HOLY

SHIT

The Berkeley Daily Planet just exploded with articles on the Memorial Stadium situation. I havent even read all of them, but since it could take a while, here they are:

1. A Failed Effort To Feed The Tree-Sitters

2. Fix Memorial Stadium Before Building Athletic Center

3. Commercial Sports Is Not UC’s Mission.

4. And some new Letters To The Editors:

•

THE OAK GROVE, MONEY, INHUMANE TREATMENT

Editors, Daily Planet:

As far as the oak grove situation, the whole thing has to do with money. Whenever anything is in the process or being "planned" to be built within the city, the city places a bid, the lowest bidder wins. Millions of dollars are involved with this gym project. I believe the university and the city are both working together but are "pretending" not to be because of the possibility the city will get paid if the gym is to be built.

At this point it appears the university is using force to extract tree-sitters and arresting protesters for minor insignificant charges (anything they can get protesters for). They especially train their eyes on those who they know have been former tree-sitters and are capable of finding a way in there, like the individual that made it past security Sunday and is presently up in one of the trees. The university and city seems to care more about money and their paychecks as compared to inhumane acts, such as having a zero-tolerance "list of codes" when it comes to protesters attempting to provide food to the people in the trees who are barely being kept alive with Clif Bars and water.

Anyone who has been up there enough (especially on Sundays) probably has seen illegal acts the UC police have been committing and getting away with. In this society we live in today there are people behind the media, lawmakers, and government entities and their power is finance. Throwing human feces and urine is nothing compared to attacking tree-sitters by ramming wrecking balls into trees, holding knives and punching tree-sitters in the face and threatening tree-sitters with running chainsaws. This makes me wonder a bit. Some people really care more about their paychecks.

These people—the arborists, the university, the city officials, and UC police—deep on the inside I’m sure they know what they are doing is wrong. I’m sure they are suffering more then the tree-sitters who are standing up to a good cause. They (government entities and the affiliated) "hold it all in" in front of the public eye … but it haunts them in some form or another. There must be a large sum of money involved with this project if the university officials are spending about $350,000 for extra security. A lot of the public around the United States is blinded by what I speak of because of media cover-ups, lack of criminal evidence against the university, mainly because almost all of their crimes that have been committed are from 80 feet up to eight to nine stories up in the air, making it rather difficult to catch it on film. Also, larger media corporations such as CNN cover up a lot and make it appear as if the tree-sitters are the "jokers here," when in reality it’s the media portraying them as "Wanna-be Julia Butterfly’s." To sum up this free written opinion … the media and all government entities are working together because their power is finance. They will do whatever they can to build the gym (over the Hayward Fault—very smart guys) at all costs while protesters and tree-sitters are standing up for what they feel is right.

Jonathan Orbiculus

•

RECOUPMENT OF STATE FUNDS WASTED AT UC BERKELEY

Editors, Daily Planet:

A Daily Planet article states that UC Berkeley is spending $22,000 daily for the police presence at the oak grove protest, amassing a $795,000 total up to now. Why? Nothing will be allowed to happen until the judge rules on the legality of the construction. By simply ignoring the protesters and allowing them their protest the cost would have been nothing. A simple patrol by regular on duty officers during the protest would have had the same effect as the overblown and expensive method utilized by the UCB police. That is to say no effect at all but to spend all the money on showing how not to respond to a challenge. UCB could have embraced the protesters and allowed the tree sitters to their idyl and shown the world that protest has a place in our society. What harm would have come from that? Instead UCB gets shown to the world to be just another police state mentality with delusions of control. Remember James Rector? Shot while watching the UCB police beat and maim legally assembled citizens attempting to exercise constitutionally protected speech.

There is a moral and ethical question that needs answering: Who do the UCB police serve? It certainly isn’t Berkeley. It isn’t even the rule of law. It is the Regents. I call on the State to replace the money wasted on this foolhardy and ugly response to harmless citizens. We are owed this money. It isn’t the police but the controlling cabal that take personal umbrage and send the UCB police out to do their dirty work. What a waste.

Michael Blechman

TOWN AND GOWN

Editors, Daily Planet:

Can someone tell me why UC can’t seem to take a hint? You’d think that four separate lawsuits, all filed against them for the same reason, would give them pause. How about a widely supported, well organized, historical16-month-long act of civil disobedience? Might that clue them as to how people really feel around here? In the face of such prolonged and determined community opposition, it would seem reasonable to believe that UC would alter their destructive plans…..perhaps, even acquire a sense of common decency and actually consider becoming a responsible and cooperative neighbor. But no.

UC gladly accepts the City of Berkeley as a gracious and generous host for their campus. They gladly accept and take for granted our city services. Then, as an expression of their gratitude, they turn around and tell us to go to hell. Intending to destroy a vibrant, irreplaceable and sacred grove of oaks, the university defiantly flexes its muscles, wields its power, disrespects and assaults our citizens, and places itself above our laws. All in the pursuit of enhanced profits.

At the once beautiful grove site, they have constructed a grotesque, double-barb-wired prison compound, a profoundly troubling eyesore and a blight on the landscape. Each night, the compound is ablaze with mega-watt sleep deprivation torture spotlights. This heinous display disturbs the peace of the entire neighborhood, and is a blatant demonstration of the university’s contempt for average working members of this community, the vast majority of whom are neither UC students or faculty.

The committed young people occupying the trees continue to be treated with brutality. Recently, UC police began to also visit violence upon supporters attempting to get food to the sitters. (A basic human right.) in a just world, it would be UC officials going to jail, not idealistic young citizens engaging in peaceful civil disobedience. Sitters and supporters alike are simply carrying out their civic duty to save the trees that are rightfully protected by Berkeley city law.

Berkeley’s lawsuit against the university was a necessary line drawn in the sand. The time has come for UC to learn that it can no longer, with such arrogance and impunity, abuse and exploit our community. The city must without hesitation file all necessary appeals to not only continue this lawsuit, but to win it. A recent article by a prominent Boalt Hall professor and land use attorney clearly explained why the city would have a good chance of winning such an appeal.

The needs and quality of life issues of our own citizens, should come well before the selfish and destructive profit seeking desires of the university.

Kevin Moore

Oh wow, lots of stuff there. Ok, so everybody, let’s break, read the articles, and get back here. SYCHRONIZE WATCHES!

besides i think that your formatting skills suck more like “a rat’s ass” anyway.

I’m not an insider, but this is what they gave me:

The Fridge may not be on the blink in College Park, but it is certainly not as cool as it was a few years ago.

Three sub-.500 seasons in the last four years will heat things up for any coach. Not that Ralph Friedgen is on a hot seat, but he has brought in some repairmen to tinker with his program. By Friedgen standards, it’s a major overhaul.

The crusty coach took the Terrapins to an ACC title his first year in 2001, and to bowl games in five of his seven seasons. He has now relinquished control of his offense to a new coordinator, former Kansas State offensive mastermind James Franklin.

Fridge has overseen his second-year defensive coordinator Chris Cosh installing a new 3-3-5 stack defense, and he has two other new assistant coaches, including new special teams mentor Danny Pearman, who replaces his long-time, right-hand man, Ray Rychleski, who left for South Carolina.

“We have a lot of changes, a lot of things happening, a lot of excitement in our program,” said Friedgen, who guided his team to a 6-7 mark and an Emerald Bowl berth in 2007.

But Maryland’s precarious position in the ACC - 14-18 the last four seasons - and its struggle to get to .500 last year, ultimately brought about changes in Friedgen’s approach. After two years serving as his own offensive coordinator with mixed results, Friedgen turns the reins over to Franklin, one of the boldest moves of the Fridge’s tenure at his alma mater. Franklin is implementing a West Coast-styled offense, influenced by his work with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia E

Well, it wasn’t really useful, but it gives us some basic info about the Terps that is at least good to know.

Grey Bear over at bearinsider.com just posted that something big is going down. Any knowledge or guesses? Here are the possibilities from my perspective (any others?):

(1) COB and the UC have negotiated a settlement, and the injunction is lifted.

(2) Longshore’s injury was major, and he left school for a mission.

OR

(3) Longshore’s injury was major, and Riley has been named, first-stringer.

(4) Tedford is having a baby, and Cignetti is taking over on an interm basis. Joke!

(5) Bear Insider is going to membership only, which starts the evolution of this site into the major forum for “cheap” Cal fans like myself. I’m talking fab-5 kind of stuff.

What else could be considered “Major”?

I have to say that I would be a little disappointed if that is indeed the case. I am not a fan of ESPN’s recruiting stuff at all. It really tilts toward name coverage. They didn’t even have a rating for Shane Vereen a couple years ago.

Bid for this experience now!

i think we might have three of your hippies down here in peru. would you be kind enough to come pick them up and take them back home?