Page One

Updated: Families Say Release of Hikers is "Best Day of Our Lives"

By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN)
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:25:00 PM

Two University of California at Berkeley graduates who have been detained in Iran on espionage charges for more than two years were finally released today, according to their families.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, and a third UC Berkeley graduate, Sarah Shourd, were arrested on July 31, 2009, after embarking on a hike in Iraq's Kurdistan region near the Iranian border.

Iran accused all three of them of espionage and last month Bauer and Fattal were sentenced to eight years in prison. -more-



Flash: Two UC Berkeley Graduates Released in Iran

By Bay City News
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 07:49:00 AM

Iran's official Press TV has reported that two U.S. hikers who have been detained in Iran since 2009 were released early this morning. -more-



Berkeley's Public Housing Units May Be Bought by Billionaire (Analysis)

By Lynda Carson
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:31:00 PM

In another step to privatize Berkeley's 75 occupied public housing town-homes, billionaire Stephen M. Ross, CEO and founder of The Related Companies, and 95% owner of the Miami Dolphins, is in talks with the Berkeley Housing Authority (BHA) to buy Berkeley's occupied public housing units, through one of his companies. -more-



Public Comment

Death Panel Machine

By Bruce Joffe
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:31:00 PM

The world's most powerful computer was given a friendly name, "Watson." Sherlock Holmes' assistant, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, it's a helpful name. -more-


City Stalls Its Response to Report about Unfunded Liabilities

By James Fousekis
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:14:00 PM

Last November 16, 2010, almost 11 months ago, City Auditor Ann-Marie Hogan issued a report “Employee Benefits: Tough Decisions Ahead” that concluded it was critical that Berkeley manage its liabilities to ensure long-term fiscal stability. As part of the report, Hogan requested that the City Manager report back on or before September 27, 2011 on the adoption status of her recommendations and no later than September 2012 on full implementation status of her recommendations. -more-


Editorial

What's the News Today, and Why?

By Becky O'Malley
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 02:26:00 PM

The eternal paradox about what is commonly called journalism is why so many people who commit it manage not to see what’s going on before their eyes, even as a reasonable number of others, in and out of journalism, do.

Ever wonder about what’s happening in the global economy? Well, here it is, a summary which could fit on the back of an envelope, and it’s even perversely funny:

“Quarterly GDP data don’t, on the whole, tend to make the person studying them laugh out loud. The most recent set, however, are an exception, despite the fact that the general picture is of unrelieved and spreading economic gloom. Instead of the surge of rebounding growth which historically accompanies successful exit from a recession, we have the UK’s disappointing 0.2 per cent growth, the US’s anaemic 0.3 per cent and the glum eurozone average figure of 0.2 per cent. That number includes the surprising and alarming German 0.1 per cent, the desperately poor French 0 per cent and then, wait for it, the agreeably frisky Belgian 0.7 per cent. Why is that, if you’ve been following the story, laugh-aloud funny? Because Belgium doesn’t have a government. Thanks to political stalemate in Brussels, it hasn’t had one for 15 months. No government means none of the stuff all the other governments are doing: no cuts and no ‘austerity’ packages. In the absence of anyone with a mandate to slash and burn, Belgian public sector spending is puttering along much as it always was; hence the continuing growth of their economy. It turns out that from the economic point of view, in the current crisis, no government is better than any government – any existing government.”

(From an opinion article by John Lanchester in a recent London Review of Books.)

That paragraph alone is worth column inch after column inch of sententious pieces in the American press attempting to convey what the hell the U.S. Congress is up to—yes, even in the New York Times, most of whose staffers appear not to read what Professor Paul Krugman writes on their own op-ed page. We’d be better off without this current Congress, wouldn’t we, so why not just say so? This is not an endorsement, by the way, of the Tea Party anti-government ideology, just a glum statement of observable fact. -more-


The Editor's Back Fence

It's a New Schedule for the Planet

By Becky O'Malley
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 07:49:00 AM

If you haven't looked at berkeleydailyplanet.com for a few days, you might be surprised to find that for the past week we've been launching a new "issue" almost daily, on an irregular basis as copy is submitted. One benefit of this plan is that you can read our sometimes lengthy, sometimes challenging pieces thoroughly on the day we put them online. Several readers have told us that the long, long Wednesday issues can be too much of a good thing, so that they never get around to reading everything.

As always, you can read previous issues, including the several which have appeared this week, by clicking backwards using the "Previous Issue" button on the top left side of the page.

Here are some easy links to get to this week’s issues, if you haven't yet tried the "previous" button.:

9-20-11

9-18-11

9-17-11

9-16-11


And as you read these pieces, you should always be aware that comments long and short can be submitted to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com. Long ones will be posted as "commentaries", short ones grouped under Letters. We do require you to sign your real name unless you can give us a good reason for believing that real, serious harm would come to you if you do so. -more-


Columns

Wild Neighbors: Post-Communist Birds

By Joe Eaton
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:07:00 PM
Eurasian Jay in Berlin: a post-Cold War winner.

Earlier this year I reported on a study out of Finland that contended that, in Europe at least, passerine (songbird) species with relatively larger brains made out better in urban areas than did smaller-brained species. Winners included corvids (crows and magpies), tits (relatives of the North American chickadees), nuthatches, and wrens. Buntings, Old World warblers, and Old Word flycatchers were among the small-brained city avoiders. -more-


Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins, BOUNCE

Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 04:17:00 PM

Arts & Events

Theater Review: Golden Thread Premieres Night Over Erzinga

By Ken Bullock
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:24:00 PM

Theater Review: Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup at Berkeley Rep

By Ken Bullock
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:12:00 PM

Theater Review: Remember the Ladies: Poor Players at Unitarian Fellowship and Live Oak Theater

By Ken Bullock
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:08:00 PM

"It's showtime!" declares the young waitress polishing a wine glass. "The restaurant is a theater. The meal's a play. And I'm the actress!" -more-


Around & About Music: Fall Free For All; Inga Swearingen's Swedish Farm Jazz

By Ken Bullock
Wednesday September 21, 2011 - 03:08:00 PM

--The second Fall Free For All, a remarkable free seven hour slew of music, theater and dance performances around the UC campus, put on by Cal Performances, will be held this Sunday from 11-6, featuring such performers as the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Berkeley Symphony Wind Ensemble, American Bach Soloists, Fratelli marionettes (to St-Saens music), Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet, UC Jazz Faculty, Sarah Cahill, Kirka vocal ensemble, C.K. Ladzekpo & African Music & Dance Ensemble, Los Cenzontles Mexican Music & Dance, SF Opera Adler Fellows, Axis Dance, BATS Improv, UC Departments of Music, Theater, Dance and Performance Studies--and more ... at locations from Sather Gate, Pauley Ballroom, Lower Sproul Plaza, Wheeler Auditorium, Hertz Hall, the Eucalyptus Grove, the Faculty Glade .. Free, no tickets required, food available. Information and schedule: calperformances.org/community/community -more-


Back Stories

Opinion

Editorials

What's the News Today, and Why? 09-21-2011

The Editor's Back Fence

It's a New Schedule for the Planet 09-21-2011

Keep Those Comments Coming under the Planet's New Schedule 09-20-2011

A New Schedule: PLEASE READ 09-19-2011

A New Schedule: PLEASE READ 09-17-2011

A New Schedule: PLEASE READ 09-16-2011

Cartoons

Cartoon Page: Odd Bodkins, BOUNCE 09-21-2011

Public Comment

Death Panel Machine By Bruce Joffe 09-21-2011

City Stalls Its Response to Report about Unfunded Liabilities By James Fousekis 09-21-2011

Is Arreguin's "Vacancy Registration Fee" a Solution to Downtown Berkeley Problems? By Thomas Lord 09-20-2011

A New Paradigm for Downtown Berkeley's Retail Spaces? By Thomas Lord 09-20-2011

Letters 09-18-2011

An Explanation of My Withdrawal from Cal Ruby Pipes 09-19-2011

Communicating with BART By Thomas Lord 09-18-2011

Letters 09-17-2011

Richmond Council Fails to Pass Sustainable Marijuana Ordinance By Tom Butt, Richmond City Council 09-17-2011

Letters 09-17-2011

Oakland Children's Art Museum's Ban on Palestinian Works is Futile By Joanna Graham 09-16-2011

Richmond Council Fails to Pass Marijuana Ordinance By Tom Butt, Richmond City Councilmember 09-17-2011

News

Updated: Families Say Release of Hikers is "Best Day of Our Lives" By Jeff Shuttleworth (BCN) 09-21-2011

Flash: Two UC Berkeley Graduates Released in Iran By Bay City News 09-21-2011

Berkeley's Public Housing Units May Be Bought by Billionaire (Analysis) By Lynda Carson 09-21-2011

Press Release: Negotiations at Bayer’s bio-tech plant in Berkeley break down: Company refuses to protect jobs after taking taxpayer subsidies From Craig Merrilees, ILWU 09-19-2011

New Thousand Oaks Urns Dedicated By Steven Finacom 09-19-2011

Columns

Wild Neighbors: Post-Communist Birds By Joe Eaton 09-21-2011

The Public Eye: Job Wars: Republicans Strike Back By Bob Burnett 09-19-2011

Senior Power… Where's the Lavender Soap? By Helen Rippier Wheeler 09-19-2011

On Mental Illness: Permission to Be Happy By Jack Bragen 09-17-2011

Dispatches From the Edge: Of Kabul & Tet & Generals By Conn Hallinan 09-16-2011

Arts & Events

Theater Review: Golden Thread Premieres Night Over Erzinga By Ken Bullock 09-21-2011

Theater Review: Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup at Berkeley Rep By Ken Bullock 09-21-2011

Theater Review: Remember the Ladies: Poor Players at Unitarian Fellowship and Live Oak Theater By Ken Bullock 09-21-2011

Around & About Music: Fall Free For All; Inga Swearingen's Swedish Farm Jazz By Ken Bullock 09-21-2011

Theatre Review: Eye from the Aisle: A DELICATE BALANCE by Edward Albee--if your hair is gray, do not hesitate to get a ticket while they last. by John A. McMullen II 09-19-2011

Don't Miss This By Dorothy Snodgrass 09-19-2011

Architecture Review: Flashy Architecture and Bad Urbanism at the Berkeley Art Museum By Charles Siegel 09-18-2011