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."
A MIGHTY blow.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/29/2009 06:35 ||
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#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.
#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.
#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].
#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?
If they get a quality relief pitcher they'll really kill the American League ...
A Royal Bengal tiger killed a man in Khukumari area of the Sundarbans yesterday, police said.
The victim is Khokon Sana, 35, son of Abdul Bari Sana of village Kashimari in Shyamnagar upazila. Khokon went to the Sundarbans to collect reeds (goalpata) on January 27. While collecting leaves in Khukumari area, a tiger swooped on him and dragged him into deep forest. Later, locals recovered the body from deep forest.
When contacted, Shyamnagar Police Station officer-in-charge Abdur Razzak confirmed the incident.
"Yup, that's Khokon allright. I'd recognize that thigh bone anywhere."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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The police on Wednesday foiled a forced marriage of a 12-year-old girl with a 70-year-old man in Kashmoor area of Jackobabad, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the marriage of Miro Khan and the minor girl, Afia, had been arranged on the orders of a panchayat. The wedding was underway when the police raided the premises and arrested the bridegroom along with his relatives. The minor girl is in government care now, the channel reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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An 80-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were declared kari in Sukkur district's Jaffarabad area on Wednesday, a private TV channel reported. According to the channel, the people who passed the verdict also attempted to kill the two accused using bricks and wooden sticks, but the man and the woman survived the attack. The man declared kari has been missing since the attack, while the woman was in a critical condition, the channel said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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a word like 'barbaric' seems to fall short
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/29/2009 0:41 Comments ||
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The children, aged 16 and younger, were detained at about 8pm after a complaint by a local cleric.
Five members of the Ahmadiyya community including four children were charged with blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code in Layyah on Wednesday. The children, aged 16 and younger, were detained at about 8pm after a complaint by a local cleric. Police have registered a case in the Court Sultan police station against Tahir Imran (16), Tahir Mahmood (14), Naseer Ahmad (14), Muhammad Irfan (14), and Mubashar Ahmad (45). A spokesman for the community denied the allegations saying they were intended to fuel religious hatred. "Victimising children with false accusations is the most condemnable use of the blasphemy law," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
