Opinion

Editorials

Worry Global, Vote Local

By Becky O’Malley
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:31:00 AM

The on-going exposure of the number and kind of misdeeds perpetrated by the Bush administration and cronies continues to be staggering. On Tuesday alone, we saw the third-in-command CIA official pleading guilty to funneling big contracts to his college roommate, and we heard that a federal prosecutor will investigate the firings at the U.S. Department of Justice. But these shocking revelations had to take a back seat to the news of the slippery financial dealings which are causing the world economy to collapse, all of which took place with the blessings of the Bushies. -more-


Cartoons

Arnold and the Veto

By Justin DeFreitas
Monday October 06, 2008 - 10:32:00 AM

California's Credit Card

By Justin DeFreitas
Monday October 06, 2008 - 10:38:00 AM

Capitalism Guaranteed

By Justin DeFreitas
Monday October 06, 2008 - 10:39:00 AM

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Monday October 06, 2008 - 02:11:00 PM

Letters to the Editor

Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:31:00 AM

CLARIFICATION -more-


McCain and the Cost of Free Market Profligacy

By Paul Rockwell
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:32:00 AM

From the beginning of his political career as a Barry Goldwater Republican, John McCain denigrated the wise teaching of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: that unregulated free markets are inherently rapacious and unstable. For 27 years, through debt-producing Reaganomics—especially deregulation—McCain promoted corporate permissiveness, a culture that included risky speculation, debt-financed mergers, leveraged buy-outs, quick profit-taking, and the inevitable cry from Wall Street for public bailouts when the casino goes broke. -more-


South Berkeley Neighbors Demand Their Day in Court

By Laurie Baumgarten
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:33:00 AM

By the time this paper goes to press, the Verizon and Sprint cell phone antennas on the UC Storage Building in South Berkeley may well be operating. Neighbors who have been fighting these unnecessary and potentially dangerous antennas for three years watch as the workmen put up wires, pipes, and antennas. And all this goes on in front of our eyes while our legal case against the City of Berkeley, Patrick Kennedy and Verizon is pending. We demand that all work on the UC Storage building immediately halt until the legality of this installation is resolved. We expect our mayor and our councilmembers to demand that Patrick Kennedy not proceed with this installation until the neighborhood has had its day in court! -more-


Why You Should Care About the Mayoral Election

By Sam Herbert
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:34:00 AM

Many Berkeley residents consider national and international politics of high importance. Many of those same individuals are less engaged when it comes to local Berkeley politics and contests. There are several reasons why local politics fail to engage the same spirited, informed debate and interest. Regardless of the reasons for apathy, I believe that local issues are important to all Berkeley residents, and deserve thoughtful consideration. -more-


Graffiti and Israel

By Marc Sapir
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:35:00 AM

Riya Bhattachargjee’s Sept. 25 article “Anti-Israel Graffiti Found Near Campus” is poor journalism. The title is fine, but the article leads with an erroneous use of the term “anti-Semitism,” which then serves as a justification for the outrage of Birgeneau and various Zionist student organizations. The UC chancellor seems to know that the graffiti was “hurtful to…members of the Jewish community.” That’s a half truth (many will agree with him of course) because many Jews, myself included, find nothing hurtful in this act aimed at countering deceptive Zionist propaganda. -more-


No on Albany’s Measure Y

By James Cleveland
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:37:00 AM

Albany is not broken. It doesn’t need radical change by the unprecedented seven Charter amendments on your ballot. It doesn’t need to become another Berkeley. -more-


Measure KK is Pro-Transit

By Bruce Kaplan
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:38:00 AM

Bus Rapid Transit cheerleaders such as Robb Wren, Alan Tobey and Charles Siegel would have you believe that Measure KK and its proponents are anti-transit. They’re wrong. We put Measure KK on the ballot because we care deeply about transit, and want to see bus service improvement done right. -more-


BRT Opposition Ignores Global Warming

By Roy Nakadegawa
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:38:00 AM

I wonder if people who write in opposition to the proposed AC Transit BRT project and in support of Measure KK, which would most likely bring the Bus Rapid Transit project to a complete halt, are concerned with or even bother to consider the future of our city and its environment. In their letters to the Daily Planet, most of them write as though their primary concern is maintaining the status quo of driving in Berkeley. -more-


A Response to False Allegations About BRT

By Len Conly
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 10:38:00 AM

In her latest attack on Bus Rapid Transit (Sept 18), Gale Garcia suggests that AC Transit’s projections for the ridership increase that would result from BRT are inaccurate. -more-


BRT Won’t Work For Me

By Russ Tilleman
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:39:00 AM

Rob Wrenn’s Sept. 25 commentary “Why BRT Will Work” claims that Bus Rapid Transit is being built for the disabled. Well, I’m disabled, and I don’t ride the 1R bus, whose route BRT will follow, because it doesn’t go where I need to go. It must not go where anyone else needs to go either, because when I see a 1R bus drive by, it usually has between five and 10 people on it, whereas the capacity is around 100. -more-


The Free Library Tree

By Winston Burton
Thursday October 02, 2008 - 09:40:00 AM

Someone recently wrote a letter to the Daily Planet about free libraries not being free. And that may technically be true. But for the thousands of seniors, youth, immigrants and low income people that go to Berkeley branch libraries every day they are free. There’s no ticket price or entrance fee required to check out a book and read. In addition to books, movies and music, you can even take out tools to plant a garden or fix your home or do whatever project you need at no cost. The only charge is a fine for not bringing the items back in a timely fashion. This is meant to encourage each of us to be responsible members of the community, because often there is a long waiting list of other folks who want to share in the free resources provided by our local branch libraries. -more-