Opinion

At about nine o’clock on Monday night, three members of my family tried to call me simultaneously.Thanks to the magic of Call Waiting, I took their calls one at a time, but if I’d known how to work conference calls, it might all have been over in thirty seconds. Why?They were all asking me how I thought they should vote on Tuesday, and my answer was simple. -more-

BP in Berkeley; Helen Thomas -more-

These are the stories the metro papers love to write: Funny Stuff Going on in Quirky East Bay Town. Here at the Planet we're pleased that they're doing this so we don't need to bother. Think of these as our soft features. -more-

City Manager Kamlarz put out a new memo about Measure C on Friday: -more-

Oil Disaster; Why 'C' Matters to Me; Israel Attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla ; Tea Party; Oil; Refuse Tax Increase; Yes on Measure C; And The Greatest of These Is Charity -more-

Midwives in Peril; Cost of Doing Business; Mind the Meter Maids (and Men);Alaska Project Danger to Wildlife; Why 2/3 Vote? Scorched Earth policy by Pro-C Proponents Drained the Pool Measure of Life; Birgenau Puff Piece; BP Responsible; Dealing with Hamas; Gates Foundation Grants; BP Should Clean Up What it Messed Up; Why Should Israel Feel Embarrassed?; Leadership -more-

 I have been trying to get my head around what happened on the Gaza flotilla, with no success.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is on this Wed.’s AC Transit board agenda after having failed to get buy-in from any of the three cities, Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro, for their preferred alternative that would require dedicating two out of four lanes for bus only and removing most street parking along its Telegraph/International/14^th Street route. They have painted themselves into a corner with an EIR that basically has only one other alternative, the old stand-by—no-build. -more-

We taxpaying property owners in South Berkeley have to be subjected to the Drop In Center and its dope problem, the illegal housing conversion at 3228 Adeline(Carlson bldg), people getting killed on the corner of Harmon and Adeline due to excessive speed in the corridor, continued lack of enforcement by the city of preferential street parking despite the fact those of us with ZERO street parking are fattening the city’s coffers by paying the permits for preferential street parking, and last but not least, the ongoing street trash problem of Domino’s and the other local businesses. Yet if these instances were occurring in any other part of the city of Berkeley, I would not be writing this email because it would not be an issue, now would it? -more-

If it is evident that a crisis weeks ago will be replaced by another crisis this week: Which demonstration should we go to? Is there a demonstration against both crises? Perhaps comparing the similarities between BP’s underwater oil spew and the Israeli assault on 6 humanitarian aid ships, we might be able to decide. -more-

Question: "When the Israel's navy forcibly boarded an international fleet carrying humanitarian goods to Gaza last week, was this a justifiable military action or was it simply a case of hijacking on the high seas?" Answer: "I don't know. I'm not Captain Jack Sparrow. If you want to know about the finer points of piracy, you had better ask him. But to a mere land-lubber such as myself, it does seem to be a bit dicey that Israeli commandos attacked a humanitarian fleet in international waters, killing ten people and injuring a lot more in the process." -more-