Public Comment

A Pox on Kiosks Redux

Worries over the pandemic problems raised by the prospect of towering electronic bulletin-board kiosks installed on Berkeley sidewalks has receive some validation. The concerns are that the IKE Kiosks—designed to attract passersby and encourage them to touch the interactive screen repeatedly in search of information on local businesses and entertainment—could become viral "superspreaders."

This concern has now spread to another potential virus-vector—street lights with pedestrian "walk" buttons.

At intersections around town, public announcements have been appearing above the "Walk/Don't Walk" buttons on heavily trafficked intersections.

The signs read: "Don't Spread Covid-19! Don't Push the Button! Walk sign is now automated. Wait for [symbol of a pedestrian] to cross. APS push button still works for blind or visually impaired." 

Honoring the Oaks 

Just noticed a new piece of art on one of the inner pillars of the downtown Trader Joe's. It's a tribute to the beloved Oaks Theater on Solano. The portrait shows the Oaks' signature tower and its marquee in all its pre-closure glory. The letters on one marquee notes the arrival of Berkeley's TJ's ("Opens June 11, '10) and the other "now playing" marquee announces a screening of "Two-Buck Chuck" starring none other than "Charles Shaw." 

A Driver Is De-coffee-nated 

On a recent UC campus stroll up Frank Schlesinger Way, an approaching car rounded a tight curve near the campus steam plant. Suddenly there was a clatter, followed by a splatter. 

I looked up and saw the middle of the road was coated in a puddle of coffee spilled from a mug that the driver had apparently placed atop the car before driving off. 

The driver braked to a stop and clambered out to retrieve the remains of his mug. The cap had been knocked off by the impact and had come to a rest further down the road. 

The driver looked up and spotted me looking down at his misery. He shrugged his shoulders and offered a perfect description of his plight: "Geez! It looks like my decaffeinated coffee has been de-capitated!" 

Fashion Plates 

• AURINGS (If the Periodic Table is any guide, I'm guessing "Gold Rings") 

• Blue Tesla: C745M1 (A fan of Vince Staples' Def Jam song "745"—as in "See, am one.") 

• Ford Focus: CAPSICM (Someone who likes the peppery supplement capsicum?) 

• SUV4LAB (someone who commutes by car to Lawrence Livermore? Someone who shares his/her SUV with a pet Labrador Retriever?) 

Beyond NIMBY and YIMBY 

It occurred to me that there's a missing demographic in the Housing Battle's War of Acronyms. The debate over the survival of single-family homes Is not just a two-sided squabble between the Not In My Backyard and Yes In My Backyard factions. There's a third community that is playing an equally hardball role in the smack-down over the future of housing. We need an acronym for the pro-development forces that are pressing for densification at all costs. The five-letter shorthand that best describes their unspoken philosophy could be YIYBY (pronounced "YEEBEE"), which stands for Yes In Your Back Yard. 

Independence for "Washington's Taiwan"? 

After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provoked the Chinese government into a major military frenzy over her reckless roadtrip to Taiwan, the US followed up with a new provocation—a team of four House Democrats and one Republican that flew to Taipai in a public show of support for Taiwan's ruling government. This diplomatic insult came one day after President Biden invited Taiwan to attend a US-sponsored "Summit for Democracy" in October. 

Here's a thought for China to consider. Instead of mounting military exercises, naval drills, and fighter-jet fly-overs on the borders of Taiwan, maybe it's time for some Beijing-tit-for-some-Washington-tat. 

What if a delegation from China announced it would be dropping in to visit the governor of Hawaii—and offering China's support to defend Honolulu from political encroachment from Washington. China could even offer support and solidarity to the long-established Hawaii Sovereignty Movement, an indigenous entity that cites endemic homelessness, poverty, and economic marginalization as grounds for demanding Hawai'ian sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. 

The case may be stronger for Hawai'i than for Taiwan. 

While Taiwan has been called a "breakaway republic" with a politically contested history, Hawaii was an independent nation that was invaded and seized by the US. In 1893, US troops illegally toppled the matriarchy of Queen Lili'uokalani and, in 1898, Washington illegally annexed the islands. 

A hundred years later, President Bill Clinton signed an official apology for the forced take-over of the island nation. The US resolution formerly admitted that, prior to the US invasion, "the Hawaiian people lived in a highly organized, self-sufficient, subsistent social system based on communal land tenure with a sophisticated language, culture, and religion." 

Imagine Washington's reaction today if China were to invite Hawai'ian leaders to attend a "Summit of Solidarity" in Beijing with other Pacific Island nations. That might add some perspective to DC's political gamesmanship over Taiwan. 

And then there's the geophysical reality: while Taiwan sits about 80 miles east of Mainland China, Hawai'i is located a whopping 4,827 miles from the US. 

What Have They Done to the Rain? 

The State of California has targeted Big Tobacco for fouling our drinking water. State-sponsored TV ads (broadcast under the banner of UNDO.org) are warning that the filters on cigarettes not only wind up as litter on the land and in our waterways, they also pose a health risk because they are made from nonbiodegradable microplastic—15,000 impervious strands in every discarded cigarette butt. And because Big Tobacco is churning these pollution pills out at the rate of five trillion per year, microplastic remnants now constitute a major source of pollution found in all of Earth's oceans—and in the body tissue of birds, animals, and humans. 

But wait! There's more bad news on the horizon (and in the water cycle)! According to an August 2 article in the journal, Environmental Science & Technology, an array of man-made chemicals known by the initials PFOA and PFOS can now be found everywhere on Earth—in the cities, in the forests, in our waterways, in the oceans, in snowflakes, in rainwater, and is even present in our blood. Researches have a nickname for these "per- and polyfluoroalkyl substancnces." They're known as "Forever Chemicals" because (like radioactive leftovers) they remain present and potentially deadly for "thousands of years." 

Harmful levels of PFOA chemicals are now found everywhere on Earth—even in the most remote locations. Ian Cousins, the Stockholm University professor who authored the ES&E report, puts his findings simply: "rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink." 

Once again, heedless corporate greed has left our planet mired in a preventable mess carried out (and covered-up) in the pursuit of short-term profit. This is not just a case of "terraforming"—redesigning the planet to abet human survival. These are acts that have altered the environment in ways that degrade the ability of plants, birds, insects, fish, and animals (including humans) to survive. This is an offence that deserves its own name. Instead of "terraforming," our irresponsible industries have committed the crime of "terra-deforming." 

Back in the late 1950s, the world became concerned about the harm of open-air nuclear testing. In 1962, Berkeley's beloved songwriter Malvina Reynolds wrote a memorable lament for a world in which raindrops had become something to fear. Her song (also recorded by Joan Baez and Marianne Faithfull) was called "What Have They Done to the Rain?" Sadly, Malvina's song has acquired new relevance today. 

Lives on the Line 

On the 77^th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, World BEYOND War's John Reuwer sent out this grim, commemorative email: 

Remembering Hiroshima in the light of many current issues with some notes on lives that matter:
Black Lives Matter = There is deadly racism
All Lives Matter = There is no serious racism
Pro-war = Only Lives on our side Matter
Nuclear weapons = NO LIVES MATTER 

News Flash: The US Is a Flawed State  

In a recent online chat, journalist and peace activist Nicolas J. Davis offered the following illumination: 

"An East German guy who now lives in the US told me that East Germans realized that what their media told them about their own country was a bunch of propaganda, but the mistake they made, he said, was to therefore assume that what they were told about the West was also just a bunch of propaganda, too. 

"Now that he had lived in the US for several years, he understood that East German reporting on the West was quite accurate — there really are millions of people living in poverty with no social safety net, millions living on the street, a dog-eat-dog rat race that leaves most people behind, and corrupt governments serving only plutocratic, oligarchic and military-industrial interests." 

"Arming Ukraine": Banned Documentary Can Still Be Seen 

Following complaints from the Ukrainian and US Governments, CBS has expunged its critical documentary, "Arming Ukraine," from the Internet. 

However, the censored investigative report has been preserved for viewing on Bitchute. 

Will the US Ever Become a Real Democracy? 

It's long past time for the US to become a real democracy and that requires graduating from the Electoral College. 

According to Pew Research Center data, in January 2021, 55% of Americans wanted to become a true democracy while 43% wanted to hold on to the Electoral College. In the latest Pew survey, 63% of Americans now support using the popular vote, while only 35% wish to keep the Electoral College system.  

So far, five US presidents have taken office after losing the popular vote—John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.  

There are 538 electors, one for each US senator and US representative. Washington, DC casts three Electoral College votes in presidential elections even though it has no voting representation in Congress. 

According to the Pew survey, 80% of Democrats prefer a popular vote with only 42% of Republicans supporting the change. 

Welcome Back, Founders Sing! 

From the satirical songsters at Founders Sing: 

(August 9, 2022) — After the FBI’s surprise raid of Mar-a-Lago, the big question on everyone’s lips is: “Will Trump Run… from the LAW?” Guess he should’ve flushed every last piece of paper he ever laid his big fat magic marker on. Somebody must’ve snitched! Let’s all celebrate this momentous turn of events. Enjoy! Big shout out to Barry Manilow!