I went straight to the City Manager's office. She's in charge, after all. The City Council advises her if they feel like it. But many of them have perfected the art of sitting firmly on both sides of an issue. Stopping the Downtown Berkeley Association's illegal practice of tearing down legally posted community fliers would seem like a no-brainer, but over the years only a few had even sympathized. And nothing had changed.

It matters. If you play at the San Francisco Fringe Festival or the Freight and Salvage as I do, every poster can reach hundreds of people, interested people if you're good at what you do. Posters that reach pedestrian traffic are crucial; a town that used to boast dozens of lively newspapers is down to a bare handful. Those ugly green metal "ped mount" fixtures empty of newspapers and covered with graffiti used to be full.

She was in. They're always in right before a city council meeting, so it wasn't unexpected. But they're busy before a city council meeting, so I was willing to wait. Which I hope people realize reflects a lot of patience after having this issue unaddressed for decades. You work hard making posters before an event, paying for the duplication at copy stores, walking the streets with wheat paste or tape. Your hall and your personal reputation lives or dies by the door, meaning the traffic that walks in, so getting the word out to a literary crowd in a nearly post-newspaper almost print-free town is a challenge. -more-

The Trump administration continues its overt policy of total unconcern for human rights by slashing funding of Palestinian schools and hospitals in the occupied Israeli territories. -more-

As Hurricane Florence, bears down on N. Carolina, meteorologists warn that it could unleash life-threatening flooding across a wide swath of the East Coast threatening life stock and trigger poisonous spills from sewage treatment plants, hog waste lagoons and chicken farms which may end up into household drinking water. Even as the storm subsides thousands of animals are in mortal danger. -more-

Heathen at heart, I don’t think of myself as religious. But one summer Sunday, alarmed by firestorms, sudden floods, skies hung low with polluted air, and killer heat waves around the globe, I made a B-line for Northbrae, a church that grapples directly with earthly dilemmas—making this church a rare find.

Unlike conventional churches, Northbrae espouses no particular creed. Instead of affiliating with an established religion, this church stands firmly on its on. It holds as its mentors “Torchbearers” —twenty-six historical figures that embody the upward reach of human nature and the process of spiritual growth. Among these Torchbearers are Noah, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tse, Mohammed, Florence Nightingale—and Jesus. These figures, whose prophetic voices stand to inform our responses to the dire quandaries that confront us now, are depicted in a stained glass window that stretches the length of the chapel. -more-

The Catholic Church has been justifiably criticized both for the sexually abusive conduct of many priests and the failure of the church to adequately address this issue. However, Philip Jenkins, a leading scholar on religious institutions, claims that the Roman Catholic Church has been unfairly singled out by the secular media for failing to highlight similar sexual accusations in other religious organizations. He is absolutely right. Whether the media is biased or not, Jenkins is correct to point out that the problem is prevalent in Protestant churches as well as in Judaic and Muslim religious institutions. -more-

Editor's Note: The latest issue of the Pepper Spray Times is now available.

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Grace Underpressure has been producing it for many years now, even before the Berkeley Daily Planet started distributing it, most of the time without being paid, and now we'd like you to show your appreciation by using the button below to send her money.

This is a Very Good Deal. Go for it! -more-

It's no solace, but the recent revelations about Donald Trump, and his Republican enablers, confirm our worst suspicions: Trump is a clear and present danger.

Of the new sources, Bob Woodward's Fear (http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fear/Bob-Woodward/9781501175510) is the most illuminating.

1.Trump is incompetent: Woodward's book, coupled with the anonymous New York Times op-ed, "I am part of the resistance..." (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html ), and Omarosa Manigault's tell all Unhinged (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-omarosa-book-summary-review-latest-tweets-white-house-unhinged-a8493286.html ) paint a chilling picture of Trump's mental state. -more-

When someone loses good health, it can be very tough to regain. This is true of both mental and physical health. In some instances, people lose their mental and/or physical health to the point where it isn't coming back. A lot of this has to do with age. When young, it is far more likely that you can bounce back from a health problem.

A doctor advised a relative to "stop and smell the roses." The advice was premature. That relative has gained a lot of ground after switching to another healthcare system.

If you are under 60, and if you have chronic health problems, it isn't necessarily too late, especially if you are able to sustain significant changes to how you take care of yourself. This conclusion is derived from what I have seen. -more-

Robert Mueller has made no public comment since he was named in 2017 to lead the Department of Justice investigation into Russian interference in last year's election and other matters. Instead, he has let his actions do the talking. -more-

Pelosi's Power

In an email to constituents sent on September 9, Nancy Pelosi revealed her secret source of power:

What fuels each of us is different. Me, I run on ice cream for breakfast. Dark chocolate, two scoops, in a waffle cone.

This leaves me wondering what constitutes a "Pelosi power lunch"? Devils food cake and chocolate-chip cookies polished off with a Magnum Double Chocolate ice cream bar and a mocha espresso?

On the March

It was great fun to be part of the 30,000-strong crowd of climate marchers in SF on September 8. We spotted a lot of creative, handcrafted posters. My favorite read:

"It's not the heat. It's the stupidity." -more-

;Worth Noting:

Elections are heating up and there is plenty to do even if you don’t like door to door canvassing or phone banking. Hand written postcards are helping in out of area campaigns. Check Indivisible Berkeley for Postcard Parties https://indivisibleberkeley.org/

League of Women Voters is sponsoring Berkeley City Council Candidate forums on Tuesday District 1 and Wednesday Districts 4,7,8.

Thursday, City Council decides the Campanile Way View appeal.

Future

Agenda plan for Sept 25 City Council Meeting is posted, however, it has not been updated to include City Council items that were not voted on at the September 13, Council meeting. -more-

Last year, Sondra Radvanovsky was the darling diva of the Met, where she sang “the three queens”: the lead soprano roles in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux. Now she is the darling of San Francisco Opera, where she reprised her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux. Make no mistake about it: this was sensational singing, and, for that matter, it was also sensational acting. Sondra Radvanovsky not only sang the role brilliantly; she also brought to life the vain, aging Elizabeth, “the virgin queen,” who even in her 60s pursued love relations, all the more intense for being platonic, with the most interesting of the much younger men at her court. The Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, was only the latest and perhaps last in a long line of men upon whom Elizabeth exerted her charm, power, and emotionally intensity. -more-