[Rhodes22-list] Marines & Berkeley - More Political Scum

Hank hnw555 at gmail.com
Thu Jan 31 09:48:37 EST 2008


My last duty station was at Camp Parks, a reserve base west of San Fran.
One of our Reserve Company Commanders was a Berkeley Cop.  I asked him what
he thought of all the lefties there and he said that being a cop in Berkley
was the most fun as the loonies always had some kind of great entertainment.

Hank

On Thu, Jan 31, 2008 at 9:20 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:

> Boys and girls, here is a perfect opportunity to solve our energy problem.
> I say we take spent nuclear fuel and dump it right smack in the center of
> Berkeley.  That, or pull every last federal dollar out of that scum
> infested
> city.  Brad
>
> ----------------------------
>
> Berkeley council tells Marines to leave
> By Doug Oakley
>
> STAFF WRITER
> Article Launched: 01/30/2008 01:48:16 PM PST
>
>
> Hey-hey, ho-ho, the Marines in Berkeley have got to go.
>
> That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 8-1 Tuesday
> night to tell the U.S. 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."
>
> In addition, the council voted to explore enforcing its law prohibiting
> discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines
> because of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. And it officially
> encouraged the women's peace group Code Pink to impede the work of the
> Marines in the city by protesting 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 of 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," said Berkeley Mayor Tom
> Bates 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."
>
> Ninety-year-old Fran Rachel, 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
> tale 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."
>
> E-mail Doug Oakley at doakley at bayareanewsgroup.com
> __________________________________________________
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