The Opinion Pages

With friends like Blue Star PR, Israel doesn’t need enemies. The Berkeley Daily Planet made the grievous error of publishing a sympathetic story about local reaction to an incident in which graffiti were applied to a Blue Star poster advertising Israeli-Arab coexistence at a campus bus stop. Some of our readers wrote to us complaining that the story was too soft on Israel. -more-

We Americans tend to think that the world revolves around us. I used to think this was arrogant, until I noticed, during my travels, that it was true. The evening news in Southeast Asia and Africa usually led with stories about the United States, and somehow Latin Americans knew much more about American foreign policy than I did. Now I understand that the powerless usually know much more about the powerful than vise versa. Vulnerable people need to understand those who control and influence their lives, while those in control are largely unaffected by those around them. Therefore, although those in power love to call them “complainers” and “crackpots,” the regular victims of power are usually astute observers of the covert mechanisms of governance. -more-

Finally, voters in Berkeley have an opportunity to secure funding for our local fire and emergency services. Measure GG, on this November’s ballot, will once and for all eliminate fire station closures, fund paramedics at every fire station, and restore funding to our community’s disaster readiness programs. -more-

That millions of radical Muslims use the clarion call of “Zionism” as an enemy philosophy justifying advocating for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state is, I guess, to be expected. -more-

AC Transit has a plan to take over the two center lanes of Telegraph Avenue and most of the parking for big ugly buses exceeding the speed limit. It’s called Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Almost everyone who sees details of the plan thinks it’s a bad idea—the more you know about it, the less you like it. -more-

Marc Sapir may be well-traveled, but his Oct. 2 commentary reveals ignorance and lack of comprehension. To unravel his lies and half-truths: -more-

Bus Rapid Transit supporters have said a lot of misleading things. From their claims that BRT will reduce greenhouse gases, to their claims that it won’t have any negative effects on the people who live and work in Berkeley, there appears to be no basis in fact for many of their statements. Now they are opposing Measure KK, the voter initiative that would declare the rights of the citizens of Berkeley to make their own choices about public transit. Let’s look at some of the people who are opposing Measure KK. -more-

The other day Al Gore—hardly a revolutionary—told those gathered at the Clinton Global Initiative that global warming is accelerating with such speed that it may be necessary for environmentalists to undertake actions of civil disobedience in order to prevent the construction of more coal burning power plants and other threats to the planet. -more-

Albany Measure Y is democratic reform. It allows Albany’s citizens, rather than the City Council, to select Albany’s mayor. -more-

A few weeks ago, I filed papers to become a candidate for City Council District 4. It was and is my belief that my candidacy would provide a fresh perspective on the challenges our city faces, informed by solid progressive values and a history of public service. I withdrew my candidacy, resigned to the reality that, even in Berkeley, success as an outsider candidate would require substantial sums of money and very significant amounts of time upfront. It is clear that I would have to miss many precious moments with my new baby daughter to run a campaign for City Council. -more-

I am a retired octogenarian with graduate level college education, albeit dated, who has endured national crises of many kinds but never in all my years witnessed a financial crisis like the one we’re in now. Every bell of foreboding available to the dominate media sounds the high note of meltdown and catastrophe. People in the know speak and write stuff about bundling and swapping that I can’t understand and point accusing fingers in every direction of the causal compass. The Treasury secretary mournfully submits a three-page solution keyed to legalizing extortion. Professionals of every stripe analyze and analogize. Congress in characteristically spineless fashion approved a humongous cash bailout (or handout) that may or may not help. -more-