Dear President Biden and Vice-President Harris,

First of all, I am thrilled that you are president, and vice president. If I had been able to vote, you would have received my vote.

Did you know that meat harms the earth and that vegetarianism can help save us from annihilation? As you know, if you annihilate something, you put an end to its existence. Can you slowly move towards annihilating meat consumption in this country? You don’t have to do it all in one step, just slowly edge toward it. Here are some reasons. There’s more to meat than meets the eye.

First let me explain the problem. Raising meat is causing global warming. It produces a mega amount of greenhouse gases. To begin with, cows fart methane and a tremendous amount is going into the air and warming it up way too much. If that wasn’t enough, animal poop is polluting the water. It’s hurting the fish and the sea plants. Even worse, meat raisers are cutting down wild animals’ habitat to make enough room for their meat-producing properties!! And raising meat can cause overgrazing. Overgrazing is killing plants. Less plants means the earth burns up. And the baddest of all? There’s not going to be enough land to raise both the meat we “need” and the vegetables we truly need. By 2050 there won’t be enough food for everybody according to TIME. Seriously, guys: this IS global warming!

You don’t NEED meat to survive. Meat is a want. If you choose to eat meat, you’re polluting the environment. If everyone eats meat, guess what? There will be no more howler monkeys, anaconda snakes, giant otter or capybaras. Why? Their habitat will be taken up by cows, chickens, and other animals raised for meat. Think about meat like a solar eclipse or lunar eclipse: only have one serving of meat every five years. Or think about meat like your birthday: once a year, the most special thing in the history of most special things.

Here’s my solution. Stop eating meat entirely. No more meat in the world ever. Vegetarianism decreases global warming, improves air quality, and ensures that there will be enough food. Maybe you can have the White House be all vegetarian on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then you will be setting an example for others to follow.

Sincerely,

Clive Donaldson, age 9

383 words

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The festering Israeli Palestinian conflict is rooted in British colonial crimes. Following the Second World War, Lord Balfour, a fierce Zionist, gifted the land inhabited by predominantly Palestinians to the Jews with massive military and economic aid from the US.

Edward Said, the brilliant Palestinian academic, described the dispossession of Palestinian land: [“The Balfour] Declaration was made (a) by a European power, (b) about a non-European territory, (c) in a flat disregard of both the presence and the wishes of the native majority resident in that territory, and (d) it took the form of a promise about this same territory to another foreign group so that this foreign group might quite literally make this territory a national home for the Jewish people…. Balfour’s statements in the declaration take for granted the higher right of a colonial power to dispose of a territory as it saw fit”.

How quickly we have forgotten the shameful chapter in our own history when early US settlers committed genocide against the Native Americans. -more-

Six months have passed since the fateful November 3rd presidential election. Here are the BB predictions for the next six months.

1.Coronavirus Pandemic: There's good news and bad news. The good news is that the CDC just loosened the mask guidelines for those of us who have been vaccinated. By mid-summer the region where I live -- San Francisco Bay area -- will likely have achieved herd immunity; that is, more than 80 percent of the adult population will have been vaccinated. The bad news is that significant parts of the US will not reach these vaccination levels and, most likely, will never reach them. -more-

Happy Birthday, Wavy Gravy

It's not every day that Hugh Romney (better known as "Wavy Gravy") turns 85. And that may explain why the celebration is lasting for three whole days—May 14-16.

And what a festival it is! As always, Wavy's fun-raising birthdays are also fund-raising events for two of his signature do-good charities—the Seva Foundation and Camp Winnarainbow.

This time-around-the-sun, the birthday fun features a virtual online fest of "songs, tributes & stories" starring a who's who of beloved Sixties Survivors including: Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle, Michael Franti, Jorma Kaukonen, Maria Muldaur, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Buffy Saint-Marie, and Bob Weir—with Wavy as Master of Merriment. For the complete line-up and all the other delicious details—including a video link to all jinks, high and low—click on https://www.seva.org/.

And what better time to revisit our proposal to the City to consider adding a new plaque to the street sign marking the intersection near Wavy's wood-shingled home on the corner of Henry Street and Berryman. The proposed new sign would dub the short, block-long stretch of road leading to Live Oak Park: "Wavy Gravy Way." -more-

Psychotic delusion in the early stages could manifest as an extreme system of denial. In my teens, if I think back, I ignored a number of bad problems that I should've faced and addressed. Had I faced these difficult realities, I might have been able to salvage friendships and other situations. Instead, my mind was off on another track and was headed for psychosis, and this only created more complications in my pre-adult life. -more-

Worth Noting:

This is one of the fullest lists of City of Berkeley (CoB) meetings in weeks. This quick summary are the meetings and events worth your attention.



Sunday, May 16 at 10 am – 3 pm Native Garden Tour #3 – Bringing Back Natives, 25 gardens are featured over 4 weeks. Pre-Register for links If we all started filling our gardens and landscapes with native plants we could bask in gardens and open space filled with butterflies, skippers and birds. The decorative and ornamental plants filling the nurseries create food deserts for birds and butterflies.

Monday – CCCC Park Committee at 6 pm features Robin Grossinger from SFEI to speak on Urban Ecology and how to bring biodiversity to our city

Tuesday – City Council special meeting at 6 pm two items, 1. A new process for submitting major legislation, 2. Changing the in lieu mitigation fee calculation from number of units to sq ft – the in lieu fee is the fee paid not to have below market affordable units in a project

Wednesday – Reimagining Public Safety is at 6 pm. The Fire Safety Zoomposium is at 7 pm. You must pre-register for links to the Fire Safety zoomposium.

Thursday – Land Use Committee is at 10:30 am, expect TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) to be finalized. There is no posting yet of the tentative noon CCCC meeting. The seismic study of the Veterans Building and Maudelle Shirek Building (Old City Hall) were scheduled to be completed by May 20. Email Johncaner@gmail.com if you wish to be on the notification list.

Saturday – Everyone who pre-registered for the free virtual screening of the Rights of Nature film Invisible Hand will have access to the film for 24 hours beginning at 4 pm. Limit 100 (25 spots left). Register by emailing hammargrenkelly@gmail.com

Sunday, May 23 - at 10 am – 3 pm Native Garden Tour #4 – Bringing Back Natives, 25 gardens are featured over 4 weeks. Pre-Register for links. Rights of Nature film Invisible Hand Q&A with the directors at 6 pm. Access to the film ends at 6 pm.



The agenda for the May 25^th City Council meeting is available for review and comment. -more-