The Berkeley Experience

Peace Corps

2007-08-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to stop writing here. From now on, all of my blogging will take place at http://nate-in-a-nutshell.blogspot.com/

Go there for Peace Corps Senegal Adventures and other stories!

My First Ever VLOG- Super Basic- Will Get Better

2007-06-25T23:13:00.000-07:00

Spencer Blackhart

2007-06-24T21:15:00.001-07:00

Dental Interrogation: LOL

2007-05-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Advisers Fault Harsh Methods in Interrogation
NY Times- May 30th, 2007

I laughed quite hard when I read this:

"Mr. Krongard even recalls receiving a proposal for help with questioning Qaeda suspects from an American dentist who said he “could create pain no human being could withstand.”

Calling Dr. Pain to Gitmo!

NYT: Condi Gave Food for Oil Kick Backs to Saddam?!?

2007-05-11T01:22:00.000-07:00

Chevron Seen Settling Case on Iraq Oil

By CLAUDIO GATTI and JAD MOUAWAD

NY Times

Published: May 8, 2007

Chevron, the second-largest American oil company, is preparing to acknowledge that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein on oil it bought from Iraq as part of a defunct United Nations program, according to investigators.

The admission is part of a settlement being negotiated with United States prosecutors and includes fines totaling $25 million to $30 million, according to the investigators, who declined to be identified because the settlement was not yet public.

The penalty, which is still being negotiated, would be the largest so far in the United States in connection with investigations of companies involved in the oil-for-food scandal.

The $64 billion program was set up in 1996 by the Security Council to help ease the effects of United Nations sanctions on Iraqi civilians after the first gulf war. Until the American invasion in 2003, the program allowed Saddam’s government to export oil to pay for food, medicine and humanitarian goods.

Using an elaborate system of secret surcharges and extra fees, however, the Iraqi regime received at least $1.8 billion in kickbacks from companies in the program, according to an investigation completed in 2005 by Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

By imposing surcharges on the sale of crude oil, the Iraqi regime skimmed about $228 million from its oil exports.

A report released in 2004 by an investigator at the Central Intelligence Agency listed five American companies that bought oil through the program: the Coastal Corporation, a subsidiary of El Paso; Chevron; Texaco; BayOil, and Mobil, now part of Exxon Mobil. The companies have denied any wrongdoing and said they were cooperating with the investigations.

As part of the deal under negotiation, Chevron, which now owns Texaco, is not expected to admit to violating the U.N. sanctions. But Chevron is expected to acknowledge that it should have been aware that illegal kickbacks were being paid to Iraq on the oil, the investigators said.

The fine is connected to the payment of about $20 million in surcharges on tens of millions of barrels of Iraqi oil bought by Chevron from 2000 to 2002, investigators said.

These payments were made by small oil traders that sold oil to Chevron. But records found by United Nations, American and Italian officials showed that they were financed by Chevron.

The negotiations, which might take several weeks to conclude, follow an agreement reached in February by El Paso, the largest operator of American natural gas pipelines, to pay the United States government $7.73 million to settle allegations that it was involved in illegal payments under the oil-for-food program.

The settlement discussions are a result of months of work by a joint task force of the United States attorneys of the Southern District of New York and the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, with help from Italian authorities. Kent Robertson, a spokesman for Chevron, said “regarding the oil-for-food program generally, Chevron purchased Iraqi crude oil principally for use in its U.S. refineries and the United Nations approved the initial sale of all cargos ultimately purchased by Chevron.”

He said Chevron has cooperated with inquiries into the program “and we will continue to do so.”

The United States attorney’s office and the office of the New York district attorney both declined to comment.

Thus far, only former United Nations officials, individual traders and relatively small oil companies have come under scrutiny in the United States.

According to the Volcker report, surcharges on Iraqi oil exports were introduced in August 2000 by the Iraqi state oil company, the State Oil Marketing Organization. At the time, Condoleezza Rice, now secretary of state, was a member of Chevron’s board and led its public policy committee, which oversaw areas of potential political concerns for the company.

Ms. Rice resigned from Chevron’s board on Jan. 16, 2001, after being named national security advisor by President Bush.

Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, referred inquires to Chevron.

According to Chevron’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, the public policy committee met three times in the course of 2000. Chevron declined to comment about the private deliberations of its board.

On Jan. 26, 2001, Patricia Woertz, then president of Chevron Products, stated in an internal communication that “the payment of such a surcharge is prohibited by U.N. sanctions against Iraq,” according to documents provided by Chevron to the Volcker committee.

In any transaction involving Iraqi oil, Ms. Woertz wrote that the company should consider the “identity, experience and reputation of the selling company,” as well as “any deviation of the proposed pricing basis or margin for the transaction from historical practice.”

According to American and Italian investigators, however, a list of Iraqi oil transactions from June 2000 to December 2002, which Chevron provided to the Volcker committee, showed that the premium Chevron was paying to third parties went up after August 2000, when the illegal surcharges began — and continued to be paid even after Ms. Woertz’s warnings.

The company also did not carry out Ms. Woertz’s demand for what amounted to a credibility check on companies that sold Iraqi crude to Chevron. Chevron bought tens of millions of barrels of Iraqi oil from companies that included previously unknown players with no record in the oil business, investigators say.

One such company was Erdem Holding, which sold Chevron 13 million barrels of oil, according to Chevron’s list. This company was owned by Zeynel Abidin Erdem, a Turkish businessman who sat on the board of the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council.

On Feb. 15, 2001, about two weeks after Ms. Woertz’s internal memo was sent, Chevron bought 1.8 million barrels from Erdem, the Turkish company, at “OSP plus 36 cents.” OSP stands for the official selling price approved by the United Nations for Iraqi oil.

On other occasions, the extra payment went as high as 49.5 cents a barrel, according to the Chevron list.

In sworn statements last year to an Italian prosecutor, an Italian businessman, Fabrizio Loioli, said he sold Iraqi oil to many companies, including Chevron, and all were aware of the Iraqi request for payment of a surcharge. “In fact, each final beneficiary involved used to add this amount to the official price to disguise it as a premium to be paid to the intermediary,” Mr. Loioli said in his statement. “In reality, they were perfectly aware that only a part of that would go to the intermediary, while the remaining part was to be paid to the Iraqis.”

Italy’s financial investigators, the Guardia di Finanza, found specific evidence that Mr. Loioli’s company, Betoil, paid surcharges to the Iraqis for oil bought by Chevron. The documents, seized in Betoil’s offices, indicate that $45,000 was sent to a secret Iraqi account in Jordan as payment for surcharges on oil loaded by the tanker Overseas Ann on behalf of Chevron on March 13, 2002.

Mr. Loioli was convicted in the United Arab Emirates for fraud and is currently under investigation in Greece and Italy, according to an Italian investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still active.

Investigators in Milan found evidence that Mr. Loioli brokered the sale of some 155 million barrels of Iraqi crude and, directly or indirectly, paid $4.5 million in surcharges. In the case of Chevron, Mr. Loioli said in his deposition that he dealt with an official in the company’s London office, Michael Dugdale, who handled the purchase of Iraqi oil.

An internal Chevron e-mail message found by United States investigators suggests that Mr. Dugdale informed the company that the premium to Mr. Loioli had the illegal Iraqi surcharge embedded in it, according to a person close to the investigation.

Mr. Dugdale left Chevron in the fall of 2005. In a telephone interview from London, he confirmed dealing with the Italian intermediary, but denied knowingly paying surcharges to the Iraqis or trying to negotiate any discount on them. “Every deal I did was approved by senior management,” Mr. Dugdale said, adding he had informed them about his negotiations with Mr. Loioli.

Claudio Gatti is an investigative reporter based in New York for Il Sole 24 Ore.

UC Berkeley Notice Regarding Illegal Filesharing

2007-04-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

From: POULLARD@berkeley.edu

Subject: UCB NOTICE REGARDING ILLEGAL FILESHARING

Date: Tue, April 3, 2007 4:31 pm

To:

Dear Student,

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), copying and sharing copyrighted materials without permission is illegal. As you may know, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and some other copyright owners and groups have recently stepped up their efforts to curb illegal filesharing on the Internet. This academic year, the University has received a much larger volume of complaints about peer-to-peer file sharing under the DMCA. In addition, the RIAA is sending "early settlement" letters to colleges around the country as part of their new anti-theft campaign announced in January (see press release at http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/032107.asp). This is an opportune time to remind you of relevant policies and practices at UC Berkeley.

DMCA "take-down" notices Federal law requires that the University take action when it is notified that someone on its network is distributing copyrighted materials without permission. Whether you are aware of the violation or not, if UC Berkeley's DMCA agent receives a "takedown notice" alleging that your computer is distributing copyrighted material without permission, the University follows established policy enforcement procedures, see:

http://www.rescomp.berkeley.edu/besmart/filesharing/

http://itpolicy.berkeley.edu/copyright/

Early Settlement Letters

The University of California has agreed to forward "early settlement" letters to students on the campus network that the RIAA alleges have shared copyrighted material illegally. The University will send a cover letter along with the RIAA early settlement letter to the student's email address, as well as his/her current and permanent addresses. Unless served with a proper subpoena, UC Berkeley will NOT release the name of the user to the content owner or RIAA upon receipt of a DMCA notice or early settlement letter. By forwarding the early settlement letters, the University of California has made no determination that students have engaged in copyright infringement or that they should enter into an early settlement with the copyright holder. It is solely the student's personal decision whether to avail him or herself of the "early settlement" procedure.

Legal downloading

UC Berkeley supports and encourages the legal downloading of music, movies, and software. Residential and Student Service Programs provides extensive education for incoming students about the potential legal and policy enforcement consequences of illegal filesharing. To find out more about these campus programs, please visit http://rescomp.berkeley.edu/besmart/ and http://rts.berkeley.edu/legaldownloads/.

To comply with the law and to protect yourself from possible litigation, we strongly encourage you to remove illegally-obtained copyrighted material from your computer, and to stop downloading copyrighted material illegally if you do so now. We will continue our vigorous education efforts in this area, but ultimately the choice is yours. Please take advantage of the information on the websites listed in this letter.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Poullard
Dean of Students

Shelton Waggener
Associate Vice-Chancellor and Chief Information Officer

Peace Corps Morocco: Should I be nervous?

2007-04-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

In September, I'll be going to Morocco for business development work. This assignment is at least for the next two years.

Timeline of Moroccan Islamist Terrorism

Should I be nervous? I am tall, white and very European looking. I speak french and some spanish. I will learn moroccan arabic there.

Why do I feel nervous? Come on, time to be brave.

This is just the start... 2008 Video Clips Will Have a Huge Impact

2007-03-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

8:40pm Shaker Quake

2007-03-01T20:50:00.001-08:00

The big one is coming and we all know it.

The Shakes & Cloyne Court

2007-02-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

Did I just feel alittle shake?

3:45pm. Hmm... common Cloyne Court... don't fall down with me in here.

John Petroski: Not that funny

2007-02-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

My gf told me about this. I found it semi difficult to track down the whole text of it. That's why I am posting it here. I think transparency about issues like this facilitates meaningful conversation. I agree with my gf that its not funny at all and offensive.

This comes not too long after the Princeton Asian bashing satirical piece. Males- especially white males- need to be very very very careful when trying to be provocative with race, gender, orientation, sex and etc, etc. If you're not a comic genius, you'll be in trouble. Amateur humor can hurt and offend many people- especially on university campuses where there is a lot of activism and organizing around important issues such as this.

Besides it is not a good idea to offend women in general. Demographically women do have numerical superiority over men. As my mother is fond of telling me, “I brought you into the world, I can take you out of it.” And of course, don't forget about Tony Soprano's mother. Women are powerful and valued players in the world- so pissing them off might make you regret it.

Wednesday February 7^th, 2007

Title: Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It
John Petroski
Opinions Editor
Central Connecticut State University

Most people today would claim that rape is a terrible crime almost akin to murder but I strongly disagree. Far from a vile act, rape is a magical experience that benefits society as a whole. I realize many of you will disagree with this thesis but lend me your ears and I’m sure I’ll sway you towards a darkened alley.

If it weren’t for rape, Western Civilization might not exist as we know it today. When the Romans were faced with a disproportionate ratio of women to men in the early kingdom, they had to do something, lest their fledgling society die for lack of sons. To solve their little dilemma, they did what any reasonable man would do: they threw a festival for their Sabine neighbors, and then stole and raped their women. It’s quite logical; in fact I don’t understand why the settlers at Plymouth didn’t do the same to the local Indians. It certainly would have saved on shipping costs.

Obviously, in the case of the Rape of the Sabines, rape was a tremendous help to society. The Sabine women, for their part, didn’t seem to mind so much, as they threw themselves between their brutish old Sabine husbands and their charming new Roman ones to prevent bloodshed when the Sabine men came to reclaim their wives. Yet even when society was totally against a rape, the raunchy act has benefited society too. Where would the Romans be, after all, if it weren’t for the Rape of Lucretia infuriating the people to the point of overthrowing their last king, Lucius Tarquinius Soperbus? If it weren’t for that event, the world might never have had the Roman Republic for a pristine example of a flawless government.

Rape’s glorious advantages are not, however, exclusively found from 2,000-year-old examples. In actuality, rape’s advantages can very much be seen today. Take ugly women, for example. If it weren’t for rape, how would they ever know the joy of intercourse with a man who isn’t drunk? In a society as plastic-conscious as our own, are we really to believe that some man would ever sleep with a girl resembling a wildebeest if he didn’t have a few schnapps in him? Of course he wouldn’t, at least no self-respecting man would, but therein lies the beauty of rape. No self-respecting man would rape in the first place, so ugly women are guaranteed a romp with not only a sober man, but a bad boy too, and we all know how much ladies like the bad boy.

Ugly women are not, however, the only people who benefit from rape– prisoners enjoy its many perks, too. What, after all, would possibly be more boring than spending years of your life confined to some tiny cell 23 hours a day? The answer, of course, is spending years of your life confined to some tiny cell 23 hours a day and never getting some hot action. With rape, prisoners never have to worry about that. Instead, they merely need worry about treating their rapists with enough love and respect to earn a quick reach-around.

But if there is one bread and butter reason for why rape should not only be accepted, but even endorsed, it is because our news editors are in dire need of interesting stories for our front page. Bookstore stories? Fossils? One dollar coins? Please. Now, some saucy circle jerk rape action? Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Myspace is over! So now Melodramatic?

2007-02-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

In my humble opinion, Myspace sucks. It is clunky, slow and full of spam. It is bursting at the seams. It is dead inside. I think it is starting to go the way of friendster. Yeah you remember friendster, its blah.

I've gone back to my pre-myspace and pre-facebook days to a site called Melodramatic.com or melo for short. It's still how I always remembered it. Melo is so good damn non mainstream. It still reminds of when I was first on the internet: not so wacked out or commercialized-- at least not yet. It's addictive too. The karma system for being a good community member ties you into.

The art and just the style of the site is refreshing.

Berzerkeley

2007-02-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

some clones made this

*Clones live at Cloyne Court

Sonja Sharp & co-ops: What was she thinking?

2007-02-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she wrote a column entitled: "Co-Ops in a Time of Cholera"

I can't believe that she would just make up facts and proclaim to the entire Berkeley Community that there is a Cholera epidemic in the co-ops. Didn't she live in CZ when the "CZ plague" hit?

What was she thinking?

Does she know what libel is? If I were managing the United Students Co-ops Association I would sue both her and the Daily Cal for blatant libel.

This could cost the non-profit USCA hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential rents. This organization provides affordable housing to students which in the Berkeley area is something we can all appreciate.

What I find most disappointing is the complete lack of good judgement regarding this column and many other columns that she has written. One need only look at her Facebook page to see a good example of her poor judgement in presenting her ownself.

As a member of the co-op community where people work together to create better communities and living spaces, it is quite dissappointing that she has taken advantage of friendships and their communities to write false and pornographic accounts.

I find it distasteful that she is doing this so that DailyCal readers can get a hard on.

What am I? Sweet!

2007-01-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

I am:

Kurt Vonnegut

For years, this unique creator of absurd and haunting tales denied that he had anything to do with science fiction.

Which science fiction writer are you?

Time to Start Up Again

2007-01-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

Now that I am no longer a house manager at Cloyne Court, I feel that I can write again about some of the goings on in the house. That is what really interests me and I'm sure would interest most potential readers.

Stay tuned

Beier-Facebook Drama in the EastBay Express

2006-11-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Case of the Missing Web Page

Pre-election squabble raises questions about high-tech arbiters of free speech in this Facebook/MySpace era.

By Kara Platoni

Article Published Nov 29, 2006

These are the facts in the Case of the Missing Web Page: The week before the election, a Cal student put up a page on Facebook.com criticizing Berkeley City Council candidate George Beier, an advertiser on the site. Three times that week, the student's page was removed. Why? How? Facebook ain't talkin'.

Tech-savvy politicians realize that one of the best ways to reach young voters now is through social-networking sites such as the Palo Alto-based Facebook.com. Geared toward students, it lets them post profiles, link to friends, and set up "groups" — pages about topics that interest them. All the candidates from Districts 7 and 8, which cover the campus, were on the site, either with paid ads, groups run by student supporters or, for the Cal alums, their own profiles.

...

(Jump to link)

I'm pretty happy with this story. I think it is pretty accurate to what happened and fair to both myself and Mr. Beier.

I'm working on a few projects, I'll write alittle more up on this when I have the chance.

November 24th- No Purchase Necessary

2006-11-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

(My original text didn't get posted for some reason, damn mobile posting)

This is kinda interesting. Buy Nothing Day as promoted by Adbusters.

The idea is... "[that it] just [isn't] about changing your habits for one day. It’s about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste. With six billion people on the planet, the onus if on the most affluent – the upper 20% that consumes 80% of the world’s resources – to begin setting the example." (link)

This is the kinda activism that I can get into. I'm required to do nothing at all on one day. This inactive activism is something everyone can do anythig to do!

UCLA Tasering at the Library

2006-11-16T16:32:00.000-08:00

Cheers to the Daily Clog for this link.

Student gets tasered in the library for not haveing a Bruincard and not leaving in a timely manner.

Warning this video is pretty disturbing.

Video Link

Stoney Burke Watch: On Campus!

2006-11-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

I ran into Stoney Burke today on campus.

I was surprised because his big fat Free Speeching mouth has been missing from campus for the last few weeks.

When I talked to him he was still in shock or in his own words "still stoned" about his day in the spot light. On Tuesday, San Francisco proclaimed it Stoney, A Clown that Rabbles Rouses in Defense of Free Speech, Day.

He was eager to show off his Proclaimation.

During our conversation I watched how people just popped up to congratuatle him.

One fellow came up to him and offered him an apologetic congratulations:

"First I thought you were a nut. Now you're a nut with celebrance... and thats a huge difference."

Another less eloquent admirer said:

"Congratuations, Nut."

To which Stoney accepted with a smirk.

When I asked Stoney to describe the ceremony was at city hall. He said it was formal and kinda stiff. Everyone was wearing nice suits and had perfect hair. He joked "That it was like a party with no drinks."

Next I asked him where he had been for the last couple weeks. He said that he went to a Hindu wedding in Los Angeles and did a little Street Performance at UCLA.

He described the campus as being fairly conservative and having a huge military prescence. He said he was unable to draw more than a hand full of people. Most likely it was because he had no backup. He was alittle hestitant to go full out. He might have been a little afriad that he might get beat up or arrested for his favorite litany of :

"Fuck Bush."

After Thirty years of Street Performing I can only imagine that this Free Speecher has a feel for which places can take the sting of a little gadfly action.

A Sad Day for the World

2006-11-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

Milton Friedman has died today at the age of 94. Here's the CNN link.

I remember him for arguing that economic freedom leads to political freedom.

That state intervention into ones economic life makes less free and more beholden to the whims of the state. Capitalism and Freedom is a must read for anyone that wants to understand his philosophy and how it has shaped the world.

This was truly a man that loved freedom and liberty.

I'm not going to say that this ruins my day but it sure makes it harder for me to finish a paper I'm working on.

I am writing about rentier states, democracy and oil. It almost seems to be a direct application of some of Friedman's ideology.... (I love Berkeley! Robert Reich just walked by my co-op. He always looks so unhappy these days.)

.... Particularly how in these states, the population is bought off with welfare/handouts from extractive/oil revenues and also they do not pay any voluntary taxes. These populations in theory do not demand political rights/participation in the running of the state. It's truly fascinating stuff.

Stoney Burke Watch: Daily Cal Edition

2006-11-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

So I spoke too soon. I guess Stoney is doing just fine.

So fine that he was honored on November 14th at San Francisco City Hall.

This was in the Daily Cal today.

San Francisco Celebrates Campus Street Comedian

It is written by Sona Arutyunyan. She is currently working on a Cloyne Court "pot-cookie incident" follow up story. It most likely will be published tomorrow.

I spoke with her today about it. Hopefully she does not misquote me.

Blog-citement

2006-11-15T00:46:00.000-08:00

So I've given it some thought and I'm going to get back to a regular blogging schedule.

Instead of blogging occasionally on what excites me or what I feel passionate about, I'm going to try to write about something interesting at least once every day.

Hell I'd like to keep my readership up. It's swollen to thrice the level it was before.

So I guess the question is: What aspects of the Berkeley Experience would everyone like me to write about? Do people appreciate my sarcastic nit-wit style?

I await your responses.

Facebook and George Beier? The Saga that Won't End

2006-11-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

So this Facebook and George Beier thing doesn't want to end.

My facebook group: "Who is George Beier? Kinda Creepy" is no longer searchable.

The group still exists but if you try to find it on Facebook... Good luck!

The settings on this group are for it to be open to the public. So it makes me suspect that Facebook is trying to limit who sees this group.

I suspect that they realized their censorship was causing a buzz in the Berkeley Online community and perhaps when a journalist or two contacted them they might have freaked out and wanted to limit their damage.

So they figured that if people couldn't find this group, they couldn't judge for themselves if the content merited political censorship. Is that savy or scary? What is Facebook about anyways?

Here's a couple links from my blog where can up-to-date on this saga:

Facebook & Politics: Poor Mix

A New Era: Facebook, Politics and Free Speech?

Update:

After doing alittle research, I learned that Beier lost by 131 votes. Could my campaign of truth had anything to do with these 131 votes? I can tell you for sure that I contacted a hell of a lot of my friends and I posted this mess the UC Berkeley livejournal community & many other places that Cal students frequent.

I wonder...

Update II (11:23pm):

So this is the real figure from the election:

Kriss Worthington- 1893
George Beier - 1679

The total vote difference is 214. So after alittle research, I'm going to say that my little campaign for truth probably didn't do a whole lot but maybe it did sway it - at a conservative guess- maybe 20-30 votes. I'm not going to pretend that I have any influence on likely voters- but I can hope.

Here's the source for my info.

Stoney Burke Watch

2006-11-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

It was a quiet day in front of Dwinelle. This begs the question:

Where is Stoney Burke?

I always walk by Dwinelle on Tuesday afternoons to try to hear him speak. I haven't seen him around campus on for at least 5 weeks.

Is he alright? Is he sick?

Stoney Burke is a fixture of campus and a reminder of what the free speech movement was all about. Not being afraid to say what needs to be said, even if others don't like to hear it. This is something that we should all take a lesson from.

I learned much about public speaking, rhetoric and how to antagonize people by listening to him speak week after week.

I know that he had many conflicts with the UCPD. Officers told him many times to quiet down and that if he wanted to speak loudly, he could go stand in the free speech circle in Sproul Plaza. He was arrested many times but he ultimately won many times.

“The Stoney Burke Show” always drew students with a unique brand of ridiculous social satire. One of the things that he really picked up on is how cynical and apathetic this generation is.

Maybe that is why no one seems to miss him. We are all too apathetic, cynical and self concerned to give a damn.

The Daily Clog: Google Image "Clog"

2006-11-14T00:59:00.000-08:00

Why call it the Daily Clog? Maybe I've lived in a co-op too long but the first thing that I think of is a clogged toilet.

Here are some of the better images that I've found for "Clog" on Google Image plus my nit-wit commentary.

Clog: The Cal Patriot Meets The Daily Cal

Abnormally Large Clogging: Who wouldn't want to take a picture in this?

Citty Clog: Meow!
(I just thought this was cute. The fat kittie is clogging the sink!)

A Clog-in: The New Way to Gain Followers on Sproul

The Daily Clog: Not Bathroom Humor?

2006-11-14T00:10:00.000-08:00

The Daily Cal has this new cool blog named "The Clog." (My next post will be exploring the humorous complications of the name)

Unfortunately it needs a little plunging. My biggest complaint: why aren't comments allowed?

Also Alex Marlow and the Clog Staff seem to be having a love affair. Alex Marlow admits he's cheating.

We'll see how it turns out.

~
Email Sent to the Clog:

Hey,

I love the idea of the Clog. Why don't you allow comments? What are you afriad of? (Yes I realize I spelled "afriad" wrong) Oh yes, I've linked you on my site. =)

Much love,
Nathan J Danielsen

Beier Lost

2006-11-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

So this is a late news flash but Beier lost. The East Bay Express might run a story on my experience with Facebook, Beier's campaign and this whole thing.

I'm working on two midterms this week so posting might be sparse but...

I got a new memory card for my camera so I'll be more photographic with what is going on. Everyone likes pictures.

Berkeley Daily Planet Attempts Political Satire and Uses Me As the ScareCrow

2006-11-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, I got my voice in the Berkeley Daily planet as a... Beier supporter. ='(

They mention me as a Beier supporter in an article that seems to heavily criticize Beier in an underhanded and sneeky way.

The reporter Riya Bhattacharjee seems to ignore the entire context of our correspondence.
Ignores every critique I've written of the Beier campaign. Ignores the scandal brewing on Facebook regarding my group challenging/critiquing George Beier being shut down, resurrected and systematically marginalized & abused.

Boy oh boy do I love irony.

This is too good to be true. No longer do I feel like my guts have been ripped out and I've had my bowels restuffed with straw. I'm not really some stinky rotten Scarecrow supporter of George Beier.

No of course not, that would be too straightforward.

I'm more like a character in some superbly written satire that Riya Bhattacharjee has constructed.

Was I the only student Riya could find as a supporter of Beier?

How deep is the hatred and dislike of Riya Bhattacharjee for George Beier to use me as a Scarecrow Supporter? Especially with my baggage regarding George Beier and why -if I could - change my vote.

Here's my satirical straw stuffed corpse:

“Even some who support Beier said the YouTube video could have included more substance.

Nathan Danielsen, a UC Berkeley student who voted for Beier this year, said that the YouTube video was well produced, but it didn’t offer much information to entice student voters.

“It is not very funny, not ridiculous and doesn’t push the limits of anything,” he said. “It is really safe. Thinking as a typical consumer of entertainment, I was most entertained by the passionate music.”

Here's the link to the full article.

Re-unremoved and Removed Again

2006-11-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

I don't get what the deal is with Facebook. This is some structural problem with their system. How many other voices have been silenced and not spoked up for fear of being "removed" from the system?

Today's Email Correspondance Follows

Subject: Re: Your Facebook Group

From: Nathan J Danielsen

Date: Mon, November 6, 2006 8:20 pm

To: "Simon Axten" <@facebook.com>

Yes, it was shut down again at 7:08pm. This is the night before the

election takes place. This is unacceptable. FYI- This is starting to

create a buzz around the Berkeley online community.

Nathan

~~~~

>Subject: Re: Your Facebook Group

>From: "Simon Axten" <@facebook.com>

>Date: Mon, November 6, 2006 11:24 am

>To: Nathan J Danielsen

> Hi Nathan,

> Okay, this should all be straightened out. I've deleted all warnings for

> the admins of this group, and none of them should be getting this home

> page

> notification anymore. Their accounts are completely clear. Again, sorry

> for the inconvenience here. Let me know if you still think something's

> up.

> Thanks very much for your understanding.

> Simon

Update: Facebook Group Members May Be Removed from Facebook

2006-11-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

Members of "Who is George Beier? A littie Creepy" have recieved the following message:

~
Warning! Your account could be disabled

Your behavior indicates that you may be in violation of Facebook's terms of use. Misuse of Facebook's features may result in your account being disabled. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@facebook.com.

Re: Your Facebook

2006-11-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

Subject: Re: Your Facebook Group

From: Nathan J Danielsen

Date: Sun, November 5, 2006 1:48 pm

To: "Simon Axten"

Simon,

My Facebook group has been removed again. Is this the same mistake by one of your Customer service reps? Or is it something else? Could you tell me what Facebook's policy is for removing groups and profiles? I'm interested to know so I tailor my expression without fear of violating the terms of service.

I have looked at the terms of service and the section that I believe applies to me is vague and described by one of my friends as full of weasel words.

I've spoke to many of my friends at Berkeley regarding this and everyone is appalled. These actions seem to violate the spirit of what many consider Facebook to be. Is there some misperception in the student body of Berkeley and the wider networks of Facebook regarding what appropriate speech and content is on Facebook?

I kindly look forward to your response.

Best,

Nathan J Danielsen

Subject: Your Facebook Group

From: "Simon Axten" @facebook.com

Date: Fri, November 3, 2006 7:13 am

To: Nathan J Danielsen @ berkeley.edu

> Hi Nathan,

> It's come to our attention that a group you created on Facebook was

> recently

> removed by one of our Customer Support reps. This was a mistake. There

> was

> some confusion here as to what exactly the intent of the group was. We

> have

> re-enabled your group and removed the warning from your account

> information.

> We apologize for the misunderstanding and for any inconvenience it may

> have

> caused. Thanks, and again, sorry for the mix-up.

> Simon

> Facebook

Facebook Group: Removed Again

2006-11-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

My group has been removed again. I thought this was all taked care of. Seems like this is a systematic issue now. It wasn't just one mistake made.

- This was on my Front Page on Facebook-

Warning Your Account Could Be Disabled

Your behavior indicates that you may be in violation of Facebook's terms of use. Misuse of Facebook's features may result in your account being disabled. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@facebook.com.

- One of the emails I recieved-

Subject: Facebook Account
From: "Facebook"
Date: Sun, November 5th, 2006 12:34pm

Hey,

The group "Who is George Beier? Kinda Creepy" has been removed due to a violation of
our Terms of Use, and this email serves as a warning. Additional violations will result in the termination of your account. Please read our Terms carefully and refrain from posting abusive material in the future. Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

The Facebook Team

- The Other Email I Recieved -

Warning: Your Facebook Account
From: "Facebook"
Date: Sun, November 5th, 2006 12:34pm

Hi,

Our systems indicate that you've been misusing certain features on the site. This email serves as a warning. Misuse of Facebook's features or violating Facebook's terms of use may result in your account being disabled . Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

The Facebook Team

My Letter to Facebook

2006-11-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

To: Simon Axten, Facebook
November 3rd, 2006--- 3:21pm

Simon,

Since there was an inconvenience associated with Facebook removing my group, I was wondering if you could tell me why George Beier's profile has been removed. Is this something he did himself or did he violate the terms of service of Facebook?

Thanks for your help and understanding,
Nathan J Danielsen

> Hi Nathan,
>
> It's come to our attention that a group you created on Facebook was
> recently
> removed by one of our Customer Support reps. This was a mistake. There
> was
> some confusion here as to what exactly the intent of the group was. We
> have
> re-enabled your group and removed the warning from your account
> information.
> We apologize for the misunderstanding and for any inconvenience it may
> have
> caused. Thanks, and again, sorry for the mix-up.
>
> Simon
> Facebook
>

Beier is Off Facebook

2006-11-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

I just got home from class. Looked through my mail and decided to see the latest happenings on Facebook.

I wanted to see if there were any development on Beier's Facebook page. I quickly learned that it was no longer available.

Did he delete it because he was been facing criticism as a result of his attempt and arguably successful method of banning student opposition/questions of his campaign?

Or did Facebook rightfully step in and terminate his account due to his "violations of terms of service" and violation of democratic principles?

I'm sending an email to Facebook. Maybe I'll get a response this time.

Facebooks Response

2006-11-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

So this morning when I checked my email, I found an email that Facebook has decided to reallow my Facebook group challenging George Beier. I'm honestly relieved. Back to putting my student hat on and less of being a trouble maker. I have more important things to do like write about Algerian socio-economic development.

Some people have said that it is a private company and they can do whatever they want. But it raises interesting questions of where politically motivated speech is allowed and not allowed. Facebook has fostered an unique online community where political conversation is very much part of the experience- especially with the Berkeley community.

As the lines between active (internet) and passive consumption (television) of info-tainment become increasing blurred, questions need to be addressed.

What is acceptable political speech in this privately owned but almost publicly operated zone. According to Facebook, it is the Seventh most tracked site and the number one photo sharing site. In such a public domain, with the massive infusion of political monies this election season, who holds the reigns of power to decide what is acceptable speech

Publicly broad television stations are required to give equal weight to political views because they use the public airwaves. In regards to the Internet, how much telecommunications infrastructure is taxpayer subsidized?

What is the balance going to be on these highly public yet privately owned online social networks?

In huge sites such as this, if politics are an encouraged topic, what is the community standard for decency and fairness?

These questions and others are going to have to be addressed sometime and hopefully they can be addressed before any huge problems results. Hopefully they can be addressed in ways that do not jeopardize the constituents of that website. Social network users are a notoriously fickle bunch.

Here's the message that they sent me:

Hi Nathan,

It's come to our attention that a group you created on Facebook was recently
removed by one of our Customer Support reps.  This was a mistake.  There was
some confusion here as to what exactly the intent of the group was.  We have
re-enabled your group and removed the warning from your account information.
We apologize for the misunderstanding and for any inconvenience it may have
caused.  Thanks, and again, sorry for the mix-up.

Simon
Facebook

A New Era: Facebook, Politics and Free Speech?

2006-11-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

I am a student a UC Berkeley and a member of the online social network named Facebook. I had thought that this site was created to be an open and safe form for students to network, collaborate and discuss politics. According to the USA Today, it is described as an “avenue” for student activism. Recently student members of this site have seen a change in the site by an infusion of political ads and monies with the upcoming election on November 7th.

I created a Facebook group to challenge and ask some questions of a local Berkeley politician George Beier who is running for City Council in District 7 of Alameda County. It was called "Who Is George Beier? Kinda Creepy." I critiqued his Facebook campaign and offered suggestions on how he could improve it. I also said a number of positive things about his ideas and proposals. Mostly I questioned why in his profile he did not bother to tell students who he was or why they should trust him. There was no mention of any of his political credentials.

This Facebook group was just beginning to pick up membership when it was deleted apparently because it was "abusive and violated the terms of service.” I know that my Facebook group has not been the first deleted for political content such as this nor is there any count or understanding of just how widespread a problem of censorship like this is.

The original reason that I launched this Facebook group is because I was very surprised that his over- saturation campaign on Facebook had not created a backlash manifested by a swarm of Anti-Beier groups. The only group involving Beier I found was a memory-site dedicated to the original group that had been shut down for the same reason as mine: it invited criticism and discussion of his political merits.

I am shocked that Facebook has transformed itself into such a political beast but doesn't not allow students/members to rally against political candidates that they don't like. Especially when these candidates are pumping tons of money into Facebook to appeal to voters. It just doesn't seem democratic at all. It made me think: what else are they hiding?

The ironic thing is that at about that time I was doing my absentee ballot, this group I had created was shut down. I actually had voted for him because I agree with a lot of the things that he says and stands for. Isn't that a democratic irony if you've ever heard one?

The irony of this situation is that at UC Berkeley forty years ago the Free Speech Movement was a result of students wanting to freely express their political beliefs and not being able to. This movement resulted in a conflict between Governor Reagan and the demonstrators that arguably propelled Reagan to the Whitehouse. It's funny that George Beier and Facebook is essentially trying to limit this same type of political discussion through the new phenomena of online social networks.

Also Berkeley has the fortune having a highly vocal bunch of College Republicans that cling to and cherish the principles of the Free Speech Movement due to their small minority status on campus. They were recently featured in the Wall Street Journal for their activities and robust presence.

To read more of the materials, visit my blog at http://berkeleyexperience.blogspot.com/

The Beier Diaries: The Night of Saga Continues

2006-11-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the message that George Beier sent me right before he had my Facebook group shut down. The ironic thing is that at about that time I was voting at the MLK student union, my facebook group was shut down. I had actually voted for him because I agree with a lot of the things that he says and stands for. Isn't that the best democratic irony if you've heard one?

When I checked my mail and Facebook I was livid that he had my facebook group shut down.

The original reason that I launched that Facebook group is because I was very surprised that his over-saturation campaign on Facebook had not created a backlash manifested by a swarm of Anti-Beier groups. The only group involving Beier I found was a memory-site dedicated to the original group that had been shut down for the same reason as mine: it invited criticism and discussion of his political merits.

I was just so shocked that Facebook was cooperating in this. Facebook has recently transformed itself into such a political beast that invites political issues and canidates. But apparently it does not allow students/members to rally against political candidates that they don't like. Especially when these candidates are pumping tons of money into Facebook to appeal to voters. It just doesn't seem right at all. It made me think what else is he hiding?

Here's the message he sent me before he had it shut down:

~~~~~
Mr. Danielsen,

I am not hiding anything at all. If you take a look at my website, I think all the answers to your quesions are right there. There is a limited amount of space on my facebook profile, so I highlighed a few issues and provided a link to my webite. If you look at the home page you will see:

My name is George Beier (pronounced "buyer") and I am running for City Council in District 7, the district that comprises Telegraph Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods.

I've lived in Berkeley since college. I received a BA in economics and came back for an MBA in Finance at the Haas School of Business. Shortly after, I started my own Berkeley-based software business. My partner, John (both business and domestic!) and I grew the company to 30 employees and sold it in 2003.

Since that time we have thrown ourselves into public service. John and I have always believed in "learning, earning, and serving". I'm the President of the Willard Neighborhood Association; I serve on the Waterfront Commission, the People's Park board, and I'm a substitute for the Zoning Adjustments Board; I also sit on the Chancellor's Neighbor/ Student Task Force. I'm on the board of Options Recovery Services, a non-profit providing abstinence-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation. John runs Rebuilding Together Oakland, which renovates homes for the low-income disabled and/ or elderly.

My vision for Telegraph and People's Park is about making a radical change to the status quo. Telegraph could be safe, drug-free, clean, diverse, vibrant, and prosperous. It could honor its history, encourage its mix of eclectic boutiques and restaurants, and have an exciting nightlife. It could be a regional draw and have neighborhood-serving stores. It could have affordable rentals and condominiums (to encourage long-term residents). People's Park could have a cafe and be safe, green, and returned to its original activists- the students!

I look forward to meeting you as I go door-to-door in District 7! Take care!

Do you have any specific questions about my background or plans?

Please let me know if you do.

George

Watch Out for Random Numbers On Your Phone

2006-11-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

George Beier has tried to contact me. He has called my mother at my home in Southern California and somehow, God-bless-her, has managed to get her to give him my number.

I don't want to know how he got my home number, this is the Information Age so it wasn't that hard I suspect.

But still think that its kinda creepy.

Open Letter to the World Regaring Facebook and Politics

2006-11-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

It really has to do with how are we going to regulate politics on social networks especially with how politicians are paying premiums for access that are comprised of students. Can or should Facebook for instance in this case be able to "delete" online student groups that disagree or challenge politicians that are paying for this premium access? This is what happened in my case. My group that challenged a local politician was deemed to be abusive and “in violation of the terms of service.” I actually agreed with most of his positions but I critiqued how he was presenting himself.

What are the “terms of service” for online political speech where tons of money is being made by these sites to advertise and promote politicians?

How are we going to regulate political speech on this private but extremely political online social network?

Best,

Nathan J Danielsen

Facebook and Politics: Poor Mix

2006-11-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I created a Facebook group to challenge and ask some questions of George Beier. It was called "Who Is George Beier? Kinda Creepy" It was just beginning to pick up membership when it was deleted apparently because it was "abusive and violated the terms of service." Unfortunately Facebook has created a politically charged community that doesn't like opposition groups that challenge those that pay its bills!

My group was a critique of his Facebook saturation campaign and his failure to describe who he is. The basis of it was a critique I wrote of the start of his campaign on September 1st titled: Berkeley City Politics Gets Alittle Creepier on Facebook! I actually agree with most of what he has to say. Here is the subject content of the group that I wrote:
~~~~

Dear Mr. Beier,

You've never told us who you are or where you come from. Never said why we should trust you. What are your political credentials? What's your track record?

Few people know of your alleged role in shutting down La Chateau student co-op. What else have you done with the Willard Neighborhood association for or against students?

What is your stance on People's Park?

What and why don't you want us to know? What are you hiding?

Best of Luck,

Berkeley Students

~~~~
Here is his profile (my comments in parenthesis):

I'm running for the 7th District of the Berkeley City Council. Below are 8 ideas I have for improving student life in the city of Berkeley. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

1. Safety First. The City needs to collaborate with the ASUC External Affairs Office to reduce crime and theft in our Southside area. Our Council member must voice student safety concerns to BPD, UCPD, and the City. Let’s add more “emergency” call stations, improve lighting in Telegraph area (including Bancroft through Dwight), promote auto theft reduction/awareness (i.e. purchase of UVP systems), and increase nighttime police patrol along Telegraph and perpendicular cross streets near campus.

(Duh...)

2. Improve Affordable Housing and Advocate for Rental Issues. The City Council needs to do more for student housing. Let’s create a student-driven rating service (see http://www.georgebeier.com/cal_rental_mo... to rate good and bad landlords. Let’s have the Rent Stabilization Board and Cal Rentals provide better access to housing and rental resources (i.e. tenants’ rights and responsibilities, security deposits, eviction information, repairs, legal assistance, etc). Let’s also establish a reasonable program for summer subletting. For example, the City can work with UC Berkeley Summer Sessions to sublet apartments to summer session students) using the “Summer Visitors” section on the Cal Rentals site.

(Who doesn’t promise this? For heavens sake even ASUC candidates promise this.)

3. Create a Student City Council District. Students have been unrepresented on the City Council for far too long. It’s time to create a district that encompasses the co-ops on Northside, Southside (at least as far as Dwight Way), Clark-Kerr, and the fraternities and sororities. Let’s also consider making the appointment a two-year seat, to make it easier for students to serve.

(Actually not a bad idea. But expect a heated fight to get these district boundaries redrawn. My bet is that it won’t happen.)

4. Opportunities for student appointments/internships/jobs in city and local government.

The City has dozens of ways that students can increase their involvement in their community and gain valuable experience in their area of academic interest. Let’s have more student representation on the Board of Education, Housing Advisory Commission, and Planning Commission. The city should offer internships and part time jobs within its many departments and offices. For example, City Attorney for Boalt Law and pre-law students; Economic Development, Finance, and Auditor’s Office for Economics and Haas students; Health and Human Services for MCB, Public Health, and pre-med students; Information Technology for Computer Science students; and Public Works for Public Policy and Political Science students.

(This sounds like a crowd pleaser. Don’t they already do this on a limited basis?)

5. Encouraging More Food vendors around Telegraph. Students are attracted to the area because of the diversity of food options. Let’s reform outdated zoning laws in the city and actually encourage vendors to the area. We all want to see more variety of independent and locally owned business on Telegraph.

(Sure… look back to #1)

6. More Options, Less Waste: Use Cal 1 Card and/or Cal Dining Point in the Telegraph Area. Students often waste a lot of their dining points because of the lack of variety and options in the campus eateries. Let’s give them the opportunity to use these points at local merchants. Ultimately this would provide students more variety in diet while helping merchants at the same time!

(Innovative idea. But I'd heard it before. But breaking the University monopoly on meal points would be a good thing. How would he do this?)

7. Collaboration is key: Joint Service Projects between Neighborhood Associations and Student Service Groups. Let’s improve student/neighbor relations while at the same time work with (or continue working with) the ASUC External Affairs Office and Cal Corps Public Service Center to provide volunteer opportunities to improve our community,

(Sure…)

8. Raise Awareness for Disaster Preparedness and Prevention. The City and University have a lot of resources to offer students. So, let’s help students take advantage of these opportunities.

(I think they already have a decent program for this.)
~~~

Unfortunately, I think his attempt at a Facebook campaign is at this point a flawed because he doesn't seem to convey who he is. All you tend to see is a not-too-bad-looking face and a name that reminds you of ice cream. He fails to name a reason why we should trust him nor mentions how his background qualifies him. He does not discuss his back ground, past experience in government or even any past leadership roles.

He does mention that he is a Cal alumni. His undergraduate is in economics and he went through the MBA program.

He also provides his personal contact information and his home address. I found this odd because he hardly mentioned anything else about himself.

He does seem to have a few good ideas to kick around. He does not specify in any concrete method how he would go about accomplishing them. Without establishing any credibility as a basis for his ideas, the moment that I looked at his profile I felt let down. Just one promise after another, just gives you a sugar high.

Even more disturbing/annoying, was that when he started his Facebook campaign I was hoping that someone was requesting to be my friend because they actually knew/liked me. The moment I realized it was some cheap advertisement, I felt that my relative ‘privacy’ on Facebook was being abused. This was before the Newsfeed was implemented. That pisses me off even more.

Bottom line:

All sugar, no taste: not even vanilla.

Ideas are good. Not telling the voters who you are right away is BAD. Creating a bad impression by a poorly thought out creepy attempt to appeal to students won’t win the ‘student’ vote.

Here's a copy of the stern email that I recieved from Facebook regarding why it was deleted:

Subject: Facebook Account
Thu, November 2, 2006 12:32 pm

Hey,

The group "Who is George Beier? Kinda Creepy" has been removed due to a violation of
our Terms of Use, and this email serves as a warning.  Additional violations will
result in the termination of your account.  Please read our Terms carefully and
refrain from posting abusive material in the future.  Thanks in advance for your
understanding and cooperation.

The Facebook Team

I wonder what the casuation was that this group was deleted. It was deleted at 12:32pm and George Beier sent me a message at 12:29pm.

I wonder....

TO: George Beier

2006-11-02T02:13:00.000-08:00

You've never told us who you are or where you come from. Only basic information.

Never said why we should trust you. Whats your track record? Few people know of your role in shutting down La Chateau or what else?

What are your political credidentals?

What and why don't you want us to know? What are you hiding?

What Ever Happened to the Shining City on the Hill?

2006-11-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

Is this the appeal of American culture (soft power)? Can we offer the world our ideology if our reality contradicts it?

Could the "uncivilized" of the world teach US a lesson in morality and civility?

What are the signs of decline of a great nation? What are the signs of a sick society?

This is a column that made me very feel political and disturbed.

Bush owes troops an apology: not Kerry
By Keith Olbermann

On the 22nd of May, 1856, as the deteriorating American political system veered toward the edge of the cliff, U.S. Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina shuffled into the Senate of this nation, his leg stiff from an old dueling injury, supported by a cane. And he looked for the familiar figure of the prominent senator from Massachusetts, Charles Sumner.
Brooks found Sumner at his desk, mailing out copies of a speech he had delivered three days earlier — a speech against slavery.
The congressman matter-of-factly raised his walking stick in midair and smashed its metal point across the senator’s head.
Congressman Brooks hit his victim repeatedly. Sen. Sumner somehow got to his feet and tried to flee. Brooks chased him and delivered untold blows to Sumner’s head. Even though Sumner lay unconscious and bleeding on the Senate floor, Brooks finally stopped beating him only because his cane finally broke.
Others will cite John Brown’s attack on the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry as the exact point after which the Civil War became inevitable.
In point of fact, it might have been the moment, not when Brooks broke his cane over the prostrate body of Sen. Sumner — but when voters in Brooks’ district started sending him new canes.
Tonight, we almost wonder to whom President Bush will send the next new cane.
There is tonight no political division in this country that he and his party will not exploit, nor have not exploited; no anxiety that he and his party will not inflame.
There is no line this president has not crossed — nor will not cross — to keep one political party in power.
He has spread any and every fear among us in a desperate effort to avoid that which he most fears — some check, some balance against what has become not an imperial, but a unilateral presidency.
And now it is evident that it no longer matters to him whether that effort to avoid the judgment of the people is subtle and nuanced or laughably transparent.
Sen. John Kerry called him out Monday.
He did it two years too late.
He had been too cordial — just as Vice President Gore had been too cordial in 2000, just as millions of us have been too cordial ever since.
Sen. Kerry, as you well know, spoke at a college in Southern California. With bitter humor he told the students that he had been in Texas the day before, that President Bush used to live in that state, but that now he lives in the state of denial.
He said the trip had reminded him about the value of education — that “if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you can get stuck in Iraq.”
The senator, in essence, called Mr. Bush stupid.
The context was unmistakable: Texas; the state of denial; stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required.
And Mr. Bush and his minions responded by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.
They demanded Kerry apologize to the troops in Iraq.
And so he now has.
That phrase — “appearing to be too stupid” — is used deliberately, Mr. Bush.
Because there are only three possibilities here.
One, sir, is that you are far more stupid than the worst of your critics have suggested; that you could not follow the construction of a simple sentence; that you could not recognize your own life story when it was deftly summarized; that you could not perceive it was the sad ledger of your presidency that was being recounted.
This, of course, compliments you, Mr. Bush, because even those who do not “make the most of it,” who do not “study hard,” who do not “do their homework,” and who do not “make an effort to be smart” might still just be stupid, but honest.
No, the first option, sir, is, at best, improbable. You are not honest.
The second option is that you and those who work for you deliberately twisted what Sen. Kerry said to fit your political template; that you decided to take advantage of it, to once again pretend that the attacks, solely about your own incompetence, were in fact attacks on the troops or even on the nation itself.
The third possibility is, obviously, the nightmare scenario: that the first two options are in some way conflated.
That it is both politically convenient for you and personally satisfying to you, to confuse yourself with the country for which, sir, you work.
A brief reminder, Mr. Bush: You are not the United States of America.
You are merely a politician whose entire legacy will have been a willingness to make anything political; to have, in this case, refused to acknowledge that the insult wasn’t about the troops, and that the insult was not even truly about you either, that the insult, in fact, is you.
So now John Kerry has apologized to the troops; apologized for the Republicans’ deliberate distortions.
Thus, the president will now begin the apologies he owes our troops, right?
This president must apologize to the troops for having suggested, six weeks ago, that the chaos in Iraq, the death and the carnage, the slaughtered Iraqi civilians and the dead American service personnel, will, to history, “look like just a comma.”
This president must apologize to the troops because the intelligence he claims led us into Iraq proved to be undeniably and irredeemably wrong.
This president must apologize to the troops for having laughed about the failure of that intelligence at a banquet while our troops were in harm’s way.

This president must apologize to the troops because the streets of Iraq were not strewn with flowers and its residents did not greet them as liberators.
This president must apologize to the troops because his administration ran out of “plan” after barely two months.
This president must apologize to the troops for getting 2,815 of them killed.
This president must apologize to the troops for getting this country into a war without a clue.
And Mr. Bush owes us an apology for this destructive and omnivorous presidency.
We will not receive them, of course.
This president never apologizes.
Not to the troops.
Not to the people.
Nor will those henchmen who have echoed him.
In calling him a “stuffed suit,” Sen. Kerry was wrong about the press secretary.
Mr. Snow’s words and conduct, falsely earnest and earnestly false, suggest he is not “stuffed,” he is inflated.
And in leaving him out of the equation, Sen. Kerry gave an unwarranted pass to his old friend Sen. John McCain, who should be ashamed of himself tonight.
He rolled over and pretended Kerry had said what he obviously had not.
Only, the symbolic stick he broke over Kerry’s head came in a context even more disturbing.
Mr. McCain demanded the apology while electioneering for a Republican congressional candidate in Illinois.
He was speaking of how often he had been to Walter Reed Hospital to see the wounded Iraq veterans, of how “many of them have lost limbs.”
He said all this while demanding that the voters of Illinois reject a candidate who is not only a wounded Iraq veteran, but who lost two limbs there, Tammy Duckworth.
Support some of the wounded veterans. But bad-mouth the Democratic one.
And exploit all the veterans and all the still-serving personnel in a cheap and tawdry political trick to try to bury the truth: that John Kerry said the president had been stupid.
And to continue this slander as late as this morning — as biased or gullible or lazy newscasters nodded in sleep-walking assent.
Sen. McCain became a front man in a collective lie to break sticks over the heads of Democrats — one of them his friend, another his fellow veteran, legless, for whom he should weep and applaud or at minimum about whom he should stay quiet.
That was beneath the senator from Arizona.
And it was all because of an imaginary insult to the troops that his party cynically manufactured out of a desperation and a futility as deep as that of Congressman Brooks, when he went hunting for Sen. Sumner.
This is our beloved country now as you have redefined it, Mr. Bush.
Get a tortured Vietnam veteran to attack a decorated Vietnam veteran in defense of military personnel whom that decorated veteran did not insult.
Or, get your henchmen to take advantage of the evil lingering dregs of the fear of miscegenation in Tennessee, in your party’s advertisements against Harold Ford.
Or, get the satellites who orbit around you, like Rush Limbaugh, to exploit the illness — and the bipartisanship — of Michael J. Fox. Yes, get someone to make fun of the cripple.
Oh, and sir, don’t forget to drag your own wife into it.
“It’s always easy,” she said of Mr. Fox’s commercials — and she used this phrase twice — “to manipulate people’s feelings.”
Where on earth might the first lady have gotten that idea, Mr. President?
From your endless manipulation of people’s feelings about terrorism?
“However they put it,” you said Monday of the Democrats, on the subject of Iraq, “their approach comes down to this: The terrorists win, and America loses.”
No manipulation of feelings there.
No manipulation of the charlatans of your administration into the only truth-tellers.
No shocked outrage at the Kerry insult that wasn’t; no subtle smile as the first lady silently sticks the knife in Michael J. Fox’s back; no attempt on the campaign trail to bury the reality that you have already assured that the terrorists are winning.
Winning in Iraq, sir.
Winning in America, sir.
There we have chaos — joint U.S.-Iraqi checkpoints at Sadr City, the base of the radical Shiite militias, and the Americans have been ordered out by the prime minister of Iraq … and our secretary of defense doesn’t even know about it!
And here we have deliberate, systematic, institutionalized lying and smearing and terrorizing — a code of deceit that somehow permits a president to say, “If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don’t have one.”
Permits him to say this while his plan in Iraq has amounted to a twisted version of the advice once offered to Lyndon Johnson about his Iraq, called Vietnam.
Instead of “declare victory and get out” we now have “declare victory and stay indefinitely.”
And also here — we have institutionalized the terrorizing of the opposition.
True domestic terror:
Critics of your administration in the media receive letters filled with fake anthrax.
Braying newspapers applaud or laugh or reveal details the FBI wished kept quiet, and thus impede or ruin the investigation.
A series of reactionary columnists encourages treason charges against a newspaper that published “national security information” that was openly available on the Internet.
One radio critic receives a letter threatening the revelation of as much personal information about her as can be obtained and expressing the hope that someone will then shoot her with an AK-47 machine gun.
And finally, a critic of an incumbent Republican senator, a critic armed with nothing but words, is attacked by the senator’s supporters and thrown to the floor in full view of television cameras as if someone really did want to re-enact the intent — and the rage — of the day Preston Brooks found Sen. Charles Sumner.
Of course, Mr. President, you did none of these things.
You instructed no one to mail the fake anthrax, nor undermine the FBI’s case, nor call for the execution of the editors of the New York Times, nor threaten to assassinate Stephanie Miller, nor beat up a man yelling at Sen. George Allen, nor have the first lady knife Michael J. Fox, nor tell John McCain to lie about John Kerry.
No, you did not.
And the genius of the thing is the same as in King Henry’s rhetorical question about Archbishop Thomas Becket: “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?”
All you have to do, sir, is hand out enough new canes.

How Terrorists Really Communicate: One Man Breaks It Down

2006-10-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

US: The End of a Golden Age?

2006-10-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

Memories of Cloyne Court

2006-10-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a great comment left on the blog. It speaks for it self. I love to hear stories about Cloyne Court. This might take some time but I'd love to compile a book on this subject. It might take a fews to get everything together though.
~~~

By Kevin FitzSimons

Cloyne is a great place. I lived there off & on between 1987 and 1990 (I think, I mean I lived there after all, so memory is a bit problematic).

It was a very unique place, and in fact 'fuck shit up' was a saying that started in that era. I remember the guys who made up the Bluchunks playing unplugged in the courtyard as we bbq'ed during the blackout following the World Series earthquake, featuring an impromptu rendition of a song made up onthe spot that went "fuck shit up, we're gonna fuck shit up, fuck shit up..." That was kind of fun, but it really wasn't a philosophy, more meant to indicate what was going to happen to your brain after shrooms and a 3ft bong hit than what was going to happen to each window in the lib/ed room under the wrong circumstances.

The slippery slope to the era described by Rick Hirsh began when Barrington Hall closed and most who needed the co-op relocated to Cloyne. It then began to attract the kind of person that Barrington once attracted, which I found to be a mixed blessing. I loved the creativity and edge and the weird hairstyles, I didn't like how overwhelmingly overpowering the edge was. A bit like adding to your spaghetti sauce twenty heads of garlic instead of twenty cloves (that actually happened in Cloyne's kitchen one time by a well-meaning noob cook). That was actually pretty tasty, but I wouldn't want to have it every day. Anyway, the unique character of the house, that which made it different from Loth or Chateu or CZ (ew) or Barrington got lost. It was a bit sad for me.

Incidentally, I was the maintenance manager during the building of the pad and enclosure and sound wall into which was put the hot tub. I only went into three times...once when it was first installed, once about a week later, and then which I got an infection from before the caretaker figured out that he needed to use 10x the amount of chlorine), and the last when a guy I disliked who had a girlfriend that was widely known to be mistreated asked me and my girl friend (plato style) to join him in a little menage a quattro. Blecch.

Anyway, one of these days, I'll scan some of the photos of building it and post them for posterity.

I've enjoyed reading your blog on Cloyne...

F- the ASUC

2006-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning sleeplessness seems to make me want to write. I wrote a short piece for the Oren Gabriel Should Pay For His Own Legal Fees facebook group. Then I decided I'd submit it to the paper dinosaur known as the Dailycal.

Maybe this article will stir something up.

Also to note, I think I'm turning into some sort of offbrand libertarian. Which is ironic because I'd like to make a career into government.

Oh well, we all can have youthful indiscretion can't we?

Reading: for Pleasure or for Pain?

2006-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

As usual I don't want to do my class readings. So I've decided to start reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

I'm at page 22. It's already by far one of the most deviant pieces that I have ever read.

Peace Corps Application (it continues)

2006-10-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

I've dedicated today to finishing up my Peace Corps application.

I've just realized how much of a humanist I am. I fit it to the "t." I didn't realize that writing this would cause me to get so sentimental and emotional.

Here's alittle rough draft of what I have so far. It's an unedited raw narrative. Editing and polish will come:

Prompt:

You’re reasons for wanting to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. Why these reasons are related to your past experience and life goals.

Why these reasons are related to your past experiences and life goals.
It feels like my whole life I have been preparing to do some activity like the Peace Corps. I had an interesting up bringing. Being raised in a Mormon family does interesting ways to how you perceive your future interests and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Coming from a Mormon background, I remember one of the most fundamental parts of Mormonism is the commitment to service of community. To forming relationships with those around you and truly making friend ships for life by treating each other as human beings.

One of the things that I was socialized to do from a young age was to go on a mission when I was 19 for two years. In that period, for a mission a young man goes out into the world to spread the gospel through good works and service. I remember I was at church one day and I was talking to my strong feminist mother regarding going on a mission. She told me that I could also do the Peace corps and that was my first realization of what the peace Corps was all about.

At about the age of 17, I returned from a leadership seminar on Intelligence, Security and Defense in Washington DC. I realized that I could no longer live a religious life and be the type of person I wanted to be. Before this time, I had given a great deal of thought to the history of religion and especially to the religious wars in Europe. I realized that I could no longer limit myself to the religious and often intolerant way of thinking. I became a secular humanist. I had to reject giving service to other human beings as means to convert them. I found that the satisfaction of helping others comes from actually helping others and seeing that they are better off than when you found them.

Op-ed published in DailyCal

2006-09-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

I wrote it, they published it. =)

Co-Op Misrepresented in Drug and Death Hysteria

Cloyne Court a Diverse and Happy Home for UC Berkeley Students, Not a Hotbed of Debauchery

BY Nathan J. Danielsen

(Dailycal)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Welcome to Cloyne Court Hotel and Casino, the site of recent controversy and tragedy. While this makes a great headline, the greatest irony is that Cloyne Court is extremely mellow. So mellow in fact that we might be considered boring.

After these stories hit the international press, overnight Cloyne Court became the "infamous Cloyne Court." It was funny to watch as random people came to the house looking for a good, crazy time, but were ultimately disappointed by the lack of it and subsequently asked to leave.

On a typical night at Cloyne Court, one might find games of basketball, a high percentage of the house membership studying, members making goodies in the kitchen (the only secret ingredient is love) and many housemates watching "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Colbert Report."

Unfortunately to the world and the press, we are not the den of debauchery that you wished we were. We are exclusively students of the prestigious UC Berkeley. If anything, Cloyne Court too well captures the spirit of UC Berkeley. This house is home to a high concentration of brilliant students and a repository of student campus leadership. In this den of communistic debauchery we also have more than a dozen highly vocal Republicans that buy into cooperation. Irony knows few bounds here at Cloyne Court.

All of these factors I would argue contribute a great deal to the UC Berkeley commitment of a learning community that is both safe and diverse. At Cloyne Court, what we have is so good that I would say it merits study and replication. It might just change the world.

With 149 members, Cloyne Court is the largest residential co-op in North America. This house runs very well. As for our membership, we are open to any UC Berkeley student that wishes to live at a home and not just a residence. We are not a dormitory-we are a home. We do not discriminate in our membership in any fashion. As long as you can pay your fair share, work faithfully and willing to be part of community, we are willing to call you a member of our family.

Our policy of open membership and largely decentralized leadership is both our greatest strength and our biggest weakness. When members cooperate things are fine, but when members do not cooperate problems are created. The scramble for dinner at Cloyne Court is by far the greatest example of the Tragedy of the Commons that any professor of economics could hope for. These problems of cooperation are inherent in any governance structure.

Truthfully, just like any other student residence, there is some partying. At Cloyne Court though, we do not tolerate excessive or reckless partying. This violates both the social and the legal contract of living at this cooperative.

As for the incidents that occurred at Cloyne Court in the last few weeks, they are even greater tragedies because they mischaracterize the nature of our home.

I would say that the alleged "pot cookie" incident is a classic example of mass hysteria. It doesn't take pot cookies to make you have "feelings of doom." The recipe is simply police officers suggesting that if you do not cooperate, you will be arrested, kicked out of school, convicted, ostracized and sent to jail for criminal behavior, as some of my compatriots told me occured. Now just imagine the multiplication of these "feelings of doom" when you have eaten a green cookie.

Please empathize that after this, one would be truly hysterical. These circumstances then led those

students to be rightfully and forcibly evacuated to the hospital for safety reasons by the authorities.

Twelve students later, a public relations incident was created. News crews with cameras scampered around our home like Berkeley squirrels accosting students for another scrap. They sought to get insider information and a look into a Wacko Berkeley Student Co-op Gone Wrong. Then we were surprised by the Daily Californian reporters calling us and spamming us with emails as a result of Facebook stalking.

Now imagine going to class the next day. It makes being a UC Berkeley student a little more difficult.

With the passing of former member and friend Fre Hindeya, Cloyne Court suffered another stab to the heart. Fre was a close and much loved friend of many house members. While this was a tragic and unfortunate incident, it was purely bad luck that it happened at Cloyne. This could have happened anywhere.

Ultimately, it became more tragic and meaningful that it happened at Cloyne Court, a place that Fre truly adored.

As a house manager and a member of Cloyne Court, I would like to say that I would not have taken this job if I had thought that Cloyne was inherently unsafe or dangerous. I have too much to lose.

Like most UC Berkeley students, I have aspirations-mine include to someday become a U.S. Diplomat. The reason that I continue to do this job is because of the love and faith I place in the membership of this house and community to act in cooperation and in safety. I will not accept anything less.

Again, welcome to Cloyne Court.

Nathan J. Danielsen is house manager at Cloyne Court and a UC Berkeley student. Reply to opinion@dailycal.org.

Recent Thoughts on Cooperation

2006-09-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

The other day I received an message from a woman claiming to be a free lance writer for the National Cooperative Business Association. It was interesting to talk to her because she was doing a story on how cooperative are using "new media." By "new media" I guess that is blogs.

It would appear that there are only 3 blogs out there about co-ops according to her research. I just made a search on Google blogs and it appears that I am the only one with a theme of cooperative living. (I feel special now- more likely it means that those other blogs are not easily accessible)

I found it to be an interesting conversation with her because of how little I've been able to write about my experiences as a manager at Cloyne Court co-op. Most of the reason is that in light of recent events (Pot Cookie Incident and death of a former member & friend at the co-op) that I do not feel it is appropriate to put the inner workings and confidence/trust of the co-op on display to the world.

I do not want Cloyne Court to become an attraction for cyber tourists and cyber voyeurs. I think that to do that I would betray the social contract made upon moving in and the managerial responsibility that I assumed (by democratic election) this position.

It is an interesting thing and a fine line for me to walk. It should make an interesting read.

So I think instead of discussing the specific interworkings of Cloyne Court, I will discuss my thoughts on cooperation and how to make it function more effectively.

Op-ed that I didn't submit for publication

2006-09-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

I wrote this on Sunday September 10th, a few days after the pot cookie incident. I meant to submit it to local news papers but after I wrote it, I figured that I wanted the 'scandal' of it to die down.

Of Cookies and Cooperation
by Nathan Danielsen

What happened at Cloyne Court Co-op the other night was an unfortunate and isolated incident. Besides the pain of our members becoming ill and being arrested, it was most unfortunate that we were labeled as an “Animal House” by the news media. There is nothing further from the truth.

To my knowledge, Cloyne Court with 149 student residents is the largest residential housing cooperative in the United States. Often we are referred to as one of the “dirty co-ops” in Berkeley. I cannot say that Cloyne Court meets the levels of cleanliness that my grandmother would expect but I believe that we have our priorities straight.

Members of Cloyne Court are exclusively students of the prestigious and notoriously difficult UC Berkeley. With one hundred-forty nine students sharing the same common space, I would guarantee that our collectively high GPA would drop significantly if this residence were kept spotless. This is a sacrifice we are not prepared to make.

As for the types of fun we enjoy, I would say that basketball after dinner is very popular. Followed by ping-pong, poker, and ritualistically watching The Colbert Report every night. Compared to other UC Berkeley students, our members on average report feeling that they have place they belong and that people would miss them if they did not come home at night.

Truthfully, just like any other university campus there is some partying. At Cloyne Court though we do not tolerate excessive or reckless partying. This violates both the social and legal contract of living at this cooperative.

(I didn't finish it but I think you get the point)

Facebook just got alot Creepier

2006-09-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Facebook has just gotten alot creepier. First George Beier joining it and trying to court the student vote.

Now Facebook has introduced the Newsfeed about what all of you're friends are doing online. You get to read detailed descriptions of what your friends do, say and post on your front page.

After this, I'm almost done with Facebook. This is just too much. This is super creepy big brother stuff.

This surpasses my imagined idea of privacy online.

Berkeley City Politics Gets a Little Creepier on Facebook!

2006-09-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

George Beier wants to be my facebook friend.

BTW- Who is George Beier?

(He doesn’t answer that question either in his profile)

Here is his profile:

I'm running for the 7th District of the Berkeley City Council. Below are 8 ideas I have for improving student life in the city of Berkeley. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

1. Safety First. The City needs to collaborate with the ASUC External Affairs Office to reduce crime and theft in our Southside area. Our Councilmember must voice student safety concerns to BPD, UCPD, and the City. Let’s add more “emergency” call stations, improve lighting in Telegraph area (including Bancroft through Dwight), promote auto theft reduction/awareness (i.e. purchase of UVP systems), and increase nighttime police patrol along Telegraph and perpendicular cross streets near campus.

Duh...

Who doesn’t promise this? For heavens sake even ASUC candidates promise this.

Actually not a bad idea. But expect a heated fight to get these district boundaries redrawn. My bet is that it won’t happen.

4. Opportunities for student appointments/internships/jobs in city and local government.

This sounds like a crowd pleaser. Don’t they already do this on a limited basis?

Sure… look back to #1

Innovative idea. Break the University monopoly on meal points would be a good thing. How would he do this?

Sure…

8. Raise Awareness for Disaster Preparedness and Prevention. The City and University have a lot of resources to offer students. So, let’s help students take advantage of these opportunities.

I think they already have a decent program for this.

Unfortunately, I think his attempt at a Facebook campaign is at this point a failure. He fails to name a reason why we should trust him or even his background. He does not discuss his back ground, past experience in government or even any past leadership roles. He does mention that he is a Cal alumni. His undergraduate is in economics and he went through the MBA program.

He also provides his personal contact information and his home address. I found this odd because he hardly mentioned anything else about himself.

Even more disturbing/annoying, was that I was hoping that someone was requesting to be my friend because they actually knew/liked me. The moment I realized it was some cheap advertisement, I felt that my relative ‘privacy’ on Facebook was being abused. That pisses me off even more.

Bottom line:

Ideas are good. Not telling the voters who you are right away is BAD. Creating a bad impression by a poorly thought out creepy attempt to appeal to students won’t win the ‘student’ vote.

The Rebirth of the Newscycle

2006-08-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

After settling into classes, I've had a chance to catch up on the news alittle bit.

There is a lull in the news cylce.

Rest assured that there is some scandal brewing. Reporters are double checking their facts.

Or preparing for another little blond girl to be kidnapped/ murdered/ etc. in the US media.

The most interesting story that I have found is regarding the use of cluster bombs in Lebanon by Isreali's IDF.

Juan Cole as usual points out an interesting link at MSNBC regarding this.

[from MSNBC]
"The U.N. humanitarian chief on Wednesday accused Israel of “shocking” and “completely immoral” behavior for dropping large numbers of cluster bombs on Lebanon when a cease-fire in its war with Hezbollah was in sight."

"“What’s shocking and I would say, to me, completely immoral is that 90 percent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution,” Jan Egeland said at a news conference"

Day One- No Show GSI

2006-08-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

So the first day of class was anything but that. The GSI never showed up for the PEIS 101 class. Instead I found myself in an enlightening discussion regarding transglobal networks and systems.

It was nice. After a long summer of not thinking too hard about this stuff, something just clicked. I found myself having a mental high from it. I guess you could call it taking a lift on the evelator on the ivory tower.

It was nice, it was encouraging and I seem to have the energy to blog again. Funny how that works.

Monday Monday Monday

2006-08-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

So Welcome Back to Berkeley

I've had a nice relaxing summer. Not thinking too hard while killing brain cells one at a time. At the moment I'm waiting outside of my first class. A discussion section for PEIS 101. Who knows if the GSI will show up? Best to be on the safe side because it is a SOB to get into a wait listed core class like this.

Already accomplished today:

Woke up in time for first class- 1pm (Success)

Deposited Check- (Success)

Registered to Vote (Success)

Collected Free Pens to Last me Forever (Success)

Took All Fliers that were Handed to Me (Success)

Recycled them (In Progress)

Hacking War

2006-08-04T01:45:00.000-07:00

This article at FP Passport reminds me of Germany attacking Spain prior to WWII.

Are these cyber attacks just a sign of the things to come? This is the first time that I have heard of hacking as a tool that one government uses against another "government."

One has to wonder the scary future uses of internet technology in war.

Co-op Management

2006-07-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Being a house manager at the biggest student housing cooperative in North America is tons of work.

I just made a "To Do" list with 26 items. I had to stop myself.

Recently, I've been too busy to blog as much as I'd like. I have about a million comments about articles I've read in my head. Just no time to put them out there.

I'll have alittle more time in a few days.

Peace Corps Application

2006-07-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

So I'm officially working on my Peace Corps application now. It's going to take a hell of a lot of time to write down all the relevant experience I've had.

Yeah for post-graduation plans!

Late Night Thoughts

2006-07-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

What quantifies as a democracy?

Is it how much one vote counts?
How many votes are not counted?
Is it by the percentage of people that vote?
Is it by the cost to vote?
Is it by the cost to campaign?
At what cost do people have the freedom to express themselves?

Do we really live in democracy?

Good Intentions?

2006-07-26T03:35:00.000-07:00

Found an interesting article link at Marginal Revolution. MIT economist Abhijit Banerjee wrote the article and Angus Deaton from Princeton provides a response.

Generally the article is about how foreign aid/ social aid are distributed and how one should measure its success.

This article reminds me that the world does not run on good intentions. People come up with great ideas to change the world but making that idea a reality is another story. The problem is what are the measures of success? It makes me think of how business operates in the world. It is moderately easy to measure success. One can do it by stock price, profit or market position. Though after much hard work, many entrepreneurs make modest (economic) profit at best. Social entrepreneurs in the same way are motivated by returns. It is easy to generalize about what types of returns motivate social entrepreneurs. While few can argue that good intentions in themselves are a bad thing, the bad results of good intentions are everywhere.

So it seems that the problem, as noted in the article, is how to establish best practices in social entrepreneurship. It is near impossible considering how specific regionally, culturally and economically each practice must be tailored.

So it comes back full circle now. It may be near impossible to set up detailed best social entrepreneurship practices. So good intentions, passion, adaptability and dedication may be the best practices in social work.

Net Neutrality Already Under Attack?

2006-07-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Already I've been getting a number of disconnects on pages that I've never had this issue before. I just started exploring Bebo. I seem to get more random disconnects now.

I was talking to an IT guy the other day who told me that the telecoms are already prioritizing their traffic. WTF?

Is this legal? It just pisses me off.

The Clash of Civil Discussion

2006-07-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

This summer has given me a chance to assign myself reading. I've been going through Samuel Huntington's classic The Class of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

This book should be required reading for any class that desls with World Politics. Sadly, I've heard so many harsh and unfair criticisms of this book by certain professors at Cal.

Although these professors do have legitimate criticisms, long and emotional attacks on a book like this actually dissuade students from being exposed to critical and influental works. Many fellow students have seen this book on my bookshelf and have looked at me in horror.

"So you like those guys." is a phrase that I hear quite often.

Although I don't agree with everything that Huntington says, I'll actually read and take it into consideration. He does have some great insights that could enlighten one about todays world, especially when thinking about the motivations of non-state actors. So thus, this book doesn't have cooties.

Interesting quote that many at Cal would agree with:

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion (to which few members of other civilizaitons were converted) but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerns often forget this fact; non-Westerns never do.

(pg 51, Paperback Edition 2003)

Bored: Watching Fox and O'Reilly

2006-07-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

One must watch The No Spin Zone to truly appreciate Colbert.

It just multiples Colbert's entertainment value.

Wild Turkey Blogging in Berkeley

2006-07-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Chillin at my co-op someone tells me there a wild turkey in the front yard. Should we try to catch it? Nah, those birds look like they have nasty talons and as I learned they run very quickly.

So instead I grabbed my camera, chased it around and snapped some pictures. This is the north side of Campus behind the Goldman Public Policy Building by Ridge Rd and La Loma ave.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Shrooming and Juan Cole

2006-07-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

Juan Cole at Informed Comment has an interest post about magic mushrooms and peak experiences.

Of Mushrooms and Peak Experiences (July 12th, 2006)

The magic mushrooms really do work. Depending on what you mean by "work."

I suspect that these mushrooms were used to make the soma of the ancient Hindu scriptures, and the haoma of ancient Iran.

The mushroom-produced drug induces feelings of oneness with the universe and afterwards, a sense of well-being. These experiences were called "peak experiences" by psychologist Abraham Maslow. His critics claimed that the experience itself is ethically neutral, and it can become a form of selfishness in itself. But these experiments seem to suggest that the experience is not in fact neutral, that it produces a weeks-long sense of well-being that is noticed by the people around one.

Drugs of all sorts can affect mental states, and mystics were always masters at using those states for self-betterment and self-exploration. Starbucks addicts may be interested to know that Muslim Sufi mystics probably started up the practice of drinking concentrated coffee, in the 1400s in Yemen, as a way of staying up late praying and seeking . . . peak experiences.

But the experience itself is not wisdom and wouldn't make a person wise. It is not the insight or nirvana of the Buddha or the moksha or liberation of the yogis or the fana' or self-effacement of the Sufis. That comes with a genuine discipline and a practical philosophy of life.

The human mind has the capacity to feel the oneness of things, to put aside selfish ego and the violence, psychic and physical, that it promotes. The drug just demonstrates that the capacity is there. This was known. The question is, what one does with it. A peak experience can just be an experience. Or it can be the beginning of a more fulfilled, kind and giving life. The drug by itself is no more important than a parlor trick. As with anything in life, it matters what is done with it. And, the true mystic does not need mushrooms to have peak experiences.

More exciting than the mystical high induced by this drug is the possibility that a processed form of it may help combat depression. For a lot of people, the existing depression drugs don't work or are unpleasant. The longer I live, the more I become convinced that most of the nasty things people do to one another come out of various psychopathologies, including their own depression. Less depression in the world would be all to the good. Also less selfishness, and more of an ability to empathize with others, even one's putative enemies. That's the peak of the peak, and I doubt it has anything to do with mushrooms.

Cloyne Blogging

2006-07-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

I found this review of Cloyne Court on Yelp. This was from another era of Cloyne. Today while it may get alittle dirty, it's not at all "the most depraved den of debauchery ever known to the City of Berkeley." I refuse to live in the place like that.

Cloyne Court (11/07/05)

"One of the most historic and architecturally significant buildings in Berkeley is the Cloyne Court Hotel. Designed and built by John Galen Howard in 1904, the glorious hotel provided elegant lodging for visiting faculty and professors as well as welcome respite for families waiting for the completion of their Berkeley Hills mansions in the burgeoning Northside area during the first couple of decades of the 20th century. In 1946, Cloyne was purchased by the University Students' Cooperative Association to be utilized as a student cooperative housing 151 students. In 1970, the USCA sold the property to the University Regents, who then leased it back to the USCA to continue its use as a coop. In 1992, Rick Hirsch moved in to Cloyne Court cooperative and for two years unintentionally witnessed first hand, a vile disgusting culture of drug and alcohol-induced over-indulgences, including - but certainly not limited to - numerous attempts at wooden skate ramp pyromania, unwarranted and unsolicited nudity including naked olympics, hot tubs with vegetables floating in them, crazy bitches self-hypnotized by wiccan, festering pools of tuberculosis, food poisoning outbreaks, street bums passed out in the tv room with syringes stuck in their arms, frenzied power-mongering punk rock tyrants, baseball bat toting window-smashing savages, and what was perhaps the most depraved den of debauchery ever known to the City of Berkeley. Boy, that was a real hoot. Gave me a bit of perspective though. A great place to live as a Berkeley student, but don't let your parents come to visit unless you want to see tears...."

Why I Love Cloyne Court

2006-07-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

On the Fourth of July, a fellow came by Cloyne Court. He wanted to watch the fireworks from the roof. He told Jason Curtis and myself that a famous German physicist had watched fireworks in the bay from the roof 101 years ago.

Jason and I had to discourage the guy from actually doing it. We don't want random people climbing the roofs willy nilly. Especially on the fire escapes that are meant for people to climb down on. Plus the guy was weird.

So I did alittle research on what he was saying. It was Ludwig Boltzman a noted physicist from the University of Vienna (1905). I'm going to do more research. But for some reason I just love this place. Coming from ahistorical Southern California, it's nice to be part of history at Cloyne Court.

The Faculty Club at Berkeley

2006-07-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

I just started working at the Faculty Club. I'm working at the front desk about 25 hours a week. It's so interesting to watch as all the campus notables come and go.

Honestly, I don't get star struck by celebrity. But when I see people that have literally made their mark on the world [and teach at a one of the best universities of the world] I can't help but be in awe.

I think I'm going to like this job.

Ali G takes on Noam Chomsky

2006-07-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

The link from Marginal Revolution.

Sleepless

2006-06-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

Another sleepless night there. I've been reading The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 by Ron Suskind. Also I've been keeping up on the news about the latest disclosure of "National Security" programs in the major news papers. This book, The One Percent Doctrine, just seems to confirm this disregard for the rule of law in this country.

I just wonder how accurate this book actually is. Is it a book of journalism, fiction or of fact? It’s almost hard to tell- it seems like both.

Ever since I read about the Echelon system a few years before 9/11, I had always assumed that the government was monitoring internet communications. I felt like a paranoid X-files fan but I guess now, more or less, my paranoia has been confirmed.

Cool Find @ PBS: Rise of Bush's War Cabinet

2006-06-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

It shows how Rumsfeld, Powell, Cheney and a few others came to be so affluent in DC.

Nicely done.

"Hadji Girl" The infamous Marine Video

2006-06-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Berkeley Experience Online Test

2006-06-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm writing an online test about Berkeley students. The results will specify what type of 'typical' Berkeley student they are. It should be interesting. I'm going to incorporate Berkeley Trivia and Random Facebook pictures. Should be a blast!

Anyone have any good questions that I could ask? I have a whole list but I'm sure it could be interesting. Check back for updates.

At the Pool- Summer

2006-06-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Just swam some laps at Stawberry Creek Pool. There were a bunch of younger children for what must be a Day Camp.

Being there reminded me of the days of my Youth at the Whittier College Pool. I spend almost every day of summer there at the pool. I remember being one of the young splashing kids that would annoy the College Students. Boy has it come full circle on me.

Now I'm going to eat some lunch and work in the Cloyne Yard. There is a bunch of wild grass that is creating a fire hazard. It needs to be cut down below 6 inches.

There is a 7 minute burn time on each of the wings of the house. Maybe I'll sleep better at night knowing that a drunkenly discarded cigarette butt won't invalidate my student loans.

Summer Time in the Berk

2006-06-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

So summer is slowing passing by. Living at the co-op is interesting. I have huge room, lots of space and privacy and little to do. I spend all day shooting hoops and crusing the internet.

The Cloyne Court is interesting to live in. There are tons of Irish girls here for some reason. They drink, smoke and cuss all night long. But all their speech is in a cute Irish accent, so I guess it could be worse...

I've been looking for a summer job for the last 2 days. I've spent hours crafting cover letters and fine tuning my resume. I have never used the CalCareer website jobsearch function as I have lately. It's quite awesome with tons of cool sounding opportunities. Much better than monster.com or bajobs.com by a long shot.

I hear screams and bottles breaking outside, sounds like someone is having fun.

New Comments Policy

2006-06-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I figured that now I'm going to allow anyone to comment if they want. I had forgotten that I had turned non-member commenting off. But I will be moderating the comments.

Blogsphere Commentary

2006-06-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

So I've been feeling the blog bug today. After reading through about 15-20 of my favorite blogs, catching up on my daily dose of the big news sources and current debates, I have to admit that I do get sick of the slant and partisanship.

Reading through the blogs of Berkeley professors is amusing. When I read through Brad Delong's repeated calls for impreach of Bush or Robert Reich's promotion of a progressive agenda, I just wonder what they get out of it. These men are brillant and influential. Why do they do it?

My most probable guess is that they realize that the web discourse is shaping the intellectual and poli-economic landscape. Who wants to be left behind and voiceless to shape the debate?

Will their commentary be favorable to them if a new gang enters Capital Hill? Funny questions...

Blogging with Free Time?

2006-06-14T00:11:00.000-07:00

So I've been back in Berkeley for about a week now. This is the first time in recent memory where I've actually had time to relax and enjoy myself. I've been taking it easy on things that I normally do. So this blog has been suffering more or less. I'll be back to it as soon as I need a distraction.

Vacation: Back To Berkeley Tomorrow

2006-06-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

So after a nice relaxing time in Southern California with my family, I'm getting ready to come back up. I've been worrying about my garden. I don't know if anyone has watered it although I begged people to.

Also watching the news, I've noticed the start of another news cycle. The gay marriage issue is being revisited to help ailing GOP poll numbers. The return of Culture Wars I think is irresponsible. There are so many more important things out there to be discussed but... it's politics as normal.

Off of School but Never Done Being a Nerd

2006-05-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Gotta love this... The Iraqi Foreign Minister says Iran has the right to nuclear research. And I thought we had a puppet government there....

Streaking Update

2006-05-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Google didn't approve of my streaking video. They said it was nudity and an invasion of privacy.... who knew public nudity was an invasion of privacy?!?!?

CalState Fullerton Madness

2006-05-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

So after Finals, I find myself in the OC again. Yet I am in CSU Fullertons library writing an article for a newsletter I contribute to. I swear it just never ends.

Ok I'm getting to work now... damn it

Streaking

2006-05-17T02:29:00.000-07:00

I have video from it. I'm just waiting for Google Video to approve it. hahaha Be assured it will be up soon.

Infamous Library Streak

2006-05-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Rumor has it the main library will be attacked by nude co-opers tonight....

Glory By Cheating and Fraud

2006-05-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

In a Scientist's Fall, China Feels Robbed of Glory- NY Times

This story rings true. As I have noticed over the years, the brightest and best achievers are those that think strategically. They will do anything to achieve: Cheating, plagiarism and sabotage. I've seen the result firsthand. Thus, this story doesn't surprise me much. High pressure equals these types of results. Fear of failure.... This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Another little funny part of the story that I noticed is how fearful Chinese students are of retribution. Around Berkeley, I've noticed this with Chinese Nationals. When I try to discuss China with them, they will only say positive things. They will not discuss any reforms except to say that China needs to build more social infrastructure. I understand their attitude completely. Being of the western liberal tradition, I don't think this attitude contributes to "best practices" throughout society.

The most I have heard from a Haas student is that the Chinese financial system is extremely corrupt. It is unbelievably corrupt he said. Only a hand full of people “in-the-know” makes money and everyone else gets screwed. I don’t have the resources to follow up on this but I’ll take his word on it. This also makes sense considering the history of the US financial system that is filled with plenty of robber barons, etc. This might be still true today as we watch the trial of Enron execs.

Finals are Almost Over

2006-05-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

I only have one paper left to write. Old habits and procrastination are kicking in though. I picked up Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation again. I'm hooked again. I was supposed to be looking in it for examples and interpretations of gift exchange and the social contract.

Why is it that the most irrelevant things at the moment are the most interesting?

Technology and Abuse

2006-05-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm over the hump for finals. Just one more paper to write. I'll be able to blog it out more.

Recent story that keeps getting play and increasingly disturbs me is the NSA compiling massive phone records of people in order to detect terrorist activity. It is so cliche but is it 1984 yet? The libertarian in me is sparking up.

History seems to confirm that more government power especially for national security equals more abuse of power equals less civil rights. This scares the hell out of me.

The War of Terror is a scary thing. How long can a liberal democracy last that subverts civil rights for national security? This war is going to last for generations. It is not a war against traditional nation states but against ideology and non state actors. It is really a police-criminal operation.

Lately I've been thinking of technology and its benefits. Often, the optimism in our day of age stems from the idea that technology will do great and mind blowing things in the future.

I am an optimist but also increasingly jaded. I think that for every benefit that technology has there are at least equal or greater negative applications. History is littered with innovations that at first would greatly benefit humanity that were eventually perverted.

The dual uses of nuclear technology is a widely cited as one. Bio-medical and genetic engineering is one that shows great promise but has apocalyptic possibilities. Want some new nightmares? Google "Mousepoxs" and "bio-weapons." Today with the information super highway, the freedom of information is only as free as those that monitor, archive and control it.

Human society, infrastructure and institutions are fragile things. They take many generations of investment, reinforcement and negotiation to build and maintain. While innovation and technology do have extremely positive benefits to society in general, I would argue that the perversion of innovation is much more destructive because of this fragility. It takes only one day, one minute, one second to destroy untold hours of imagination, investment and labor.

We need to think very carefully about who using technology is for what and why they are doing it.... What good is the US constitution and institutions if those that swore to protect it aren't?

Now I can't predict what is going to happen in the future. I don't even really want to know. I'd like to be surprised and minimally disappointed. But I can predict one thing: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Words to live by...

Is It Election Season Yet?

2006-05-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

President Bush now wants to close Gitmo bay and gives the detainees or "illegal enemy combatants" a fair civil trial? Can you say flip-flop?

It's comforting at least to see some respect for civil rights.... even if it is for election season.

Poverty in the OC

2006-05-08T01:47:00.000-07:00

America's 'Near Poor'- NY TIMES

I can confirm most of this from my experience in the OC. Most of this story takes place in Anaheim, CA. This the home of Disneyland. It is true, you can't get a job at Disneyland if you don't have teeth and can't smile.

This story hits me hard because I grew up only 10-15 miles away from this area. Although the immediate area is middle class suburbs, I know that there are 'near poor' only a few block away. I went to high school, played football, went to church and went to community college with people just like this.

Here in Berkeley, only down the street does poverty and homelessness stare us in the face and ask for change. Taking the bus down to Oakland and Richmond only confirms this more and usually scares the be-jesus out of middle class white kids.

What exactly has caused this rise in inequality in society? Is it the transition from service/industry economy to a more technologic and advanced economy? Obviously the educated and affluent members of society were best able to adapt to this shift while those less able to did not. At the same time of this "Internet Revolution," anyone remember Bill Clinton cutting social welfare benefits? This is something that I will thinking about and considering for awhile.

After attending the World Affairs Council's conference in Asilomar as a scholarship recipient, it increasingly has structure me that America is rapidly turning into an "aging power." The theme of this conference was Balance of Power in 2020. It dawned on me even more that we are losing our competitive edge. The increase in "near poor" and inequality is just the sign of this. This structural adjustment can only be overcome through better education and programs to allow people to become better integrated into this new system. I think we are failing in this.

Our democracy is full of entrenched interests and traditions. These make reforms very difficult.

I keep thinking of the rise of Germany and the decline of Britain in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Time for bed...

Commentary

2006-05-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

I wrote this comment as a response to a posting at Abu Aardvark. I highly recommend this blog. It is one of my favorites.

I think after this semester is over, I am going to take my newly polished skills in political economic development and look into Iraq. After spending the last couple of years really digging into and understanding Algeria, I think a little study of Iraq would be quite interesting and revelant. Might make interesting posts to read....

Here's my comment that I left:
---
The situation in Iraq is growing increasingly disturbing by the day.

This incident and your analysis of it reminds me a bit of the Algeria civil war in the 1990s. Various militant groups and government forces committed atrocities against civilians and others while wearing disguising uniforms and masks. They were called "ninjas." They tried to frame and undermine popular support of other groups through these terrorist activities. The phrase people would often ask is "Qui tue qui? or who is killing who? No one knew the who, why and what of it, all too similar to Iraq.

I fear that with so many competing interest/militant groups, that democracy will never flourish in this particular postcolonial country.

Also its unfortunate that Iraq is not in the position to take full advantage of being an oil rentier state. It will take years of investment and development to turn a profit as well as lots of money sunk on security costs.

I fear for the worst if history is any guide to the future.

Back to the Library

2006-05-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

So I've been really bad and haven't been blogging as much for the last week. This is surprising since I've been taking pictures of campus things and living in the library which is the perfect place for distraction.

Otherwise, as soon as finals are over, my sanity will be restored and I'll be blogging more.

This spring's finals looks like they will be slightly less stressful than last fall's. Thank goodness for small things.

There is Something in the Air in the Library

2006-04-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the main stacks right now trying to reserach neoliberal development policies and their impact on "the local" in Algeria in the 80s and 90s. I have to recommend that if you ever want to research something, use Google Scholar in the library. Makes life good.

Algeria had a huge civil war in the 90s and there is still some fighting today. The more I research, the more I realize how similar the Algerian experience is to Iraq.

The Algerian question is the same as the Iraqi Question: "WTF?!"

This civil war is the story of the clash of civilization. Not between the West and Islam but inside Islam itself for its soul and direction.

I keep getting distracted. I don't know if it is spring time or what but I keep getting lovely waffs of perfume. It's driving me crazy on this beautiful spring day. Each different perfume reminds me of someone I used to know. Hahaha... that almost sounds like a crappy country song.

Scents of perfume and spring fever probably are better than the typical sensory deprivation that one gets in the library.

Paper Writing

2006-04-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

So I'm writing another paper on economic development policies in Algeria. JSTOR, Proquest and the other research programs I am using are running sooo slow. I think it’s a conspiracy to make me crazy.

Thank God ASUC Elections Are Almost Over!

2006-04-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

For the last couple days, it has been a magic time for students at Berkeley. This is the time of year when people you considered your friends look as you as a walking vote.

Your friends often will trap you and try to leverage their friendship with you to vote for their friend. This is a time when all manners, politeness and common decency are sacrificed to a higher calling: winning the election.

Where ever you go on campus, you are approached with a smile and made to listen to brain liquefying propaganda about a certain special friend of theirs that claims to have a monopoly on (fill in the blank).

If you have walked through Sproul, you are guaranteed to be harassed and stalked by mindless vote zombies. My advice is to not make eye contact with them. If they follow you, cross yourself and tell them that you don't believe in any causes, the divinity of the ASUC or in democracy for that matter!

I only vote Squelch. If I'm going to throw my vote away, I might as well do it with style. I don't believe in issues because I don't trust the ASUC to follow through.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Here is the temporary den of evil. This is where the omnipotent Student Action (my apologies for the typo) coordinates their domination of the ASUC. Where do they get all their funding? Another candidate from a rival party told me that they made a deal with the devil that involved sacrificing babies and turning endangered species into women's fashion accessories. I don't think he was telling me the whole truth.

Can you tell who the victims are here? The passersbys or those in servitude?

Jeff's poor parents are made to stump for him. I asked him if they were really his parents and how much he was paying them. When asked tough questions, he looked scared and replied 15 dollars an hour.

I saw a Firetruck coming through Sproul. I expected them to accidentally run over some hapless soul trying to campaign. Sadly, my high hopes were let down.

This is one of the many reasons that people on campus view the ASUC as a flawed institution. All you ever read in the campus paper is how there is some lawsuit, fraud, scandal or blah blah blah. Myself, like many others, view the ASUC as corrupt and ineffective.

It's a Bright and Sunny Day

2006-04-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

After waking up late, running to class with diet coke in hand and sneaking into my 15 person seminar class late.... my weakness caught up with me... I went through my routine of checking my email, facebook, myspace, blog, etc... then I saw some kindly words from BerkeleyForum and Calpatriot blogs.

My day can't get any brighter.

One of the things I've learned over the years from blogging is how much of an ego trip it is. When I read those nice words, I felt like I was beaming sunshine. I’m surprised I didn’t disrupt class.

Like people feel that their car is an extension of themselves, bloggers feel like they are the drivers of their blogs. Blogs are a unique and personal production. I heavily consider what I write and how I write it. I don’t want to post something or writing something outside of my niche or brand.

We crave recognition for our creation. Comments, bleeps on the hitmeter, criticism and praise keep us going. So thanks, comrades and compatriots.

Updates

2006-04-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

So I'm at a conflict. I have a particularly interesting story that I know if I posted it here would spread like wild fire throughout campus. If it wasn't in the DailyCal tomorrow, it would be on the front page on Friday.

It's juicy but I have to refrain for reasons of personal interest and person relationships.

In other news, there is another Naked Protest Against Sweatshop Labor going to happen this Friday at 12 noon. Also on May 1st, I'm expecting a huge immigration protest. It is "the Day without Mexicans" or so it is being billed. I'm trying to get an interview with Stoney Burke. After that I thinking about what to do... maybe I'll approach a prominent berkeley blogger. We'll see....

Also I just posted a new hit meter on this site. The old was wasn't working well enough for me. It told me the amount of hits but not how long people were staying on the site.

The Stoney Burke Story (Part II)

2006-04-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

I figured out how to embedd video here. Two videos of Stoney doing his best. I'm still a noob at this but here are the links just in case it doesn't work in your browser. Video 1, Video 2

There are more videos on that site but I am just posting what I consider to be the better ones. I need to get a new camera.

Thoughts on Insurgency in Iraq

2006-04-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

After some thought, the insurgency in Iraq has popular support of some peoples for a reason. What services do the insurgents provide for the Iraqi population? What kind of security/stability do they provide? Do they facilitate an informal/black market? What kind of aid do they offer? Is the occupation really going that bad?

In Palestine, Hamas support militant actions yet they also provide extensive social services to the Palestinian people. They were voted into power democratically for a reason.

I recently read that in Vietnam the Viet Cong also provided extensive social services to villagers, primarily by transforming the socio-economic system to be more favorable to peasantry.

Besides inflicting damage and killing poor American soldiers, what else is the insurgent movement doing? I don't think this is being addressed whatsoever by the media.

Could this be another example of grass roots organization trumping top down control? Without being academic, there is only so much that the US can do without ordinary Iraqis going alot with the action. Without protection and security, why would most Iraqis cooperate with the US and Iraqi government?

Do the rise of sectarian militias and this inherent factionalism illustrate the failures of US to create stability? This seems passé to me but I don't think has been sufficiently addressed in the major news sources that I have read.

Because of the difficulty of these questions, I fear the US will fare only worse in Iraq. The ways to undercut the appeal of insurgency/rebellion to occupation is something that the US military is unequipped to do. This non-military notion of nation building is something uniquely suited for the UN.

As we lose more control of Iraq, it is only going to get worse.

Also I have a new pet-peeve, people and ideologies that have an ahistorical view of the world.