Fire For Effect, Traitors in the open...

[Ranger Bill]

Let me think... Berkeley 2008 or 1968... What year is it?

[Joeboo]

[quote]
Berkeley City Council to Revisit Vote Against Marine Recruiting Station

BERKELEY, Calif. — Two weeks after the Berkeley City Council called U.S. Marine Corps recruiters "uninvited and unwelcome intruders," the council is expected to reconsider its anti-Marine stance Tuesday night.

Large crowds from the left and right are mobilizing for the meeting. The anti-war feminist group Code Pink began a 24-hour "peace-in" Monday night, and the pro-war group Move America Forward planned a day-long demonstration outside City Hall.

The Rev. Fred Phelps, the anti-gay activist and founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, will be there as well, demonstrating against both the Marines and Code Pink. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church routinely picket at the funerals of American soldiers killed in action.

Code Pink activist Zanne Joi said her group is "supporting the troops by being against war and against recruiting."

"It’s because we care about these people that we are standing up against the war machine," Joi said.

On Jan. 29, the city council approved a resolution that included letters to the Marines advising them that their recruiting station is unwelcome in Berkeley. It also called for an investigation into whether the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for homosexuals violated city anti-discrimination policy.
Other portions of the resolution applauded residents who "volunteer to impede" the work of the Marines, and gave Code Pink a parking space directly in front of the Marines' office from noon to 4 p.m. every Wednesday for six months, as well as waiving the fee for a sound permit.

That decision sparked a nationwide outrage, calls to withhold government funding for the city, and an apology and clarification from Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.

On Tuesday, the council will hear from Laurie Capitelli and Betty Olds, two council members who are sponsoring a revised resolution that will ask the city not to send a letter to the Marine Corps saying it's unwelcome in Berkeley.

The resolution would reiterate the city's opposition to the Iraq war, while clarifying Berkeley's support of the nation's military servicemembers.

In a joint press statement, Capitelli and Olds said: “We failed to make it clear that while we continue to oppose what we consider an unethical and illegal war in Iraq, at the same time we respect and honor all the brave men and women who are serving or have served in the military … We have erred by not adequately differentiating between the war and the warriors.â€

[Erydius]

Rangers,

I found this Open letter from the Marine recruiter who has been holding his own.

[quote]http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/artic ... ryID=28139

An Open Letter to Code Pink

By Capt. Richard Lund USMC


While the protest that you staged in front of my office on Wednesday, Sept. 26th, was an exercise of your constitutional rights, the messages that you left behind were insulting, untrue, and ultimately misdirected. Additionally, from the comments quoted in the Berkeley Daily Planet article, it is clear that you have no idea what it is that I do here. Given that I was unaware of your planned protest, I was unable to contest your claims in person, so I will therefore address them here.
First, a little bit about who I am: I am a Marine captain with over eight years of service as a commissioned officer. I flew transport helicopters for most of my time in the Marine Corps before requesting orders to come here. Currently, I am the officer selection officer for the northern Bay Area. My job is to recruit, interview, screen, and evaluate college students and college graduates that show an interest in becoming officers in the Marine Corps. Once they’ve committed to pursuing this program, I help them apply, and if selected, I help them prepare for the rigors of Officer Candidate School and for the challenges of life as a Marine officer. To be eligible for my programs, you have to be either a full-time college student or a college graduate. I don’t pull anyone out of school, and high school students are not eligible.

I moved my office to Berkeley in December of last year. Previously, it was located in an old federal building in Alameda. That building was due to be torn down and I had to find a new location. I choose our new site because of its proximity to UC Berkeley and to the BART station. Most of the candidates in my program either go to Cal or to one of the schools in San Francisco, the East Bay, or the North Bay. Logistically, the Shattuck Square location was the most convenient for them.

Next, you claim that I lie. I have never, and will never, lie to any individual that shows an interest in my programs. I am upfront with everything that is involved at every step of the way and I go out of my way to ensure that they know what to expect when they apply. I tell them that this is not an easy path. I tell them that leading Marines requires a great deal of self-sacrifice. I tell them that, should they succeed in their quest to become a Marine officer, they will almost certainly go to Iraq. In the future, if you plan to attack my integrity, please have the courtesy to explain to me specifically the instances in which you think that I lied.

Next, scrawled across the doorway to my office, you wrote, “Recruiters are Traitors.â€

[Joeboo]

Good on ya captain!

Berkeley backs down

(02-13) 01:33 PST Berkeley -- After a day of enraged confrontation outside Berkeley City Hall between anti-war and pro-military demonstrators, the City Council backed down early Wednesday from its controversial decision to tell the U.S. Marines they are "unwelcome intruders" for operating a downtown recruiting center.

Council members conceded that they had erred in passing a resolution Jan. 29 that condemned the Marines - rather than the war in Iraq - and some council members added that they felt they owed U.S. troops an apology as well the many Berkeley residents who were ashamed and offended by their position.

"To err is human but to really screw up it takes the Berkeley City Council," said council member Gordon Wozniak. "We failed our city. We embarrassed our city."

In the end, however, the council voted against issuing a public apology for its January action.

The officials said, however, that they strongly believe the Bush administration has used lies and deceit to lead the country into a war in which nearly 4,000 American troops have been killed. They also criticized the government for what they said was hiding the horrors of the war behind a "support our troops" mantra.

"We do not want to ostracize our troops," said council member Linda Maio. "They are our sons and our daughters. We care about them. We love them and we want to bring them home."

But Maio added, the war in Iraq is "badly thought out" and she does not support the government's recruiting efforts for this war.

The backdown became apparent late Tuesday night when Mayor Tom Bates and three council members aligned themselves with the two who called on the council last week to rethink its position. The January decision created a firestorm of criticism across the nation from people who called the council's position on the Marines harsh and inappropriate. Others cheered the council as courageous.

Berkeley's critics included six Republican U.S. senators who have vowed to cut federal funding for several Berkeley programs, such as the Chez Panisse Foundation, which provides school lunches at Berkeley's public schools, and the Robert Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service at UC Berkeley.

Council members maintained that they were not caving in to pressure from right-wing bloggers or radio-show hosts in backing away from their January vote.

Protesters began gathering as early as Monday night outside City Hall in anticipation of the Tuesday night meeting. By Tuesday morning, some confrontations had become physical, and police in riot gear moved in to separate the groups. At its peak, 2,000 protesters had gathered outside City Hall, police said.

Three protesters were arrested for minor scuffles with other demonstrators - and a fourth for allegedly slapping a police officer - in what was one of the largest demonstrations in the city in years.

Tuesday evening, many demonstrators squeezed into the council chambers - some telling the council to stand firm, others urging the council to apologize for insulting the military and the men and women who are serving their country. The council allowed public testimony to continue into the early morning Wednesday before making a decision.

"Berkeley doesn't speak for America," said Eve Tidwell of Columbus, Ga., who flew into the Bay Area on Tuesday after watching news accounts of the uproar over the Marines in Berkeley. "If terror came to Berkeley, the Marines would come to protect the people here."

Tidwell, whose son-in-law is in the Navy, wanted the council to rescind its objection to the Marines and the recruiting office they opened on Shattuck Square a year ago. She encouraged others to boycott Berkeley businesses until the council backed down.

But Susan Killebrew, a Berkeley mother who brought her twin 7-year-old daughters, Aria and Sophia, to the demonstration, said she wanted the city to stand firm against the war and the recruiting center.

"We might have to suffer (negative publicity) as a result of it," she said before the meeting Tuesday, "but not as much as the children in Iraq who are traumatized by the constant military presence there. My heart is broken by this war. I marched against it before the invasion. It makes me sad that so many have died."

Council members Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli called last week for the council to retreat from its position on the Marines and instead make clear that while the city opposes the war, it supports the troops.

Olds and Capitelli opposed the council's resolution, passed by a 6-3 vote, to send the objection letter to the Marines. The city manager had not yet prepared the letter and was awaiting the results of Tuesday's council meeting.

As the meeting got under way, three other council members, Max Anderson, Linda Maio and Darrell Moore, and the mayor offered yet another resolution that was similar to the Olds-Capitelli one, rescinding the letter and supporting the troops.

During the meeting, protesters could still be heard shouting outside Maudelle Shirek City Hall. They had spent the day yelling, singing, chanting and flag-waving along Martin Luther King Jr. Way. At times, the arguments grew intense, as protesters stood face-to-face screaming obscenities at one another.

A 49-year-old man from Rocklin (Placer County) and two Berkeley teenagers were arrested in separate scuffles, police said. About 1 p.m., a man supporting the Marines ventured into an encampment by the anti-war group Code Pink and drew a knife. Police arrested Keith Donald Salvatore for brandishing the weapon. He told police he had taken out the knife in self-defense after war protesters wrapped him in a pink banner, said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, a police spokeswoman.

Police arrested the teenagers, boys ages 13 and 15, for scuffling with Marines supporters.

At around 4 p.m., police arrested Luisa Romero De Los Angeles, an 18-year-old Berkeley resident who they say slapped a police officer who told her to back away as she demanded they release the two boys who had been arrested earlier.

Code Pink activists said that even with the council backing off, they intend to place a resolution on the local ballot to oust the recruiters.

"We want voters to be able to decide ... just like they have a say whether a liquor store or porn shop opens near a school," said Jodie Evans, a Berkeley yoga studio owner who co-founded Code Pink.

Evans, wearing a pink crown that said "I Miss America," sat on a lawn chair outside of City Hall in the chilly night air listening to testimony from the meeting inside, which was being broadcast to the hundreds who couldn't fit inside the building.

Iraq war veteran Javier Tenorio of Berkeley was also listening outside of City Hall. The former Army infantryman who served two tours of duty called the ballot proposal "ridiculous."

"Even if they achieve it, it's going to be voted down," Tenorio said. "There are enough people in Berkeley who support the military, including university Republicans. We're going to beat this."

[ANGRYCivilian]

I can't read any more. Fucking absolute pussies! The fucking bitches can't even stand behind their treasonous bullshit. Berkeley, it's even spelled fucking gay, with two unnecessary e's. It's just like a bunch of queers, adding extra letters to shit to make it important and different. That place needs to be fucking destroyed.

[Tirehouse]

"We might have to suffer (negative publicity) as a result of it," she said before the meeting Tuesday, "but not as much as the children in Iraq who are traumatized by the constant military presence there. My heart is broken by this war. I marched against it before the invasion. It makes me sad that so many have died."

That quote right there tells me this fucking cunt along with so many other people have no fucking clue as to what is going on outside their little shithole much less around the fucking world that it makes me want to shoot this bitch in the forehead but I would be wasting money........

"We want voters to be able to decide ... just like they have a say whether a liquor store or porn shop opens near a school," said Jodie Evans, a Berkeley yoga studio owner who co-founded Code Pink.

This fucking waste of tits and cunt is a God damn yoga studio owner?!?!?!?! and she thinks she knows anything about what goes on outside her smelly meat curtains???????? This group Code Cunt needs to be removed permanently!!!!!

[ANGRYCivilian]

This group Code Cunt needs to be removed permanently!!!!!

They need to become Code Red, all over the fucking sidewalk.

[dirty1]

thats the problem with all these worthless cock holsters. These faggots are more concerned with which star is sucking so and so's dick, than what acutally goes on in the real world. Then they pick some bullshit idea to back up and support. I know we have a lot of brothers in cali, but I sometimes wish we would get the big one and it would fall the fuck off. That way I'd have ocean front property in Arizona!!!!

[ANGRYCivilian]

"Moms gonna fix it all soon. Mom's comin' around to put it back the way it ought to be."

[CatFish Driver]

Why are you qouting Maynard James Keenan?

[ANGRYCivilian]

Why are you qouting Maynard James Keenan?

...I sometimes wish we would get the big one and it would fall the fuck off . That way I'd have ocean front property in Arizona!!!!

Arizona Bay.

[rnaco]

I live a couple miles away from this recruiting station and 99% of people who live in the Berkeley/Oakland area believe that the Berkeley city council and Code Pink are in the wrong here.

[GoldCoast]

I guess we know where are the French immigrants settled in California. Fucking pussies - they can't turn over control of our country to someone else fast enough. It takes a lot to get my blood boiling but this has finally hit the point with me.

[Joeboo]

I live a couple miles away from this recruiting station and 99% of people who live in the Berkeley/Oakland area believe that the Berkeley city council and Code Pink are in the wrong here.

They've got a funny way of letting people outside of Berkeley know that. If these people don't speak for y'all, then quit electing them to do so.