A woman believed to be 40 years old was found dead this morning at a homeless encampment near BART tracks in Berkeley, according to police. -more-

Attorneys representing a group of conservative students at the University of California at Berkeley have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that university officials have violated their clients' First Amendment rights. -more-

Puerto Rico was hit with a devastating double whammy. Hurricane Maria and a president asleep at the wheel who reacted with anger and meanness at having his golf game disturbed by the “mayday calls” from the San Juan mayor. Trump tweeted with racially inflected insults accusing the islanders of being lazy and “wanting everything to be done for them rather than helping themselves.” -more-

If we take any hundred year period, we know that the mortality rate is always near 100 percent. However, in the short run the variations are considerable. Life expectancy rates vary between nations, within nations, and among the different populations within any nation. Moreover, so much is coming at us that it is difficult to figure out exactly what particular assaults on our body did us in. -more-

The FBI is having a hard time figuring out why Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of country music fans enjoying an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, killing at least 58 of his fellow human beings and wounding hundreds more. He was a seemingly sane healthy and wealthy white guy with an adoring girl friend, and he hadn’t converted to radical Islam. So what was his problem? Senator Dianne Feinstein wants us regular folks to weigh in on the problem of mass shootings, so here goes. Ms. America has her say. -more-

Good news finally. The Berkeley minimum wage was just increased to $13.75 per hour. Beginning next October, 2018 the minimum wage will rise to $15 per hour. The hourly wage will then be increased according to the cost of living index. Believe it or not the legislation was supported last year even by the conservative majority on the City Council despite the fierce opposition of the business community, including the very influential Chamber of Commerce. -more-

Months ago, I was watching a “protest” in Berkeley on TV. It had become volatile, with several fights breaking out, mace being sprayed and many businesses vandalized. While watching this take place, I watched as a man was being dragged away while being beaten up and realized the police were not interfering and standing off to the side until another man, who was later identified as Kyle Chapman, who was seen off to the side- appeared to realize what was happening, he paused for a moment then swung the sign/pole at the person dragging away his friend, the pole breaking upon impact. In that moment, I thought to myself that this guy is a hero for sticking up for his friend. -more-

I've been getting copies of letters to the Berkeley City Council,especially on the budget, copied to my personal email address. I'm happy to see them, but if you want them published in our Public Comment section, be sure to address them also to opinion@berkeleydailyplanet.com so I know you want them published. Everyone should also be aware that letters to the City Council become part of the public record, so I can legally post them on this site if I want to, though I usually prefer to get the writer's permission. -more-

Watching the compelling documentary, The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, brought back memories of my time in Vietnam in 1967-1968. The Tet Offensive occurred during my service there; it was a defining event in the Vietnam War. Tet, by the way, is the Vietnamese New Year. -more-

Fifty years ago Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his last book, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" Reading it again, in the hate-filled Trump era, brings the painful recognition that in many regards the civil rights struggle has stagnated for decades. -more-

Society has shifted as a whole, with the advent of continuous war and widespread electronic surveillance. In the past, thoughts that would have been considered "paranoid delusional" are now often passable as normal thinking--in fact, accurate. -more-

On October 1, 2017, 64-year old Stephen Paddock checked into a 32nd-story suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and opened fire on an outdoor music festival below, killing 59 people -- including two off-duty police officers -- and hurting 527. Later Paddock killed himself. -more-

Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbanski returned to San Francisco to lead the Symphony in two October programs featuring works of his native Poland. For the October 6-8 concerts, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima led off the program, followed by Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor. Interestingly, and somewhat perplexingly, the only work that won my unreserved praise was Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. -more-