JULIUS C. WILLIS JR: Our World, Today!

Taking pictures of an A-Bomb test.

Here’s a bit of great good news! The human brain – YOUR BRAIN – is constantly producing new neurons – new cells – as it grows older! As a matter of fact, a report from Swedish researchers states that we have those old A-Bomb tests during the cold war to thank for this phenomenon.

Swedish scientists claim that those atomic tests in the ’40s and ’50s sprayed a lot of Carbon-14 into the earth’s atmosphere. And what happened to all that stuff? All that Carbon-14 ended up in human beings (and, most likely, other creatures too!). The important matter, the scientists claim, is that Carbon-14 helps the brain produce more cells than usual.

But wait! The same scientists also state that the rate of production of new cells lag far behind the rate at which brain cells die — and since the new cells live for a very short period of time compared to the old cells, we all eventually begin to lose things or forget an appointment or two. Oh, well  . . .

Obama and Jinping take a stroll outside huge Annenberg estate.

When President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for two days in Palm Springs, they discussed issues that concerned both the United States and Chinese governments, but nothing that mattered most to both the Chinese and American people.

The world’s most populous nation wants to make the U.S. feel at ease with their relationship. In kind, the United States does not feel it should do anything to displease China.

What did Obama and Jinping talk about at their summit? First, they talked about North Korea being a “nuclear threat,” then they discussed combatting “super greenhouse gases,” and they tackled the subject of “cybersecurity.” All three topics discussed are of deep concern to both the U.S. and Chinese governments. The two countries are so tightly bound together economically – through industry and trade – that there is hardly a way they can afford to “displease” one another.  

What is disappointing is that they did not take up the issue of political and religious freedoms for the more than 1.3 billion people on the Chinese mainland.

The city of Hayward is located in Alameda County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area’s “East Bay”. With a population of approximately 170,000, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. The city was devastated in 1868 by an earthquake. Hayward’s economy centered on the food canning industry beginning in the early 20th century up to the early 1980s.

The City’s History

Hayward was originally known as “Hayward’s,” then as “Haywood,” later as “Haywards,” and eventually as “Hayward.” The city was named for William Dutton Hayward, who established a hotel in 1850.

When William Hayward was the road commissioner for Alameda County, he used his authority to build a network of roads in the city. The town “Haywards” was chartered by the state in 1876. In 1910 the city was renamed “Hayward” (the “s” was officially dropped). William Dutton Hayward died in 1891.

Hayward grew steadily in the late 19th century through agriculture and tourism. The city grew tomatoes, peaches, cherries, and apricots, among other crops. Chicken and pigeon farms were also predominant. The South Pacific Coast Railroad that ran between Oakland and San Jose was built but was destroyed in 1868 earthquake.

World War II brought an economic and population boom to the area, when factories were built to produce military equipment and supplies. Many of the factory workers remained in the city after the war.

Satellite communities

Russell City (now the Industrial Park area of the city), Shafer Park, and Mount Eden (a former city populated by people from Mt. Eden, Kentucky) were incorporated into Hayward in the 1950s. Stokes Landing, Hayward Heath and Eden Landing were unincorporated townships that are now also part of Hayward.

Geography

The city has a total area of 63.7 square miles (165 km2). Some 45.3 square miles (117 km2) is land and 18.4 square miles (48 km2) is water. The Hayward Fault runs through much of Hayward, including the downtown area.

The cities and towns around Hayward include San Lorenzo, Cherryland, Ashland, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Union City, Fremont, Sunol, Fairview, and Pleasanton.

Demographics [per 2010 census]

Officially, Hayward has a population of 144,186, making up a density of 2,261.8 people per square mile. The racial and ethnic makeup of Hayward, per the 2010 census, is: 49,309 (34.2%) White; 17,099 (11.9%) African American; 1,396 (1.0%) Native American; 31,666 (22.0%) Asian [10.4% Filipino; 3.9% Chinese; 3.0% Indian; 2.7% Vietnamese; 0.5% Japanese; 0.5% Korean; 0.2% Cambodian; 0.1% Pakistani]; 4,535 (3.1%) Pacific Islander; 30,004 (20.8%) from other races; and 10,177 (7.1%) from two or more other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 58,730 persons (40.7%), giving Hayward an aggregate Hispanic/Latino population plurality.

Salinas with political allies state assembly member Bill Quirk (left) and Mayor Mike Sweeney (right).

Hayward, Ca – The local political scene is heating up with the recent announcement by councilmember Francisco Zermeño that he is running for city mayor next year. And because incumbent mayor Mike Sweeney is not making known whether he will seek another term until “sometime in the summer”, others are maneuvering into position.

Council member Mark Salinas has talked to his supporters, urging them not to make any commitments until after summer when Mayor Sweeney makes a decision. Salinas has made it known that if Sweeney does not run, he will. He has categorically stated that he is “more electable” than Zermeño whom he believes will lose to any other candidate.

Others who might run for mayor if the incumbent decides not to are council members Greg Jones, Barbara Halliday, and Al Mendall. However, only Salinas has made a move so far. Zermeño’s city council term ends in 2016, which gives him an edge because he has nothing to lose if he doesn’t make the mayorship. Salinas, on the other hand will be out of office if he runs for mayor and loses. He is confident, however, that he can easily beat Zermeño.

Let’s wait and see!

My favorite online newspaper has referred to our president as “George W. Obama” (see picture – doesn’t he look good) because the administration continues to implement a Bush policy of enforcing data collection.

The Huffington Post reports that “. . . a court order asking Verizon to hand over all its phone calling records for a three-month period opens a new window on an operation that has been in place for years and involves all major U.S. phone companies.”

“NSA has been doing all this stuff all along, and it’s been all these companies, not just one” William Binney told news program Democracy Now on Thursday. “They’re just continuing the collection of this data on all U.S. citizens.” Binney worked at the NSA for almost 40 years. He left the agency after the attacks of 9/11 because he “objected to the expansion of the agency’s surveillance of U.S. citizens,” adds the Huff Post story.

Now, how else would the government perform its job of protecting American citizens? By obtaining voluntary information from the very terrorists that plan to destroy our society? By establishing a reward program for information on terrorists and other criminal elements?

There is really no privacy in this world, after all. Nothing is secure. If not the government, some other elements that want the data will collect it, one way or another. So why not give that data to an agency that’s out there to help keep the peace?

TAKE OUR POLL

History is replete with people who’ve resisted change. Change in language, change in the way we live and play, change in the way we light up our homes. There is that natural tendency to want to keep the status quo because of a fear of the unknown. But change took place in spite of the resistance, sometimes by the most powerful and affluent. And change will continue to take place: change in lifestyles, change in demographics, and change in the definition of marriage.