Protests at UC Berkeley today

It’s not much but I wanted to put up the few rinky-dink pictures I was able to take on my blackberry at the protests earlier today. Hundreds of students have been standing outside of wheeler hall to support the group of “15-30” students and supporters that have locked themselves into the building. Today is the last of a three day student strike that began this Wednesday with a rally at Sproul Hall before busloads of students took the trip down to Los Angeles to show solidarity with the students at UCLA in their campus protests.

Not really sure yet who exactly is inside but they’ve been in Wheeler since early this morning. Chancellor Robert J.Birgeneau, has been emailing students regularly throughout the day, saying nothing of significance of course, save for that “The protesters are demanding reinstatement of 38 AFSCME custodial staff who were recently laid off and amnesty and the dropping of charges against any of the protestors.” (Yes, that is a direct quote).

When I left campus about 2 hours ago the police had already entered the building to arrest the protestors. Supporters outside surrounded the building blocking the exits  hoping to stop the police from escorting the protestors from the building.

They screamed, yelled, cat-called, cursed.

Hey hey! Ho Ho! UC Regents got to go!

Your sexy! Your cute! Take off your riot suit!

Who’s University?! Our university!

Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!

If democracy looks like thousands of kids sitting, standing, kicking, screaming, pushed against guard rails separating them from silent, stone-faced police officers clad in riot gear,

then it smells like tear gas, rain and sweat and the generosity of homemade food passed around to “keep the energy up,”

it sounds like cracking voices, dry from screaming into the cold air and tone def crowds singing “We shall overcome”

and apparently down at our brother university, UCLA, democracy feels like volts from a Taser gun penetrating the muscles of a protestor as she sat resting on a corner.

John Stewart on CNN’s Crossfire

John Stewart visits Crossfire and verbally annihilates hosts Tom Braden (for the left) and Pat Buchanan (for the right). Well spoken and committed to candor, Stewart demands more of the men, literally begging them to hold themselves to a higher standard of truth without theatrics. It’s absolutely hilarious. You can hear the fear in Pat Buchanan’s voice (which surprisingly sounds a lot like Skeeter from Doug) and see the anger in his face. Best of all the show will never live down this embarrassment as there is more written on Crossfire’s wikipedia page about Stewart’s visit than there is about the hosts themselves.

That Ether? I think so.

-peace.pace.selam.

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Catch full episodes of The Daily Show with John Stewart online or on Comedy Central Monday-Thursday nights at 11pm.

Crossfire went off the air in 2005.

“Haitians Fight Poverty with Art” [Al Jazeera]

“As the poorest state in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has been suffering with a lack of basic resources for many years now.In the town of Croix Des Bouquets, just outside the capital, 70 per cent of the population is unemployed.But a group of hundreds of artists in the town have created a community of craftsmaking – turning oil steel drums into art – in an effort to change that fact.

Teresa Bo reports.”

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“Karzai in His Own Words” from Al Jazeera

Currently serving his second term, Hamid Karzai is the president of Afghanistan. A runoff was scheduled between Karzai and his opponent Abdullah Abdullah after Karzai’s victory in the recent August Afghan elections was nullified due to the discovery of fraudulent ballots in his name. However, Abdullah dropped out of the race, the runoff was never held and Karzai has been reinstated.

-peace.pace.selam.

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Click here to see part two.

On December 5, 2001, Hamid Karzai was elected as chairman of the interim government of Afghanistan.

Although many Afghans knew little about Karzai at the time, he was already well known within the international community.

“A War For Your Soul” via Vimeo

A MUST SEE. Look past the production quality and the execution and its an excellent video. A hard-hitting, TRUTHFUL, and very real message no doubt.

enjoy.

-peace.pace.selam

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