JuntaJoe
Joined: 07 Nov 2004
Posts: 7391
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject: Berkeley Sucks! |
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Berkeley gives Marines the boot
City Council says recruiting station not welcome; military mum for now.
BERKELEY — Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Marines in Berkeley have got to go.
That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 6-3, with Gordon Wozniak, Betty Olds and Kriss Worthington dissenting, to tell the Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."
It also voted 7-2, with Wozniak and Olds dissenting, to explore enforcing its law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines and to encourage the women's peace group Code Pink to protest in front of the station.
In a separate item, the council voted 8-1 to give Code Pink a designated parking space in front of the recruiting station once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week from noon to 4 p.m.
Councilman Gordon Wozniak opposed both items.
The Marines have been in Berkeley for a little more than a year, having moved from Alameda in December 2006. For about the past four months, Code Pink has been protesting in front of the station.
"I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave," Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said after votes were cast.
A Marines representative did not respond to requests for comment.The resolution telling the Marines they are unwelcome and directing the city attorney to explore issues of sexual orientation discrimination was brought to the council by the city's Peace and Justice commission.
The recommendation to give Code Pink a parking space for protesting and a free sound permit was brought by council members Linda Maio and Max Anderson.
Code Pink on Wednesday started circulating petitions to put a measure on the November ballot in Berkeley that would make it more difficult to open military recruiting offices near homes, parks, schools, churches libraries or health clinics. The group needs 5,000 signatures to make the ballot.
Even though the council items passed, not everyone is happy with the work of Code Pink. Some employees and owners of businesses near the Marines office have had enough of the group and its protests.
"My husband's business is right upstairs, and this (protesting) is bordering on harassment," Dori Schmidt told the council. "I hope this stops."
An employee of a nearby business who asked not to be identified said Wednesday the elderly Code Pink protesters are aggressive, take up parking spaces, block the sidewalk with their yoga moves, smoke in the doorways, and are noisy.
"Most of the people around here think they're a joke," the woman said.
Wozniak said he was opposed to giving Code Pink a parking space because it favors free speech rights of one group over another.
"There's a line between protesting and harassing, and that concerns me," Wozniak said. "It looks like we are showing favoritism. We have to respect the other side, and not abuse their rights. This is not good policy."
Fran Rachel, 90, a Code Pink protester who spoke at the council meeting, said the group's request for a parking space and noise permit was especially important because the Marines are recruiting soldiers who may die in an unjust war.
"This is very serious," Rachel said. "This isn't a game; it's mass murder. There's a sickness of silence of people not speaking out against the war. We have to do this."
Anderson, a former Marine who said he was "drummed out" of the corps when he took a stand against the Vietnam War, said he'd love to see the Marines high-tail it out of town.
"We are confronted with an organization that can spend billions of dollars on propaganda," Anderson said. "This is not Okinawa here; we're involved in a naked act of aggression. If we can provide a space for ordinary people to express themselves against this kind of barbarity, then we should be doing it."
Copyright © 2008 ANG Newspapers
Rage for, against recruiting in Berkeley
City Council meeting follows day of protests
BERKELEY — The left and the right squared off in an all-day protest Tuesday over the City Council's recent decision to call U.S. Marine Corps recruiters uninvited and unwelcome intruders.
With over 2000 people at the Old City Hall, the showdown was being called the largest and most raucous protest in recent Berkeley history.
Meanwhile, the City Council at press time Tuesday night was still considering whether to rescind or amend a 6-3 vote from two weeks ago, requesting that the Marines close their Berkeley recruiting center. But the chanting from protesters outside City Hall was often so loud it was difficult to hear the council inside.
The council's move in late January caused more than
25,000 outraged military supporters to write to city leaders, condemning the move. It also sparked a nationwide backlash against the city, prompting Republicans in both Washington and Sacramento to introduce legislation to pull millions of tax dollars for such things as school lunches and police communications equipment.
The City Council did not begin taking public comment on the new proposal until shortly before 10 p.m. Mayor Tom Bates and councilmembers Max Anderson, Linda Maio and Darryl Moore issued a substitute motion clarifying the council's position on the war.
The statement said, "We recognize the recruiters' right to locate in our city, and the right of others to protest or support their presence. We deeply respect and support the men and women in our armed forces. However, we strongly oppose the war and the continued recruitment of our young people into this war."
The motion also said that with the issuance of the statement there is no need to send the letter to the Marine Corps asking them to leave Berkeley.
Tuesday's proposal by council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli was to rescind the earlier item that asked the Marines' recruiting center to leave Berkeley.
"This is a travesty. We need our military in Berkeley just as we need our military in every location they choose to be in," said Lisa Disbarow, a military mother from Moraga. "The military is free to serve this nation and the disrespect of the mayor and the City Council is unacceptable and should be stopped by patriotic Americans. We are not going to tolerate it."
Starting before dawn Tuesday, protesters faced each other across Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Anti-military groups CodePink, World Can't Wait — Drive Out the Bush Regime and others were in front of Old City Hall. Pro-military protesters — many of them organized by Move America Forward — were in Civic Center Park.
Groups shouted chants back and forth across the street — "Shame on Berkeley" versus "Shame on Bush" — as cars passed between, honking their horns in support of one side or the other.
Each group had an enormous American flag hanging on its side of the street — though the flag of the antiwar group had its stars arranged into a peace symbol.
"We don't support an illegal and immoral war ... We want this recruiting station out of here," shouted Ann Wright, a 61-year-old Honolulu woman with the group Veterans for Peace, through a megaphone. "They lie, they cheat and this system is sucking our young men and women in."
Elliot Cohen, a Berkeley Peace & Justice Commission member, said his group originally wrote the official recommendation passed by the council to stir debate about the war.
"The real purpose of these resolutions is to get people to talk about things and debate whether our money should be going to bullets or bread — and we've succeeded beyond our wildest expectations," he said.
Throughout the course of the day there were fights between the two groups, who hardly seemed respectful of each other's opposing views. There was plenty of profanity, finger-pointing and shouting.
"To harass the troops is the cheap, easy way out of an incredibly complex problem," said Mary Monkowski, who said she came to Berkeley from Portland, Ore., after seeing a video on the Internet about the protests. "It is wrong to blame the military for the decisions made by the executive and legislative branches of our government."
On Tuesday morning, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and some of her pink-clad cohorts carried a banner and posed for photos with fingers raised in Vs as a peace salute. Police formed a line behind them, and on the other side stood several pro-Marines protestors carrying flags. Two of them each raised their middle finger in a different kind of salute, before switching to a thumbs-down gesture.
The protests, at times a circus environment, were entertainment for passersby.
Berkeley resident Bill Newton, 59, came from his job at the University of California, Berkeley, to see the commotion.
"I had to walk over here to check it out," Newton said. "Frankly, I think the City Council is pretty stupid. But the war is pretty stupid, too."
More than 100 police officers were on duty on Tuesday, and back-up officers from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, Oakland police and other agencies were brought in to assist with crowd control.
Officers in riot gear and using batons had to break up the opposing groups many times over the course of the day and night. Sometimes force was used. No one was seriously injured, police said.
At press time Tuesday, a total of four people had been arrested, Berkeley police said.
Keith Donald Salvatore, 49, of Rocklin, near Sacramento, was arrested shortly after 1 p.m. on suspicion of brandishing a weapon, Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said.
A group of CodePink supporters had wrapped Salvatore in a large pink banner, and he claimed he needed the knife to free himself, Kusmiss said.
One of the CodePink supporters, a woman from San Ramon, took a photo of the knife, and police confiscated the banner as evidence. Salvatore was arrested because police concluded he brandished the knife in a threatening manner and also made a death threat to one of the CodePink members, Kusmiss said.
At 7:15 p.m., someone outside City Hall set an American flag on fire. In the same area, a woman lit a rope on fire. She was ordered to put out the fire or face arrest. She complied and was not arrested. A few bikes that were nearby were burned.
Also arrested were two teenagers, ages 15 and 13, on suspicion of disturbing the peace and challenging someone to a fight, Kusmiss said. They were released to their parents, police said.
The teens, both skateboarders and Berkeley students, got into an argument with pro-military supporters. Police asked both to avoid confrontations and to not ride their skateboards, but they continued to do both, Kusmiss said.
Police had to use some force to subdue both. Following their detainment, a surge of about 200 angry people converged at the police station, shouting at officers and demanding that police free their friends.
An 18-year-old Berkeley woman, Luisa Romero De Los Angeles, was arrested when she tried to break through a security line in front of the police station, police said. She slapped a police officer when he reached out to control her. She was arrested for resisting or obstructing a police office and misdemeanor battery on a police officer.
"The goal here is to ensure that all the protesters can express themselves freely, and when officers are issuing orders, if officers feel there is a public safety threat, they are going to use methods to disperse the crowd," Kusmiss said.
In the few hours before the council meeting, the number of protesters in front of Old City Hall grew to at least 500, with people yelling through bullhorns, chanting, singing patriotic songs, yelling at each other and playing musical instruments.
The noise could be heard at least a half-mile away. The number of pro-military supporters, at times, appeared to be about double that of antiwar demonstrators. Adding to the protest were union workers from Pacific Steel Casting, who showed up outside of City Hall to protest a council item to put restrictions on the steel foundry. The item was heard by the council but a vote was not taken.
Although there were hundreds outside City Hall, fire officials did not allow more than 123 people — the council chambers' capacity — into the room. The meeting was broadcast outside on speakers.
Copyright © 2008 ANG Newspapers
Senators Introduce Semper Fi Act of 2008
Bill Stops Berkeley Earmarks and Transfers Funds to Marine Corps
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Oklahoma), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), and David Vitter (R-Louisiana) introduced the Semper Fi Act of 2008. The bill would rescind over $2 million in hidden earmarks for Berkeley, California in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, and transfer the funds to the Marine Corps. U.S. Congressman John Campbell (R-California) is introducing a companion bill in the House of Representatives.
Last week, the City Council of Berkeley voted to oust Marine Corps recruiters from their downtown office, saying the Marines were “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” Berkeley officials also voted to give the radical protest group Code Pink space outside the recruitment office and urged them to “impede, passively or actively” the work of Marine Corps recruiters.
One earmark provides $243,000 in taxpayer dollars for the organization Chez Panisse to create gourmet organic school lunches in the Berkeley School District. Chez Panisse is dedicated to “environmental harmony” and their menu features “Comté cheese soufflé with mâche salad,” “Meyer lemon éclairs with huckleberry coulis,” and “Chicory salad with creamy anchovy vinaigrette and olive toast.”
Another earmark would spend $975,000 in taxpayer dollars for the University of California in Berkeley Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service, to create a new endowment and cataloging the papers of Congressman Robert Matsui. U.C. Berkeley currently already has a $3.5 billion endowment.
Senator DeMint: “Berkeley needs to learn that their actions have consequences. Patriotic American taxpayers won’t sit quietly while Berkeley insults our brave Marines and tries to run them out of town. Berkeley City Council members have shown complete ingratitude to our military and their families, and the city doesn’t deserve a single dime of special pet project handouts.”
Senator Cornyn: “The Berkeley City Council insulted our troops and offended people across the country. If the U.S. Marines are not good enough for Berkeley, neither are taxpayer dollars Congress would have sent there this year. That city closed its doors on the same individuals taking bullets on the front lines while fighting for the safety and freedom of families in Berkeley and throughout America.”
Senator Vitter: “The actions of the City Council of Berkeley are in stark contrast to beliefs of the vast majority of Americans who recognize and honor the service and sacrifice of our U.S. Marines. This is simply unacceptable and those funds could be better utilized by the Marine Corps.”
Dr. Coburn: “The actions by the city of Berkeley are deplorable and insulting to those who are serving and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the very freedoms that are being exercised to insult them. I know I stand with the majority of Americans in thanking our service men and women for their selfless service to our nation.”
Senator Inhofe: “Unfortunately, those on the Berkeley city council do not seem to understand the sacrifice of the brave men and women of the United States Marine Corps. By interfering with military recruiting, the city of Berkeley is hampering our ability to protect this nation. While the city of Berkeley and the protestors are free to say whatever they like, free speech is not a protection from consequence.”
Senator Chambliss: “We need to send a strong message that our military personnel deserve our strongest support. Georgia is a proud military state, and my constituents will be out outraged to know that during a time of war, their taxpayers dollars have been used to reward folks who have insulted and disparaged those who defend this nation every day.”
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint Press Release Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Cornyn Supports Funding Cut-off For Berkeley After City Shuts Doors On U.s. Marines
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced his support for the Semper Fi Act, legislation introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., that would send a strong message of disapproval to the City of Berkeley, Calif., for its recent decision to bar the U.S. Marine Corps from recruiting within city limits. The Semper Fi Act would rescind any earmark funding in they fiscal year 2008 spending package that would have gone to Berkeley or any entity in the city—a total of more than $2 million—and transfer those funds to the Marine Corps to be used to recruit new Marines.
“The Berkeley City Council insulted our troops and offended people across the country. If the U.S. Marines are not good enough for Berkeley, neither are taxpayer dollars Congress would have sent there this year. That city closed its doors on the same individuals taking bullets on the front lines while fighting for the safety and freedom of families in Berkeley and throughout America,” Sen. Cornyn said.
“The Semper Fi Act sends a strong message of disapproval—backed by tangible consequences—to the Berkeley City Council. It also shows support for the Marines whose selfless sacrifice is worthy of our admiration. I encourage all my Senate colleagues to support this legislation.”
The Berkeley City Council passed a resolution in late January declaring that the U.S. Marine Corps “is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” The Council went further by granting Code Pink, an anti-war group, special approval to non-violently “impede, passively or actively” the work of the Marine Corps recruiters.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn Press Release Wednesday, February 6, 2008 |
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