The Albatross Perch

2004-01-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Updates have been nonexistent for a few months now, and it is doubtful any more are coming anytime soon. Still, feel free to peruse the archives for blogs of historical note and thank you for visiting The Perch.

2003-11-07T21:10:00.000-08:00

Who cares about Russian politics? Well, it was just 10 years ago that the Soviet Union collapsed, it was just 86 years ago that the Bolsheviks seized power in the 1917 Russian Revolution. And it's today, right now, that Russia's biggest billionaire was arrested for fake competition. Check it:

Few Russians paid much attention when the state offered part of a fertilizer company called Apatit for sale to private investors back in 1994. Few, that is, except the four bidders. According to authorities, they were all one and the same.

The idea, prosecutors allege, was to create a fake competition through front companies and then have three of the "rivals" back out, leaving only the low bidder to seize the prize at a bargain rate. The ruse worked, authorities say, and the winner then failed to put up the money it pledged and sold off the shares before the state could take them back.

So just a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall et al, the debate in Russia between capitalism (good!) and communism (bad!) is still going on. And 42% of Russkies still seem to consider themselves friendly to the Bolsheviks.

Another poll, coinciding with Friday's 86th anniversary of the revolution that brought Vladimir Lenin to power, found that 42 percent of Russians would support or cooperate with the Bolsheviks if the revolt happened today, compared to just 10 percent who said they would fight them. The anniversary these days is officially celebrated as the Day of Accord and Reconciliation.

What do we see here? As nice as it is that Bush, at the helm of the world's reigning superpower, seems to be working towards the huge philosophical goal of a "global democratic revolution" (see his recent speech), we still see instances of corruptive capitalism and popular support for communism. Perhaps we should do as the Daily Show suggests, and start building bombs that can destroy ideas.

2003-10-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

Pervert beaten by schoolgirls! Man bites dog!

2003-10-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Fascinating tidbits from upcoming Van Sant movie Elephant (reviewed here):

It's based on Columbine.

The dad of one of the killers is Tim Bottoms, who is known for playing President Bush in shows like That's My Bush! and the "Tragedy in DC" 9/11 made for TV flick. So, the dad of the killer is a shoe-in for President Bush? Does this suggest that our national leadership, like the raising of a child, can send us into psycho territory?

One scene shows the killers hanging out- one is playing violent video games, the other is playing Fur Elise on the piano. Are both equally encouraging of violence? Why does the music not soothe, while the entertainment stimulates? Why are their murderous intentions not overwhelmed by the beauty of the music, the grace and higher order that classical Beethoven seems to suggest? Are they that fucked up by their society?

There's a scene where the killers are a little gay together in the shower. It's fucked up, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris shot up Columbine because jocks were calling them "fags", and now Van Sant pretty much does the same thing. The reviewer suggests that it shows they crave human closeness, but I still think it's ghey.

Much of the movie is filmed from behind the perspective of the students as they wander the halls. Hm, is Van Sant evoking the "videogame" perspective? I always thought the Tomb Raider movie would be a bazillion times better if they had just ONE shot of Lara Croft from behind- one single, long take, just like the videogame. If you can use a computer to make Lara do a bunch of cool shit in one long take from a 3rd person perspective, why wouldn't it work with real actors? Anyways, Elephant features this type of shot a lot, which is cool, the reviewer also suggests it makes us feel bad for the kids, for whom bad shit is right around the corner.

The title, I love this, refers to "The elephant in the room that nobody talks about". That is absolutely what Columbine was about, the bad shit in high school, the bad shit in the world and in society that we ignore, the guns and hate and picking and teasing, the frustration and the ease in which we let eachother hurt eachother, that's the fucking Elephant, and it seems Van Sant hit it on the head. So did Michael Moore, with Bowling for Columbine, but I can't wait to see this new one.

Now, as for the opinion that you could tell "a Columbine story" a bunch of different ways and make a bunch of little creative decisions and use it to make some sort of giant sweeping statement about America, well I guess you could, and Van Sant went ahead and did. I think there will be odd bits that don't belong, like this is some artifact from an alternate dimension of Columbine. Anyways, I get fucking goosebumps when kids in military camo walk onto school grounds with a duffel bag full of firearms, because that's a distubring image that is new to our generation, one we're still trying to make some goddamn sense out of.

2003-10-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

All hail the conquering hero! I for one welcome the glorious age of lunacy, as Arnorld Schwarzeneggar is now right heir to governorship of California. I was dissapointed the big guy didn't hold a huge Conan sword over his head on election night. I sure as hell didn't vote for him. But a whole lot of people did... unbelievable. Real life has gotten too artificial. Well it's always been and always will be, but do they have to be so fucking obvious about it right now? I mean, movie-star governor. Sure, we had a movie-star President a few decades ago, but Arnold Schwarzeneggar as the people's choice? I swear, Donald Duck or Darth Vader or the Easter Bunny could have pulled those kinds of numbers if they were capable of putting their names on the ballot. Arnie is a plastic image, a bronzed Achilles of our cinematic hearts and minds, and he's now governor of the fifth largest world economy. We have this guy until 2007. Even Jessie Ventura got sick of his job a few years in, and was happy to not run again and go back to doing wrestler stuff. I'm already exhausted by the novelty. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go re-experience my Jingle All the Way DVD.

2003-09-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Fuck Quiznos, and their horrible, repulsive TV ads.

First they did this thing where the Quiznos chef is so involved with making subs that he lets his pet parakeet die of starvation in its cage. Turns out this really pissed off a lot of bird enthusiasts, who complained to Quiznos. So, they changed the ad to depict slightly less specific violence- the chef's house blows up because he left the gas on. The parakeet people have a point, I guess... there's nothing funny about a pet starving to death.

So, you'd think the ad wizards Quiznos employs would learn from their mistake of risky advertising. You'd think wrong.

Seen the ad where two guys are sitting at a bus stop having a conversation, one of them is eating a Quiznos sub, then it cuts to a shot of him lying on the ground with his face buried in the belly of a large dog, apparently suckling the nipples of the beast? After this shot, we immediately are cut back to the guy, grinning with his sandwich.

What the FUCK? Is somebody deliberately trying to get fired? Why subject the viewing audience to this sudden and graphic depiction of bestiality, and then have the gall to cut back to a Quiznos sub? Whose been doing the reading about the early 20th century technique of Soviet montage, where the associations between edits say as much as the content of the shots themselves? There's no clearer way to say that Quiznos subs are like performing oral sex on a large canine than to do it with contrast cuts. Best part about this ad, though, is that AFTER the sudden and striking image of the man at the dog's belly, there is no explanation or rationalization for what we have just seen. The audience is struck dumb, horrified at what they have seen, and all that remains is a focus on a particular brand of sandwiches and eating animal muff.

I think Quiznos has now changed the ad- a bunch of puppies lick the guy's face instead of him getting hot with just one big dog, but still. What. The. Fuck.

Here's an essay that examines Kantian theory applied to Quiznos and their socially irresponsible marketing.

2003-09-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Falluja residents were also mourning the death of a 3-year-old girl who witnesses said had been shot in the head by American soldiers during street fighting late Friday.

2003-09-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

I fucking hate you, George W. Bush, you piece of shit not-really-elected Republican chickenhawk. You went AWOL for a year when you were in the National Guard, but you have no problem sending American troops to die daily in Iraq for your selfish, profitable war. These are our dead.

I can't stand this war that never ends. I can't stand that the U.S. has given an October 31 (Happy Halloween!) deadline to Iran to declare whatever they've got in terms of nuclear weapons programs. Didn't we do this with Iraq last year? You know, before the last war we had that killed 300 American soldiers and untold thousands of civilians?

Read this, goddamit! Read this, America!!

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and seven coalition troops wounded early Friday in small-arms fire that broke out while they were conducting a raid in Ramadi, a central Iraqi town 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Baghdad, the coalition said. The soldiers were evacuated to a nearby medical facility, where they died from their wounds.

Doesn't this make you want to weep? Two years after The Day That Changed Everything Into A Nightmare Apocalypse With Fascist Overtones, we've got American soldiers being slaughtered on a daily basis. If they're not BEING slaughtered, they're doing the slaughtering, like the very recent incident where Iraqi police were fired on by U.S. troops. 10 people died in the incident.

"I am 100 percent sure this is American ammunition," he said, holding up spent shell casings.

Fallujah's mayor said the violence killed eight of the city's security personnel and left two others seriously wounded. One Iraqi policeman was killed and seven wounded, he said.

There is NO fucking accountability for Prince Bush and this massacre. I'm beginning to think that if we want to avoid another election debacle like the one that occured in 2000, there should be a violent revolt against the state. Who's with me?

Gotta go, I think the FBI is knocking on my door.

2003-09-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

The American Broadcast Company has a very "American" look at various fluff pieces compiled on a website called "9/11: America Fights Back". One of these pieces examines the way teachers tried to talk to their students about 9/11. A great deal of this article is stuffed with emotions instead of actual fact or analysis, and the article never bothers to address the issue it claims to investigate: How *are* kids being taught about 9/11 in schools? It seems the simple-minded media, enamored with our simple-minded president, clings to the safe description of events as simply, "evil".

Ah, but what about the history books? They're still being written, it seems.

Textbook publishers face a daunting task in writing about 9/11 for posterity. That may explain why major publishers are taking different approaches to analyzing what happened, and why.

In The War on Terrorism — first published as a supplement and later included as a separate chapter in The Americans and Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction — McDougal Littell takes a cautious approach. The chapter for middle and high school students steers clear of suggesting what motivated the perpetrators or the U.S. response. "The goal … is the destruction of what they consider the forces of evil," it asserts.

By contrast, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill's The American Vision offers more explanation in its seven succinct pages. It begins by saying oil discoveries in the Middle East dating to the 1920s brought more contact with the West and great wealth to only a select few in the Arab world, "but most of the people remained poor."

Also in the news... Recall candidate Tom McClintock said on CNN that he hoped to remove the "regime" of Governor Davis. Very careful word games going on in the news... A Republican calls the Democratic-run state a "regime" with the same backhanded disdain that President Bush refers to Saddam. So it seems a political foe automatically qualifies to be a "regime", whether you are trying to make people afraid of Governor Davis or of the nation of Iraq. It is highly offensive that such fascist terms permeate media coverage and shape the way we understand the world! If you don't like your opponent, or have something to gain by their destruction, just label it a "regime"!

2003-09-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Let's get scared!

Ah, it's fall... a new semester of school, the leaves turn colors... and OH GOD IT'S ALMOST SEPTEMBER 11th AGAIN! "Terror Day", the newest American Holiday, is celebrated this year with yet another FBI terror warning! Don't worry, we're still at "Yellow" (or three stars out of five), so don't go ducking under your table just yet. The FBI reveals to us these dastardly new plans. Oh, those wily terrorists, always thinking!

"A growing body of credible intelligence indicates al-Qaida continues to develop ... plans calling for hijacking airliners transiting near or flying over the continental United States – but not destined to land at U.S. airports," read the advisory. "Operatives have been studying countries to determine which have the least stringent requirements for entry."

That's right, America, can you wrap your head around that one? The terrorists plan to... ready? Hijack AIRPLANES, and maybe... crash them into things?

Gee, that terror is so old! Where's the new scare, the Freddy vs. Jason?

The alert listed other possible terror schemes involving biological or chemical weapons in the making, including aerosolizing an agent in a densely populated space or disseminating diseases and toxins by contaminating food and water supplies.

In its weekly bulletin to local law enforcement agencies, the FBI also warned of attacks involving "mass poisoning agents."

They're going to... poison us? With what?

"References to nicotine and solanine appear in numerous terrorist training manuals and documents seized in Afghanistan," the bulletin explained. "The most likely technique for nicotine or solanine poisoning would be food, beverage or water contamination; however, nicotine can also be absorbed through the skin and mouth and the digestive and respiratory tracts."

Oh good, they're only going to secondhand smoke us to death. Who's killing more Americans each year with nicotine, folks? Al Qaeda, or RJ Reynolds?

2003-09-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Did you know John Walker Lindh, before he went to join the Taliban, used to post lengthy "raps" that he wrote to a hip hop newsgroup? Check out this article from the East Bay Weekly (the same magazine that funded Gary Coleman's gubernatorial campaign).

I represent the west don't be mislead by that other shit

20 P-Funk samples and they think they're from the mother ship

Lindh represents the West? The part of the West that believes the West is the devil, apparently. Take note, America: Even wiggers can be terrorists.

2003-09-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to new Sex on Tuesday columnist Andrea Desmarais for her absolutely fucking filthy article on anal sex, which nearly made me retch while walking between classes. Andrea's column nearly reaches the depths of depravity of Dan Savage's column Savage Love, which has recently begun using the word "santorum" (as in PA Republican Senator Rick Santorum) to refer to the "frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is the byproduct of anal sex".

With sodomy in the courts (ha!) and gay rights being actively debated, it's good to see that sexheads like Andrea and Dan Savage are keeping the healthy image of dick-in-ass right on the level of the conscious, instead of deep, deep down in the subconscious where it belongs.

2003-08-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Frightening, distressing, and mysterious news:

Car Bomb Kills Key Iraqi Shi'ite Leader, 75 Others in Najaf

This is another one of those horrible acts of terrorism in Iraq itself, but unlike the UN attacks or oil/water pipeline attacks, it's aimed at a prominent religious leader in Iraq.

Rival groups within the Shiite leadership are being blamed for the violence. The cleric, who was persecuted under the regime of Saddam Hussein, had also been criticized by some for allowing followers to work with the U.S.-led coalition authority.

Apparently the Grand Ayatollah al-Hakim (I'm not particularily knowledgable about Islam, but Grand Ayatollah sounds like a pretty high ranking and influencial title), who was the target of the car bomb, was delivering a speech on "unity", and cooperation with the U.S the afternoon of the explosion. Whatever you want to call them, "remnants", "terrorist factions", "the face of evil", there is obviously a very dedicated group still in Iraq that is willing to cause this kind of chaos. I mean, 75 deaths, and that's just the start of the count- a huge death toll. So, whether you take the position that the U.S. soldiers in Iraq need to really get to work making that country OK, or if you feel that the entire "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is a farcical slaughter that we're watching grow darker every day, I'm sure both camps could agree that Iraq is certainly FUBAR.

In other news, another soldier was killed by someone with a rocket launcher in Iraq. This is nothing new, but I urge you to take a look at this Time Magazine graphic of all the killings of U.S. soldiers and civilians in just the last month of U.S. occupation. Does the average American have any bearing on the situation in Iraq? Do they know that soldiers die daily for this war? Are they that sold on the killing? What does it mean to them? Feel free to email or IM your thoughts.

This is Andrew from the AlbaPerch, keeping it real.

2003-08-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome back, loyal Perch readers! A new semester of Calabaloo is upon us, and the Perch is here for all the slick and skinny of Berkeley going-ons. Hope everyone had a relaxing and productive summer, and is looking forward to all the excitement Fall 2003 is sure to bring.

If you picked up the Daily Cal today, you surely noticed the classy article on Berkeley Blogs. The Albatross Perch, runner-up of the 2002 Hugo award for Best New Berkeley Blog, was egregiously not mentioned in today's article. Calstuff's Kevin Dennihan (who delivers the funny in this month's Squelch), is quoted liberally (how else for a Berkeley paper? yuk yuk) in the article.

Holy shit, they're giving out free boba drinks at the Tea House today. Doors open at 4:30. I hate boba drinks, I think they taste like squishy little testicles in milk. The only Boba I like is Boba Fett, and that's because I'm a nerd.

2003-08-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Harrison Ford is the MAN!

Not ONLY is he going to be in Indiana Jones IV, coming out summer 2005,

Not ONLY is he allegedly banging Ally McBeal,

But he's also man enough to speak out against U.S. Foreign policy. Granted, he does it while in Spain, but he still said he's against the war. Also surprisingly, he's for gun control and thinks that movies have become videogame-like. I can't help but think that's a slight dig at George Lucas's last two Star Wars movies, compared to the three that Harrison Ford was in.

"I think American films right now are suffering from an excess of scale. Lots of movies we're seeing now are more akin to video games than stories about human life and relationships."

About the war:

"I'm very disturbed about the direction American foreign policy is going," said Ford.

"I think something needs to be done to help alleviate the conditions which have created a disenfranchised and angry faction in the Middle East. I don't think military intervention is the correct solution. I regret what we as a country have done so far".

I think it's great when celebrities speak out on issues. I wonder if Indiana Jones would have let the Bush Administration wield the Ark of the Covenant for use in the War on Terror? "It belongs in a museum, Rummy!"

2003-07-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

"You little fruitcake. You little fruitcake. I said you are a fruitcake."

Your U.S. Representatives hard at work. That little gem of a quote came from the mouth of Representative Fortney "Pete" Stark, a Democrat from California, directed towards little fruitcake Rep. Scott McInnis, a Republican Representative from Colorado. It was the culmination of an afternoon long debate about who sucks more, Republicans or Democrats. The whole episode is in this article, but you have to read it carefully to follow what happened.

Another low point was, when Nancy Pelosi, another California Democratic Representative, introduced "a resolution protesting the GOP's behavior, triggering an afternoon-long debate in which each side accused the other of debasing Congress." That's hysterical! Nancy actually stood up in front of a split house after a long afternoon of partisan fighting and introduced a "Republicans Suck" resolution!

The House voted 170 to 143 to reject Pelosi's motion. That means 143 members of the house voted in favor of the "Republicans Suck" resolution.

Aagh, the madness of it all! It's obvious tensions are high on the hill, but what pisses me off as a voter and California resident is the way our elected officials let the real issues sail overhead in favor of getting their butts re-elected. Nobody dared speak out against war until it was too late, the best we got was Kerry saying that the President failed at diplomacy. Nobody is exposing this fradulent, lying Administration, and when it comes down to it, our elected officials become almost infantile in their name-calling. Grow the Fuck Up, House of Representatives. Politics may be a playground, but the consequences of an out-of-control military machine like the U.S.A. needs mature watchdogs, not this absurdity.

I just hope the "fruitcake" line gets played over, and over, and over on the airwaves. It's just too funny, and too sad at the same time.

2003-07-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

A wonderful episode of stupidity:

For want of more magical ingredients, the woman cooked up a potion of water, oil, alcohol and toothpaste, local media reported. It was unclear what spell she was trying to weave.

2003-06-27T01:57:00.000-07:00

Strom Thurmond died. What is there to say?

2003-06-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

How to alienate your consumer base: A lesson in fighting piracy from the RIAA.

"Next time you or your kids 'share' music on the Internet, you may also want to download a list of attorneys," was the message in a full-page ad taken out by the RIAA in the New York Times. This bulletin/warning/threat certainly makes me no more inclined to pay $20 for a CD I can find online for free. How the RIAA failed to turn file sharing into a boon for their industry never ceases to amaze me, and instead the consumer finds himself being threatened with legal action for capitalizing on technology. An open letter to the RIAA: Please pull your head out of your ass.

2003-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

I rented Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 for the PS2 this weekend, and was surprised to find that the first level, "California College", is based on our very own UC Berkeley. In this screenshot, and this one, you can see the Campanille, and here you can see Sather Gate.

2003-06-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

As long as the Harry Potter series of books has been around, people have been accusing it of helping to spread witchcraft and Paganism. While this is generally the hysterical fears of extremely religious people, this MSN article does claim that Paganism is on the rise in the UK. The whole thing seems rather silly to me, as the Christian religious people are accusing the Pagan religious people of making "spiritual evil" into mere fantasy, instead of the cold-hard reality it is.

“The rise of interest in Paganism is damaging because it normalizes spiritual evil by presenting it as mere fantasy and fiction,” said Reverend Joel Edwards of the Evangelical Alliance, a grouping of some one million UK Christians.

Frankly, if you believe in Satan and other "spiritual evil", you're sitting in the same boat with people who believe Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter are real people in real situations. It's just amusing to watch these two groups, with two fictionalized world-views, butting heads over whose fantasy is more "true".

Kevin Carlyon, High Priest of British White Witches said “Harry Potter” in recent years had continued the trend, helping create what he called “the fastest growing belief system in the world.” But it was not all good, he added.
Fresh back from a trip to Scotland to lift an old hex from the Loch Ness Monster, he warned teenagers against joining witch covens too young.

Lifting a hex from the Loch Ness Monster! Truly great.

2003-06-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

Thousands pose nude in Spain.

He called the Barcelona installation a great visual success. "I created a river of bodies like I've never made before. It was an amazing pink and tan carpet."

2003-06-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Go Ed! This guy is great. Unfortunately, he's facing 5 years in prison soon.

"He's taken the robes of honor and turned them into soiled rags," he said. "I was told what I was doing was legal, and then I was tried for it."

2003-06-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Note to the Daily Cal: "Seaking" is not a word, unless you're referring to "seak", which is apparently a type of soap used for milling cloth. Unless that's what you were going for, a headline like "Seaking Nemo" is just embarassing.

2003-06-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia? For Saddam? How is this possible?

Newcomers have now moved into those imposing buildings, putting their particular stamp on the premises. One of Saddam's indoor swimming pools, for example, is being prepared for American soldiers eager to cool off during Tikrit's blistering summer.

Ah, well, as long as we're not being too showy about it.

2003-05-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

They control the horizontal, soon they'll control the vertical, too.

FCC To Vote on Media Ownership Laws

I find it continually astounding that decisions like this are made by a council of 5 old men, called the FCC. The new laws would allow a single corporation, say Newscorp (Fox News), to buy and control more than the current 35% of the TV stations in an area. As one opponent of the deregulations has said:

"Absent a change of direction in the chairman's office, we will likely have dramatically altered our nation's media landscape," Copps said. "At stake is who will control the gateways to the media, who will control the content of the media and for what purposes."

So just like Hearst's control of newspapers in the early 20th century, providing support for the Spanish-American War, we may see even more of the controlling media presence providing support for other wars (say, "Operation: Iraqi Freedom"). Again, all of this is being decided by 5 men on a panel, far above the heads of the American public.

2003-05-28T00:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer! Here's an amusing legal quandry to ponder, if your summer days are passing too slowly:

Woman Sues For Right To Wear Veil For License Photo

I can't see how this would be ok. I mean, what's the point of a license photo if your face is veiled? If she did manage to get her veiled photo on the license, what's keeping her from, say, giving it to an underage, veil-wearing kid to buy beer? If the state does "respect her right to religious freedom" by letting her get a veiled photo, I plan to get my next license photo taken with a plastic Hulk mask from a party store.

2003-05-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry Perch fans, but due to Finals, updates will be sporadic for a little while longer. Watch this spot!

2003-05-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

Recently a few people have been raising a stink over an article the Daily Cal ran a few days ago about a brawl. Most recently, newspapers have been stolen from bins, the perpetrators leaving behind fliers saying to boycott the Daily Cal for its racism.

First of all, the article was about a football player who (allegedly) smashed a guy in the head with a bottle, fracturing his skull. The athlete was black, and the Daily Cal ran a picture of him. Some consider this to be "racist", as it perpetuates the stereotype that blacks commit crime.

Students said the inclusion of previous fraternity scuffles in the article unfairly linked African Americans to those incidents.

Students objected to what they said depicted the predominately white Greek community as victims because they, as minorities, already felt like outsiders on fraternity row.

Apparently the students who are objecting to the article would rather focus on the larger story, of a brawl erupting between two fraternities. You have to search the article a bit to find the larger picture, which was that this huge brawl erupted between two fraternities, a couple people were hurt, and another was arrested for assault. So, the Daily Cal noted that the objecting students were irate at the "limited scope" of the article. So, the Daily Cal probably should have made the brawl the main story and not the football player.

As for whether or not it is racist to place a photo of an arrested individual who happens to be black, I think that all depends on the sensitivity threshhold of the individual. Sure, it seems like blacks get a bad rap in the media, but when you print something factual like the picture of a black guy who got arrested, it doesn't automatically refer to all blacks. It refers to one guy, who in this case hit someone in the head with a bottle.

On top of all that, the objecting students feel the need to point out their view of the "predominately white Greek community" as claiming to be victims in this incident. It's rediculous to invent racial tensions that simply do not exist like that. People "take up arms" against the Daily Cal because they think there's racism abound in Berkeley, when in reality Berkeley is pretty harmonious in terms of races getting along. I'll tell you, stealing Daily Cals is no way to protest your views (unless you're trying to be mayor, in which case it works out in the end).

2003-05-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

If you picked up a copy of the Berkeley Jewish Journal today, you might have seen the explosive article on the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley. The article exposes Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud and Saudi-based Xenel Industries as major contributors to both CMES and to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The highly detailed and informative article shows that those who hate Israel take a direct role in funding the CMES program at Berkeley. If this connection gives you the willies, then be glad your spidey sense is still in check. Kudos to the Berkeley Jewish Journal for the story- a true scoop.

I'd like the Berkeley Jewish Journal a little more if the photo on the back of their latest issue made any sense. The "Israel.... Apartheid?" and "You Decide!" captions make little sense of a blurry picture of people sitting at a conference table. While Anti-Israel photos shock people with their graphic depictions of Israeli soldiers and dead Palestinians, this apparently Pro-Israel photo needs a bit of context. Work on that, BJJ.

Meanwhile, Berkeley is in the national news again. A spot ran on CNN regarding Berkeley's attempt to prevent SARS outbreaks in the Bay Area by denying summer school classes to individuals from "affected" countries. A Berkeley professor went on CNN to argue that the bill would only increase hysteria about the outbreak, and that it was an unnecessary measure. Berdahl figures, "better safe than sorry".

"Son, I have SARS. There is only a 98% chance I will live. You must find a cure, son- soon there will only be 98% of us left."-South Park

2003-05-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

Middle East Peace: Have you read the roadmap?

2003-04-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

A bit of UC Berkeley related news for those following the scandals at Los Alamos lab- due to the allegations of mismanagement (including buying stereos with research money), Los Alamos labs is not guaranteed a government contract next year. Ooh, that contract so scandalous.

2003-04-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

My worst fears coming true: Iraqi civilians are killed by American troops when they fire on a crowd, after an angry protest led to someone throwing a stone at troops. Sounds like Israel-Palestine, eh? The military hasn't said a word on this situation, and the source of the story is none other than Fox News East, Al-Jazeera, so take it with a grain of salt. Still, I'd hate to see our glorious victory for Caeser be spoiled by years of military occupation in Iraq, and the growing anti-American and Anti-Israel sentiment that comes with it.

2003-04-28T23:47:00.000-07:00

Uncle Joey comes to Cal! Dave Coulier, who cracked me up when I was about six years old, will be performing Thursday at Wheeler. "Cut-it-out!"

2003-04-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday marked the fourth anniversary of the Columbine shootings. Sadly, this violence still continues. James Sheets, 14, brought three guns to school, used one to kill his principal in the cafeteria, and another one to kill himself at the scene. You'll be lucky to see this story much on the news, I guess, with concern about Iraq and SARS and such, but like Michael Moore suggested in "Bowling for Columbine", you have to consider the motivations of this teenager. What drove this kid to pull a Columbine? Why do our teenagers pop off like that, in a fury of gun-happy carnage? Here's a hint: it had nothing to do with the fact that there weren't metal detectors at the school.

We will probably never learn why James did what he did, and speculation at this point is useless. All we can do is mourn the two dead.

2003-04-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Tidbits of newsworthy goodness from today's Daily Cal:

The Mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates, finally made good on his promise to spend a night on the streets to feel what it's like to be homeless. Despite the fact that he was allowed by police to stay in the park, the sprinklers were shut off, and he was surrounded by people taking pictures, Bates experienced exactly what it is like to be homeless. Now that his campaign promise has been fulfilled, what's he going to do about it? Watch this space for further developments.

Last night a female student on campus fought off an attacker. The description of the would-be rapist was "a male wearing a dark jacket or sweatshirt, and dark pants that could be jeans". So, if you see any males wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt, kick them in the balls and call the police. While the Daily Cal says that sexual assaults by strangers are rare on campus and in the city of Berkeley, these seem to be fairly common news items these days.

2003-04-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

That's it, it's official. I'm moving to Canada. This country has become way, way too fucked up.

OJ Simpson gets own reality show.

2003-04-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ahoy Perch readers! I apologize for the week-long absence. The Perch is not dead and gone, as some have expressed concern about, but shall continue to bring you all the news of my choosing that's fit to blog. Berkeley news, university new, national news, etc. Let's get started, shall we?

Who controlls Iraq's oil? Pre-war, the oft-repeated lie was that Iraqi oil was of little consequence to American interests, and that the war would not be fought over resources. 48 hours before the "shock and awe" campaign began, Bush's demand that Saddam leave the country included a line or two asking that oil wells not be set on fire, as they belong to the people of Iraq, and would be fundamental in helping to rebuild the country. Now that all is said and bombed, it is unknown who will actually be profitting from Iraq's oil supply. According to the article in the Financial Times, US soldiers are protecting the oil ministry, a former director general under Saddam is still guarding the front gate, and nobody's clearly in charge. It makes you wonder what other important information will slip under the post-"liberation" radar.

Happy Easter, Happy Earth Day, Happy 4/20. Whatever holiday you decide to celebrate today, make it a happy one.

2003-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

As the war on Iraq winds down, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" proves to be somewhat of a success, there are a few complex sides to this that still deserve our attention and exploration.

Firstly, the Middle East situation as a whole. My day was brightened when I read this comment from Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon, who said that he is willing to make "painful concessions", including giving up some Jewish settlements, to ensure "true peace, real peace, peace for generations". Now is the time! With Iraq in the painful, early reconstructive stages of a budding democracy, now is the time for the United States to sit down with Sharon and Palestinian Authorities, and to stop the bloodshed in Israel. Bush has repeatedly promised to support a Palestinian state, and personally, I'm all for it if it means a decline in violence. From a speech by Bush on June 24, 2002:

My vision is two states, living side by side, in peace and security. There is simply no way to achieve that peace until all parties fight terror.

Yet at this critical moment, if all parties will break with the past and set out on a new path, we can overcome the darkness with the light of hope.

Peace requires a new and different Palestinian leadership, so that a Palestinian state can be born. I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror.

I call upon them to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty.

Far, far easier said than done. Bush is not a master of diplomacy, we have seen that with this situation with Iraq. The months leading up to the invasion of Iraq were an exercise in bureaucracy and sleight-of-hand foreign policy, where we go on and on about WMDs and UN Resolutions, when our motivations for destroying Saddam were not the same as what we said. However, in the greater scheme of things- Iraq is "freed", to a certain extent, and I pray that Iraq will serve as a springboard for a solid Middle East peace plan. Now is the time for Bush to devote his resources to this long-overdue healing process.

2003-04-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

Call it "Texas Hold 'em".

The Military issued its soldiers decks of playing cards featuring the faces of 55 most wanted Iraqi officials. Somehow, I don't think these decks would go over as well as decks of cards from Hooters, but the hope is that they will be helpful in bringing escaped officials to justice.

2003-04-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Berkeley student elections are upon us and... well, who cares, really?

There's far more interesting stuff going on in the world outside Berkeley right now.

Anyways, here's a Salon.com article that praises The Daily Show for being hysterically funny, brilliantly written, and timely. Lucky for those of us on the Internet, you can watch all Daily Show segments here.

Also interesting, today CNN did a story on bloggers during wartime. There was a short feature on Where is Raed?, the blog I mentioned yesterday.

And finally, I'd like to give a big Albatross Perch welcome to the Google users who stumbled onto my website with the following search strings:

pictures of iraqi torture victims
massage handjobs details

Neither of which I actually have, by the way. They came for the handjob details, but stayed for the informative and thought-provoking online journalism.

2003-04-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are anxiously watching the War in Iraq on TV and in the papers, check out the additional perspective that blogs can provide.

This blog is written by a civilian blogger in Iraq named "Salam", who is in favor of democracy and does not support Saddam. But he's anxiously watching his country buckle under the pressure of an American invasion, watching Al-Jazeera TV and reporting on the day to day life in Iraq. Salam also posts a link to this breathtaking satellite photo of Baghdad and points out a few landmarks.

My favorite part of this blog was Salam's rant on the war, from March 16:

No one inside Iraq is for war (note I said war not a change of regime), no human being in his right mind will ask you to give him the beating of his life, unless you are a member of fight club that is, and if you do hear Iraqi (in Iraq, not expat) saying “come on bomb us” it is the exasperation and 10 years of sanctions and hardship talking. There is no person inside Iraq (and this is a bold, blinking and underlined inside) who will be jumping up and down asking for the bombs to drop. We are not suicidal you know, not all of us in any case.

Imagine: Iraqis know what "Fight Club" is! They're like Americans, just yearning to be free. Anyways, I highly reccomend reading Salam's blog.

2003-04-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Perch fans! My Internet connection has been down since last Friday, so I've been unable to provide you with the regular blogging news you know and crave. Until my connection gets fixed for good, updates will be sporadic. Please bear with me, and check out some of my other favorite news sites for all your news needs. (Drudge Report, Salon, Slate)

Two items of note on the war front:

Crazy Kentucky Republican Senator says journalist Peter Arnett should be tried for treason should he ever reenter the United States. Arnett said the following on Iraqi TV:

[Washington's] "first war plan has just failed because of Iraqi resistance. ... Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces."

I never thought that his statements were particularily treasonous. There's nothing inaccurate about it, really. Washington did tell us the regime would fall quickly, then we had "shock and awe", and now we're being told to settle in for a long fight in Iraq. Apparently, it's a problem to say that specifically on Iraqi TV, where the battle for hearts and minds is so key. In a war as psychological and media-based as this one, apparently there can't be any room for doubters. After all, you're either with us, or against us.

Even if you're in the state of Oregon, apparently. Oregon Senate Bill #742 would make anyone who "plans or participates in an act that is intended, by at least one of its participants, to disrupt" business, transportation, schools, government, or free assembly to be labelled a TERRORIST. Welcome to McCarthyism, Part II. If a dozen protesters in New York disrupt traffic, they're terrorists, and are subject to a minimum of 25 years in prison. If a group of students siezes a university building, they are terrorists. Does anybody else see the problem with this? Thankfully the ACLU is stepping up to fight this bill, which is clearly targetting anti-War protesters and is a dangerous step towards losing our right to Free Speech.

2003-03-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

A story you might have missed because of the war:

10 year old NJ boy molests a 3 year old boy, then beats him to death with a baseball bat.

With all the news of war going on, this story is expected to slip under the radar. It really shouldn't though- the facts of the case are nothing short of shocking. We may be worried about terrorists, or Saddam's weapons, but the real cause for concern is that a 10 year old boy in this country is capable of murder. Further facts- the 10 year old's father, a blind man, was "likely" abusing his son. Gee, you think? 10 year olds don't naturally do what this kid did. I'm certain he was being abused.

This war with Iraq is costing us billions of dollars ($75 billion, for a start), and I can't help but think that some of that money would be better served going towards social services that do something about our problems in our own backyard. We reap what we sow, I guess.

2003-03-26T23:09:00.000-08:00

Albatross Perch fanmail:

Ahhhh.....college students! Museums of mush. Liberals are like children that don't understand the word is dangerous. They don't understand why we hit their hands away right as they are about to touch a hot stove. They dont understand why we (conservatives) get upset when a man (Saddam) in a van drives by and tries to coax them (liberals) inside with candy (negotiations). Nothing good can come from a man trying to get a child into a van. Liberals dont understand that those same dangers lurk on a global scale.

A valid point, but somewhat simplified. I'll agree that we can't back down from military action at this point, which is distressing. I was never fully convinced before we began military action in Iraq that Saddam was a direct threat to the United States. One could argue that our military aggression puts America in more danger.

Thanks for writing, and keep sending me your comments.

2003-03-26T01:07:00.000-08:00

News... On the March!

You've got to be kidding me... 8,000 "captured" Iraqi soldiers aren't so captured after all. Apparently while the newspapers touted these massive surrenders as a hopeful sign that our military action in Iraq was going smoothly, the truth was that the soldiers were allowed to "melt away", go home, rearm, and come back to fight. According to the story, they're now engaging British troops. (Note the "blurred effect" on the faces of captured Iraqis in the picture. We wouldn't want to subject them to public curiosity, would we?)

For a slideshow that will really break your heart, check out this NY Times series of photos of "Children and the War". You'll see Iraqi kids happily getting candy from troops, a little girl bandaged up in an Iraqi hospital ("collateral damage"), and other images that remind us of the human side of our military actions. To view the pictures, go to the NY Times main page, and scroll down to "Slideshows".

2003-03-24T02:08:00.000-08:00

Another Update: The reason for my confusion was that there are actually multiple iterations of the Geneva Convention. This one makes no mention of "public curiosity" in Article 13, because it pertains to Wounded and Sick in the Field (Convention I). This one is about treatments of POWs (Convention III). Convention II is about Wounded and Sick at Sea, Convention IV is about Protecting Civilians during War.

Remember the Al-Qaida detainees at Guantanimo Bay that were being held post-9/11? Rumsfeld cited Article 13 of the Geneva Convention back then, too. Here's a radio transcript from January 2002 discussing Rumsfeld and the Geneva Convention.

The best example of something like what you're referring to that I can think of goes back to those American pilots who were captured by the Iraqis during the Gulf War. They were paraded on Iraqi television and forced to make confessions on Iraqi television. Now that to me would count as a violation of Article 13 of the Geneva Convention.
-Michael Byers, Int'l Law Professor at Duke University

2003-03-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

Correction: Article 13 of the Geneva Convention states:

"Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity."

Public curiosity is close enough to "broadcast on TV". Rumsfeld is right, Andrew is wrong. Thanks to Rory (The Angry Clam) for pointing this out to me.

2003-03-24T01:50:00.000-08:00

About those captured POWs:

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld went on CNN to talk to Wolf Blitzer about the current state of the war. During that interview, he said that the Iraqis are in violation of the Geneva Convention for airing footage of the American POWs on Al-Jazeera television. Here's what Rummy said:

RUMSFELD: What I'm saying is that it's a violation of the Geneva Convention for the Iraqis to be -- if, in fact, that's what's taking place, to be showing prisoners of war in a humiliating manner.

Now, I'm just a college student and Rummy is the Secretary of Defense, but I did a little research and I couldn't find anything in the Geneva convention about "showing prisoners of war in a humiliating manner". According to the document, which can be found here in its entirety, the Geneva Convention only protects POWs from:

"wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."

In other words, nothing about "humiliating" POWs by showing their images on TV.

Is this psychological war? Big time. They are showing those five captured POWs with the intent to make America lose faith, grow scared, grow upset. Saddam and his regime weren't too concerned with abstaining from torture during times of peace. I shudder to think of what they're doing to those POWs in times of war. If I were Rumsfeld, I wouldn't be worried that the showing of the captured troops on camera is the violation of the Geneva Convention- I would be far more worried about what is happening to them off camera.

One of the five captured soldiers is a woman. It seems likely that she would be raped and abused by her captors. The men are likely going to be tortured.

Good Lord, what a price we're paying for this war.

2003-03-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

If Saddam had a blog, it would probably look like this.

2003-03-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their Spring break.

Meanwhile, we're at war. Some items of notable interest:

Time Magazine writes about what "shock and awe" really means in terms of effectiveness, and covers the final hours before Bush gave the command to go ahead with "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

According to the Washington Post, five American soldiers have been taken captive by Iraqis. Al Jazeera television beamed images and interviews with the captive soldiers, as well as footage of dead U.S. soldiers, all over the Arab world. It's terrible stuff, sickening. My greatest fear is that we'll see a lot more of this before all is said and done.

And to lighten the mood just a little, The Onion presents "Gulf War II: The Vengeance"

2003-03-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Grossest protest... ever.

2003-03-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

What does Bush mean exactly when he says that Saddam is an "evil man"? From the Amnesty International website:

Torture victims in Iraq have been blindfolded, stripped of their clothes and suspended from their wrists for long hours. Electric shocks have been used on various parts of their bodies, including the genitals, ears, the tongue and fingers. Victims have described to Amnesty International how they have been beaten with canes, whips, hosepipe or metal rods and how they have been suspended for hours from either a rotating fan in the ceiling or from a horizontal pole often in contorted positions as electric shocks were applied repeatedly on their bodies. Some victims had been forced to watch others, including their own relatives or family members, being tortured in front of them.
...
In October 2000 dozens of women suspected of prostitution were beheaded without any judicial process in Baghdad and other cities after they had been arrested and ill-treated. Men suspected of procurement were also beheaded. The killings were reportedly carried out in the presence of representatives of the Ba'ath Party and the Iraqi Women's General Union. Members of Feda'iyye Saddam, a militia created in 1994 by 'Uday Saddam Hussain, used swords to execute the victims in front of their homes. Some victims were reportedly killed in this manner for political reasons.

Let's hope that this upcoming war is for the best after all.

2003-03-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

48 hours until this whole thing goes down. Times like these, it is important to keep informed.

http://drudgereport.com
http://www.salon.com
http://slate.msn.com

2003-03-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

When in doubt, blame the Jews. Is this really surprising to anyone anymore?

"If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this."
-House Representative James P. Moran, Jr. (D, Virginia)

2003-03-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, now this is a cool religion. That looks like an absolute horror show.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, celebrities who perform on the Oscars get a gift bag with tons of free stuff. Included in the gift bag is a Godiva chocolate body wrap from a fancy salon in New York, valued at $175. Imagine, there are people in the world who live amongst rocks and rubble and we've got celebrities covering themselves in chocolate.

One wonders what they do at this salon with the chocolate? After it's been wrapped on the celebrities, I mean. They don't just throw it out, do they?

I think in a country where people publicly cut themselves on the heads with swords, chocolate-wrapped celebrities wouldn't go over too well.

But then again, they hate us because we're free, right?

2003-03-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here is Salon.com's eloquent arguement against the war. Berkeley protesters, take note. This is how you change minds- not by pulling fire alarms and disrupting classes.

To me, it seems like our country is in darker days than it was around September 11th. Back in 2001, we were scared, confused, angry... but we rallied around the President and said "Thank God we're better than the terrorists", and praised the Constitution and Apple Pie and all the good things that make us American in the face of tragedy. Now, nearly 18 months to the day, there's talk of a war that has the country divided once again. And it's not like this is going to be a one-shot, kill-Saddam-and-create-a-democratic-Iraq, this has a lot of scary potential to snowball into a crisis. Not just a national crisis like 9/11, but an international crisis, where other people besides us will suffer. Possibly Israel will suffer, certainly Iraqi citizens will suffer, and many people are just sort of accepting this. Like 9/11 and Saddam are one in the same. It makes one want to tear their hair, and scream for a leader who wants peace, but the message falls on the deafest of ears. Leave it to George Bush to call the largest anti-war rallies since Vietnam a "focus group".

So, with what meager megaphone I have, I'd like to ask all my Perch readers: Keep your spirits up. Try to be a good person even though the world seems like it's becoming shittier. Give someone a hug. Plant a tree. Pet a puppy. Grab a roll of duct tape and go be with someone you like being with. Try to let the goodness in humanity shine through uncertain times.

2003-03-09T01:28:00.000-08:00

The news has been so bleak lately, what with all this war and terror and gas and stuff, I thought I'd change gears a little bit here at the Albatross Perch and post a fun Albatross Perch Reader's Response Question. You can email or IM me your thoughts, especially if you're a girl I know who reads this blog. Now, on to the discussion question.

If you sit with a girl during class, does it count as a date?

I would argue that it should. Sitting with a girl in a college lecture can be a date-like experience. For a good length of time you have to be just as attentive as a movie or a ballet. It's free, unless you count the many thousands of dollars in tuition you're both paying. Plus there's all that time walking to your seat, admiring eachother's notebooks, and maybe even cozying up on the armrest.

Let me know what you think. Until then, stay posted to the Albatross Perch for more exciting local Berkeley and world news.

2003-03-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

It begins...

The Drudge Report is saying that "Bush makes the call", which sounds like literally any moment now, the U.S. will be at war. Not a war on drugs, or a war on terror, but a real war, where soldiers will be dying and killing other people. The U.N. has not pledged full support. Millions across the globe are protesting. Nobody knows how many innocents will die because of this. This is no longer supposition, but then again, it never has been. The Drudge Report makes it sound like Bush is making a heart-wrenching decision to go to war, but the fact is that George W. has been pushing, prodding, and preparing for this war for months, if not years. It's the war that may topple Saddam's regime (this is a good thing), and if all goes according to plan, will get Bush and Co. re-elected in 2004 (a very bad thing).

Meanwhile, Israel suffered another terrorist suicide bombing. Someone sure seems happy about it:

"We are sending the clear message that the will of resistance will continue until the elimination of the occupation," a-Zahar said. "Regardless who is behind this ... this is a clear message for the government that Israeli crimes, Israeli aggression will be answered by a well-effective resistance from the Palestinian side."

Send a clear message to the government? Fifteen are dead, 40 are wounded. The bus was carrying many high school and college students, CNN reports. Killing teenagers whose only crime was being on the wrong bus is not a diplomatic strategy. And yet, there are those in the world who cheer when they learn that Israeli teenagers have been murdered. It's a very ugly world out there sometimes.

2003-03-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

I mentioned a while ago that it would take nothing less than divine intervention to stave off the inevitable War with Iraq. Well, even the Pope can't convince Bush to change his war-mongering ways.

Pope John Paul II has said that a pre-emptive war with Iraq would be immoral, to which White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer responded that the President feels not going to war would be immoral. Well, then. Guess we're back where we started. Nice try, God!

For a lively Berkeley debate on the whole War thing, swing by 10 Evans tonight (Tuesday, March 4th) at 8pm. The Berkeley Stop the War coalition and Cal Republicans will square off in a no-holds barred, grudge match! Most definitely not to be missed!

2003-03-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

The real face of terrorism.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, alleged September 11th mastermind, is one scragly looking mofo. Apparently, plotting jihad against America doesn't leave much time for personal hygiene.

2003-03-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, some British "Human Shields" flew to Iraq to sacrifice themselves in the event of a war. They were making a bold statement, telling the world that lives are at stake and that when the bombs start falling and the bullets flying, these brave Human Shields would be the first to perish. (human shields are actually the second casualty of war, right after "Innocence".)

But that's all over now. The Human Shields, a good nine out of 11 of them, have gone home because they don't want to get hurt. Smart move, most likely- the war is right on schedule, and the U.S. has warned that their safety could not be guaranteed in the event of a war. Besides, the Shields are being used as propoganda by Saddam Hueissein, and were apparently enjoying accomodations on Saddam's dime. That's not cool either.

So, farewell, Human Shields. Thank you for reminding us that when you've got something important to say to the world, you should say it. And then, when the heat gets turned up, you get the hell out of the kitchen.

2003-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Be sure to pick up a copy of the California Voice when you see it being distributed on Sproul Plaza this week. There's a good article on the San Francisco Anti-War Protest (which I contributed to, although my name was misspelled). Also of note is a rundown of how Iraq became a hot zone, and what war would mean for the U.S. economy.

2003-02-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

There are two stories on the cover of Friday's Daily Cal that create an interesting juxtaposition. One story is about a man convicted a violent crime, trying to flee from the authorities, and getting caught. The other is about a man who committed a minor crime, tried to lie about it, got caught, got let off, and now is lecturing Middle Schoolers on morality.

The first man is a convicted rapist. The second man is Mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates.

Tom Bates, after stealing 1,000 copies of the Daily Cal and throwing them in the trash, lied about it before finally admitting to the crime after he was elected Mayor. Both Bates and the Mexico-bound rapist are despicable- but only one of them gets the opportunity to speak to 25 Middle School students about "making the right decisions". I find Bates's little morality pep-talk to be a little pathetic- one stupid mistake can get you thrown in jail, or in Bates's case, it can get you elected. Make your decisions wisely, kids.

2003-02-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

Sad news for those who grew up with Mister Roger's Neighborhood: Fred Rogers, former host of the PBS program and beloved friend of children everywhere, has died at age 74.

One of his red sweaters hangs at the Smithsonian, but here’s hoping the real solace that his family has today is the knowledge that several generations of children grew up believing in the decency and the generosity of heart that his show always embodied, and that even without his show, his lessons will no doubt survive to be handed on when we have children of our own. - Harry Knowles, Aint it Cool News

2003-02-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

"CBS, once a proud and honorable broadcasting company . . . has become just another money-grubber," he said.

That quote comes from Georgia Senator Zell Miller. As our country marches off into an inevitable war with Iraq, it's good to know that our elected officials are dedicating themselves to issues that truly make a difference. Senator Miller is outraged, simply outraged, over the latest controversy that affects all Americans- some reality show about Hillbillies that CBS is putting on.

OK, look. CBS came up with "Survivor" before anyone else did, and it made them a lot of money because stupid people like to watch these shows constantly. Instead of getting in a fit over a television show, I'd really appreciate it if our Senators were empassioned about issues that affected, say, the future of this country. I'm talking about things that have been mysteriously absent from the national spotlight recently, like the environment, gun control, medical research, abortion rights, etc etc. Nobody ever gets elected into office by promising they'll focus all their efforts on getting a TV show off the air, but sometimes it seems that's all they do. Truly appalling, when you consider what else is going on in the world right now.

2003-02-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

Check on Sproul Plaza this Wednesday between 11am and 2pm, and you just might find Berkeley College Republicans hosting their own Affirmative Action Bake Sale. Let the angry letters to the Daily Cal commence!

2003-02-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is very funny. At UCLA, the Republican group on campus held a bake sale to make a statement about affirmative action. The price of the cookies depended on what race and gender you were.

Black, Latina and American Indian females were charged 25 cents for cookies that cost males of minority descent 50 cents. White females were charged $1, and white males and all Asian Americans were charged $2.

The bake sale has been admonished by the chariman of the California Democratic Party, and an aide called the bake sale "race-baiting". I think it's funny, and makes a good point about the inequality of affirmative action. Whether it's cookies or college applications, giving preferencial treatment based on race and gender is unfair to all.

2003-02-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Daily Cal reports that the hearings with pro-Palestinian supporters who occupied Wheeler during a protest last April have finally ended. In hot water for their seizure of Wheeler on April 9, 2002, the Wheeler 79 (41 of which were Cal students) have had all charges dropped against them. I wonder what will happen to them next time they decide to hold their protest with midterms going on in adjacent classrooms. Of course, the Axe Committee did the same thing last semester when Cal won the Big Game, so I guess it's only fair that the charges against the protesters were eventually dropped.

2003-02-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

Remember how the Chronicle was estimating nearly 200,000 protesters in the streets of San Francisco last Sunday? Well, they now claim that the actual number is closer to 65,000. This new number is based on high-resolution aerial photographs commisioned by the Chronicle (could it be from the same airplane trailing the "Saddam Commits Genocide" banner?). However, a policeman and an anti-war spokesman both refute the Chronicle's new claim.

So what does this mean? Does it matter if the actual number of people involved in the anti-war protest is a quarter of what it was thought to be? Are Americans, even in San Francisco, less opposed to the war than citizens in London and Rome? In those cities, well over 1,000,000 people opposed Bush's war. Is the voice of dissent little more than a whisper in this country? I sure hope not.

Meanwhile, the war starts in three weeks. Just in time for Sweeps Week!

2003-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Female Air Force cadet is raped by a classmate. Her commanders respond by charging her with having sex in the dormitories. Awful, ugly situation.

2003-02-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

Two items of note in Wednesday's Daily Cal. First up is Daily Cal reporter Nate Tabak's brush with crime-fighting, in a slightly too self-congratulating article about a bungled police stakeout. I have a feeling Nate will someday don a cape and cowl and make crime-fighting a full time job.

The other story goes back to 1936, when four pranksters presented what they claimed was a 16th century brass plate to their Berkeley Historian Herbert Bolton. Forty years later, the plate's authenticity was disproved by a "dating test" (carbon dating, I'd assume). The recent news is that the identities of the pranksters have been discovered. Now that's a good one- a practical joke that lasts 70 years.

2003-02-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

I attended the San Francisco rally today. Turnout was excellent- I was really surprised how many people took to the streets to speak out against war on Iraq. Unfortunately, I saw much of the same issue-muddling and counter-productive tactics that I've seen at other rallies- mainly, the fact that the "Stop The War" message got lost in the mix of "Free Palestine", "Free Mumia", "Free the Five", and other assorted bits of irrelevant distractions. No wonder the anti-war sentiment hasn't caught on as strongly as it should- people who are undecided on their stance on the war don't hear a single, unified message from the liberal protesters in this country. Instead, they see a hodge-podge of political hot-button topics.

I think it's highly offensive when a speaker screams to "end the Israeli occupation" at a rally like today's. I'm confounded when a speaker screams that we should scrap the military to pay for dental dams and hormone treatments for transsexuals. These aren't the issues that deserve our attention, and while so many groups try to piggy-back on the media coverage at the rally, all it does is undo the positive message that we really need to get out.

That message? That our country is heading to war whether we like it or not, that it could be an unnecessary and costly war, that many American soldiers and innocent civilians may die, and that our President finds war preferable to peace.

Update: The Chronicle reports between 150,000 to 200,000 peaceful protesters in SF, plus 1,000 anarchic people who tried to cause trouble. Here's my favorite photograph from the Chronicle.

2003-02-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

There's an "open letter to the editors of the Patriot" circulating around campus on bright pink paper. I think it's supposed to be funny, or tongue-in-cheek, or something. It's not, really, it just says the person who wrote the article about anonymous gay sex in campus bathrooms is probably gay himself. Anyways, the letter's attempt to be biting satire falls way short.

By the way, when I was using the restroom in GPB, I saw some graffitti that read, "For action, be here Friday at 7:30". I was thoroughly creeped out.

2003-02-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Did you know that the reason we celebrate V-Day on the 14th of February is because it is exactly halfway through the second month of the new year? This is the day on which, according to Geoffrey Chaucer, birds find their mates.

"For this was on Seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh there to chese his make"
-Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, line 309

2003-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable. According to this article, some members of Congress are proposing we ban Evian drinking water because France, which imports it to us, is against war in Iraq.

"France and Germany are losing credibility by the day and they are, I think, losing status in the world," the Post quoted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as saying. "They are walking a fine line that is very dangerous."

This whole situation looks to get far worse before it gets better. When we start spurning our closest allies, are we digging our own graves? More importantly, doesn't this make America look a bit... immature? "You're not on my side? Well, we'll ban your exports! How do you like them apples?" We're acting like a bully on the playground, and it's becoming more apparent every day we march closer to the inevitable, unstoppable War.

The Albatross Perch fully supports Evian drinking water, in hopes that someone will dunk Bush's head in a big vat of it.

2003-02-10T23:27:00.000-08:00

I'll be posting lightly this week, as I prepare two essays and an article for the Patriot. Good luck with classes.

2003-02-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

There's some quality blogging over at Kevin's Calstuff today, including a transcript and analysis of Steve Sexton's interview about The Patriot on CNN. CNN seems to have been under the impression that the "Valentines Day Economics" was more than a humor piece, and tried to grill Steve accordingly as to how P.C. the story is. Kevin also comments on Snehal in the news, an uninformed article that recently ran in the LA Times.

If you haven't seen this month's Satellite, now's the time to pick one up. I found my copy in the downstairs Media Center of Moffit Library, but remain ignorant of other Satellite droppoints. Anyways, the book review of a trashy Viking sex romp ("The Last Viking" by Sandra Hill, for six bucks at Walgreen's) is a real hoot. I particularily loved the dead-pan manner in which the reviewer, Katy Ansite, lists the locations and page numbers of every steamy sex scene. The joke is, she's reviewing the book like a Berkeley English professor would, except that the book itself will probably only be read by overweight, undersexed, middle aged women.

2003-02-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

It seems the editors at the Daily Cal have decided to wait until Friday to print the oddest collections of stories I've ever seen gathered in one place. We've got Frankenstein running for ASUC President (has not expressed whether he will choose Dracula or the Wolf Man as his running mate), Decreased Sperm Mobility, Toxic Skaters, Fired Teachers, and a Gay Israeli Militarist all on the front page of yesterday's paper. The stories are a refreshing change from the latest non-Berkeley papers: Iraq this, Columbia that.

(I apologize for the lack of active links- the Daily Cal website is down for now, but I'll update this blog later with live links)

2003-02-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

Today's Daily Cal reports that the Berkeley lab's cyclotron will be one of the first things cut by our more limited budget this year. The giant cyclotron, which (if I recall correctly) was one of the reasons Ang Lee chose to film scenes from the upcoming Hulk movie at Berkeley, will apparently scatter some of the lab's staff to other countries. The upside is that it will clear room and, assumably, funding for newer and more modern technologies.

If anything in this month's Patriot garners national press (like from Drudge or the like), it will be this shocking story: Anonymous Gay Sex In Berkeley Campus Bathrooms. For anyone wondering how "gloryhole" can be used in a sentence, I highly reccomend reading the article. I wrote a similarly-themed article for the Daily Cal last year, and flashbacks of used condoms hanging on public park tree branches still gives me the willies.

2003-02-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Time magazine finally put up a web version of their Patriot article. Click here for the link.

2003-02-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Some sad news on this Saturday afternoon: All 7 astronauts aboard the shuttle Columbia perished in an explosion over Texas, on their way to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Just a few days ago, one of the astronauts, Israel's first ever astronaut, made the statement that the Middle East "looks so peaceful" from space. While it seems very unlikely that this was an act of terrorism and not just mechanical failure, many news outlets are at least considering the possibility that the explosion might have been caused by a terrorist. It seems to me that for any tragedy that now occurs involving an explosion or a crash, the issue of terrorism will at least be raised in the media. Talk about a country on the edge. My condolences to the families of those who died on the Space Shuttle Columbia.

2003-01-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

Berkeley's own Republican publication The Patriot gets even more national exposure, featured in a story in this week's Time Magazine. Fellow Berkeley blogger Devora Liss gets quoted. The article, undoubtedly, will get The Patriot zillions in contributions from wealthy, Time-reading conservatives the whole country over. Unfortunately, I can't find an online copy of the article, but if you'd like to see it I reccomend picking up a copy of this week's Time (with the CIA on the cover).

2003-01-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! We have a new blog on the Berkeley beat- Berkeley Pundits, by Andrew Ratto and Sean Kennedy. A sidebar link is forthcoming.

I enjoyed Andy Katz's inside skinny on Berkeley City Council meetings in today's Daily Cal. Katz lends himself well to journalism, and I thought the article read like a gossipy friend who knows all the dirt on everyone in the room. This is a good thing. I look forward to future articles from Katz.

Also, if anything should get the public riled up about strict new anti-immigration legislation (i.e., Ashcroft's tightening of borders and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001), it should be the story of UC Berkeley Math Professor Mehmet Erdogon, who is apparently stuck in Turkey because someone with his name has a criminal record. I'm sure Professor Erdogon is not the only innocent individual who is being held up by the fact that he's in a country we consider threatening. The fact that we're keeping a math professor out of our own country, but the FBI still asks us to be on the lookout for terrorists who may have slipped past, just goes to show that the War on Terrorism is sliding into the same sort of futile aggravation as the War on Drugs. November 2004 can't come quickly enough to change our course.

2003-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

Two recent columns of note in the Daily Cal: Kevin Deenihan's commentary on a bill that was submitted to Congress earlier this month. The bill would reinstate the military draft. Kevin's take is that the bill is an affront to America's youth (the generation of you and me and Justin Timberlake) and that we're being forced, through legislation, by our government to prove our loyalty to this country. Kevin cites examples of mandatory community service to justify this point.

Also of interest in today's paper is new columnist Jose Luis Lopez. Jose's well-written article compares national events to popular culture, as the two seem to be intrinsically interconnected: Videogames and warfare, television and politics, pop music and anti-war chants ("Move, Bush, Get out the way!"). In some ways, this ties back to Kevin's article. The generation that is currently making all the fuss on campuses across the country is the same one that blows billions of dollars on entertainment and pop culture, so of course we're going to see some overlap. Is there a competition between the entertainment industry and the government machine for the hummingbird-length attention span of the Average American Youth?

And now, for my favorite meld of entertainment and news: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart recently had a segment entitled Peaced Off which showed some footage of San Francisco and Berkeley anti-war protests, including some footage of bare-breasted women holding dolls meant to signify dead children. Only in Berkeley can a protest be so unintentionally sexy. Anyways, you can see the video clip by following this link and clicking on "Peaced Off".

2003-01-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

Also, there's a new Squelch available today. Of particular funniness is the piece on Tom Bates, "Bates Apologizes for Mass Killings", a send up of the Daily Cal article that first broke the news of Bates' guilt.

2003-01-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Nuggets of News for you hard working Berkeleyites out there:

Hilary Rosen Steps Down as RIAA Chairman. For those of us who still pledge allegiance to Napster, Kazaa, and its kin, this is interesting stuff. Yesterday's landmark case in the fight against Mp3 pirates (read: students) can be summed up thusly:

The news comes a day after the RIAA won a landmark lawsuit against Internet service provider Verizon, which was ordered by a U.S. District Court judge to identify a subscriber who had illegally made more than 600 copyrighted music files available over the Internet. Rosen spearheaded these kinds of proactive anti-piracy efforts, which also included high-profile lawsuits against Internet file-swapping sites Napster and KaZaA.

So, before you download that Zwan mp3, keep in mind that the G-men could come knocking at your door with their sick sticks ready. With Rosen stepping down, though, who knows what direction the RIAA will take in tackling internet piracy? I'm surprised the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) hasn't been as involved in the anti-piracy fights as the RIAA has. It seems to me that with broadband and high-speed internet becoming more common, it's easier to download full length movies than to rent or buy them (or wait for the crappy edited network TV version).

If you'd rather be in a movie than steal it on Kazaa, you might want to check out the open casting call for a Spring Break Reality Movie! It's at the MLK Jr. Student Center on Tuesday, Jan 28th, from 12:30-6:30. Apparently, don't expect to take home a celebrity-sized paycheck.

"They'll become movie stars. That's payment enough," Fleiss said.

At the very least, expect to receive an offer to pose in Playboy.

2003-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the start of a new semester, and if you picked up a copy of today's Daily Cal on your way to Anthro 10 or Poli Sci Whatever, you'll notice that the paper's relative girth indicates it's been a news-heavy winter break. Welcome back, everyone, now let's see what's in the paper.

All of these stories should be familiar to anyone who has been reading blogs over the break. First off, there's the Lab Fiasco, where laboratory money has been found as having gone towards "unorthodox goods" such as TV and VCR equipment. Hey, any scientist I know loves to come back from a hard day of embezzling to watch "Dude, Where's My Car" on a big screen. The employees who are being investigated were apparently given purchasing cards similar to credit cards to buy equipment.

There's also this announcement, which made its way through the UC Labmail system earlier this week. UC Student Fees will be raised, which will goes hand in hand with Davis' plan to enroll more students. More students, each paying more, seems to make fiscal sense in a time when California has a $35,000,000,000 defecit (that's billions, with a B).

We're also being driven headfirst into a war, according to those who gathered to oppose War with Iraq. Everyone's favorite dissenter, Barbara "I Agree With Me" Lee of the House of Representatives, was there to urge on the protesters. Only a few hundred protesters, according to the article, engaged in disruptive activity such as spraypainting buildings and overturning newspaper racks.

According to the advertisement at the bottom of page 5 of the Daily Cal, today is the 30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Happy Anniversary! The ad is from Berkeley Students for Life, so I don't think they're breaking out the champagne or anything today. The ad states "30 Years, 42 Million Unborn Victims, 42 Million Victimized Women". They don't mention, however, 42 million children who very well may be born poor and unwanted, if Roe v. Wade had not legalized abortion.

2003-01-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

A follow up on the UC Laboratories story: The University has said that it would no longer compete to keep their federal contract, if the government chooses to seek new bidders for the contract. I'm not entirely sure how it would affect things if the UC were to lose the contract, which it has held for nearly 60 years. After all, what is it they're doing now? These are the kinds of things that end up in the dull "Science" section of the Daily Cal, but what spices up this story a bit is the allegation of fiscal mismanagement.

Darling, in an interview Tuesday, said the university has taken numerous steps to fix the financial and management problems that have plagued the weapons lab the past several months.

2003-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

This editorial from the Times UK Online proclaims: The United States of America Has Gone Mad. There are many compelling and interesting points made in the article, although it would be easy to dismiss it as "radical left". Here's what really raised my eyebrows:

How Bush and his junta succeeded in deflecting America’s anger from bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is one of the great public relations conjuring tricks of history. But they swung it. A recent poll tells us that one in two Americans now believe Saddam was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Centre.

Egad, are we that easily misled? I can't believe that statistic is true, but somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

2003-01-14T12:38:00.000-08:00

Calstuff has the story on missing materials from UC laboratories, and two fired investigators who are charging that the university might be covering up the truth to hang on to its federal contract.

The Puddle has an anecdote about a conversation regarding El-Al's security practice. She says that El-Al basically uses a form of racial profiling, and it works- a very un-Berkeley sentiment.

I've been in St. Louis the last week, which is why I haven't been updating. Soon Perch HQ will relocate to Berkeley for the start of the Spring 2003 semester and the news will come straight to your computer screen on a regular basis like West Coast Cheesy Sticks to frat row.

2003-01-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

Next time you get to feeling like Berkeley is one of those places where it's unfortunate that people are so outspoken, consider the alternative.

This German man is facing three years in jail for a statement he made on the internet. The statement was thus:

"Yes, Congratulations to the murderers of 11.09.02.... Good, that on 11.09 a couple of real men (!) found the courage to show the evil ones, the USA how it really is!"

Ok, not very nice, sure. Downright anti-American, even. But Germany has a law against "glorifying a criminal act", which I'd assume is to prevent people from glorifying Hitler and the Holocaust. The man, Holger Voss, claims that the statement was meant to be "ironic", and was a response to someone else's post. Free speech is such a dangerous thing, but it's the courts that will decide whether it's acceptable, and whether this individual will face jail for his comments. Some things to think about:

Would these comments be acceptable if they were made in America?
How would it be different if this was, say, shouted on the street as opposed to posted on the Internet?
Was the statement really ironic? Does it matter? If it was, does that make it ok?
How does German law differ from American law in terms of free speech? Obviously, there's no First Ammendment in Germany, but I'd imagine there would be some similarities.

2003-01-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

The Perch is back now, with new posts for a new year.

A friend of mine directed my attention to this article, which says that hundreds, if not thousands, of Californian Muslims are being detained in detention centers right now. According to the article, most of the detainees are from the Los Angeles area and were arrested for "routine visa irregularities". The article makes the point that these people were registering themselves under new anti-terrorism laws, but are now held in conditions that are being called "inhumane".

The ACLU has said that this treatment of Muslim detainees is similar to the Japanese detention camps created by the War Department in the early years of America's involvement in World War II. For a look at the history of these camps (from the National Park Service), click here.

I'm worried that we're going to regress to a time when entire groups of people have their civil rights violated, who are plucked from their homes and forced to endure hardships only because they fit a profile. If this thing with the Muslim detainees is true to the degree stated in the article, I think the public needs to be know about it and consider speaking out. I urge everyone to watch and read the news very carefully this year and to be aware if the government ever does cross the line.

2002-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

The Perch is on temporary hiatus during vacation. Have a good break and a happy New Year!

2002-12-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone's getting through Finals alright. If you're looking for something fun to do to cap off Finals, AMC Theaters is having their grand opening on Wednesday, Dec 18th. This happens to be the same day Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opens. The theater is called AMC Bay Street 16 and they still have tickets available for the midnight Wednesday showing of Two Towers, plus popcorn is just 25 cents.

2002-12-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

Trent Lott is under a lot of scrutiny these days, ever since he remarked at Senator Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party that he supported Strom's bid for presedency in 1948. Of course, Strom was running on the Segregationalist ticket. Now, they're taking a closer look at a time when Lott was fighting to keep blacks out of his national fraternity (Sigma Nu).

The fraternity arguement interests me. I found out, for example, that my own fraternity (Phi Delta Theta) used to have a line in the national charter that said "no persons that are not of full Aryan blood" could be admitted. As a Jewish student, I'm happy to see that things have come a long way from older times, but Lott's statement is eerie in that it suggests that racism is very much still a part of American politics. Are we proud of the old Southern mentality in this country? Is Lott proud of Strom Thurmond's lifetime of fighting for segregating blacks from whites?

2002-12-11T01:28:00.000-08:00

If Finals Hell hasn't distracted you too much from the world of Berkeley political ethics, you might have been at the protest against Tom Bates at Tuesday's city council meeting. The mayor, of course, admitted to having trashed copies of the Daily Cal in a story printed in the Daily Cal last Friday. The story, however, could be found in the Cal Patriot a few days before.

I've reconsidered my stance on Tom Bates. As pathetic I think the act of stealing and trashing copies of the newspaper was, it may be too much to ask that the mayor resign immediately. After all, what he did was childish and stupid, but it wasn't done out of malice. Bates just really, really wanted to win, and he thought that throwing away newspapers would help. Bates wasn't trying to thwart Free Speech. After all, the guy has provided 24 years of service to Berkeley, and won the election by a considerable margin.

But I still think Bates should pay for his stupidity. I think he needs to do something to prove that he isn't some shameless old Grinch who furiously waves his fist at the First Ammendment. Maybe if he were to provide funding to start more publications on campus, or to support the Daily Cal through additional funding or resources. But first, he should pay the fine for petty theft.

2002-12-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

A Perch reader wrote me about his experiences with the now-defunct Daily Planet.

Just wanted to write in and let you know that I liked your entry on the Berkeley Daily Planet; ever since I heard about their recent demise, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in schadenfreude. I was offered a job there two years ago, you see, and have hated them passionately ever since.

At the time, I was just out of college, and was finishing up an internship at a paper in southern Oregon when I answered the BDP’s ad. I drove down for an interview, which went so well that they decided to hire me on the spot. They then handed me a contract that said the salary was $27,000 a year (plus stock options) for a full-time editing/reporting job. I said I’d look it over and get back to them. When I found out how expensive the Bay Area was, I called back and asked them if they’d be willing to negotiate on the salary. I suggested $32,000, expecting to bargain down from there. Instead of making a counter-offer or simply saying, “No, we don’t want to negotiate,” they hemmed and hawed for a bit, asked me if I’d looked into getting roommates, and then went into some spiel about how they were looking for someone who wanted to GROW with the PAPER, and weren’t the stock options generous, and they’d consider it and get back to me the next day.

Well, the next day came and went. Pretty soon weeks had gone by, all of my calls to the BDP went unreturned, and I eventually got a job with the paper I had interned with.

The worst part is that — being fresh out of school and not knowing any better — I was beating myself up about this, convinced that I had somehow ruined a golden opportunity by being greedy.

Several months later, I heard back from the BDP’s editor out of the blue. He asked if I’d be interested in working at their “sister paper” in San Mateo, so I shrugged, said “OK,” and was promptly subjected to the same line of bullshit again. Except this time they were offering $29,000 (about what I was making in the ass-end of Oregon) and acting like I was taking them for everything they had. And this time, they ended the long “grow-with-paper” spiel by saying that they didn’t “like to bargain.” They also had the gall to add that if they were to pay me any more than they were offering, there wouldn’t be any room for raises later on.

Needless to say, I told them where they could stuff it, and have since found work with a Bay Area paper that doesn’t jerk potential employees around.

So now you know that not only did they write ridiculous stories with words like “octenegarian” in the headlines, but their hiring practices bordered on criminal, which probably had a lot to do with the quality of the paper.

2002-12-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

Stealing papers was wrong in '96, and it's wrong now. Thanks to "Carlos" for the link.

2002-12-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Appalling!!

Unbelievable. The mayor of Berkeley has come forward and admitted that he did trash 1,000 copies of the Daily Cal because the paper endorsed his opponent, Shirley Dean. How low can you get? I agree completely when the Daily Cal Editors say that Bates needs to resign. Some example he set- trashing the papers, then lying about it. Not only is this a slap in the face of free speech, but it's also a big "fuck you" to the students who spend hours putting together a daily newspaper- editors, writers, and ad salespeople. It's no easy task. Throwing away the paper is an insult, shows immaturity on Bates' behalf, and shows the community that we have a mayor who is willing to lie to us to save his ass.

Pathetic. Tom Bates, you should be ashamed of yourself. Resign immediately.