Berkeley vs. Marines

I don't think people in Berkeley will regret anything.  Most of them don't have yachts.  Most of them would disprove of anything of the sort.  That guy has failed. Berkeley is probobly proud of their decision.  Lets not forget that they don't allow chains downtown either. 

if there ever is a natural  disaster in Berkeley i hope they dont accept help from the national guard....

ungrateful morons!!!!  

Your a fucking idiot.  Berkeley has always had a anti-war stance.  Let them have it, as a social experiment if anything. 

so lets fuck over the people who save our asses. wow, berkele...

Who's the guy who wrote the letter? He sounds like a businessman not a marine officer...

i think you and Berkeley have forgotten who has protected the right you have to call me "a fucking idiot" 

why dont you think about what the world would be like if we didnt have the US marines.. 

dont give me all this there would be "free love and peace" bullshit, you would be a subject under Germany or Japan! 

yeah, he was the devoloper of the condos/real estate thing and hes about to fuck berekley out of so many millions.

so they don't want the marines...big deal. There is a reason why its an all volunteer military here, this is part of it...

but personally, i don't think it matters that much. I think most people who join have plans to join, they don't just one day walk by a recruiters office and think "you know, i think i'll join right now" so either way, if someone in that area wants to join, they're still perfectly able.

Haha.. I go to the #1 transfer school in the country for UC Berkeley students.. so I have some insight on this whole thing.

At my school, we are basically UC Berkeley Jr. College... and whenever recruiters come, they are straight up blasted and protested just for being there... or ignored all together. I'm sure the University in Berkeley might take that heckling to a whole other level.

Military Recruiters must be retarded if they even want to try to recruit in that town. There has to be about a .0001% chance of anyone even considering the military there. It is really THAT anti-war...

the University/City has been battling the Military since Vietnam... the whole hippie/protest moment of the sixties originated there.

The whole standing of the city is like that of Amsterdam... Do whatever you fucking want, short of actually killing/raping/pillaging/pirating someone...

That killing includes being part of the military... whos job is to kill people if necessary.

In that sense, joining a killing force such as the military, or even the police at times, goes against the city's/university's philosophy...

Exactly.  I don't live in berkeley, but my girlfriend does, and when I told her the news (she knew about the pink moms or whatever), she said "whatever".  She doesnt think it will effect her, or most people in berkeley.  They arnt going to fuck berkeley out of money, berkeley is already over developed.  No new construction is really occuring in berkeley, and if it is, it isnt housing.  and if that guy doesnt want to build, and the opportunity arrises, someone else will. 

I understand that there is always housing and whatnot being built, but berkeley would use a local contractor, not some big business guys.  Berkeley opposes big business, from what I have obvserved.

Let us not forget the classic slogan "I may not agree with what you say, I will fight and die for your right to say it".   Which should be the mentality of anyone in the US armed forces. 

wait, what do the marines have to do with building yachts?

its one thing to be anti-war but in my opinion, they've took it one step too far. these men would really shed thier blood to save America and its all great freedoms and some liberals can really careless. how ungrateful is that? i think liberals are killing america. wtf man.

btw, i just joined the navy.

Berkeley is such a peaceful and fun town to be in I don't know why everybody is hating on it, ok they have an anti-war stance there but you can get some great nug out there and its a really fun place to be in, so much fun stuff to do there.

Pretty much on point.  I live right next to it and it is honestly such a peaceful and happy city. also I think it is stupid that any recruiter would ever come to berkely cause its pretty much the center for anti-war protests and has been for a long time.

wow someone agrees with me, never thought that would happen on here...

And everyone in this thread should be thanking YOU for protecting the rights we all enjoy..

THANKYOU!  

i had read that the city has either reversed, or is going to reverse the council resolution. cause their weak sauce.

Liberals are killing America? Explain.
You can be conservative and anti-war too. Take... Ron Paul for example. (No I don't support him). He's anti-war, but fairly conservative too.

Ya wtf, liberals aren't killing America...some are doing some really stupid shit, but thsoe aren't the ones in office.  It's a shame that some people that are conservative think they have to be pro-war, or they are not true republicans.  Mayeb they shouldn't try so hard to fit into the "republican box," and think for themselves on issues like war. 

I do have to agree with Bendetto (yes, I do agree with something you said haha) on the point that they are taking it to far.  They took it too far by doing that shit.  Nobody has to join the Marines, if they don't want to they can just not talk to the recruiters.  I mean recruiters come to my high school all the time and they never bother me, and if they do I just walk away or tell them politely that I'm not interested.  No reason to hate on them, it's their job, and we do need a military, contrary to what some hippy ass people think.  I mean recruiters have a right to come on highschool and college campuses, well not so much college but definitely high school.  I despise people that protest that.  They allow colleges to come on campus to rectuir, why not military?  For some people military is actually a really good option for them.  And most people just look like complete dicks when they are assholes to the recruiters, nobody is forcing them to talk to the recruiters.

Yeah America's doing a fantastic job protecting its citizen's rights right now.

NS Sarcasm Meter: 9/10

I'd support your stance if the military stayed withing its own goddamn borders. Hell I'd still agree with you if they just stayed within Afghanistan's borders.

Open your eyes and realize what your military is engaged in right now is not by any means protecting your rights. It's deciding the fate of others' over whom they have absolutely no jurisdiction.

I know I'm correct in saying that you've had American history beaten into you as kids in school. Ever stop to think for a minute that America just might have become the new imperial Britain from which your country decided to break itsself free from? It's liberalist philosophy at its core. What right at all do you think your armed forces had invading and deciding the fate of a government which posed no threat to you.

Top notch job Cheney.

Your founding fathers are rolling in their graves.

honestly, i'm more afriad of a democrat coming to office and ending this war versus us staying in war. i don't know all of the reasons why we are at war but i know a good one. there are dangerous terrorist out with mass nuclear weapons powerful enough to kill us all. we're not certain, but its too big of a threat to leave alone. so what if we pull out or war? terrorist organaztions aren't stupid. they see that america is begging for change. begging to get out of this 'pointless' war. the change will do more harm then good i tell ya. so we pull out of war. we don't have that strong hand in the middle east anymore. then what? the terrorist, god forbid, will plan an even bigger attack. on some idle tuesday while the 'pink moms' or whatever and all the liberals in this country are sitting back holding hands. then what? WILL THEY GET THE POINT AFTER THAT? huh will they? this war needs to be fought. we need to make peace over there. they need democracy. we cant have a threat like this. a threat of killing us all. whats wrong if we're at war and trying to make peace. EVERYONE in the armed forces signed up to fight, didn't they? DIDN"T THEY? no one made them sign those papers. no one made me sign any papers. your signing those papers to fight for americans freedoms. those fucking terrorist attacked the wtc and killed thousands of innocent people making money for their family's all over new york, the country, and for some, the world. and what are we supposed to do? sit back and hold fucking hands sipping tea?

got freedom? i know i do. and i would love to keep it. thanks bye

Well your as dumb as you are blind

so, wait... let me get this straight.  someone actually still believes that there are/were terrorists in Iraq with weapons of mass destruction, nuclear or otherwise?  i gave your ignorance a second chance when you said you had just joined up, but i see from this post that you're just a blind fool.  have fun washing boats.

well thats not the reason i signed but why are we at war if your so smart? ha, washing boats, not even close buddy

wow... you really are the buckethead stereotype that joins up thinking they're all macho and doing the right thing.  did you actually sign any papers yet?  i'm surprised they let you in with such a twisted understanding of reality... but perhaps that's what they're looking for.  we're at war because George W. Bush is a retard, plain and simple.  there were never any WMDs, there were never any terrorists threatening the US in Iraq, we have no reason at all to be in Iraq.

and yeah, washing boats.  they aren't going to put an inbred retard like you in charge of something important.

Dude, don't knock him cause he joined the military, that's not cool.  Although a lot of people that join up are exactly the type you described haha, I don't think Benedetto is though, although I do disagree with his opinion on lots of stuff.

And Benedetto: Iraq.....did they attack us?? No, I think not.  You have an interesting veiew of what really happened.  I'm glad you are patriotic but you take it too far bud.  Good luck in the Navy though.

i'll give people a hard time for joining because i think it's a VERY stupid decision to make at this point in time.  i don't agree with our government, i don't appreciate what our country's done to itself, and i don't have any love for the USA.  we're fucked up and need some serious change (i vote, before anyone starts with that) and our country doesn't inspire me to want to defend it- in fact, present conditions inspire me to want to tear it all down and start over again.  i would never work for the people in Washington and i would never encourage anyone else to do so.  my gf was a couple days away from joining the National Guard and i did everything i could to eventually talk her out of joining to the point of telling her i intended to ask her to marry me.  joining up right now is an ignorant and stupid decision and i have no problem letting people know that.

on top of that, Benedetto just seems exceptionally inept.  proud, yes, but that only strengthens my case that he's truly ignorant of current political conditions.

Oh let me count the ways.

Since the end of World War Two America has been consolidating its military presence all over the world. This was due partly to the 'threat' of communism (fair game) and again in order to excercise economic power where and when it could. The fall of the iron curtain left a massive power vacuum in the areas where the Soviet Union excercized equal to superior influence over NATO. (The Middle east)

As hard as it is to believe the world is not actually full of plotting schemeing men in robes whose only desire is to see soccer moms raped and babies in chains (GASP!) But why you ask would these ragheads fly a couple of planes into our beloved country's skyscrapers??!!

Well guess what asshole, the foreign policy of your stars and stripes which you hold so dear is to blame. Think back on your history (Not your American one silly)... wait you weren't taught anything else as a kid? .....shame.

Since the 1950's America has done whatever possible to piss off the Middle eastern muslims, But WOW BATMAN!!! what did we care??? they're just ragheads with a lot of oil right? You know who we SHOULD be supporting? the Israelis right?!! and support them we did. Through every legal, non-legal military and economic action they took, we held fast every step of the way. Six million jews were killed in the holocaust so hey, what's displacing 800,000 Palestinians to give them a bit of land? Hence the birth of muslim animosity towards the west!
------------------
Animosity- Noun

a feeling of strong dislike, ill will, or enmity that tends to display itself in action: a deep-seated animosity between two sisters; animosity against one's neighbor. ------------------

Before that decade the muslims had no reason to hate us and -Surprise!! they didn't!!
Since then America has used the Middle East as a proving ground for its abortion of a foreign policy. It has toppled regimes it did not like. Installed leaders friendly to the west which the majority of that country's population could not stand. (Shah of Iran and -Gasp!- Saddam Hussein. It has had a hand in one of the msot violent and forgotten wars of this half-century (Iran Iraq war) and Most of all the United States has continued to keep a military presence in and around all sides of the middle east (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Israel) which was suffocated the ability of these nations to excercise their liberal right to absolute sovereignty and self-detirmination. The ultimate Irony is that a country which was born of the freedom of bonds from an imperial exploiter has become that exact entity which it sought to free itself from two hundred and forty years ago.

The only countries which America targets are those that are able to stand up strongly and defy and condemn the foreign actions of your very own country: Iraq, Iran, North Korea... etc, None of these countries are or were at all stupid enough to choose war with the United States. but simply by defying it they in themselves have become targets. 

Truth: There is no such thing as islamofascism, only the alienation and demonization of an entire people of whom only some have had the guts to stand up to your country's sad foriegn policy. You have slapped them in the face with your diplomatic hamstrings and then maced them with the embargos and invasions which you impose for the sake of "Your own security"

I can think of a short Austrian man who used the same reasoning seventy years ago. 

I totally see what you are saying and agree with parts of it, well most of it, just not to the extent you are taking it to sometimes.  Joining now is a bad idea, but the Navy..not as much.  and the military is a good option for some people, it really is.  Not me or you, and not a lot of people, but for some it is a good path to go down...not so much now, but you know what I mean.  I'm not really liking the US right now either but it is my country so that's important, and I love to live here for the most part, the standard of living is very good and whatnot.  now I wouldn't say we should tear EVERYTHING down and start over, but we do need some overhauls to say the least.  You seem like you are a pretty smart guy though.  Bush really fucked shit up eh.

ok, you make the USA sound like a stupid, pissed-off teenager... stop being so mean to stupid, pissed-off teenagers.

on top of that, you completely left out everything the government fucked up in South and Central America during the Cold War.  needless to say, the entire world has a book of legitimate reasons to hate the USA and what do we keep doing?  we keep raping the world in the ass with our "service"... that's right, the good ol' "armed service"- they're armed AND they'll rape the shit out of your country, compliments of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C., US-fuckin-A.  world, just bend over, grab your ankles, and we'll get down to servicing you like you can't imagine!

used correctly (or incorrectly, perspective is everything), any tool can be used as a weapon.  the armed services SHOULD be a tool to protect our borders from foriegn attack, NOT as a weapon to impose our will on others.

btw, to the creator of this thread and everyone else who reads that letter, it's NOT from the Marines, Dennard isn't and wasn't a Marine, and he has no affiliation whatsoever with the Marines.  he's a pissed off real estate developer, that's it.

Civilization in the middle east has been around LOOONG before we have. America is a stupid pissed off teenager.

lol America has fucked up a lot in South/ Central America its true. I think the post was long enough without detailing them all too lol.

who's arguing that?

with that in mind, though, Jews have been around WAY longer than Muslims...  i'm not trying to say anything really by bringing that up, just reminding you.

as for the stupid, pissed-off teenagers... i'm sure they don't appreciate being compared to the US.  that's just mean.

thank you for saying what needed to be said

hold on there chief, if you are going to call george bush that, better add some names to this list..

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by:
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
-- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

if i thought i was all macho and a "buckethead" and wanted to run around killing iraqi's all day, i would of joined the marines or army. whjere do you come off calling me an inbred? am i from west virginia? kansas? didn't think so. stop assuming shit and thinking you know everything. your head is so fucking big, its crazy. you don't know me. final. stop assuming shit

Oh shit, a real estate developer is going to cancel plans for some condos.

WTF, haven't any of you heard of the housing crisis. He was probably going to do that shit anyways, Jesus.

My apologies to all stupid pissed-off teenagers, perhaps I was harsh

I totally agree with you. Lik Im more liberal than canosevative but it doesnt mean that I totally support everything liberals say. I thinlk for myself and choose on the basisof what I agree and dissagree with. Like Ron Paul if he had a chance I might vote for him cause I agree with him on alot of things even though I am liberal it doesnt mean I have to just pigeonhole myself into my party. Also I think that there are too many people who do this on both sides of the political spectrum. Like You dont have to be a pussy to be a liberal or you dont have to be pro war to be conservative.