Carol Christ's response to the Berkeley riots/attempted pogrom is filled with the kind of boilerplate cliches issued by college/university presidents these days. She should be asked to re-issue the invitation and have the chancellor's office sponsor the event. And she should show up at the talk
Slightly off at a tangent here but I take the opportunity of saying that I get sick of hearing - in the context of the rich Western world - about the antics of 'activists and 'protestors' full stop. Riotous or not. It's high time we de-sanctified the whole 'protest' malarkey, especially as it has long been (for many young people) mostly a form of edgy entertainment. 'Narcissists', 'busy-bodies' and 'politico-obssessives' are perhaps better terms for Western world protestors......whatever it is that they are 'protesting' about. In places like Iran and Afghanistan where protesting is brave and dangerous it's a different thing altogether.
This reminds me of a recent talk Jordan Peterson was having with a guest and the topic of left wing protesting came up. Peterson said that he was able to stop protests at his talks by just having them at 9:00am.
I agree. In fact, I have suggested that we send students back to the library to read because it is better to learn about the Dark Ages than to recreate them on the campus
Better response is to send students to Afghanistan, Mid East et al on short term abroad semester to learn something and possibly come back alived and educated.
So true. In the high school where I teach, the kids can't even point to Israel on a map and yet they are "Pro Palestinian". Most likely, some of these students are hearing this from the Math teacher who has a huge Palestinian flag in her room and "From the River to the Sea" poster on her door (and she is African American not even Palestinian).
Why is this allowed? I absolutely support the right of a person to put any banner on their yard but a classroom is not “her room.” It is a public place where all students should feel safe. Let’s also set dress codes with no staff wearing a MAGA hat or a pussy hat or any political party shirts or buttons while at work. It is an unnecessary distraction. Offend a student by strict due dates, demands for quality work, etc. but not staff’s politics.
Nobody said anything so the teacher can get away with it. I was a substitute teacher for the class so I couldn't really say anything but if I was full time staff member and could have spoken to the teacher, I would have. I'm sure this happens in many schools.
It has happened in the Oakland school district (CA). The union voted a pro Palestine resolution and proposed a Palestine teach in. Jewish parents are removing their children from public school because they don’t think their children will be kept safe. Hopefully, parents will demand that the district pay tuition for the private schools that is keeping their children safe since the action of teachers has created a prejudice and potentially dangerous learning environment for Jewish students. Maybe the parents will or have approached FIRE for assistance.
The teachers absolutely have a right to political movements on their time, but at school the higher ethic is providing a safe environment for all students to learn.
I guarantee that if you were her fellow teacher, and spoke to her about it, YOU would be in trouble with the administration, the school board, the union, etc. You would likely be fired.
What does "Riotous or not. It's high time we de-sanctified the whole protest malarkey..." Look like? Beat with clubs? Throw protesters in jail even if not rioting? Please clarify because it sounds kind of fascist to me. Itsnt that what they did on Jan 6?
You should care. The college protesters are now running the government, the media, the school systems, the internet, many large corporations and most everything else.
I couldn’t agree more! But that is a dream that’s unlikely to come true in our lifetime. This stuff is big business, big money, and has permeated our systems at the highest levels. I call it “Activism, Inc.™️”, and it is an integral part of how we are actually governed in the west. Part oligarchy, part techno-plutocracy, and the activists (what I call the “Yellocracy” — those who scream the loudest get their way, regardless of the merits of their views, and despite being a tiny minority).
It’s going to take a serious “mind revolution” to get rid of this toxic cocktail, and my pessimistic view is that it is here to stay.
Texas A&M is flat out lying. Shutdown by 2028 = no shutdown. This is the standard technique Universities use to not do something, because by 2028 the students pushing for this will br gone.
If TAMU means it, they pull everything right now, and that's that. Students from this vicious islamist slime's nation get consequences and do not pass go, do not collect their degree, no get-out-of-jail free card. Otherwise this is fake.
Dear lord, FP. WTF kind of rubes are you ladies? Qatar's slimeball emir is an evil spider of islamist planning, propaganda, and revolution export. Compare that creep with UAE.
And when is the USA going to kick qatar's embassy out, and declare Al-jezeera a foreign agent?
I hope Eli Lake reads your spot on comment and responds to it. He has done great reporting but unless they shut down immediately, nothing at all will have been accomplished,other than they will deflect Mr Lake and thereby public attention into thinking A and M took him seriously. Please keep the pressure on this subversive institution.
Ok. Consider Berkeley, as discussed below. Shutting it down is not the answer, protecting free speech is the answer. However, if free speech advocates got so fed up with Berkeley that they announced (and had the power to effect) its closure in 4 years, and that no new students would be admitted for the next academic year, would you call that response nothing? TAMU has some of the problems of all large state schools, but you will not see the sort of things there that you see at Berkeley. The Berkeley speaker would not have been cancelled at TAMU. Also, what makes you say the Qatar closure was due to "students pushing for this"? Is it possible the regents - however tardily - recognized a mistake? Seems to me TAMU governance is largely influenced by establishment Republicans (TAMU hosts George H.W. Bush presidential library) and a few traditional Dems like its current Chancellor, John Sharp. Some of these have longstanding ties to oil and gas - hence, its well-regarded petroleum engineering school. It is possible that - regardless of any profit motive - these people truly thought working with a state like Qatar might improve our relations with the middle east, like Reagan thought would happen with China? If TAMU has decided to get out while limiting bad press, wouldn't that be understandable? Isn't it better than the doubling down of the Berkeleys and the Harvards of academia? I admit being puzzled what direct benefits to TAMU were expected, from the outset, if all intellectual property would belong to Qatar. Tie to oil and gas production deals with influential alums? Maybe GHWB's connection to the CIA, as its former director, was in play....?
Yes. Carol needs to resign. She is just another nasty enabler de facto allied with islamists. No forgiveness. No quarter. Her academic life needs to end here and now.
My feeling reading this is very much I've seen this movie before.
We know exactly how this will all play out. The university leaders issue some CYA statement. "Trustworthy" MSM will ignore and not cover it. Conservative media will make some noise which will be contained in their own echo chamber. We here will vent and rant. But because of woke institutional capture on every level, and those not woke are shut out of power, nothing will happen to the violent instigators, and soon enough the whole thing will be memory-holed.
How are these "pro-Palestine" student rioters different from the BLM rioters in Portland and MN in 2020? Or any number of riots on the same scale as this Berkeley one since, like the SF mob that went after Riley Gaines, or the mob that went for blood when Kellie-Jay Keen in Auckland, or the crazy car drags and mob riots in Oakland for any reason or no reason at all? In fact, these riots began before George Floyd in 2020. People just haven't heard as much about how Meghan Murphy was shut down the same way giving talks in public libraries against the trans mob pre-2020. That was the canary in the coalmine.
This movie rerun is getting really boring. It feels like I'm stuck in some kind of Twilight Zone hell being forced to watch this same movie on endless reruns and not able to change the channel.
Let's, for argument's sake, say the protesters were the big bad Neo-Nazi's were trying to keep a Jewish person from speaking on Campus. What would the media reaction be? (Side note from yesterday's article, is there a group of people who are working to infiltrate the groups that shouted down the speaker in the article?)
We know the answer is no, as the Establishment Press did not have that in its propaganda program for the week. It's obvious that if you are a person of color or a good, well-meaning leftist who is working hard to bend the arc of history and justice toward your way of thinking, you get a pass because you are a good person who happens to break the rules.
There is an obvious solution, as there is everything that the left does. This one is easy: have cops at the event and set a perimeter. Let people protest however they want at a safe distance. But once a line is crossed, arrest them. I would be all for passing a law that would state that these people intimidating others at events is a felony, and the people should go to jail for years.
This type of behavior should not be tolerated. We still hear about the Charlottesville incident eight years later and never a peep about this nonsense. Giving into a mob only emboldens them, and at some point, the law will either settle it or we will be reading about something much worse.
My first thought after watching the video was…where are the cops? I suppose they’re not invited to do what would be expected of them, like how things used to be. I’ve been thinking since society got horribly ugly in 2020 that we’re in the midst of a spiritual war. The minority of the ugly is winning the battle and will continue to win until we have leadership and laws that don’t allow this type of behavior.
“There is an obvious solution....have cops at the event and set a perimeter”
Thirty years ago, that might have been an option but in today’s world the cops have been neutered in the very places they are needed. The only viable solution is to cut the money supply to anarchist enablers running places like UC Berkeley. Democrats like Obama are never shy about threatening to cut off federal funding to colleges unless they bend the knee to their Marxist policies, although most happily oblige. I know you hate Trump, but he’s the only viable presidential candidate with the balls to force the changes necessary to return free speech and academic excellence to our colleges.
Doesn't Trumps claim that presidents should have total immunity and are above the law give you any chills?
If you bothered to read the brief instead of the headlines corporate media toadies publish, you would know “total immunity” is not being claimed. What gives me chills is a “Justice” system populated with corrupt judges and prosecutors that can declare someone “guilty” of a “crime” where there were no victims and extort $460 million as a penalty payable to the state. What gives me chills is a jury willing to award $83 million in damages for “defamatory” statements made against a washed-up writer who can’t even remember what year Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her. Do those judgements give you any chills?
He might have balls but does he have the skills to do it? I hate Trump not because of his ideals but rather her personality failures that prevent home for getting it done. We need a knockout election ( winning both houses of Congress with big majorities) But he is so repellent to do many people ( alot self induced) that he can only win a squeaker then unable to anything because he can't build upon his base.
"He might have balls but does he have the skills to do it?"
He got Mexico to station troops on their southern border and reduce illegal migration into this country to record lows. No other president had the will, let alone the skills to do that. Just compare the shit show we are now witnessing in the US and around the world compared to when Trump was president and the answer to your question is obvious to any unbiased respondent.
Any Republican president could accomplish the same thing. That wasn't some Trump magic the only he can perform. That's right up there with Biden thinking he's the only Democract that can do what he started. Two pompous asses.
Perhaps, but as much as I despise Trump he is obviously less vulnerable to the usual political and social pressures. I’m pretty certain no other Republican would have nominated ACB.
I would agree. Trump never wonders what others think of him which can be good. The downside is to him, only his opinion matters hence his revolving cabinet doors.
I think it's cute that you think they ever were. Read about the election of 1844, or the Gilded Age Elections or LBJ's loss as he wasn't the last one to bring in votes in the 1930's. (Also 1876 is a good one) There has always been cheating. Next are you going to tell me it's cute the sun comes up in the east?
Let's say for argument's sake we could find a sufficient number of neo-Nazis to even pull off such a stunt. Unless, of course, one counted in the undercover FBI agents to fill their ranks.
(Sorry for breaking my vow but your post was so good I couldn't refrain).
You seem to forget this is California, the land of rainbows, unicorns and anarchy. Riot control in California is an oxymoron unless it's the right protesting.
Indeed. In fact, this really isn’t a free speech issue at all. FIRE is entirely correct in their assessment that violence is not free speech.
The issue is the non-enforcement of crime. Crime done in the name of a political cause is not “speech”; it is crime. It should be obvious to anyone with an IQ >50 that we are having widespread societal problems with enforcing the law (because doing so was deemed to be “racist” in 2020). Police have been hamstringed, DAs use prosecutorial discretion to refuse to prosecute crimes in their jurisdiction, presidential executive orders against enforcement of immigration laws… These are just a few of the examples of how we have created a lawless society.
It’s just part and parcel of the status quo that is allowing “protesters” to block traffic, terrorize (certain) students/teachers in our schools, trespass/vandalize private property, etc. Apparently, crime in the name of the “right” (leftist) cause is truly a “get out of jail free” card!
Dan, I believe that ANY invited speaker should be allowed to speak, regardless of being Left, Right or Neither! FREE SPEECH should be expected on college campuses.
If students don’t want to hear what’s being said, then DON’T attend!
WHAT has happened in America?? WHY is it allowed that the minority rules over the majority? And Heaven Forbid to point this out, YOU are ridiculed, harassed, labeled and eventually cancelled!
Yes. The rule of force has replaced respect for different points of view. Progressives in schools and elsewhere have inculcated an activist mindset in young people and it is more rewarding to protest than think.
Furthermore it's useful psychologically to have enemies to hate and thus feel superior to.
There is a small, recessed ash tray in Sproul Plaza that was intended to serve as a monument to the Free Speech Movement, which started at Berkeley.
Free Speech implies adult responsibility, doesn't it? Mario Savio asked to be treated as an adult, and eventually got it. Most or all restrictions on what could be said were removed. It was a victory.
But it was followed, some decades later, by fascistic repression of EXACTLY the same sort. The same sorts of puerile and authoritarian forces that prevented students in 1963 or thereabouts from speaking their minds now do their best to prevent other students, saying different things, from speaking their minds.
Do we debate, or do we see who is the most effective at waging violence? These are the choices. And the violence can be and in the past century particularly often has been political police arresting political dissidents for disagreeing publicly with views their proponents are unwilling and in most cases unable to defend verbally and publicly.
It should go without saying that political violence in response to views of any sort should result in the expulsion of those responsible. A university cannot tolerate the violently intolerant. But of course this is Berkeley, which is run by articulate and morally and intellectually unhinged imbeciles. I went there, so I have some perspective.
This sort of article is good, coming from a Democrat. But I have decided to start boosting Tucker Carlson and his network. Head over there and listen to a couple of interviews, to find out what is NOT being said, almost anywhere else.
Oh poor Finny, you just don't get it. There is some speech which is just too upsetting and dangerous to be tolerated. But, no worries, the Biden Administration and its allies in the intel agencies are rooting it out. Along with purveyors of disinformation that hurts us all, including the lies spread by Russian disinformation. Even though the disinfo Czarina was sadly taken out, her important work continues. Soon all Americans can breathe easy knowing that hurtful speech and disinformation will be eradicated forever! Forward!
The lecture at Berkeley wasn’t completely shut down ..according to JWeekly and reprinted by the Forward:
“At that point, students contacted Rabbi Gil Leeds of UC Berkeley’s Chabad and arranged for Bar-Yoshafat to speak at the rabbi’s off-campus home.
Sobkin said more than 20 students managed to make it to the lecture. Leeds said he saw several students arrive in tears, including two women who were injured. He said he stayed up past midnight, fielding calls from concerned parents.”
Imagine, if you will, heavily armed Feds launching a large scale frontal assault on a compound filled with weapons, women and children, when they could easily have arrested their man anywhere else without fuss.
But no, not Waco: Charlottesville. And as I recall the original protest, to which the small cadre of no doubt Fed influenced neo-Nazis were not invited, was to orotest the removal of a Robert E Lee statue. Their argument: Where will it end?
They were laughed at, but when a Frederick Douglass statue was pulled down, all sane people should have started pushing back. But few if any sane people remain among the Democrats. Even here, I feel, Bari speaks loudly by omission.
This IS a Cultural Revolution, which translates as “nihilistic and omnidirectional cultural suicide”.
Exactly. And do we need FBI Swat teams to arrest non-violent 60 year old men, represented by counsel, who would have happily turned themselves in at the FBI's office if asked? No. But it was all to intimidate and suppress dissent. And they are playing with fire. Because there are a lot more or us than them. And we are armed and, unlike them, love and will die for our Constitution. Law enforcement needs to think long and hard about alienating the very people who have supported them.
"Pro-Palestine" forces - that would be anti-U.S., anti- Israel, anti-Western, anti-speech, pro- Antifa - --are the Red Guard here and in the UK. Taking over the streets, violence, shutting down speech, intimidating, threatening, bullying politicians. Every time they get away with it, we're one step closer to civil collapse. The biggest, single issue of this election is controlling the forces of crime and intimidation in all their forms. It sure seems as if these forces outnumber the police in affected cities. For every thug apprehended, there's five more to take his place. We are far too soft a target.
Exactly. There are things called water guns and tear bombs. The only reason authorities CAN'T clean up the streets is because they don't WANT to. And that's because of the politicians running those cities (or maybe they should be called "shitties").
By the way, this is exactly the road to authoritarianism. Either these violent idiots are successful, or the violent idiots opposing them. Hitler was voted into power by people who were afraid of the radical left, so they thought they chose the lesser of two evils.
You forget, though, parents are paying a lot of money and probably would have their lawyers sue Berkeley if their wonderful child was 'blasted' with water. AND - the university doesn't want the bad press. And the police are already demoralized and hated because of BLM and Defund the Police movements so their hands are tied by public opinion (and social media videos of them). The kids are running the show at these elite universities-- and are assisted by professors.
Even in South Central where I teach (in an all Black and Latino school) they never wanted to defund the police. In fact, they want MORE police to offset the gangs and drug dealers that 'take their kids'. It's at the rich elite (mostly white) institutions where student activists plan these schemes.
I totally believe that no one anywhere wants an unsafe neighborhood for themselves, their kids, their neighbors. How do governors, senators, representatives, local mayors/politicians get elected to office that push policies that undermine the safety of their constituents? Someone votes these people into office. Why?
I think there is a level of utter madness at play that is hard for a sane person to even contemplate. Whether you believe in the concept of “mass formation psychosis” (à la Matthias Desmet) or “the woke mind virus” (Elon Musk’s version) there is clearly something that has overridden common sense throughout the western world. I shake my head in despair every day.
Have you been to South Central? Watts? South Gate? Parents are more concerned with gangs, drugs, violence. The police in these neighborhoods have created safe spaces for many of these young people. Yes, George Floyd was awful-- tragic. But police brutality is rare in SC; whereas, everyday gang activity and violence is an everyday occurrence. Wealthy elites (especially from these universities) who have never stepped into these poor neighborhoods have NO idea and to make assumptions shows a sense of arrogance.
Berkeley is ground zero for free speech. We will absolutely hurt or even destroy you in order to protect free speech as defined by the idiots who destroy and contribute nothing to society. Will they get expelled, hell no, as the administration believes in their destruction, intimidations and intolerance all under their free speech banner. Best use for Berkeley would be a homeless shelter.
If you want to see a real free speech catastrophe, you should read Chris Bray's latest piece. He reveals that Canada has introduced a new bill that would hand out life sentences for writing something offensive online. This is not hyperbole, I'm not making this up or exaggerating.
Now whether that bill becomes a law or not is of course an open question, but it's just another indication of where this world is headed.
The US right to free speech/press/assembly/religion/redress, enshrined in the first amendment and backed up by the second amendment, is an oddity on the stage of world goverments.
I have to wonder whether Texas A&M's decision about its Qatar campus is actually a temporary measure designed to cool criticism until a better moment. Rather than shutting down (or at least withdrawing from) the campus immediately, it is merely phasing it out.
Which means that all the nuclear and other research going on there will still benefit the hosts of the Hamas leadership for another three years.
This does not look like an earnest decision to me.
It is a lie. This is called kicking the can down the road. Also known as the Shogun game. Read the book, "Shogun". Lord Toronaga is summoned to the capital. And he agrees, but... the journey takes long. In the end he rides victorious into the capital, buries his enemy neck deep and the man's head is slowly cut off with a bamboo saw. It takes a week for him to die
Like all those who don't want to blame Hamas for October 7, Rania (who is Palestinian) is an antisemite. Her husband is the useless brat king, descended from Arabian bedouins, ruling over Jordan-a colonialist imperialist country created by Britain after WW1. You would think that as a Palestinian she would care about the Palestinians in Gaza and expect her husband to grant them refuge from the fighting. But nope. I guess to Rania it's more important to give cover to the Hamas barbarians than to actually help her own People.
I do hope the wise members of SCOTUS read Matt Taibbi's excellent and scary article yesterday when he described asking the new Google Gemini about Matt Taibbi and the result included a publication history of articles Taibbi never wrote. Gemini even included made up quotes of bigoted and racist statements from the fake articles.
Such is the authority of Google. And such is the problem. Because we all know if Google says it, it must be true, right?
If you still have an account with Google, go into the user settings and delete all data that you can. I also recommend wiping your social media accounts.
We, the general public, are at best naive - at worst oblivious. Google has been tinkering in the background for years. As a recent example how many of us were even aware of the seemingly benign "helpful" initiative: https://moz.com/blog/helpful-content-update
The more skeptical surmise just a test/probe to see what be ushered in without creating a shit storm....all in the name of doing good, its in the initiative's name🤓👺
Because their parents would sue the university. It's all about money and trying to avoid negative media attention. And these kids have grown up in a time of NO consequences.
Some days, the state of the world is too much to bear, and I can’t make it past the headline. Today is one of those days, with a headline that concludes by informing me of the loss of one man who always managed to make me laugh.
I know how you feel, JoAnna. Ironically, and unfortunately, it’s the inability or refusal, not just reluctance, of far too many of our fellow citizens to read past the headlines, readily accepting and ingesting every rage-inducing blurb and false narrative that appears on their screens, that has in no small part contributed to the sad state of the world.
JoAnna, I agree. I just said to my friend the other day that I'm glad I am my age and not 20, with our country becoming so confusing and chaotic... and scary. That said, I feel bad for my own kids who are just reaching maturity.
Of course electricity demand is surging under Biden, at the same time as he's doing his level best to undermine the reliability of our grid with the insanity of the Green New Deal. To call him a putz is to elevate his intellect about the mediocrity to which he's always aspired and never quite obtained.
I disagree with Wiseman (now that's a funny name for Ollie) on almost everything but find common ground in the passing of Richard Lewis. He was perfect on Curb and his repartee with Larry David will never be equaled.
I am so out of it. I had never heard of Richard Lewis or his show before. And, I didn't find the golf video very entertaining. I did wait through the whole thing for the punch line. Maybe it is a little "inside NYC"?
Carol Christ's response to the Berkeley riots/attempted pogrom is filled with the kind of boilerplate cliches issued by college/university presidents these days. She should be asked to re-issue the invitation and have the chancellor's office sponsor the event. And she should show up at the talk
Slightly off at a tangent here but I take the opportunity of saying that I get sick of hearing - in the context of the rich Western world - about the antics of 'activists and 'protestors' full stop. Riotous or not. It's high time we de-sanctified the whole 'protest' malarkey, especially as it has long been (for many young people) mostly a form of edgy entertainment. 'Narcissists', 'busy-bodies' and 'politico-obssessives' are perhaps better terms for Western world protestors......whatever it is that they are 'protesting' about. In places like Iran and Afghanistan where protesting is brave and dangerous it's a different thing altogether.
This reminds me of a recent talk Jordan Peterson was having with a guest and the topic of left wing protesting came up. Peterson said that he was able to stop protests at his talks by just having them at 9:00am.
I agree. In fact, I have suggested that we send students back to the library to read because it is better to learn about the Dark Ages than to recreate them on the campus
Better response is to send students to Afghanistan, Mid East et al on short term abroad semester to learn something and possibly come back alived and educated.
Too risky. The snowflakes would return radicalized. Or even more so.
Good point.
You're assuming they return.
You're assuming that they can read with comprehension.
So true. In the high school where I teach, the kids can't even point to Israel on a map and yet they are "Pro Palestinian". Most likely, some of these students are hearing this from the Math teacher who has a huge Palestinian flag in her room and "From the River to the Sea" poster on her door (and she is African American not even Palestinian).
Why is this allowed? I absolutely support the right of a person to put any banner on their yard but a classroom is not “her room.” It is a public place where all students should feel safe. Let’s also set dress codes with no staff wearing a MAGA hat or a pussy hat or any political party shirts or buttons while at work. It is an unnecessary distraction. Offend a student by strict due dates, demands for quality work, etc. but not staff’s politics.
Nobody said anything so the teacher can get away with it. I was a substitute teacher for the class so I couldn't really say anything but if I was full time staff member and could have spoken to the teacher, I would have. I'm sure this happens in many schools.
It has happened in the Oakland school district (CA). The union voted a pro Palestine resolution and proposed a Palestine teach in. Jewish parents are removing their children from public school because they don’t think their children will be kept safe. Hopefully, parents will demand that the district pay tuition for the private schools that is keeping their children safe since the action of teachers has created a prejudice and potentially dangerous learning environment for Jewish students. Maybe the parents will or have approached FIRE for assistance.
The teachers absolutely have a right to political movements on their time, but at school the higher ethic is providing a safe environment for all students to learn.
Exactly.
I guarantee that if you were her fellow teacher, and spoke to her about it, YOU would be in trouble with the administration, the school board, the union, etc. You would likely be fired.
And if students papered over her fromm the river to the sea posters with hostage posters that would also be punished.
Nailed it!
Does she know where Israel is?
How about they work to put themselves through college likely some of us did and do.
What does "Riotous or not. It's high time we de-sanctified the whole protest malarkey..." Look like? Beat with clubs? Throw protesters in jail even if not rioting? Please clarify because it sounds kind of fascist to me. Itsnt that what they did on Jan 6?
clarification...."de-sanctify"....look it up in a dictionary.
Back in the day (ah shit), we just thought the college kids were college kids, panty raids and stuff like that. I still don't care much about them.
You should care. The college protesters are now running the government, the media, the school systems, the internet, many large corporations and most everything else.
You're right, I should care, but I'm 86, so I wish you "Good Luck."
The same to you. I'm not that far behind you.
NPR was staffed and full of 70's radical left protestors and they were the ones who heired the present staff.
"especially as it has long been (for many young people) mostly a form of edgy entertainment" YES! Especially the comparison to places like Iran ...
I couldn’t agree more! But that is a dream that’s unlikely to come true in our lifetime. This stuff is big business, big money, and has permeated our systems at the highest levels. I call it “Activism, Inc.™️”, and it is an integral part of how we are actually governed in the west. Part oligarchy, part techno-plutocracy, and the activists (what I call the “Yellocracy” — those who scream the loudest get their way, regardless of the merits of their views, and despite being a tiny minority).
It’s going to take a serious “mind revolution” to get rid of this toxic cocktail, and my pessimistic view is that it is here to stay.
The yellocracy gets a pass if they are left wing yellers. Conservatives get arrested and expelled.
Texas A&M is flat out lying. Shutdown by 2028 = no shutdown. This is the standard technique Universities use to not do something, because by 2028 the students pushing for this will br gone.
If TAMU means it, they pull everything right now, and that's that. Students from this vicious islamist slime's nation get consequences and do not pass go, do not collect their degree, no get-out-of-jail free card. Otherwise this is fake.
Dear lord, FP. WTF kind of rubes are you ladies? Qatar's slimeball emir is an evil spider of islamist planning, propaganda, and revolution export. Compare that creep with UAE.
And when is the USA going to kick qatar's embassy out, and declare Al-jezeera a foreign agent?
I hope Eli Lake reads your spot on comment and responds to it. He has done great reporting but unless they shut down immediately, nothing at all will have been accomplished,other than they will deflect Mr Lake and thereby public attention into thinking A and M took him seriously. Please keep the pressure on this subversive institution.
Ok. Consider Berkeley, as discussed below. Shutting it down is not the answer, protecting free speech is the answer. However, if free speech advocates got so fed up with Berkeley that they announced (and had the power to effect) its closure in 4 years, and that no new students would be admitted for the next academic year, would you call that response nothing? TAMU has some of the problems of all large state schools, but you will not see the sort of things there that you see at Berkeley. The Berkeley speaker would not have been cancelled at TAMU. Also, what makes you say the Qatar closure was due to "students pushing for this"? Is it possible the regents - however tardily - recognized a mistake? Seems to me TAMU governance is largely influenced by establishment Republicans (TAMU hosts George H.W. Bush presidential library) and a few traditional Dems like its current Chancellor, John Sharp. Some of these have longstanding ties to oil and gas - hence, its well-regarded petroleum engineering school. It is possible that - regardless of any profit motive - these people truly thought working with a state like Qatar might improve our relations with the middle east, like Reagan thought would happen with China? If TAMU has decided to get out while limiting bad press, wouldn't that be understandable? Isn't it better than the doubling down of the Berkeleys and the Harvards of academia? I admit being puzzled what direct benefits to TAMU were expected, from the outset, if all intellectual property would belong to Qatar. Tie to oil and gas production deals with influential alums? Maybe GHWB's connection to the CIA, as its former director, was in play....?
It's all about the money from Qatar. The oil and gas Boyz don't care about anything else.
And yeah, I know they don't respect them. I've heard some chatting about middle east. Won't repeat it here.
Yeah. That's a good analysis of much of Judaism's people.
Yes. Carol needs to resign. She is just another nasty enabler de facto allied with islamists. No forgiveness. No quarter. Her academic life needs to end here and now.
My feeling reading this is very much I've seen this movie before.
We know exactly how this will all play out. The university leaders issue some CYA statement. "Trustworthy" MSM will ignore and not cover it. Conservative media will make some noise which will be contained in their own echo chamber. We here will vent and rant. But because of woke institutional capture on every level, and those not woke are shut out of power, nothing will happen to the violent instigators, and soon enough the whole thing will be memory-holed.
How are these "pro-Palestine" student rioters different from the BLM rioters in Portland and MN in 2020? Or any number of riots on the same scale as this Berkeley one since, like the SF mob that went after Riley Gaines, or the mob that went for blood when Kellie-Jay Keen in Auckland, or the crazy car drags and mob riots in Oakland for any reason or no reason at all? In fact, these riots began before George Floyd in 2020. People just haven't heard as much about how Meghan Murphy was shut down the same way giving talks in public libraries against the trans mob pre-2020. That was the canary in the coalmine.
This movie rerun is getting really boring. It feels like I'm stuck in some kind of Twilight Zone hell being forced to watch this same movie on endless reruns and not able to change the channel.
Berkeley has a policy in place to expel the 'bad' students https://chancellor.berkeley.edu/principles-guiding-accountability-violation-university-time-place-manner-rules-0 Will they enforce it? My Magic 8 Ball says DOUBTFUL
Carol Christ is a Far Left Flack - at least she was when she ineffectively led as President of Smith College in MA years ago.
"Attempted pogrom."
Lol.
Let's, for argument's sake, say the protesters were the big bad Neo-Nazi's were trying to keep a Jewish person from speaking on Campus. What would the media reaction be? (Side note from yesterday's article, is there a group of people who are working to infiltrate the groups that shouted down the speaker in the article?)
We know the answer is no, as the Establishment Press did not have that in its propaganda program for the week. It's obvious that if you are a person of color or a good, well-meaning leftist who is working hard to bend the arc of history and justice toward your way of thinking, you get a pass because you are a good person who happens to break the rules.
There is an obvious solution, as there is everything that the left does. This one is easy: have cops at the event and set a perimeter. Let people protest however they want at a safe distance. But once a line is crossed, arrest them. I would be all for passing a law that would state that these people intimidating others at events is a felony, and the people should go to jail for years.
This type of behavior should not be tolerated. We still hear about the Charlottesville incident eight years later and never a peep about this nonsense. Giving into a mob only emboldens them, and at some point, the law will either settle it or we will be reading about something much worse.
My first thought after watching the video was…where are the cops? I suppose they’re not invited to do what would be expected of them, like how things used to be. I’ve been thinking since society got horribly ugly in 2020 that we’re in the midst of a spiritual war. The minority of the ugly is winning the battle and will continue to win until we have leadership and laws that don’t allow this type of behavior.
When Occupy was cleared from UC Berkeley campus, the police cracked a skull or two. Which was, "Yawn."
“There is an obvious solution....have cops at the event and set a perimeter”
Thirty years ago, that might have been an option but in today’s world the cops have been neutered in the very places they are needed. The only viable solution is to cut the money supply to anarchist enablers running places like UC Berkeley. Democrats like Obama are never shy about threatening to cut off federal funding to colleges unless they bend the knee to their Marxist policies, although most happily oblige. I know you hate Trump, but he’s the only viable presidential candidate with the balls to force the changes necessary to return free speech and academic excellence to our colleges.
Doesn't Trumps claim that presidents should have total immunity and are above the law give you any chills?
Doesn't Trumps claim that presidents should have total immunity and are above the law give you any chills?
If you bothered to read the brief instead of the headlines corporate media toadies publish, you would know “total immunity” is not being claimed. What gives me chills is a “Justice” system populated with corrupt judges and prosecutors that can declare someone “guilty” of a “crime” where there were no victims and extort $460 million as a penalty payable to the state. What gives me chills is a jury willing to award $83 million in damages for “defamatory” statements made against a washed-up writer who can’t even remember what year Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her. Do those judgements give you any chills?
Fulton County Georgia is unraveling as we type these words.
That provides even more chills.
Fani Willis is toast.
The next connection to be made is that the White House provided assistance in the suite against Trump.
I hope you’re right
FOIA has been filed by Just The News - to find out.
He might have balls but does he have the skills to do it? I hate Trump not because of his ideals but rather her personality failures that prevent home for getting it done. We need a knockout election ( winning both houses of Congress with big majorities) But he is so repellent to do many people ( alot self induced) that he can only win a squeaker then unable to anything because he can't build upon his base.
"He might have balls but does he have the skills to do it?"
He got Mexico to station troops on their southern border and reduce illegal migration into this country to record lows. No other president had the will, let alone the skills to do that. Just compare the shit show we are now witnessing in the US and around the world compared to when Trump was president and the answer to your question is obvious to any unbiased respondent.
Any Republican president could accomplish the same thing. That wasn't some Trump magic the only he can perform. That's right up there with Biden thinking he's the only Democract that can do what he started. Two pompous asses.
Perhaps, but as much as I despise Trump he is obviously less vulnerable to the usual political and social pressures. I’m pretty certain no other Republican would have nominated ACB.
I would agree. Trump never wonders what others think of him which can be good. The downside is to him, only his opinion matters hence his revolving cabinet doors.
It’s cute that you think elections are still free and fair in this country…
I think it's cute that you think they ever were. Read about the election of 1844, or the Gilded Age Elections or LBJ's loss as he wasn't the last one to bring in votes in the 1930's. (Also 1876 is a good one) There has always been cheating. Next are you going to tell me it's cute the sun comes up in the east?
Let's say for argument's sake we could find a sufficient number of neo-Nazis to even pull off such a stunt. Unless, of course, one counted in the undercover FBI agents to fill their ranks.
(Sorry for breaking my vow but your post was so good I couldn't refrain).
…or imagine if the protestors were “MAGA” people with “TRUMP ‘24” signs. And it’s people on the right who are Fascists?
The most simplistic, common sense , yet brilliant idea Albert.
And that's why no one will IMPLEMENT it. It seems like lawlessness is the current FAD. AND it's glaringly ONE-SIDED.
Time to "protest the protesters"
You seem to forget this is California, the land of rainbows, unicorns and anarchy. Riot control in California is an oxymoron unless it's the right protesting.
Indeed. In fact, this really isn’t a free speech issue at all. FIRE is entirely correct in their assessment that violence is not free speech.
The issue is the non-enforcement of crime. Crime done in the name of a political cause is not “speech”; it is crime. It should be obvious to anyone with an IQ >50 that we are having widespread societal problems with enforcing the law (because doing so was deemed to be “racist” in 2020). Police have been hamstringed, DAs use prosecutorial discretion to refuse to prosecute crimes in their jurisdiction, presidential executive orders against enforcement of immigration laws… These are just a few of the examples of how we have created a lawless society.
It’s just part and parcel of the status quo that is allowing “protesters” to block traffic, terrorize (certain) students/teachers in our schools, trespass/vandalize private property, etc. Apparently, crime in the name of the “right” (leftist) cause is truly a “get out of jail free” card!
Albert, IF these Leftists were arrested, the Soros funded DAs will release them, and/or Kamala will post all bail $$$!
The WOKE Left “Powers that Be” LOVE these “mostly peaceful mobs” because they are doing their dirty work for them!
Agreed.
I think that protests of any kind should be banned on campuses. Students are there to learn. I know that's not going to happen, though.
Dan, I believe that ANY invited speaker should be allowed to speak, regardless of being Left, Right or Neither! FREE SPEECH should be expected on college campuses.
If students don’t want to hear what’s being said, then DON’T attend!
WHAT has happened in America?? WHY is it allowed that the minority rules over the majority? And Heaven Forbid to point this out, YOU are ridiculed, harassed, labeled and eventually cancelled!
Yes. The rule of force has replaced respect for different points of view. Progressives in schools and elsewhere have inculcated an activist mindset in young people and it is more rewarding to protest than think.
Furthermore it's useful psychologically to have enemies to hate and thus feel superior to.
There is a small, recessed ash tray in Sproul Plaza that was intended to serve as a monument to the Free Speech Movement, which started at Berkeley.
Free Speech implies adult responsibility, doesn't it? Mario Savio asked to be treated as an adult, and eventually got it. Most or all restrictions on what could be said were removed. It was a victory.
But it was followed, some decades later, by fascistic repression of EXACTLY the same sort. The same sorts of puerile and authoritarian forces that prevented students in 1963 or thereabouts from speaking their minds now do their best to prevent other students, saying different things, from speaking their minds.
Do we debate, or do we see who is the most effective at waging violence? These are the choices. And the violence can be and in the past century particularly often has been political police arresting political dissidents for disagreeing publicly with views their proponents are unwilling and in most cases unable to defend verbally and publicly.
It should go without saying that political violence in response to views of any sort should result in the expulsion of those responsible. A university cannot tolerate the violently intolerant. But of course this is Berkeley, which is run by articulate and morally and intellectually unhinged imbeciles. I went there, so I have some perspective.
This sort of article is good, coming from a Democrat. But I have decided to start boosting Tucker Carlson and his network. Head over there and listen to a couple of interviews, to find out what is NOT being said, almost anywhere else.
Oh poor Finny, you just don't get it. There is some speech which is just too upsetting and dangerous to be tolerated. But, no worries, the Biden Administration and its allies in the intel agencies are rooting it out. Along with purveyors of disinformation that hurts us all, including the lies spread by Russian disinformation. Even though the disinfo Czarina was sadly taken out, her important work continues. Soon all Americans can breathe easy knowing that hurtful speech and disinformation will be eradicated forever! Forward!
I dont know if Janet Reno still runs UC, but she did.
Imagine, if you will, Rod Serling asking us what would happen if this had been Jews protesting a Hamas speaker calling for genocide.
The lecture at Berkeley wasn’t completely shut down ..according to JWeekly and reprinted by the Forward:
“At that point, students contacted Rabbi Gil Leeds of UC Berkeley’s Chabad and arranged for Bar-Yoshafat to speak at the rabbi’s off-campus home.
Sobkin said more than 20 students managed to make it to the lecture. Leeds said he saw several students arrive in tears, including two women who were injured. He said he stayed up past midnight, fielding calls from concerned parents.”
Waco x 2?
Imagine, if you will, heavily armed Feds launching a large scale frontal assault on a compound filled with weapons, women and children, when they could easily have arrested their man anywhere else without fuss.
But no, not Waco: Charlottesville. And as I recall the original protest, to which the small cadre of no doubt Fed influenced neo-Nazis were not invited, was to orotest the removal of a Robert E Lee statue. Their argument: Where will it end?
They were laughed at, but when a Frederick Douglass statue was pulled down, all sane people should have started pushing back. But few if any sane people remain among the Democrats. Even here, I feel, Bari speaks loudly by omission.
This IS a Cultural Revolution, which translates as “nihilistic and omnidirectional cultural suicide”.
Exactly. And do we need FBI Swat teams to arrest non-violent 60 year old men, represented by counsel, who would have happily turned themselves in at the FBI's office if asked? No. But it was all to intimidate and suppress dissent. And they are playing with fire. Because there are a lot more or us than them. And we are armed and, unlike them, love and will die for our Constitution. Law enforcement needs to think long and hard about alienating the very people who have supported them.
I think that's Janet El Reno.
Still miss Rush.
"Pro-Palestine" forces - that would be anti-U.S., anti- Israel, anti-Western, anti-speech, pro- Antifa - --are the Red Guard here and in the UK. Taking over the streets, violence, shutting down speech, intimidating, threatening, bullying politicians. Every time they get away with it, we're one step closer to civil collapse. The biggest, single issue of this election is controlling the forces of crime and intimidation in all their forms. It sure seems as if these forces outnumber the police in affected cities. For every thug apprehended, there's five more to take his place. We are far too soft a target.
Because there are no consequences.
Exactly. There are things called water guns and tear bombs. The only reason authorities CAN'T clean up the streets is because they don't WANT to. And that's because of the politicians running those cities (or maybe they should be called "shitties").
By the way, this is exactly the road to authoritarianism. Either these violent idiots are successful, or the violent idiots opposing them. Hitler was voted into power by people who were afraid of the radical left, so they thought they chose the lesser of two evils.
You forget, though, parents are paying a lot of money and probably would have their lawyers sue Berkeley if their wonderful child was 'blasted' with water. AND - the university doesn't want the bad press. And the police are already demoralized and hated because of BLM and Defund the Police movements so their hands are tied by public opinion (and social media videos of them). The kids are running the show at these elite universities-- and are assisted by professors.
Students and the ubiquitous "staff" are running the show. There is a total failure to stand up to either.
Good point which is the dilemma I find myself in for the next election! Lesser of two evils🤷♀️
Hummm...who thought "defund the police" was a great idea?
Even in South Central where I teach (in an all Black and Latino school) they never wanted to defund the police. In fact, they want MORE police to offset the gangs and drug dealers that 'take their kids'. It's at the rich elite (mostly white) institutions where student activists plan these schemes.
Why do you think it is that the parents of your kids continue to vote for this self-defeating ideology?
Good question. The cities are vote rich, and that's where the rot is, the refusal to enforce the law. And conversely, the weaponizing of the law.
Oops-- I think I misread what you said. Yes, it is self-defeating.
I totally believe that no one anywhere wants an unsafe neighborhood for themselves, their kids, their neighbors. How do governors, senators, representatives, local mayors/politicians get elected to office that push policies that undermine the safety of their constituents? Someone votes these people into office. Why?
I think there is a level of utter madness at play that is hard for a sane person to even contemplate. Whether you believe in the concept of “mass formation psychosis” (à la Matthias Desmet) or “the woke mind virus” (Elon Musk’s version) there is clearly something that has overridden common sense throughout the western world. I shake my head in despair every day.
I think, unfortunately, many of the people where I teach may not even vote.
Have you been to South Central? Watts? South Gate? Parents are more concerned with gangs, drugs, violence. The police in these neighborhoods have created safe spaces for many of these young people. Yes, George Floyd was awful-- tragic. But police brutality is rare in SC; whereas, everyday gang activity and violence is an everyday occurrence. Wealthy elites (especially from these universities) who have never stepped into these poor neighborhoods have NO idea and to make assumptions shows a sense of arrogance.
I kind of did, but not for the same reasons as everyone else.
Berkeley is ground zero for free speech. We will absolutely hurt or even destroy you in order to protect free speech as defined by the idiots who destroy and contribute nothing to society. Will they get expelled, hell no, as the administration believes in their destruction, intimidations and intolerance all under their free speech banner. Best use for Berkeley would be a homeless shelter.
Yes or let's repurpose their Campus for all the Illegals - use their tuition instead of tax dollars to support all the expenses incurred doing so
If you want to see a real free speech catastrophe, you should read Chris Bray's latest piece. He reveals that Canada has introduced a new bill that would hand out life sentences for writing something offensive online. This is not hyperbole, I'm not making this up or exaggerating.
Now whether that bill becomes a law or not is of course an open question, but it's just another indication of where this world is headed.
If Trudeau’s fascist Bill is passed it will be struck down as unconstitutional.
The US right to free speech/press/assembly/religion/redress, enshrined in the first amendment and backed up by the second amendment, is an oddity on the stage of world goverments.
Who picks the Justices, Terry? When will Canadians say "enough?" Or will you just let your liberties be trod into the dirt by Fidel's spawn?
He could never grow a beard as magnificent as Fidel’s… 😂
I hope so.
I have to wonder whether Texas A&M's decision about its Qatar campus is actually a temporary measure designed to cool criticism until a better moment. Rather than shutting down (or at least withdrawing from) the campus immediately, it is merely phasing it out.
Which means that all the nuclear and other research going on there will still benefit the hosts of the Hamas leadership for another three years.
This does not look like an earnest decision to me.
It is a lie. This is called kicking the can down the road. Also known as the Shogun game. Read the book, "Shogun". Lord Toronaga is summoned to the capital. And he agrees, but... the journey takes long. In the end he rides victorious into the capital, buries his enemy neck deep and the man's head is slowly cut off with a bamboo saw. It takes a week for him to die
It’s probably based on student enrollment timeframe.
I thought the same Celia.
Like all those who don't want to blame Hamas for October 7, Rania (who is Palestinian) is an antisemite. Her husband is the useless brat king, descended from Arabian bedouins, ruling over Jordan-a colonialist imperialist country created by Britain after WW1. You would think that as a Palestinian she would care about the Palestinians in Gaza and expect her husband to grant them refuge from the fighting. But nope. I guess to Rania it's more important to give cover to the Hamas barbarians than to actually help her own People.
A quote from Nikita Khrushchev: "We don't have to invade the United States...we will destroy you from within."
Anyone remember "The Martians Are Due on Maple Street"? Rod Serling had it right sixty years ago.
💫
I do hope the wise members of SCOTUS read Matt Taibbi's excellent and scary article yesterday when he described asking the new Google Gemini about Matt Taibbi and the result included a publication history of articles Taibbi never wrote. Gemini even included made up quotes of bigoted and racist statements from the fake articles.
Such is the authority of Google. And such is the problem. Because we all know if Google says it, it must be true, right?
I have deleted everything Google off my phone in protest and to keep my privacy!
If you still have an account with Google, go into the user settings and delete all data that you can. I also recommend wiping your social media accounts.
I thought they suspended Gemini for these kinds of problems.
We, the general public, are at best naive - at worst oblivious. Google has been tinkering in the background for years. As a recent example how many of us were even aware of the seemingly benign "helpful" initiative: https://moz.com/blog/helpful-content-update
The more skeptical surmise just a test/probe to see what be ushered in without creating a shit storm....all in the name of doing good, its in the initiative's name🤓👺
Time for the presidents of Berkeley and Stanford to be on the hot seat before Elise Stefanik
Will Berserkley throw the book at the rioters? Of COURSE NOT! In fact, they won't even identify them, with the result that MORE violence will occur!
Because their parents would sue the university. It's all about money and trying to avoid negative media attention. And these kids have grown up in a time of NO consequences.
Pity. They’ll be ‘kids’ forever. Mom and Dad must be proud.
Respectfully, a riot is by definition violent, thus “violent rioters” is redundant.
What about Quiet Riot?
I kid you not, I almost included that distinction.
Good point!
Some days, the state of the world is too much to bear, and I can’t make it past the headline. Today is one of those days, with a headline that concludes by informing me of the loss of one man who always managed to make me laugh.
I know how you feel, JoAnna. Ironically, and unfortunately, it’s the inability or refusal, not just reluctance, of far too many of our fellow citizens to read past the headlines, readily accepting and ingesting every rage-inducing blurb and false narrative that appears on their screens, that has in no small part contributed to the sad state of the world.
JoAnna, I agree. I just said to my friend the other day that I'm glad I am my age and not 20, with our country becoming so confusing and chaotic... and scary. That said, I feel bad for my own kids who are just reaching maturity.
Of course electricity demand is surging under Biden, at the same time as he's doing his level best to undermine the reliability of our grid with the insanity of the Green New Deal. To call him a putz is to elevate his intellect about the mediocrity to which he's always aspired and never quite obtained.
I disagree with Wiseman (now that's a funny name for Ollie) on almost everything but find common ground in the passing of Richard Lewis. He was perfect on Curb and his repartee with Larry David will never be equaled.
Didn't Richard Lewis have a sitcom with Jamie Lee Curtis in the eighties?
I am so out of it. I had never heard of Richard Lewis or his show before. And, I didn't find the golf video very entertaining. I did wait through the whole thing for the punch line. Maybe it is a little "inside NYC"?
Doesn't ring a bell.....
I looked it up - "Anything But Love". I thought it was endearing ... but in 1989, I was only 25!
So glad you posed the question AND the answer! I don’t watch much, but THIS was how I knew Richard Lewis.
But you need to give Berkeley time to set up study commission...