In a dueling megaphones cacophony last Saturday in Berkeley between Jesus freaks on Haste Street and Michael Delacour demonstrating outside Moe's Books, a new chapter in Berkeley street politics emerged. -more-

A series of disturbing reports from Iraq and Vietnam (backed up by a horrific collection of videos) have exposed a hidden legacy of war — weapons that continue to create victims years after the conflict has ended. -more-

Berkeley’s Landmarks Commission held a lengthy—more than four hour long—meeting Thursday February 3 with an ultimately productive set of results. -more-

On Sunday, February 6, 2011 at approximately 3:10 a.m. the two victims, a -more-

On Sunday, January 30, around 9:00pm, three 13 year old boys were playing on McKinley Avenue near Bancroft in the Washington school portable building area when some teens, described as African-American males between 15-18 years old, accosted them with a gun. One of the older boys held the gun to the head of one of the 13 year olds and demanded his things. He searched through the younger boy’s pockets and stole everything, including keys, wallet and other items. The thieves then ran off southbound on McKinley. -more-

Library Branch Van; Football Injuries; Wood Burning; Modern Art; Affordable Care; Control the Insurance Companies -more-

The explosion at the end of January 2011 in Egypt is raising huge identity crises for Jews. And it should be. -more-

I lived for 10 years at 6th and Gilman, and have spent 21 years volunteering at 924 Gilman Street, the all ages volunteer run art space/music venue at 8th and Gilman.

My wife has worked at Berkeley East Bay Humane Society for years, and I have recorded at many West Berkeley recording studios, including Fantasy Studios. I was an enthusiastic patron of the original Berkeley home of The Crucible art & educational space, as well as many other current & former art spaces, screen-printing shops, and artisan workshops across West Berkeley. Uniquely Berkeley landmarks like Urban Ore, the skate park, Ashby Lumber, and the Sculpture Garden have added to the neighborhood's singular mix of industry, creativity and green businesses.

Two words- economic diversity- have been key to West Berkeley's successes. Unlike the rest of Berkeley, there is more than just residential and retail zoning available. -more-

Let's be kind and say the unwanted tree sit was an unwitting Trojan horse that brought bad juju to People's Park temporarily. It started by muddled minds seeking publicity ostensibly to avoid harm to the park, but the violence and weapon and damage involved clearly brought much more harm to the Park's reputation than would have happened if they just let it be. -more-

“You’re going to have it so easy. Don’t you just sit around counting pills?” I cannot even come close to counting the number of times I have heard this comment. It’s a remark I hear often during a nice brunch out with friends or a casual dinner with the boyfriend’s family. I was so irritated at first. How could people not understand what I do for a living? I am simply offended to hear how little my loved ones think I am capable of. Was it not obvious? I then realized the answers to my own questions. The public really has a hard time seeing beyond the image of the pharmacist in the white coat, behind the counter at their local Walgreens or CVS. -more-

To hear descriptions of yet another demonstration, especially in foreign Arab countries, why, who cares? Tunisia's 500,000 or Egypt’s million, all over the country if not in the main square, so what? What has that to do with anything in the U.S.? The U.S. had a million-man march organized by the Black Muslims and others. The U.S. had a million people on the streets protesting the Republican and Democratic Party's invasion Iraq. (Everyone voted for it except one other person. Or was that the Patriot act?) A million person protest on the street in the U.S.: so what? -more-

Reader Victor Herbert suggests three new links, and we found more:

The Daily Cal looks into Berkeley's very slow start getting pot measures S & T into action.

Have we succeeded in keeping those Rapid Transit buses out of Berkeley? In the East Bay Express, J.Douglas Allen-Tayor thinks so.

Anna McCarthy tells where all those Berkeley bingo "non-profit" millions ended up. A sordid story, indeed, from the Express.

And here's a scary story from the El Cerrito Patch: Albany high school kids have ended up in the hospital after eating cannabis brownies—and the proposed new Albany pot super-store hasn't even opened yet.

From Nate Pitts::The man who brought down the tree sit is in Santa Rita awaiting trial for battery. Austin White, the accuser of the People's Park tree sitter Matt Dodt, was arrested in People's Park on Monday Jan 8th. He had threatened violence towards three people, and punched and punched a fourth man in the head, mere feet away from UC police. The entire case against Matt is based on the testimony of this violent individual, who claimed he was a peacekeeper. Austin White claimed he was almost murdered by Matt, a story which the judge did not believe. Dodt faces an assault charge, not attempted murder as White and the UC police had requested. Indymedia has an account. -more-

Last week I foolishly offered to try to identify a moth. There are only 4500 named moth species in California. Piece of cake, right? -more-

Despite the fact that 2010 tied for the warmest year on record, President Obama made no mention of Global Climate Change in his January 25th State-of-the-Union remarks. That wasn’t a surprise; last summer an attempt to fashion a bi partisan Climate Change bill floundered in the Senate and since then prospects for Congressional action have dwindled. Global Climate Change hasn’t gone away, but the political will to take action has disappeared. Why? What can you and I do about this tragic situation? -more-

Since 1976, Black History Month is celebrated annually in the United States in February. While it is a celebration, it should also be a remembrance of slavery, the dark side of Black history in this country. -more-

A few years ago, I was offended when I was referred to as "a psychotic" on someone's website. The perpetrator was attempting to discredit me and my defense of the Berkeley Daily Planet. In the process of this attempt at mudslinging, the authors of this website showed their true bigotry and hypocrisy. -more-

PC also stands for personal and pleasant communication! Cognitively stimulating activity is among the lifestyle factors that may help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. And yet only 3% of persons age 74 and older use the Internet. Technology use among elderly Americans is low, relative to the rest of the population. -more-

Seeing a copy of Smoking Typewriters (by John McMillan Oxford University Press Copyright 2011) for sale over the weekend, inspired us to see if the Berkeley Public Library had that book available in its new releases section because we were curious about how far one would have to delve into it before encountering any reference to the Berkeley Barb. When we learned that the Library would be glad to take a suggestion that they acquire that particular work, we sped back to Moe’s Book Store on Telegraph Ave. and overcame the cheapskate aspect of our personality and bought a copy of the new book with the subtitle: “The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America.” -more-

Even today, more than three decades after his death and nearly 100 years since he first stepped before a motion picture camera, Charlie Chaplin is still one of the most recognizable people in the world. The dandified Tramp, with his brush mustache, ill-fitting clothes, wicker cane and derby hat, is an iconic figure, but one whose familiarity has to some extent undermined his art. -more-