Posted on 10/17/2001 6:21:36 PM PDT by vannrox
BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The left-wing bastion of Berkeley, Calif., narrowly voted Tuesday night to condemn U.S. military action in Afghanistan and not before the addition of an amendment denouncing the terrorist "mass murder" of thousands of Americans on Sept. 11.
The resolution, which passed on a 5-4 vote, was believed to be the first official statement by a U.S. city critical of the U.S. military response to the destruction of the World Trade Center and the damage to the Pentagon.
Although public opinion polls show the American public in favor of the military response by an unprecedented margin, former city council member Ying Lee Kelley urged the panel to "continue to honor Berkeley's tradition of opposition to brute force to solve profoundly difficult social problems."
Berkeley, home of the University of California at Berkeley campus, was the birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s with Mario Salvo and has been a hotbed of peace protests since the Vietnam War.
The San Francisco Chronicle said a recent poll of Berkeley students showed 65 percent were opposed to the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan.
While the Chronicle Wednesday described the council's makeup as split between leftist and centrists, there were a number of residents at Tuesday's meeting urging the resolution be defeated.
"War does solve something," said Kelso Barnett, the head of a conservative student group at the university. "Ask the people of Europe who were liberated after World War II."
The council passed the measure, however not before changing the wording to call for the bombing to end "as quickly as possible" rather than immediately.
At an Afghan restaurant in the "Little Kabul" district of nearby Fremont, home to the largest U.S. population of Afghan people, a couple who appeared to be in their 70s and had attended Berkeley, told United Press International that they had organized a group of 10-20 -- similar to the much larger group of 300 or so anti-war types in nearby Palo Alto -- that hold daily protests against the bombings and were gaining support from passersby.
"We get a lot of car horns honking and only an occasional call of 'traitor,'" said the woman, who declined to give her name, noting that the reception was encouraging given Fremont's overall conservative attitudes. "Smart bombs are not smart," she said, echoing the sentiment on the sign she holds up for Fremont traffic.
Rush called their condemnation of the U.S. anti-terrorist war an INTELLECTUAL MASTURBATION.
Was Chelsebeast a student at Berkeley?
"...Not That Anyone Gives A S**t What Berkely Thinks."
Please try to be more accurate and thorough in the future.
Thank you.
Just once, I want to hear what their response is to combatting terrorism; all I hear is "peace and love, man" but no solutions. How many times do you need to get punched in the nose before you fight back? You almost have to feel sorry for them, not quite, but almost. They are really pitiful.
But they're smarter than you, AND they have better slogans.
1.) Approach student talking about "peace" and saying there should be "no retaliation."
2.) Engage in brief conversation; ask if military force is appropriate.
3.) When he says "No," ask, "Why not?"
4.) Wait until he says something to the effect of, "Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and we should not cause more violence."
5.) When he's in mid-sentence, punch him in the face.
6.) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to strike you, because that would "be awful and he should not cause more violence."
7.) Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional violence.
8.) Punch him in the face again.
9.) Repeat steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes it's necessary to punch back.
How would they have voted if the planes had hit buildings in San Francisco, and the antrhax scares were up and down the west coast? Would they be saying don't do anything to stop this, or would reality finally have hit home.
You idiot! I told you to slaughter the pheasants, not the peasants!
Here are the names of numbers of the members of the Berkeley City Council that voted in favor of condemning America. Call them and let them know what you think of their vote:
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| Linda Mais | 510-981-7110 |
| Margaret Breland | 510-981-7120 |
| Maudelle Shirek | 510-981-7130 |
| Dona Spring | 510-981-7140 |
| Kriss Worthington | 510-981-7170 |
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