Public Comment

The World's Happiest Hot Spots

On March 20, the United Nations published its annual World Happiness Report, naming Finland as "the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row" while (in the words of the New York Post) "the US drops to an all-time low." Finnish President Alexander Stubb explained the country's top rating was due to three factors—1) nature, 2) trust, and 3) education.

Other Nordic countries performed well, as well. Finland was followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, The Netherlands and Norway. (Israel?)

As with most contests, there were some critics, An online comment from "Jaanus K" complained: "I have lived abroad for 20 years and come to Finland regularly. And I am 100% sure that Finland is not the happiest country in the world."

And a Finlander named "Otrasisu" chimed in: "Well, nature is still there, trust—at least in the government—is no longer there, as for education—the government is cutting funding. So all that remains is nature. Of course, playing sports outdoors and enjoying the tranquility of nature is very pleasant."

In the list of 143 ranked countries, the US claimed the 23^rd slot, marking the first time in the history of the Happiness Index that the US failed to land in the Top Twenty. The US might fare better if it adopted Finland's tradition of offering employees annual 4-5 week paid vacations. 

DNA My Dog 

KCBS radio recently aired an exposé on scammers selling mouth-swab kits that promise to reveal the mysteriously mixed ancestry of your mongrel mutt. It turned out that at least one of the major "rover-reveal" companies sampled was apparently selling bogus kits. After paying for and receiving suspicious results, one local pet-lover (at the instigation of a KCBS reporter) sent in a sample of her own saliva to three different animal-ancestry purveyors. 

Two of the three firms honestly replied that no canine match could be found. The third company claimed success and billed the lady for the service. As she told KCBS, she was surprised to discover that she was "part bulldog and part border collie." 

Fashion Plates
Personalized license plates spotted about town.
CAR DIEM
POTO 1
81100M1
CAR DIEM
U R NEXT
OLEYG (Holy Gee?)
MNNGFUL (Meaningful)
OHYNOT (Oh Why Not)
LRDAMCY (Lord a-Mercy)
IH8EVRE1 (I Hate Everyone)
CKJLNHK (Chuck Jailin' Hunk?) 

Bumper Snickers
No Baby Onboard
Adults on Board. We Want to Live Too
Honk If You Don't Exist 

I Had a Life But My Job Ate It 

Back-off: I'm Not that Kind of Car
This Baby Goes 0 to 60. Eventually
I'm Not Drunk. I'm Just Avoiding Potholes 

Palestine Before the Nakba
Just in time for Ramadan, The Nation posted excerpts from a new book that includes stunning photos of life in Palestine before there was an Israel. 

Among the revelations: Palestine had its own national airline, a national radio station, and a trophy-winning soccer team. Here is a link. 

Newsbombs 

On March 20, there were two sentences from the day's news-feed that still haunt my hours days later:
"Israel has killed 13,000 children."
"Starving children no longer have the strength to cry." 

Washington's Ceasefire Deception 

When the US Stood Up to Tel Aviv's Aggression 

In 1982, when Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the armed invasion of Lebanon, the US did not stand on the sidelines. Fearing the assault on Israel's neighbor could lead to a larger regional war, then-President Ronald Reagan took decisive action. As the New York Times reported, Reagan fired off "a 'firm' message calling for Israeli forces to stop fighting in Lebanon and prepare to withdraw." Israel's leaders invited Reagan's Secretary of State to fly to Jerusalem to discuss the matter. Alexander Haig would have none of it. Unlike the compliant Antony Blinken, Haig refused, explaining the Israeli leaders "have not evidenced sufficient flexibility to make a visit worthwhile." 

On August 13, Israel began bombing West Beirut and Reagan responded with a message expressing "outrage." The US president spent an hour in a fruitless attempt to reach the Israeli leader by phone. Reagan finally reached Begin and expressed his grave concern over the "needless destruction and bloodshed" inflicted on Lebanon's civilian population. Shortly after the end of Reagan's ten-minute tirade, Begin called back to report that he had ordered a "complete cease-fire." 

Where's Reagan now that we need him? 

How does Reagan's approach to Israeli aggression differ from Biden's? 

Where to Begin? 

Our Militarized Vocabulary 

Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) recently hosted a Webinar on climate and Nuclear Disarmament. MAPA's email spoke wisely of impediments to change in the following paragraph: 

"Psychic numbing is a widely known psychological phenomenon, causing us to feel apathetic towards tragedies and looming existential threats. How do all of us, compassionate, concerned human beings, continue to fall into this trap? How do we become psychologically numb to the two most dominant existential threats, the prospect of nuclear war and climate disaster?" 

Can you spot the discordant verb in the following invitation? 

"Climate change and nuclear war are the two most prevalent issues that threaten the future of humanity and the future of our earth. We aim to create a safe space through this webinar to discuss how we all can hold onto hope and act to combat these threats." 

Right: "act to combat these threats." 

Cop Car Chases
The Chronicle recently exposed the deadly hazards of police car chases through city streets and on freeways. The options included using "spike strips" placed on the road to puncture a fleeing suspect's car tires. This gives rise to several practical questions. How do you know, in advance, what street a fleeing driver is going to choose? How do you get ahead of ta speeding car that everyone else is chasing so you can safely deploy the spike strip? And, if you know ahead of time where the suspect will be driving, how do you stop other traffic from running over the tire trap? 

The Chron didn't answer those questions but the paper did offer a more practical alternative. Nope, not drones to chase the getaway cars from above. The Alameda police were praised for using StarChase, a trigger-launched mini-missile coated with adhesive that makes a tracking device stick to the back of a fleeing car. 

The Hard Hat Riot
Former Clinton-era Labor Secretary and recently retired UCB Economics Prof Robert Reich is still engaged in the teaching profession. Reich recently shared a link to a video that reveals a little-known incident of populist rebellion that is missing from most history books—a 1970 protest known as the "Hard Hat Riot." 

The short documentary shows how devious and divisive politicians maintain power by crafting "culture wars" to pit one class against another. 

"We must reflect on the same questions we faced in 1970," Reich argues. "Will we finally recognize that we have more in common with each other than those who seek to divide us for political and economic gain? Will we build a future with prosperity that is widely shared by all?" 

Reich hopes this short video will reach—and motivate—a growing audience. 

What's Democracy Got to Do With It?
The 22^nd Amendment limits presidents to two terms and some political savants believe this might be a good idea for other political officeholders as well. Limiting Congressional and Senatorial terms makes sense. Not convinced? Think Mitch McConnell. 

And while we're at it, we might consider doing away with the Senate and leaving governing to the House. (After all, under the US Constitution, Senators were initially not elected, they were appointed by state governors. Electing senators only came about with the passage of the 17^th amendment in 1913.) 

And speaking of governing, if we are a democracy, why do the states even have "governors" who are given the "final say" on what becomes law and can reject hard-won achievements of proposed legislation with the stroke of a pen? 

Disruption as a Political Tool
CODEPINK writes: "Since the genocide in Gaza began, we have carried out over 50 disruptions of 'business as usual,' from our co-director Danaka screaming at Biden to call for a ceasefire in Illinois, to the constant disruption of the hearings in Washington on defunding UNRWA. 

"Our co-founder Medea Benjamin is in the halls of Congress every single day, leading our peace activists to demand that Members of Congress call for a ceasefire and vote NO on any new aid to Israel." 

Does it work? Look at the record: In the past 6 months, 77 congressmembers have joined the call for a ceasefire and 16 have pledged to vote No on any new arms funding for Israel. 

In recent weeks, CODEPINKers in Ireland allied with Mothers Against Genocide to disrupt militarism on St. Patrick’s Day and local chapters continue to pass ceasefire resolutions in Chicago and Moorhead, Minnesota. "We helped disrupt the Oscars. We marched on the Golden Gate Bridge. We are shutting down air force bases and parades. We will continue to be everywhere that Gaza is not being spoken about – the moment demands that of us." 

And CODEPINK has put its loud-mouths where its money is, donating $10,000 to the UN Relief and Works Agency—and "even more" to other aid groups in Gaza. 

Here are some videos of several recent disruptions. Note: You won't see these on the evening news. 

. 

• Co-director Danaka screaming at Biden to call for a ceasefire in Illinois.
• Disruption of the hearings in Washington on defunding UNRWA.

END