuesday, Dec. 13. 1 P.M. Mastick Book Club members will share a book of their choice. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Free. 510-747-7510. See also January 3.  

Wednesday, Dec. 14 6:30-8 P.M. Drop-In Poetry Writing Workshop. Albany Library 1247 Marin Av. Free. 510-526-3720.  

Wednesday, Dec. 14. 6:30 P.M. Berkeley Commission on Disability. Meets at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Avenue. Check the City online community calendar to verify or call the Center, 510-981-5190. 

Thursday, Dec. 15. 10 A.M. Mastick Senior Center’s Annual Holiday Sing-Along. 

Join Jim Franz and Friends for the Annual Holiday Sing-Along. Enjoy a visit from Santa, refreshments, and the spirit of the season! 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Free. 510-747-7506.  

Thursday, Dec. 15. AARP members invite you to join them for their Annual Holiday Luncheon after the Annual Holiday Sing-Along. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Enjoy a catered lunch including turkey and all the trimmings. Per person cost is $15. Reservations are required and can be made by contacting Corky Hastings at 510-653-7678 or Marge Ryan at 523-4148. Consider bringing a small wrapped gift and participate in the gift exchange.  

Thursday, Dec. 15. 6-8 P.M. Lawyers in the Library. Berkeley Public Library West Branch, 1125 University. 510-981-6270. Also Dec. 22. 

Saturday, Dec. 17. 11 A.M. Landlord/Tenant Counseling. Central Berkeley Library, 2090 Kittredge. 510-981-6100. 

Saturday, Dec. 17. 12:30 P.M. San Francisco Gray Panthers Holiday Party. 1182 Market, Room 203. 415-552-8800. 

Saturday, Dec. 17. 3:30 P.M. The Knitting Hour. Berkeley Public Library West Branch, 1125 University. 510-981-6270. 

Monday, Dec. 19. 12:30 – 1:30 P.M. Albany YMCA/Albany Library brown Bag Lunch Speaker’s Forum: Matt Johanson discusses Yosemite Epics: Tales of Adventure from America’s Greatest Playground. At the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Free. 510-526-3720. 

Monday, Dec. 19. 7 P.M. Book Club. Josephine Tey’s Daughter of Time. Tey is known as the mystery writer for those who don’t like mysteries! Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. Free event. 510-524-3043. Each meeting starts with a poem selected and read by a member with a brief discussion following the reading. New members are always welcome. 

Wednesday, Dec. 21. 1:30 P.M. Berkeley Commission on Aging. Meets at South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street. Check the City online community calendar to verify or call the Center, 510-981-5170. 

Wednesday, Dec. 21. 7 – 8 P.M. The Adult Evening Book Group will read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Facilitated discussion. Come to one meeting, or all meetings. Albany branch of the Alameda County library, 1247 Marin Av. Books are available at the Library. 510-526-3720 x 16. 

Thursday, Dec. 22. 12:30 P.M. Mastick Senior Center. Birthday Party Celebration All members celebrating a birthday in December are invited to join us in Dining Room 2 for cake, music, balloons, and good cheer. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

Tuesday, Dec. 22. 3 P.M. Tea and Cookies. Central Berkeley Public Library. 2090 Kittredge. 510-981-6100.  

Wednesday, Dec. 28. 1:30 P.M. East Bay Gray Panthers. 510-548-9696. Meets at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst.  

Wednesday, Dec. 28. 1:30 – 2:30 P.M. Great Books Discussion Group. Albany Library, 1247 Marin Av. Holiday lunch and selection discussion. 510-526-3720 x 16. 

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Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. Book Club members will read French Lessons by Ellen Sussman. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. Free. 510-747-7510. 

Wednesday, Jan. 4. 9 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. AARP Driver Safety Refresher Course specifically designed for motorists age 50+. Taught in one-day. To qualify, you must have taken the standard course within the last 4 years. Preregistration is a must. There is a $12 per person fee for AARP members (AARP membership number required) and $14 per person fee for non-AARP members. Registration is payable by check ONLY made payable to AARP. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

Tuesday, Jan. 10. 1 P.M. Sugar Blues or What? Come be inspired, find ways to beat cravings, find specific tools to make healthier choices with Neta O’Leary Sundberg, Certified Health coach-Yoga teacher. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

Friday, Jan. 13. 9:30 – 11:30 A.M. Creating Your Personal Learning Network. Learn to use the Internet and tools like Twitter and YouTube Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. Also Feb. 17. 

Monday, Jan. 23. 10:30 – 11:30 A.M. Learn to Create a YouTube Video Jeff Cambra, Alameda Currents producer, will share the basics of shooting a good video and how to get it uploaded to YouTube. No equipment or experience needed. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

Tueday, Jan. 24. 1 P.M. Doggie Communication 101. Does your dog pull you down the street? Not get enough exercise because you have mobility challenges? Growl or snap? Bark too much? Other annoying or worrisome behaviors? Bring your questions and join dog trainer Ruth Smiler. Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

Thursday, Jan. 25. 1:30 P.M. Music Appreciation Class. Join William Sturm, Volunteer Instructor. Piano recital and discussion about “The Classical Romantic: Johannes Brahms.” Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda. 510-747-7510. 

The latest polls indicate that roughly 75 percent of Americans agree with the goals of Occupy Wall Street. Nonetheless, only 29 percent consider themselves supporters of OWS. What accounts for this enthusiasm gap? 

The October Time magazine poll asked respondents if they agreed with the positions advocated by Occupy Wall Street and there was extraordinary concurrence. 86 percent agreed that, "Wall Street and its lobbyists have too much influence in Washington." 79 percent agreed that, "The gap between rich and poor in the United States has grown too large." 71 percent agreed with “"Executives of financial institutions responsible for the financial meltdown in 2008 should be prosecuted.” And 68 percent agreed that, “The rich should pay more taxes.” 

Yet there is a 45-50 percent enthusiasm gap, because the same voters who express these strong sentiments say they don’t support OWS. Why? 

Perhaps these voters don’t know enough about OWS. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that 59 percent of respondents felt they didn’t know enough to approve or disapprove of the movement’s goals. 

Nonetheless, the current enthusiasm gap isn’t a singular occurrence. If we look back over the past decade we can find many examples where average Americans should have been shocked into action but weren’t. In 2000, there was a controversial election, where George W. Bush stole the presidency; many voters were outraged but few of them took to the streets in protest. On September 11, 2001, the US was attacked by terrorists; there were legitimate concerns that the Bush Administration had been asleep at the wheel yet once again Americans were passive observers. The terrorists were traced to Afghanistan and the US launched an attack; in December of 2001 most of the terrorists escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan – it was a glaring example of White House ineptitude but most citizens were quiet. Faced with failure in Afghanistan, the Bush Administration turned its attention to Iraq and, on March 20, 2003, launched an invasion; this time there were more protestors but the bulk of Americans stayed at home. Over the next several years there were glaring example of Presidential incompetence – for example, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – but for the most part voters were quiet. Then the housing bubble burst and, in late September 2008, came close to melting down; Americans were stunned and depressed, but few took to the streets. Since the turn of the century, American voters, the 99 percent, have had a lot to be angry about, but been passive. 

Historians contrast this last lost decade with World War II era America when average citizens, the 99 percent rose up, built the weapons, and fought the fights that defeated the Axis powers. What’s happened to us? 

Perhaps American workers don’t have the time. It’s a tough economy and many work two jobs. For the 99 percent it’s a grueling daily chore making ends meet, if they do. Perhaps they don’t have the energy to get involved with OWS. 

Perhaps they don’t get it. Many pundits believe we no longer invest in our children and, as a result, many have poor schools, teachers, and study habits. We’ve raised several generations of “non intellectuals.” The average American spends 2.7 hours per day watching TV and only a few minutes reading. Perhaps they don’t understand what all the fuss is about. 

Perhaps they’ve checked out. The Pew Survey of Religious Affiliation found that 26.3 percent of respondents were evangelical Protestants; this does not include Black and Catholic evangelicals and many observers believe the true number is closer to 40 percent. A recent Pew Research Poll found that 41 percent of respondents believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth by 2050 – when the rapture will occur. Perhaps they’re not involved because they are preparing to shuffle off this mortal coil. 

Perhaps they’re severely damaged. The official US rate for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is 7.8 percent – with a higher incidence among veterans. However this discounts violence against women and children. The American Psychological Association reports, “Nearly one in every three adult women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood” – four million US women are assaulted each year. Approximately one third of US children under 18 experience abuse during their childhood – in 2009 6 million children were reported as abused. And then there are the adults that have been economically abused – laid off because their job was moved overseas or fired and rehired as a temp with no benefits. It’s reasonable to assume that a majority of Americans – a huge segment of the 99 percent – suffer from PTSD; they are depressed, hopeless, and numb. Perhaps these American agree with OWS but can’t get it together to participate. 

The enthusiasm gap is a result of a combination of these circumstances. The challenge for Occupy Wall Street is to engage the members of the 99 percent who agree with OWS objectives, but are too tired or numb to participate. 

Back to the odd assortment of animal species in which some males gain a reproductive advantage from their resemblance, temporary or permanent, to the females of their species. Giant cuttlefish alter their color patterns and shapes to mimic females; red-sided garden snakes do it with pheromones. In a number of fish, including our own plainfin midshipman, smaller males exploit their deceptive appearance to gain acesss to spawning sites guarded by larger territorial males. (Some commentators on this phenomenon have evoked the movie Some Like it Hot. Bear in mind, however, that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon were on the run from the mob when they joined the all-girl orchestra. Proximity to Marilyn Monroe was an unexpected benefit. Call it an exaptation.) 

As if two male morphs weren’t enough, a handful of creatures have evolved a three-morph system. About the last place you would expect to find a complex polymorphism would be among the isopods, mostly small marine crustaceans. Meet Paracerceis sculpta, an inhabitant of the intertidal zone from Southern California to Mexico. (At this point, visualize David Attenborough turning over a rock in a tide pool.) As described in 1987 by Stephen Schuster, then at UC Berkeley and now at Northern Arizona University, P. sculpta has alpha, beta, and gamma males. Alphas guard harems of females in the cavities of sponges, where they lay their eggs. Betas are the size and shape of females; like Type II midshipman fish, they sneak past the alphas and mate with his females. Gammas, which mimic juvenile isopods, also follow a sneaker strategy. It’s interesting that gammas invest the most energy in sperm production, followed by betas then alphas. (The testes of Type II midshipmen are much larger in proportion than those of the territorial Type I. This seems to be a pattern among polymorphic males.) 

Bony fish, which appear to have tried everything at least once during their evolutionary history, have also developed three-morph variations. Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), native to the eastern North America, have been stocked in California lakes and reservoirs as sport fish. I remember them fondly, dredged in cornmeal and deep fried, with a side of hushpuppies and maybe some coleslaw. Anyway, parental bluegills, like Type I midshipmen, hold territories where females lay eggs. Satellite males mimic females in size, color, and behavior, swimming under the parental’s radar. There is also a smaller sneaker morph, analogous to salmon jacks. Satellites and sneakers spawn at younger ages than parentals, but don’t live as long. 

Then we have the side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana), common in western scrublands. UC Santa Cruz biologist Barry Sinervo has studied this species since 1989. Male lizards, he reports, are color-coded, with either orange, blue, or yellow throats, and each color morph has a different reproductive strategy. Orange-throats defend large territories which are home to several females and are prone to usurp the territories of other males. Blue-throats have smaller territories and are often mongamous. They team up with fellow blue-throats against the more aggressive orange-throats. Sinervo calls them “the sensitive male lizards of the new millennium.” Yellow-throats, which resemble (some) females, are sneakers. 

Depending on the circumstances, each type can outcompete one of the others, in a kind of rock-scissors-paper game, and the numbers of each cycle over time. (I note that someone has elaborated the game into rock-scissors-paper-Spock-lizard, for which I can think of no analogues in the natural world.) Orange-throats dominate blue-throats, blue-throats deter yellow-throats, yellow-throats cuckold orange-throats. The frequency of each morph in a local population cycles from year to year, depending on the success of each of the three strategies. 

Female side-blotched lizards, it turns out, are playing a game of their own. Orange-throated females are more aggressive and lay large clutches of small eggs. Yellow-throated females produce smaller clutches of larger eggs. In the language of population biology, orange-throats are “r strategists,” as are codfish, spiders, and lemmings; yellow-throats are “K strategists,” like condors, elephants, and humans. Blue-throats are apparently rare among females, and orange-throats and yellow-throats exhibit a two-year cycle. 

I’ll save another well-known case of alternative male reproductive strategies, the bizarre shorebird called the ruff, for next week. Before that, though, a response to a reader’s comment that male polymorphism might be a relatively recent artifact of environmental pollutants. All the varieties of sneaker males among fish, reptiles, and birds appear to be anatomically normal and fully functional males. Typically fish exposed to hormone mimics show intersex traits, with both male and female reproductive organs. It seems clear that polymorphisms in the isopods, salmon, sunfish, lizards, harriers, and ruffs represent genetically-determined evolutionarily stable strategies, not aberrant responses to exotic chemicals.

Inferno Theatre, founded by Giulio Perrone—maybe best-known in the theater community as set designer for local professional theaters and once director at Dell'Arte School of Physical Theater in Blue Lake near Eureka—has produced some of the most interesting original work around here in the past few years: 'Galileo's Daughters' and 'The Iliad,' both at the Berkeley City Club. 

This holiday season, they've come up with a treat: Perrone's original version of 'The Adoration of the Magi,' in which the three kings journey through other times and cultures on their way to the Epiphany, seeing the sights, hearing the music and sounds and witnessing the rituals of each culture. 

The production features a cast including adept company members Simone Bloch and Valentina Emeri, as well as others—and also Inferno's Youth Drama Program students from Manzanita Seed Elementary School in Oakland's San Antonio and Fruitvale districts. 

'Adoration of the Magi' plays at historic South Berkeley Community Church, 1802 Fairview (west of Adeline): Thursday December 8, 15, 22 at 8 p. m.; Friday the 9th and 16th at 9; Friday December 23 at 8; Saturday the 10th and 17th at 8; Saturday December 24 at 3; and Sunday the 11th and 18th at 5. $12-$25, sliding scale. 355-2279 or email infernotheatrecompany@gmail.com ( infernotheatre.org )

This Thursday—December 8—Berkeley Symphony, led by guest conductor Jayce Ogren, will explore the late Bay Area composer Lou Harrison's seldom-played Piano Concerto, featuring Berkeley's Sarah Cahill on the keys. Harrison, student of Henry Cowell and early promoter of Charles Ives, Alan Hovhaness and Harry Partch, among others, is known for his works in just intonation (versus equal temperament) and for composing in microtones, influenced by Indonesian, Chinese and other Asian musics. 

The program is a perfect setting for Harrison's rare piece: Lei Liang's 'Verge,' for 18 strings, influenced by Mongolian music, and Siberlius's Fifth Symphony bookend Cahill's playing the Piano Concerto with the orchestra. 

8 p. m. Zellerbach Hall, UC campus. $20-$60. 841-2800; berkeleysymphony.org

For thinking folks, the holidays can be conflicting and a downer. If you aren’t religious, and maybe a tad cynical like me, you might consider taking a flight to India or Peking to get away from all the “stuff” surrounding Christmas.  

I’ve got a cheaper way to lift your spirits and not offend your intellect. And if you’ve got kids, it’s a gift that will last in their memories.  

About a quarter century ago, a show came to town that to me is larger than Santa Claus or crepe paper crèches, more spiritual, and an awful lot more fun. THE CHRISTMAS REVELS at the SCOTTISH RITE THEATRE on LAKE MERRITT will chase your holiday blues and touch your heart. 

It’s about myth, tradition back beyond written memory, about the seasons dying and being reborn—and, I guess, about us doing that, too. I have to go to lots of performances, and, year after year, this is the best show in town. By the time the show is half over, the audience is singing and dancing in the aisles—literally! 

It’s about Christmas, too, since that is the Western Tradition, but the Revels tradition is to present the holidays as they are done in different cultures, different lands, and in different eras, as various as a medieval English court to an Appalachian homestead in Kentucky to a Russian village. A hundred talented volunteers labor for months to make this the best show around. Through the years, Geoff Hoyle, legendary local performer, has been a staple as the master of ceremonies. 

This year it’s CHRISTMAS AT THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. Extolling the cycle of the seasons, and the rebirth of the hero, it sings about "Rex quondum, rexque futurum," the Once and Future King—which makes this year’s theme poignantly allegorical as well as extremely popular. 

Revels started in 1971 in Cambridge Mass by Jack Langstaff, music educator who came to fame reading books to children on early network TV in the 50’s. The Revels had its pre-premiere on Christmas night 1966, when Jack wrote and hosted "A Christmas Masque" for the Hallmark Hall of Fame where a young, relatively unknown actor named Dustin Hoffman played the dragon in the mummers' play St. George and the Dragon. It was one of the pioneer broadcasts in full color—and they erased the tape! Revels came to the Bay Area twenty six years ago through the efforts of Lisby Mayer.  

If you haven’t been to the Scottish Rite Theatre, it’s one of those hidden places that when you enter, your jaw drops a little. It’s a step into the past, when things were truly grand. When you enter the oval theatre with the vast ceilings and Masonic symbols emblazoned about the stage—a theatre that easily holds a thousand—you wonder how you could not have know about it before. The warm wood makes it inviting with none of the hard edges we’ve accustomed ourselves to in modern halls. Its stage is big enough to hold the 80 singers and the enormous sets with lots of fly space for dragons or whatever is necessary to put you in awe.  

I talked with David Parr, who has been at the artistic helm for 22 years. When I asked him how he got involved, he quipped, “I answered the phone at the wrong time.” When I asked him where he was from he said, “I was born in Chicago.” When I asked him why he came to the Bay Area, he said, “I was born in Chicago.” With this easy sense of humor, this self-confessed 1960’s hippie, who is a tenured professor in the Theatre Arts department of City College of San Francisco, has served up the right mixture of creative and temperamental leadership for this annual extravaganza. He met his wife Krista Keim when she was singing in the Revels chorus, and his sons Luke and William are running about at rehearsals, so Revels is integral to his family’s life. 

When I asked David what the Revels was about, he replied, “About two hours,” (I think I heard a rim-shot!). Then he waxed poetic, and you could feel the enthusiasm and spirit through the phone with a professorial tweak, “Arthur is an enduring story, whether it’s the 5^th C. hero of Britain, or the 14^th C. Arthur of Thomas Mallory, or T. W. White’s ‘Once and Future King,’ the Arthur chivalric romances are always popular. 

“It’s a celebration of the Solstice, which has been going on as long as there have been people around. Honoring the changing of the seasons, the great cycles, is rooted in the human psyche In our production, there are no plots or premises, except to revisit what it would be like if we were in King Arthur’s Court, what dances would have been danced, what stories told. 

“Finally, it’s about Death and Rebirth, and about the magic of the myth of King Arthur, that he has gone to Avalon, but will return when we need him most.” 

This is one not to be missed. Give yourself and those you love a holiday present regardless of how you feel about the Twelve Days of Yule. You’ll come out feeling better about it all. 

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS 

At the Scottish Rite Theatre, Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Lake Merritt, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA, December 9, 10, 11 & 16, 17, 18.,Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays & Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:00pm 

www.calrevels.org / (510) 452-8800 

(No ticket sales at the Scottish Rite Center except on days of performance.)