Berkeley development repeats past mistakes

The Berkeley City Council that is now acting to ruin our streets and build ugly high rises for the rich reminds me of 1960s. Then, cities across the country used urban renewal to raze inner city “slums,” often the vibrant older ethnic sections of a city. The rationale: Businesses would create modern new downtowns on urban renewal properties. But big business went to malls.

Urban renewal destroyed vibrant central cities. It’s taken years for them to recover; some never have.

The same is happening to Berkeley. The city is destroying older buildings, making streets usable for bikes but not for commerce or consumers, eliminating low-cost housing, creating more homelessness, building more marketrate housing, erecting brick-and-mortar stores for businesses that are online and don’t need them, and ruining parking at BART with towers despised by neighbors.

The city population is down 2.1% from 2021 to 2022. Much new housing is vacant. People working from home like to live in spacious, green surroundings.

Unfortunately, the City Council is not listening to its constituents. But I probably will not be around to see how Berkeley will recover from this fiasco.

Margot Smith, Berkeley

Hollywood conscripted

Regarding “Is glorifying our military necessarily bad?” (Datebook, June 5): In his defense of “Top Gun: Maverick,” film critic Mick LaSalle posits that “showing people working effectively within a profession does not automatically constitute an effort at recruitment.” He then torpedoes his argument by noting the original 1986 “Top Gun” triggered a whopping “500% increase” in Navy recruitment.

The Pentagon is not just another profession. Recent U.S. invasions include Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Brown University’s Costs of Wars Project claims post-9/11 U.S. wars have killed more than 900,000 people and cost $8 trillion.

The Pentagon plays a major behindthe-scenes role in Hollywood. The Defense Department’s Entertainment Media Office grants filmmakers access to tanks, aircraft and other cinematic weaponry in exchange for editorial approval of the shooting script.

University of Georgia communication studies Professor Roger Stahl’s research shows that the military and CIA has had editorial control over more than 2,500 films and TV shows.

This powerful subliminal influence has prompted critics to demand disclaimers before the opening credits to flag these Pentagon-vetted collaborations as “two-hour infomercials” crafted to promote military spending.

Gar Smith, Berkeley

End U.S. role in Yemen

Regarding “Yemen: Government, rebels extend truce” (World, June 3): Nearly 400,000 Yemenis have died in the eight-year proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, according to the United Nations. Millions face starvation. Unlike the tragedy in Ukraine, Americans do not see images of this horrific suffering. We should look.

For seven years, the U.S. has provided intelligence and logistical support to the Saudis for a brutal campaign of bombs and blockades aimed at restoring a government toppled by rebels in 2014. The ceasefire offers temporary relief for the people of Yemen. It is also an occasion for the U.S. to shift unequivocally from supporting the Saudi military to helping the U.N. broker a lasting peace.

Last week, Bay Area U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee and Anna Eshoo co-sponsored a War Powers Resolution that would require the president to end U.S. military aid in Yemen unless Congress authorizes it to continue. The remaining members of the Bay Area’s House delegation should join them, and Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein should support this legislation.

Martha Winnacker, Berkeley