These anti-BDS flyers appeared on campus last week. Grounds personnel were told take them down and report to police. I blacked out the names. Management response below; -more-

Jolom Mayaetik is the name in Tzotzil of a Mayan weavers’ cooperative formed in 1996 in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. The Zapatista uprising of 1994 was probably the catalyst for its formation, along with the failure of the Chiapas state weavers’ cooperative to benefit its members. And in 2016 Jolom Mayaetik continues to serve the interests of women whose beautiful, complex work has been taken for granted or marginalized in the past but whose technical skills and aesthetic traditions are providing a means for them to gain independence and also to provide financial support for their families at a time when they are increasingly forced into a cash economy. -more-

Dear Editor: Perhaps it is time to reconsider what might be the underconsidered advantages of a totalitarian state. I refer you to the treatise located at:

http://read4free.net/cgi-bin/FlipBooks/WID1/WID1.html

Thank you. An excellent editorial. -more-

The Berkeley Tenants' Union Convention will take place this Sunday, April 24, 1:30 to 4:30pm, at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. Berkeley, California 94703.

Berkeley residents are eligible to vote if they are in the door by 2pm. A sliding scale donation is requested to offset the costs of the event but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

I live in a rent controlled apartment on a block that is almost entirely rent controlled apartments. My neighbors are ethnically, economically, and in many other ways diverse. Some are recent arrivals, and some are people who have been here for decades. I've been at this particular spot in Berkeley for almost 9 years now, watching kids grow up, families expand, students come and go. You can bet your life that I'm going to fight for tenants' rights and for affordable rentals just as hard as anyone.

I have some real disagreements with the front runners for this slate. I think the front runners for this slate represent more of the same for renters. They stand for a continuation of the same policies that have been failing Berkeley renters for 20 years. -more-

President Obama would do well to listen to human rights organizations and block further arms sales to the Saudi Kingdom in the wake of their military strikes in Yemen. The United Nations estimates more than 3,000 civilians have died since the Saudi’s began bombing last March. As William Hartung, senior adviser to the Security Assistance Monitor opinioned “We should not be trading Saudi friendship for cluster bombs (banned by international law).” -more-

By now the public as learned that over 125,000 Brooklyn residents were disqualified from voting in the New York primary. Moreover, a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order that would have opened the polls to New York Democrats who claimed that they were unlawfully listed as Republican or unaffiliated. To avoid a repeat in future elections, Sanders issued a strong complaint. Many other progressives and public officials as well concurred. -more-

The Berkeley Progressive Alliance was formed to support the election of a progressive Mayor and City Council in the November 2016 election and to promote progressive policies. Many in Berkeley find that their voices are being ignored and that a grassroots response is needed.

On Saturday, April 30th the Berkeley Progressive Alliance, Berkeley Citizens Action and Berkeley Tenants Union are holding a joint meeting to endorse candidates who support their progressive agenda. The meeting for endorsements will be held from 2 pm to 5 pm at the MLK Jr Young Adult Project (YAP) Recreation Center at 1730 Oregon St., west of MLK. Members of BPA, BCA and BTU will vote to endorse candidates for Berkeley's Mayor and City Council. For more information please contact the Berkeley Progressive Alliance at berkeleyprogressivealliance@gmail.com -more-

Last Monday, the Islamic scholar, Arafat Mazhar, gave an interesting talk at Stanford University to clarify Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

Mazhar has been on a personal crusade to educate the public on how the law has been hijacked and misinterpreted by self-styled imams to suit their own political agendas. Much to his amazement he discovered that the much revered imam in Pakistan who is responsible for the current interpretation of blasphemy, is not versed in Arabic, and could not therefore accurately interpret the original texts. It appears that in an effort to encourage group thought and create mortal fear for doubters or ‘apostates (non-believers),’ Pakistan deems a just punishment for insulting the prophet and apostates is death. Simply stated, – you blaspheme, you die. The option of life imprisonment was made defunct after a 1991 Federal Shariat Court judgement. -more-

Participation in a constructive and/or enjoyable activity can be helpful in furthering recovery from psychiatric illness. If we feel able to do so, it could be a good idea to have an activity and possibly a goal. This stimulates the mind, can help morale, and can make us feel better about ourselves. To do this, we might ask ourselves what our interests are, what abilities we may have, and what we believe to be realistic. Waiting until we feel recovered before engaging in an activity could possibly be a mistake, since an activity could help accelerate our recovery. -more-

Improbably, it appears that the June 7th California primary will determine the nomination of both the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, and the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump. After winning the New York Democratic primary, Clinton has approximately 1930 delegates, 453 short of the magic number 2383. Unless Bernie Sanders stages an epic comeback, Clinton will cross the finish line in California. -more-

Opens April 22 at the Berkeley Elmwood

The Winding Stream opens in Poor Valley, Virginia, with powerful visuals of a locomotive rattling down rural rails and a close-up of John Prine hunched over his guitar, pouring a wail of country soul ("Bear Creek Blues") into a microphone. And Director Beth Harrington's film just keeps a-chuggin'—full of steam, energy, recollections and lots of great country tunes—through seven decades of bedrock American musical history.

Early on, Rosanne Cash responds to an interviewer's question by calling the Carter Family's music "primal" and musician Murray Hammond agrees. "The Carters are like the graveyard," he says, "there's nothing standing between their human heart and your human anguish." The music was all about honesty.

Beth Harrington is the perfect person to make this film. A singer and musician herself, she directed one previous film called Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly. In her "Director's Statement," she recalls something Sara Carter's grandson Dale Jett told her: "Love music and it will love you back." This film is her valentine to the Carters.

-more-

One night only, April 26 at Oakland's New Parkway Theater

With the latest Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony behind us, Unfair Game: The Politics of Poaching, is a perfect follow-up. The film is the work of Bay Area filmmaker John Antonelli (whose collaboration with Robert Redford has provided the visually moving "profiles" that honor the Goldman Prizewinners).

Antonelli's new film on the troubling practice of wildlife poaching and the illegal ivory trade in Africa, documents the "disastrous results when wildlife takes priority over indigenous people's land rights, human rights, and their very survival" by following two Goldman Environmental Prize winners—Thuli Makama in Swaziland and Hammer Simwinga in Zambia.

The April 26 screening, hosted by The Oakland Institute, will include a 30-minute post-screening Q&A with Tom Bennigson (Open Heart Safari and the Tikva Grassroots Empowerment Fund) and Marc Tognotti (The Institute of the Commons) to discuss issues of conservation and human rights.

-more-

Kent Nagano Conducting Montréal Symphony; Daniil Trifonov, solo pianist

Kent Nagano's return to the podium in Zellerbach Auditorium, leading the Montréal Symphony, which he's directed since 2006, was an evening of standing ovations, encores and nostalgia by many in the audience for the 30 years Nagano directed Berkeley Symphony, bringing it national and world recognition. -more-