Letters: Lawsuit look | Stay local | Israel self-defense | Impossible aliens | Valuable institutions

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Martinez lawsuitbears a second look

Re: “Residents sue refinery after accidents” (Page B1, Nov. 30).

While there is no shortage of lawsuits these days (some might say the number of lawsuits is out of control), this article caught my attention.

While those advancing the lawsuit, lead plaintiffs Alena Cruz and Shannon Payne, may have good intentions, it’s unlikely they understand the downstream consequences of the closing and shutting down of a major refinery in the Bay Area. Besides the loss of Jobs, one might reasonably forecast higher, or much higher, gas prices, and perhaps even periods of no availability of gas.

Bay Area residents might give this lawsuit and potential refinery shutdown a little more thought, and how it might affect their daily standard of living.

Chris KnielOrinda

City councils shouldleave global issues be

Re: “Politicians condemn video of Oakland City Council meeting on Gaza. Is it fair?” (Page A1, Dec. 2).

Turning city council meetings into an hours-long debate on foreign wars is a terrible trend. Cities should consider taking stronger action to keep local councils focused on city business — perhaps with a resolution that restricts efforts to weigh in on international political matters during regular council meetings.

Oakland has a proud and powerful history on many major issues that have global resonance, but it also has huge problems that need solving, not the least of which is the highest violent crime rate in the Bay Area. City government in Oakland and elsewhere should stay focused on the business for which they were elected. These issues are far too divisive and far too complex to be dealt with in a City Council meeting.

Lori PottingerBerkeley

Resolution denies Israela right to self-defense

Re: “Council passes a cease-fire resolution” (Page B1, Nov. 29).

I attended the Oakland City Council meeting to consider the resolution calling for a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. The clerk said there were 300 people signed up to speak. Most stated they did not want any amendments to the resolution.

There were very few of us attending who supported Israel’s right to defend itself. Had the Jewish Community Relations Council sent a video of all the comments, we would be even more disturbed than we were by the excerpts. There is no doubt that those who attended the meeting did not want any amendments that would have condemned Hamas for the atrocities it committed Oct. 7. Several of the Jewish cease-fire supporters do not believe that Hamas committed atrocities on Oct 7. To them, Hamas is a group of “liberation” fighters.

This resolution tells us that Israel has no right to defend itself from invasion and murder of civilians.

Dorothea DorenzBerkeley

Science argues againstaliens, UFOs on Earth

There have been several articles published lately about the alleged existence of alien bodies and aircraft kept secret by the government. In addition to the unlikelihood of such secrets being kept for any amount of time, another aspect of these allegations has not been discussed. Where did these crafts and beings come from?

Unless “miraculous” things like wormholes or other dimensions exist (unlikely — the laws of physics are sound), travel from another planet is impossible. Most agree that the likelihood of life on other planets is true, but the planets are all too far away. Even traveling at the speed of light, it would take thousands of years to get here. If you believe that we can possibly travel faster than the speed of light, think about the acceleration that it would take to get going that fast — no physical object could take that stress.

John HeffernanHayward

Journalism, democracyshould be valued

Re: “Fighting for their voice” (Page G4, Nov. 30).

I was moved by Peter Larsen’s interview with Molly Guptill Manning, author of “The War of Words: How America’s GI Journalists battled Censorship and Propaganda and Helped Win World War II.”

I learned how GIs and sailors published thousands of newspapers during World War II. They wrote about events like the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Dachau, a story by the Rainbow Reveille, the paper of the Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division.

Manning says writing about the oppression they observed helped troops develop “a strong understanding of how important democracy was … so they didn’t take their freedom for granted.”

Coincidentally, the day Larsen’s article appeared, I read elsewhere in the East Bay Times that five journalists in Mexico had been killed in a single day while covering drug cartels.

Let’s not take our democracy, or newspapers, for granted.

Tom AbateSan Leandro