The San Francisco Mime Troupe is planning on returning to performing in the parks this summer! Unfortunately there is a strong likelihood we will not be able to perform in Berkeley, as that city has raised its park fees by several thousand dollars. We are trying to find a sympathetic City Council-member to get the fees waived or reduced, or find a Berkekeyite with the dough to subsidize our performances, but right now it looks like for the first time in several decades Berkeley may not be on our schedule. -more-

I’ve been tuning in regularly to the Covid Grand Rounds from the University of California San Francisco Department of Medicine – a public program aired every couple of weeks on YouTube. I’ve come to trust the moderator and the guests—experts all, from different corners of the medical world.

Thus, when this week’s guest--a leading researcher in molecular medicine had sharp words for the Biden administration’s failure to collect critical data on Covid cases, I paid attention.

Appearing in a January 13 presentation, Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of Medscape and holder of an endowed chair at Scripps Research, said, “We have pathetic data systems...For example, right now we want to know if these Omicron boosters-- how well they’re working to prevent hospitalization and deaths. And when do they wane? Those people who are getting hospitalized who had a third shot—what’s going on there?

“We were promised by the CDC in May that they would track every breakthrough hospitalization and death. Never happened. And so we don’t have critical data. We have 150,000 plus people in the hospital, and I have BEGGED at the HHS level that we have granular data on each of those people—their vaccination status, which vaccine, when they got it, their age, their co-existing conditions, and all the basal stuff, and they say, ‘We’re going to look into it.’ Even though it can be mandated by HHS authority. -more-

What a week! There is so much to write about I will have trouble keeping this down to a readable length. And, I can’t even cover all of the hot meetings as there were too many running at the same time. The recordings aren’t up yet on the Thursday Council TOPA meeting and then there are the meetings where the record button is never touched. Plus, you will have to read my response to the mayor who wasn’t too happy with what I wrote about him last week. -more-

Karmic Strips

Darrin Bell made a good point in a recent edition of his Candorville strip when one of his characters cited the recent case of a couple of Los Angeles cops "who didn't respond to a robbery 'cause they was playin' Pokemon." As a result, they were "fired on the spot."

Bell's cartoon alter-ego, journalist Lemont Brown, replies aghast: "You mean they didn't put them on paid leave? They didn't have to 'investigatei it for months? And nobody in America called those cops 'heroes'?"

"Well," Lemont's sidekick replies, "Ain't as if they beat or shot a non-violent Black man. They did something that ALL Americans could agree was wrong."

And on January 29, Lemont revealed his nerdish leanings when a friend asked what "caused the Big Bang" and Lemont explains: "Some speculate that the inflation field phase-transitioned toward a vacuum state, where it then propagated outward from the nucleation point."

Turns out his friend was simply asking whether a loud noise he'd just heard was "a gunshot or a car back-firing."

In the course of the same week, the strip also dealt withSection 3 of the Constitution's 14^th Amendment and assessed how comics in the 1920s dealt with the Spanish Flu, -more-

The chain, "Dollar Tree" has abandoned the everything's a buck policy and has begun to roll out higher prices, selling some items for 1.25 and some at even 1.50. Faithful shoppers are affected by this, but not in all instances in a bad way. -more-

Worth Noting:

Very light week ahead – Chinese New Year is Tuesday, February 1^st and given as the reason for not scheduling any “council” or council policy committee meetings all week. -more-

Worth Noting:

The week starts with a virtual Breakfast at 9 am Monday to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.

Tuesday at 6 pm City Council returns from recess for the first regular council meeting of 2022.

Wednesday is filled with 11 city meetings. FITES at 2:30 reviews update to Landscape policy to include native plants. Planning Commission at 7 pm agendized hearing is a condo conversion. The Civic Arts Commission and Commission on the Status of Women meet at 6 pm. The Health, Welfare & Community Action meets at 6:30 pm. The Commission on Labor meets at 7 pm.

Thursday is filled with 7 city meetings. The Land Use Committee meets at 10:30 am on streamlining toxic remediation in the manufacturing district. At 6 pm Council has a special meeting on infrastructure while NICJR conducts a Community Public Safety meeting for Districts 3 & 4. The Transportation Commission meets at 7 pm on Southside Streets and BerkDOT. The Rent Board and DRC also meet at 7 pm. -more-

This was an ugly week in so many ways, with occasional bright spots. It finished with the flickering of lights, howling wind and then nothing but darkness at midnight Friday. -more-

Points on Redistricting

Recently, Barbados became the world’s newest republic breaking ties with Queen Elizabeth 55 years after it became an independent nation. There are also loud voices calling for the United Kingdom to pay reparations for the enslavement of the people of Barbados. Reparations come “55 years overdue” and should have happened when Barbados won its independence in 1966. -more-

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available.

You can view it absolutely free of charge by clicking here . You can print it out to give to your friends.

Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money.

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! -more-

On a party line vote, the House of Representatives on January 13 passed ‘‘Freedom to Vote: John 3 R. Lewis Act’’ that combines the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act. However, the democrats in the Senate did not have the votes to change the filibuster rule to allow passage by a simple majority. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against changing the filibuster rule. However, Manchin and Sinema are not solely to blame for the failure to pass the voting rights legislation; they share the blame with the 50 Republican senators who voted against the legislation. -more-

When you feel too depressed to do anything, is that a good enough reason not to clean your house? When you feel too scattered with psychotic thoughts, is that a good enough reason not to go to school or work? When your mind is in the clouds with mania, does that justify not doing the dishes, or does it justify not preparing a meal? When your psychotic anger is brimming up to your ears, is that enough of a reason to remain locked in your room, against the wishes of others?

Do symptoms of mental illness justify not doing what is expected and/or necessary?

For a guide to answering this question, look to the idea of cause and effect. What will be the projected scenario of delaying something or not doing it? What will you get if you overcome the hesitancy? There is no right or wrong answer to either of these questions. -more-

The Oakland Symphony originally scheduled its Friday, January 21st concert to offer two works by American composers, the Gaelic Symphony by Amy Beach (1867-1944), and the oratorio sanctuary road by contemporary composer Paul Moravec. The latter work is based on the book The Underground Railroad Records by abolitionist William Still, who helped 800 escaped slaves travel safely from the south and avoid arrest. I was eagerly looking forward to hearing both of these works, especially since I had recently heard Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto as well as her Gaelic Symphony on KDFC, the Bay Area’s classical music station. On first hearing, these two works by Amy Beach struck me as endlessly inventive and full of virtuosity and musical surprises. Having never heard any of Amy Beach’s music performed live, I was full of eager anticipation as I approached Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Friday evening, January 21. -more-