Comment Archives: stories: Blogs
Re: “Friday Must Reads: FEMA Moves to Chop Down 82,000 Trees in Berkeley and Oakland Hills; Lead Ammunition Ban Clears Assembly”
Plenty of blame to go around, apparently. This shameless pandering to the native plant religionists who don't care how much mayhem, toxicity, or destruction of thriving ecosystems they cause in their crusade to stamp out everything that wasn't here before the first Caucasian set foot here has got to stop. It's bogus nativist bigotry, and it's no more acceptably directed at plants than people.
Re: “Friday Must Reads: FEMA Moves to Chop Down 82,000 Trees in Berkeley and Oakland Hills; Lead Ammunition Ban Clears Assembly”
Tim,
More than 80,000 trees will be chopped down if this proposal goes through as is. Currently, FEMA is leading this process, and is on its way to funding the clear-cutting. Without FEMA's cash, the trees will not be cut down. So, yes, FEMA is moving forward on a plan for chopping -- a lot of chopping.
Re: “Friday Must Reads: FEMA Moves to Chop Down 82,000 Trees in Berkeley and Oakland Hills; Lead Ammunition Ban Clears Assembly”
Mary,
I agree that FEMA has done a miserable job at publicizing these plans -- but some of the blame also falls on UC Berkeley, East Bay Regional Park District, and the City of Oakland, who are partners in the project and have failed to properly inform folks as well.
Re: “Friday Must Reads: FEMA Moves to Chop Down 82,000 Trees in Berkeley and Oakland Hills; Lead Ammunition Ban Clears Assembly”
This FEMA vandalism is obscene and must be stopped. And the stealthy manner in which this has been conducted to date is reprehensible, if not actually illegal.
Re: “Friday Must Reads: FEMA Moves to Chop Down 82,000 Trees in Berkeley and Oakland Hills; Lead Ammunition Ban Clears Assembly”
FEMA is not chopping anything. They are required by law to take public comments, and they are, on their draft EIS, triggered by the grant applications submitted by UC Berkeley, EBRPD, and City of Oakland to reduce fire risk (which, yes, means removing fuel loads, ie trees). By all means, weigh in via the public process, but read the EIS, not Randy Shaw's alarmist op ed in California Progress Report (which implies that FEMA is trying to sneak something by).
Re: “Facebook Co-Founder Dustin Moskovitz Tosses $50K To Prop 19”
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Re: “Your Teen's Marijuana Counselor Might Be A Convicted Pedophile or Thief — Nobody Checks”
Prohibitionism is intensely, rabidly, frantically, frenetically, hysterically anti-freedom, anti-public-health, and anti-economical.
An important feature of prohibitionism (which it closely shares with fascism) is totalitarianism. That means:
A police state apparatus; widespread surveillance, arbitrary imprisonment or even murder of political opponents, mass-incarceration, torture, etc.
Like despicable, playground bullies, prohibitionists are vicious one moment, then full of self-pity the next. They whine and whinge like lying, spoilt brats, claiming they just want to "save the little children", but the moment they feel it safe to do so, they use brute force and savage brutality against those they claim to be defending.
Prohibitionists actually believe that they can transcend human nature and produce a better world. They allow only one doctrine, an impossible-to-obtain drug-free world. All forms of dissent, be they common-sense, scientific, constitutional, or democratic, are simply ignored, and their proponents vehemently persecuted.
During alcohol prohibition (1919-1933), all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. While battling over turf, young men died, every day, on inner-city streets. Corruption in Law Enforcement and the Judiciary went clean off the scale. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have been far more wisely allocated. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally, in 1929, the economy collapsed. Does that sound familiar?
Re: “Your Teen's Marijuana Counselor Might Be A Convicted Pedophile or Thief — Nobody Checks”
Shame on you California.
Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
I probably like Sean Whent more than most people with an OPD background. I have had a lot of conversations with him over the years and I believe that he is a fundamentally good person with good intentions. I think he is better than people realize and I hope that he will surprise some people. He is certainly an upgrade over Tucker, Batts, Jordan & Toribio.
Re: “New Michigan Law Would Keep Kids Out of Drug Stings”
The Police involved in this activity should be brought up on charges of murder. They are directly responsible for the deaths of these children and adults whom they put in extreme danger. And I know they don't care about the people they put in danger. They only care about their career advancement.
Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
OpD now run by "went outlaw"?
Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
We need a chief with years of successful experience managing a high crime city police department AND the willingness to cross the thin blue line.
Sean Whent only satisfies the second criteria with his mere 17 years experience, mostly at OPD, 4 of which consisted of working in Internal Affairs investigating cops.
Make Whent the head of IA but don't put him in charge of the entire department.
Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
There is absolutely no hope for OPD and the City of Oakland. The OPD's hands are tied. The whole system is so screwed up. Officers are unable to respond to serious calls in a timely manner. The only hope for Oakland is Judge Henderson's retirement and the falsely appointed mayor Quan's resignation. Sean Whent is no good as well. He's merely a political charlatan looking out for his own good (aka: an ass kisser), and willing to do / say whatever it takes to get into a high ranking position. Good luck, Oakland. You're in for a long and arduous ride.
Re: “Thursday Must Read: Oakland Police Consultant Calls for 911 Overhaul; William Bratton Keeps Low Profile”
@Krista: I live in Oakland. My house was robbed twice. I was told by OPD to fill out a police report online, despite my wifi-enabled devices being lost in the heist, and was informed no one would be coming out to take the fingerprints or footprints I could see on my windows. While I understand your point, clearly from my experience, Oakland does not promise an officer for every call, unless you are bleeding.
Re: “Critics Blast U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for Berkeley Patients Group Harassment”
We need a resolution from CA democrat party to remove haag, no doubt this is a coordinate effort of many us attny but removing haag a good start point.
Re: “Updated: Retiring Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan Said to Have 'Serious Medical Condition'”
National Institute of Justice: ~ Five Things Law Enforcement Executives Can Do To Make A Difference. http://nij.gov/five-things
DoD study on random polygraphs for personnel. http://t.co/Tr7uafTd
"the polygraph is the single most effective tool for finding information people were trying to hide." - DoD, NSA
Make policy that polygraphs for all new hires expire every 2-5yrs. http://shar.es/epfm2
Top Baltimore jail executives to be polygraphed following gang indictment. http://shar.es/lmevh
California laws strengthened wall of silence around officers. http://shar.es/lITUZ
The California Peace Officers Bill of Rights needs to be reviewed and revised. Especially section 3007.
The honest, brave police officers with integrity deserve more.
Let's get this done.
Never give up folks. Never give in. For the good of the collective whole.
RANDOM. ROUTINE.
Break the code. Break the culture.
And Walk the Talk.
Re: “Updated: Retiring Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan Said to Have 'Serious Medical Condition'”
He has a right to his medical privacy. We should respect that right even if we are dying to know what it is.
Re: “Breaking News: San Jose Dispensary Landlords Threatened with 40 Years in Prison as Feds' Marijuana Crackdown Continues”
Going after San Jose will send the Vietnamese gangs into action. I don't think this was too wise, even with the billions of bullets that DHS recently purchased.
Re: “Updated: Retiring Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan Said to Have 'Serious Medical Condition'”
'Councilwoman Libby Schaaf said this afternoon that the 47-year-old Jordan really does have "a serious medical condition."'
Really!
When is "a serious medical condition" really "a serious medical condition?"
Answer: When it has some sort of name other than "a serious medical condition."
Re: “Outside Lands 2013 Lineup Announced”
Check these out if you want to save money at Outside Lands http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/211369…