Opinion

Editorials

Propositions: Just Say No?

By Becky O’Malley
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:01:00 AM

Thanks to the modern magic of cell phones, I’ve done a phone survey this week of friends working around the country to elect Barack Obama. A Chicago friend, from a long line of radical leftists, has been enjoying what is probably her first opportunity for enthusiastic participation in a national election. Illinois itself, of course, is Obama country, but she made field trips to neighboring battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. She points with pride to the news that McCain has given up on Michigan, a victory for which she personally claims credit. -more-


Cartoons

The Berkeley Progressive

By Justin DeFreitas
Saturday November 01, 2008 - 09:52:00 AM

Public Comment

Letters to the Editor

Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:02:00 AM

MISS CORRUPTION -more-


Advance Math and Science in Berkeley Schools

By Priscilla Myrick
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:02:00 AM

Across the country, progressive leaders are calling for a stronger academic program for K-12 students (www.Edin08. com). At the last presidential debate Senator Obama emphasized that academic achievement, particularly in science and technology, is the driver of innovation. Part of Obama’s vision to unleash innovation is to improve science, math and engineering education. -more-


No on Measure KK

By Steve Geller
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:03:00 AM

I voted NO on Measure KK not because it’s anti-transit, but because it’s bad government. Measure KK is another “solution” which creates more problems. It is another defective idea like the two-thirds majority requirement for taxes. Supporters of KK hope that by requiring an (expensive) election, Berkeley will be prevented from allocating a dedicated lane for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Telegraph Avenue. The measure also requires an election for a bus-only or HOV lane anywhere else in the city. One wonders why only lane decisions must be submitted to voters, and not, say, parking, zoning, staff salaries or library hours. I think some folks really want to keep buses out of the way of their cars. -more-


LL Is for LLies

By Judith Epstein, on behalf of the Berkeley Neighborhood Preservation Organization
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:04:00 AM

There are a lot of good reasons to vote “no” on Measure LL, but perhaps the best one is that the campaign to pass it is based on lies. Measure LL would repeal our current, green Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) and put in its place a loophole-laden ordinance, designed to expedite the demolition of our historic homes and neighborhoods. The fact that proponents refer to it as a landmarks preservation ordinance may be the biggest lie of all. That’s because if a developer chooses the right options among the new and confusing bureaucratic procedures for landmarking, a historic building could be cleared for demolition before the public even knows what’s going on. In effect, Measure LL provides a means to keep historic structures from being preserved. -more-


Time for a Change in Albany

By James D. Cleveland
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:05:00 AM

In its Centennial year could Albany commit both civic and financial suicide? -more-


Why I’ll Vote for Lieber, Panian, and Toomey

By Nan Wishner
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:05:00 AM

Robert Lieber has a solid list of environmental and progressive accomplishments from his four-year term, including leading both the Albany City Council and the mayors of Alameda County to take a strong stand opposing aerial pesticide spraying of the Bay Area for the light brown apple moth (LBAM). -more-


Oy Vay the Israel Thing

By Joanna Graham
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:06:00 AM

Whenever the topic of Israel arises, there’s always a lineup on both sides of what appears to be an “issue,” and people fire off at each other. But there is no “issue.” As Norman Finkelstein points out, there is at this time among historians, including those in Israel, unanimity on all but a few small points as to what the situation is and how it arose. Furthermore, there has been agreement since the early ‘seventies as to what any possible solution of the conflict would look like: a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza; a shared capital in Jerusalem; international control over the sensitive religious sites; and a solution to the refugee problem, probably some mix of repatriation and reparations. This is also, by the way, what international law demands. In return for compliance, the Arab states have repeatedly offered to fully normalize relations with Israel. -more-


Anti-Zionism Is Not Anti-Semitism

By the Bay Area International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Thursday October 23, 2008 - 10:07:00 AM

As the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), we would like to thank the Berkeley Daily Planet for publishing commentaries such as Marc Sapir’s that expose the violence of the Israeli occupation and challenge the notion that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. IJAN is a growing international network of Jews whose Jewish identities are not based on Zionism but on a plurality of histories and experiences. We share a commitment to participation in struggles against colonization and imperialism. As such, we struggle against Zionism and its manifestation in the State of Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and the confiscation of their land. We strongly support efforts to end the war and occupation in Iraq. However, the war waged upon Iraqis is intimately linked to the 60-year occupation of Palestine. Within this context, we ask: -more-