Opinion

Sorting through my desk this week as part of the annoying process of vacating the Planet office, I came across a little spiral bound book entitled Folio. It is a lovely privately printed book of personal and political essays sent to me last year by a frequent Planet correspondent, and I realized I hadn’t gotten anything from him for a month or so. With a feeling of apprehension, I did a Google search, which quickly confirmed my worst fears.

From nola.com, the website of the New Orleans Times Picayune: Marvin Chachere, teacher and jazz saxophonist, dies at 82. The obituary reported that Mr. Chachere had died on June 17 in a San Pablo nursing home, and went on to describe a long and varied life that had spanned several states and at least three continents, as well as listing a host of family members left behind. -more-

To Oakland City Attorney John Russo:; Bell, CA: a lesson for us all;The Truth about Immigrants;
Immoral War; Department of Confusion;
A Film Worth Seeing; Sudan; Information Request;
ACT Transit Drivers Union Needs a Course in PR 101; Election in District 7;Health Care;Notes on Writing; -more-

In my considered opinion, the United States will do everything in its power to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, possibly including military action. Few, if any, in the West and the Arab world, believes that Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. And it is clear that civilian nuclear technology can easily be diverted secretly to weapons purposes. -more-

The 2010 Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, “Opening Doors”, has a lot of data about the interwoven socio-economic causes of homelessness and affected subpopulations, and sets lofty goals — Ending chronic homelessness and homelessness among veterans in five years, and homelessness for families, youth, and children in ten. Spiced with calm analysis and peppered with carefully crafted ‘Logic’ introductions to each objective, somehow it still tastes suspiciously like stone soup…warmed over nuggets of existing wisdom from service providers around the country floating in a pale federal broth. -more-

Master Use Permit proposals and the proposal to open protected Warehouse and Wholesale Trade space to R&D are Wednesday's key issues. The WEBAIC steering committee considers Points 1- 4 the most critical. -more-

I was among the many Alameda residents who attended the city council meeting last Tuesday, July 20, to urge the council to reject SunCal’s Optional Entitlement Application (OEA) and refuse to extend SunCal’s Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA). The ENA was to expire on July 20, and the recent application included a plan that was substantially similar to what 85 percent of Alameda residents voted against last February. It called for 5,000 residential units, as did the defeated proposal, and now includes an even larger commercial component, with a proposed 4.6 million square feet of commercial buildings. -more-

Comments on the Oliver Stone film “South of the Border” accompanied by a Carmen Miranda tune, at Berkeley’s Elmwood Theatre, July 17, 2011, with economist and scriptwriter Mark Weisbrot (with Tariq Ali-in the film) fielding questions: -more-