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| -Short Attention Span Theater- | |
| Berkley Public Library violates nuclear-free zone policy | |
| 2009-01-29 | |
| Berkeley's public library will face a showdown with the city's Peace and Justice Commission tonight over whether a service contract for the book check-out system violates the city's nuclear-free ordinance. The dispute centers on a five-year, $63,000 contract the library wants to sign with 3M, an international technology company based in Minnesota, to service five scanner machines library patrons use to check out books. But 3M, a company with operations in 60 countries, refused to sign Berkeley's nuclear-free disclosure form as required by the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act passed by voters in 1986. As a result, the library's self-checkout machines have not been serviced in about six months. Library officials say 3M is the only company authorized by the manufacturer to fix the machines, which were purchased in 2004. The library asked the Peace and Justice Commission for a waiver, but at its Jan. 5 meeting the commission voted 7-1, with two abstentions, to reject the request. The library is now appealing the decision to the City Council. . . . "We really mean it when we say we don't want to be part of the nuclear machinery," said commission member George Lippman. "The act is meant to be a blow against nuclear war. We're serious about upholding that."
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| Posted by:Mike |
| #11 Someone should run for office on a ticket to force Bezerkely to power itself solely with Wind + Hydro + Solar. Socialism should only be for socialists! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-01-29 18:06 |
| #10 They're on the grid - so they get what's put on the grid or get's what's shifted around with the nukes providing a shift someplace else. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-29 15:15 |
| #9 Just wondering....based on what Bright Pebbles said....does the People's Republik of Berzerkley get any of their power from nuclear plants? Do they allow doctors to have x-ray machines? |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-01-29 14:16 |
| #8 Cut any power connections in to Bezerkely! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-01-29 11:10 |
| #7 Then they better get rid of all the copies of Mao's Little Red Book. Last I heard, the Chinese had nukes. I wonder if Berleley has one of those Juche committees KCNA is always bragging about? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-01-29 10:28 |
| #6 Can we cut off all aid to Berkley and let the fuckers starve? Please? |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2009-01-29 10:25 |
| #5 Because it's all so easy to play like children, not to be forced to acknowledge that their insular community is tied to the statewide/nationwide electrical grid that includes nuclear power plants. How about chopping those powerlines and going it alone [without evil coal or oil either]. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-29 08:57 |
| #4 Somebody should start a rumor that the book scanners are nuclear powered, so if you are exposed to them too much, it will make you sterile. I bet a lot of them would bite. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-01-29 08:31 |
| #3 No more Scotch tape in Bezerkley. Post-its must be out too. Idiots. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-01-29 07:17 |
| #2 Btw, I got a routine invitation to bid on a Berkeley city contract a while back (for geo-survey services). I would have used it for toilet paper but there was no telling what kind of evil commie germs it was carrying. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-01-29 07:16 |
| #1 Berzerkeley's anti-nuclear ordinance originated in the early 80s during a fad for such declarations in communist satellite municipalities within the US, such as Berkeley itself, Madison, Cambridge, and many minor outposts in California and the northeast. Initially, these were worded to prohibit any research on behalf of nuclear weapons organizations by anyone in the city. This would have included forms of research that involved nothing more than reading, writing, performing mathematical operations, or writing computer programs. Moonbat lawyers recognized pretty quickly that these would run afoul of the First Amendment. They were instrumental in getting their comrades to water down the ordinances to the simple requirement for a declaration of compliance from city contractors. These ordinances' actual purpose, of course, was to weaken the US nuclear weapons program in an effort to strengthen and assist the Soviet Union in the Cold War. After the Soviet collapse this took on a life of its own, except for a small benefit to the PRC and North Korea, being deeply embedded in the psyche of the traitor-cult that runs places like Berkeley. With Iran on the verge of acquiring nuclear capability the American anti-nuclear movement may once again have an aggressive outside client who will pay well for its services. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-01-29 07:09 |