Public Comment
Letters to the Editor
Eids; Why the Super Committee Was Doomed; U.C. Berkeley Police;Resignation Vs. Moratorium;The Super Commitee's Failure; A Thought about Needed Change
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U.C. Berkeley Police
Milan Moravec
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Resignation Vs. Moratorium
If all the University of California chancellors resigned simultaneously, that would still leave pepper (OC) spray, carotid holds, hog-tying, and blunt-end baton strikes available for the next bored police officer who loses patience with student protests.
If 75,000 petitioners have called for the resignation of Chancellor Linda Katehi, then surely 75,000 would sign a petition for a moratorium on the use of pepper spray on non-violent student protesters, a more effective course.
Special Agent Thomas W. W. Ward, the head of the FBI's Less-Than-Lethal Weapons Program at the time of the 1991 study authorizing pepper spray's FBI use was fired for taking bribes from a peppergas manufacturer. Even the compromised 1991 study concluded that pepper spray can cause "[m]utagenic effects, carcinogenic effects, sensitization, cardiovascular and pulmonary toxicity, neurotoxicity, as well as possible human fatalities. There is a risk in using this product on a large and varied population".
Apologies and resignations are not the point. The point would seem to be to get toxic materials out of the hands of those who would use them for sport.
Carol Denney
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The Super Commitee's Failure
The Congressional Supercommittee failed to reach an agreement last week,but the deficit that George Bush gave us has to be put under control to save our social security net!
We are lucky to have three strong Federal advocates who have Berkeley within their spheres.
Although as a retired scholar and a journalist whose concerns include reasonable threats from the Third World, (Note: The word "reasonable" comes into my vocabulary here.) the United States is over-armed for the threat out there externally, but, at the same time, the political stance found in our community itself is askew.
Definitely the Defense Department should be on the negotiation table in order to preserve our governmental entitlements.
Geoffrey Cook
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A Thought about Needed Change
Can we have a Thanksgiving for the nation as a whole where all who have means will give their best day's earnings to those who have nothing? How strong our indifference must be when our unfortunate neighbor goes hungry and we look the other way! How can we enjoy ten main dishes topped with five varieties of pies and cakes while our neighbor eats beans and white bread? We are born with empathy, but we can be trained by our political party or by our ideology not to follow our heart. On the other hand, when we share without expectation of return a light goes on in our spirit.
We are all travelers upon the earth, passing through. Let us use opportunities like Thanksgiving Day to make the lot of less fortunate travelers a little easier.
Romila khanna
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