Brian Edwards-Tiekert

Imagine if our political system had the same level of accountability as this <checks notes>
hereditary monarchy. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/w...

omg surely the former press secretary for the *white house* knows what it means to grant an interview request from Isaac Chotiner? www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

As an aside: the armed guy on foot is not wearing a gas mask, and that cannister was deployed *upwind* of him and the car he's escorting. It doesn't look like these feds have had any *training* on responding to crowds.

The Bay Area's tech concerns run off the labor of high-skilled workers who have other job prospects if they become completely repelled by their employer's politics. So I guess the better course of valor for a tech boss is to avoid rubbing it in their faces? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump’s Immigration Force

Benioff's been courting the Trump administration for ICE contracts. His workforce is concentrated in the most prominent skyscraper in downtown SF - an *easy* and *obvious* target for protests over an ICE crackdown www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/u...

I guess now we know who can talk Trump down.
More interesting to me: *why* did these three very wealthy guys *want* to talk him down?
I suspect it's because the organizing against an ICE crackdown could create a lot of *very* awkward "which side are you on" moments for them.

Two weeks ago, Benioff thought sending the National Guard to SF was a good idea. Now DJT says Benioff's one of the reasons he's calling off a surge.

Fascinating
oaklandside.org/2025/10/23/t...

Very curious what the Cuomo campaign thinks they get out of publicizing support from an incumbent with an approval rate of 20%.

Also no mention of pet rules. Our guy likes rides to the coast!

This is infuriating. Basic accessibility should be table stakes. BORP dispatches people with accessible rigs directly onto the Bay Trail less than 10 miles away!

Ah, I don't love that argument. But thank you for sharing it.

What would be the case for allowing them on trails?

There's a plausible case that allowing class 1 increases access, but allowing class 3 just ... increases top speeds.

Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela

CALL THE NEW YORK TIMES, WE'RE DOING COVERT OPS
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

cc: @berkeleyside.org

UC investment unit buys East Bay hotel for more than $170 million The University of California’s investment arm has bought an East Bay hotel for well under its appraised value.

Does this mean the the hotel stops paying property taxes to the county and occupancy fees to the city? www.siliconvalley.com/2025/10/14/b...

For some people. the Camino de Santiago is a spiritual pilgrimmage. For my Dad it is a 490-mile produce aisle.

Good morning.
My 75-year-old father, who had a triple bypass in February, is 400 miles into walking the Camino de Santiago.
He is presently bombarding me with photos of collards.

A little-known part of Jane Goodall’s legacy is that she helped place Roots + Shoots chapters inside jails in the U.S. and Italy. Some of the participants went on post-incarceration to careers in environmental protection. I met her in 2015 at the Boulder jail—still my all-time favorite assignment.

For the first time since the New York Times tested this question 26 years ago, Americans sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis

For the first time since the New York Times tested this question 26 years ago, Americans sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis

Also this would theoretically let ACs run on smaller circuits, a big plus for old homes in mild climates adding AC as the climate warms. If you don't need to upgrade your electric service, that's a big upfront savings.

Sounds like in this application there are some efficiency gains from only doing one AC/DC conversion (it would be three conversions to run an inverter AC off a battery at the main panel).

New: four million people could be forced to leave public housing and other federally assisted housing under new plans from the Trump administration, according to experts who reviewed drafts of two unpublished rules obtained by @propublica.org.

For starters because it's helpful to have someone else to blame for <gestures>

Federal Agents Amass in Portland, Local Officials Say Aaron Mesh, Sophie Peel

President Donald Trump has dispatched federal agents to Portland, local elected officials said in a hastily scheduled press conference on Friday night

HOA got a county permit back in the 1980s to build a revetment on the condition that they keep access public, and recently homeowners started putting up barriers and went to court to privatize the walkway. Coastal commission fined HOA almost $5 million; court just ruled the barrier has to come down.

Microsoft blocks the Israeli military from some cloud and AI services The Guardian revealed last month that Microsoft’s services were being used for mass surveillance of Palestinians.

BREAKING: Microsoft has blocked the Israeli military from some cloud and AI services. The block comes after The Guardian revealed last month that Microsoft’s services were being used for mass surveillance of Palestinians. Full details 👇 www.theverge.com/news/785733/...

Spain's PM says he will send warship to protect Gaza aid flotilla Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he will join Italy in sending a military warship to protect an international flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece.

"Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he will join Italy in sending a military warship to protect an international flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza after it was attacked by drones off Greece."

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Also: you can press 4 if you just need a dose of delighted laughter

Good morning! Just a reminder that if you're feeling stressed / down / apprehensive, you can call the hotline 707-873-7862 to get words of encouragement from kindergartners in rural Sonoma County.