Columns

A Good Way to 'Deface' a Mural 

A favorite Berkeley market has chosen to "mask up" in a unique manner. The Trader Joe's outlet at University and MLK not only offers a free sanitizing hand-spritz for all arriving customers, it has also taken the Covid-free campaign to the walls. While waiting (socially distanced) near the check-out counter (and enjoying TJ's refreshing AC), our eyes drifted over to one of the store's familiar Berkeley-in-the-Sixties murals. Not the one with the two hippies on Telegraph Avenue but the one to the right, depicting a crowd of revelers dancing in the streets with their firsts in the air. 

Turns out the image has been up-dated for our Covid-19 Era. Now the young celebrants are all wearing facemasks. 

One in a Milam 

On July 19, former Berkeley resident and legendary airwave activist Lorenzo Milam "signed off" from his home in Oaxaca, Mexico. During his 86 years on Earth and on air, Milam earned the title of “The Johnny Appleseed of Community Radio” for his role in founding as many as 300 radio stations in California and across the US. 

Milam grew up listening to radio in Florida but it was in the Sixties, during his student days at UC Berkeley, that he discovered KPFA. As Jesse Walker, the books editor at Reason.com recalls, Milam loved Pacifica's blend “highbrow radicalism" and "lowbrow creativity." 

Milam's first radio-adventure start-up was KRAB in Seattle, followed by WORT in Milwaukee, WERU in East Orland, Maine, and KBOO in Portland, Oregon. As WORT wrote, upon learning of Milam's passing: "His goal was lofty: All programming would be provided by community volunteers, with no restrictions on how esoteric the content.” 

Milan also turned out a number of offbeat books (some under his own name and some under the cover of pseudonyms) with titles ranging from Sex and Broadcasting to The Cripple Liberation Front Marching Band Blues. 

Tune in for the more here. 

Biden's Flashlight Versus Trump's Torches 

Thank you, Joe Biden, for offering to be the country's moral flashlight. Please, deliver us from darkness. 

I missed the broadcast of Joe Biden's acceptance speech but I've been going over the transcript. Inevitably, political speeches can contain irreconcilable elements. Biden spoke of the American people coming together in a united effort to "overcome this season of darkness in America" and called for "hope and light and love. Hope for our futures, light to see our way forward, and love for one another." 

But is it possible to "unite" in common purpose with people alienated by white supremacy who find authentication in terms of arms and weaponry? People who divide the world, not in terms of Biden's struggle between Light and Darkness, but in Trump's parallel contest between White and Black? Biden properly conjured the image from Charlottesville of "neo-Nazis and Klansmen and white supremacists coming out of the fields with lighted torches? Veins bulging? Spewing the same anti-Semitic bile heard across Europe in the '30s?" But is it possible to overcome intolerance by embracing those to practice it? 

Biden named "Four historic crises"—the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic collapse, racial injustice, and climate change. Left off Biden's crisis list: the growing threat of nuclear war and the unending costs and casualties stemming from America's endless, unending global wars. 

As a long-time anti-war activist, I was startled by Biden's closing words. Not so much that he spoke of a "battle for the soul of the nation" but for closing with the time-honored benediction, "God bless America," and them adding: "And may God bless our troops." 

Pizzagate with a Slice of Baloney 

CNN recently listed a host of claims being paraded by the conspiracy club known as QAnon, including tales of "dozens of Satan-worshipping politicians and A-list celebrities work in tandem with governments around the globe to engage in child sex abuse," a charge that "5G cellular networks are spreading the coronavirus," and the assertion that "there is a 'Deep State' effort to annihilate Trump." 

Trump has no problem with QAnon's querulous, anonymous rumormongers. As he told reporters during a White House briefing session: "I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much." And that, for Trump, is the only thing that matters. 

But Andrew Bates, a Democratic presidential spokesperson, has slammed Trump for endorsing QAnon, stating: "After calling neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville 'fine people' and tear-gassing peaceful protesters following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump just sought to legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat." 

Meanwhile, Russian cybertrolls are promoting the QAnon specter by circulating a 1913 quote from President Woodrow Wilson who wrote in The New Freedom: "Some of the biggest men in the United States, in the fields of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it." 

QAnon in Space 

The human brain's capacity for wackadoodle conspiracy tales knows no bounds. Case in point: a few years back, a guest on Alex Jones' Infowars broadcast boldly went where no lore-monger had ever gone before. 

Robert David Steel, introduced as a "former CIA officer," swore on a stack of pamphlets that "there is a colony on Mars that is populated ny children who were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20-year-ride. So that once they get to Mars, they have no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony." In addition to being sexually abused, Steel stated, these kids—who would all be adults by the time they reached the Red Planet (20-year-ride, remember)—would also be harvested for their blood and bone marrow. As the Infowars headline put it: "CIA Insider: Pedophilia Is Only the Gateway, Vampirism Is the Destination." 

NASA was forced to issue a denial. "There are active rovers on Mars," a NASA spokesperson stated, "but there are no humans." 

The Shocking State of Our Power Poles 

I've started looking at power poles recently and it's got me feeling nervous. 

It started when an electrician came out to rewire the house for solar panels. While removing the old wire cables connected to our house, I overheard him say: "I don't know why PG&E used to do it this way! This can cause house fires." He was referring to two lines of bare metal wires that had been simply twisted together to connect with the internal house wiring. 

He replaced the wires with two modern connecter bars that certainly looked a lot safer. 

Checking out the neighborhood, I was relieved to see that most homes are now equipped with these modern connectors. But I also was astonished to see how many power and communications wires were strung on some of these old, repurposed Doug firs. (The pole nearest our house is holding up more than 40 individual wires and cables.) 

I also started to notice how many power poles were visibly tilting. Especially worrisome were the weathered poles with heavy transformers bolted to their tops—all leaning in the direction of the transformers. 

One nearby pole was tilting so badly that it looked as if the powerlines were holding up the pole—instead of the other way around. One of the wooden crossbars was twisted out of alignment—apparently by the stress of a powerline that was no longer hanging slack but had been pulled tight and was straining against the eave of a home across the street. 

I contacted the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to report my concerns about four neighborhood poles and, to my surprise, I received a reply that began: 

"You certainly have a talent for spotting bad poles. PG&E sent an inspector … and they identified three of the poles needed to be replaced." 

This was good news since wooden power poles have a nasty habit of toppling in windstorms, heavy rains, and during earthquakes. So, if you see a PG&E rogue pole that doesn't seem to be on the "up-and-up," you can contact PG&E (1-800-468-4743) and/or file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs branch of the CPUC. 

Pole Watchers Risk Arrest 

The fourth pole I reported to the CPUC was located near the Monterey Market at Hopkins and California. This pole (#10157675) has been drawing increasing community attention owing to an ongoing vigil sponsored by activists with Wireless Radiation Education and Defense (WiRED). The pole at 1550 Hopkins and a pole at 1321 Gilman, near the Berkeley Natural Grocery, have been selected to house two AT&T wireless transmitters. Neighbors have complained that they were never notified of this project (a violation of City law) and, besides, they report, Internet and cellphone service is fine just the way it is. 

WiRED (a group that includes several members who have been diagnosed with "electrosensitivity" disorders) is concerned about the overall safety of the so-called "5G Revolution" and the attendant "Internet of Things." 

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) admits that "there is no federally developed national standard for safe levels of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) energy" and the FCC's safety standards date from 1966 and were based on thermal-impact-only studies conducted in 1962. Invoking the Permissive Principle instead of the Precautionary Principle, the FCC regulations specifically forbid cities and states from objecting to any new RF technology on either "health" or "environmental" grounds. 

And so on the morning of August 19, when security guards arrived at 3AM to erect eight-foot-tall screens around the utility poles, WiRED's phone tree was activated, volunteers began to gather. By 7AM they had surrounded the two poles as contractors, hired security guards, and Berkeley police moved in. 

But as it turned out, the pole remained untouched and no one was arrested. 

One of the reasons for the impasse was the unexpected action of Lloyd Morgan, a 78-year-old electrical engineer and long-time Berkeley resident. Confronted by the 8-foot-wall at the Hopkins Street location, Morgan flagged down another WiRED activist driving by in her car. She quickly swung to a stop alongside the curb and invited Morgan to hop aboard. He climbed onto the hood, clambered to the roof of the car, and nimbly swung himself over the barricade. 

So when the contractors arrived, instead of finding the protestors locked outside the security fence, they found a protester holding forth (and holding a protest sign) inside the fence. 

The confrontation was a nonviolent, low-key, respectful stand-off that ended after several hours with the contractors climbing back into their vehicles and driving away, followed by the police. 

Taking a Pole at the Monterey Market 

There is another reason for concern over pole #10157675. The Hopkins pole, which rises over an AC Transit bus shelter, is the smallest, thinnest, shortest pole within blocks. The pole was already tilting to the south and the wooden extension attached by AT&T's contractors was misaligned—causing the top of the pole to list even more to the south. 

The CPUC informed me that the new equipment (transmitter and auxillary boxes) to be bolted to the sub-standard pole would weigh a total of 300 pounds. But it wasn't clear that the pole could handle the load. 

As I explained to the CPUC: 

"Look at that twig-of-a-pole and try to imagine how secure it would be if, say, Donald Trump (who weighs 243 pounds) was bolted to the top—while hugging a 60-pound barrel of Big Macs." 

The CPUC replied that determining issues of safety are matters left to the corporations that own and use the equipment—in this case, PG&E and AT&T. (The phrase "conflict of interest" springs to mind.) "Based on AT&T's calculation," the CPUC explained, "adding the antenna equipment results in the pole still having a safety factor of about 24, which technically means it can still handle 24 times more weight before it yields." 

I did the math: 300 pounds times 24 equals 7,200 pounds—or 3.6 tons. 

I alerted the CPUC that this would be like bolting two 4-door Nissan Rogues to PG&E's stunted post and suggested that AT&T's safety conclusions could best be called . . . "unsupportable." 

A helpful Utilities Engineer at the CPUC quickly responded with the following note: 

Following our last discussion, I instructed PG&E to perform a new pole calculation of the Hopkins pole. As of August 7, 2020, PG&E found the pole to have a safety factor of about 2.5, which is much less than AT&T’s calculated 24, but still allowable under GO 95, Table 4 for Grade C wood pole constructions. This calculation factors in the pole lean and the AT&T antenna equipment, so it should be accurate and reflective of the current condition of the pole. 

That adds up to 720 pounds atop the tilting pole. So picture three Donald Trumps bolted to the top of Berkeley pole ##10157675. 

If I were waiting for an AC Transit bus in the nearby shelter, I'd probably move away. 

Mount Mushmore 

Speaking of DT, in 2018, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem thought Donald Trump was joking when he leaned in close and told her: "Do you know it's my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?" Noem started to laugh but staunched her giggles when she noticed "he wasn't laughing. He was totally serious." 

According to the New York Times, in 2019, Trump sent aides to ask South Dakota about adding his face alongside the carved likenesses of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln. The National Park Service has repeatedly quashed the idea, citing the instability of the mountain. But earlier this year, as a "make-up prize," Gov. Noem presented Donald with a four-foot replica of the Rushmore Five that included his scowling kisser. 

When asked about this pursuit of a mountain-sized monument to his own self-love, Trump offered this denial: "Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me!”  

Since Mt. Rushmore isn't available, maybe we can find another suitable site. One image that comes to mind is Trump's mug engraved on the side of Mt. Saint Helens, the Washington-state volcano that erupted in 1980. (Both are prone to destructive explosions.) Or perhaps Trump would be assuaged if his profile were etched into the 54,000 square miles of pristine Canadian wilderness in Alberta that Big Oil wants to transform into a tar-sands desert to extract oil to feed the Dakota XL Pipeline. (Imagine: an image of Donald Trump visible from space.) 

Nothing to Sneeze At 

Walking through the neighborhood a few afternoons ago I heard two familiar sounds. A woman sneezed and an infant bawled—one immediately following the other. The timing prompted me to consider some dark possibilities. 

I wound up wondering: if there might be such a thing as "Infantile Sneeze Trauma." 

IST would involve the lasting but little-known psychological damage that occurs when a young, impressionable child has a first-time experience with an adult's sudden, unexpected sneeze. 

Consider: an infant is totally devoted to the familiar sight of "mom" —always ready with smile, a lullaby, a cuddle, and food. And then one day, without warning, the poor child has the misfortune to witness a mom's smiling presence suddenly transformed by a loud, unexpected, grimacing, seizure. To a child, this could look a lot like demonic possession. And god forbid the parent should happen to sneeze in the child's direction. 

No wonder then, that the sound of a sneeze would be followed by a baby's wail. The poor, sneeze-shocked infant may have been trying to ask: "Why did I do to cause this?" 

"Save the Post Office" Saturday August 22 

Are you PO'd by Trump's Postmaster General Loius DeJoy's attempts to destroy the US Postal Service from the inside? Cutting hours, ordering slowdowns, removing mail-sorting machines, removing mailboxes from sidewalks? If so, you're invited to vent this Saturday, August 22, at 11 a.m. by attending "Save the Post Office Saturday" to save the post office from Trump and declare that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must resign. Berkeley's event will take place outside the Main Post Office on Allston Way. 

Organizers issued a reminder that masks and a physical distancing are required.