UC Berkeley Boalt

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TPUSA AM COMEBACK TOUR UCB 11 11 25 ROB SCHNEIDER

JDV TUCKER XIAN SPKR FRANK TURRETZ SP

bk manual for creating atheists

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A manual for creating atheists : Boghossian, Peter G. (Peter Gregory ...

Favorite A manual for creating atheists by Boghossian, Peter G. (Peter Gregory) Publication date 2013 Topics Atheism, Rationalism, Faith and reason, Religion -- Controversial literature Publisher Durham, North Carolina : Pitchstone Publishing Collection internetarchivebooks; inlibrary;

American philosophy professor and author

peterboghossian.com

Peter Gregory Boghossian is an American philosopher and college professor. He was an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University for ten years, and his areas of academic focus include atheism, critical thinking, pedagogy, scientific skepticism, and the Socratic method Continued in Wikipedia

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Anti-fascist protesters clash with attendees outside Turning Point event at UC Berkeley

Skirmishes led to at least three arrests, as protesters traded jeers with those attending the event — held two months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

by Natalie Orenstein

:{:{Nov. 10, 2025,}:

We work for you — reporting on the stories our community needs. Our journalists attend city council and school board meetings, follow tips and make the calls to keep you informed on the important issues in Berkeley. Will you chip in today to support that work during our year-end fundraising campaign?

Protesters hold signs and chant outside Turning Point USA’s campus tour event at UC Berkeley. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

Dozens of anti-fascist protesters, some with faces wrapped in keffiyehs, pulled out microphones and noisemakers, crowding in on the people in Jesus shirts and MAGA hats lined up early to catch the final stop of Turning Point USA’s fall campus tour following the assassination of its founder Charlie Kirk at a Utah Valley University event two months ago.

As Kirk’s fans waited to enter Zellerbach Hall on Bancroft Way, some hoping to claim standby tickets, protesters alternated chants: “No Trump, No KKK, no fascist USA” with “antisemites, go home,” and, “Fuck your dead homie,” a reference to Kirk.

Around 5 p.m., a clash quickly broke out on Bancroft Way between the protesters and a man selling Kirk memorial “Freedom” t-shirts. The quick skirmish seemingly ended in the detention by Berkeley police of both the t-shirt vendor and a protester with whom he had fought. (It wasn’t immediately clear what set off the confrontation.)

“I was gay until Charlie Kirk showed me the way!” the vendor yelled.

Berkeley police officers separate two men fighting before the event. Both were taken away by police. Credit: AP/Noah Berger)

A man selling Charlie Kirk memorial “Freedom” t-shirts outside the event is detained by police. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

A protester blows cigarette smoke at the t-shirt vendor, who was engaged in a shouting match with protesters before the fight began. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

About a dozen Berkeley police in helmets corralled the crowd, while a number of UCPD officers stood at the ready inside the Zellerbach Hall plaza. Private security guards screened attendees as they entered the plaza. Nearby, two police officers held pepper ball launchers aimed at protesters.

The audience inside Zellerbach Hall, with many people wearing red hats, waits for the program to start. Credit: AP/Godofredo Vásquez

As attendees filed into the event, about 20 UCPD officers wearing riot gear and holding zip ties lined up outside Eshleman Hall — about 100 feet from an ongoing protest that alternated between a dance party vibe and screaming matches between protesters and those lining up for the event. One man in a freedom shirt screamed out, “Spray them, tase them, lock them up,” encouraging police to arrest anti-fascist protesters.

Protesters were also detained by police in the ticketed area outside the event venue.

Law enforcement face off against protesters from across a barrier outside Zellerbach Hall. Credit: Alex N. Gecan

During the speech, a crowd of about 200-300 remained outside the venue, facing off with law enforcement officers with BPD, UCPD and the California Highway Patrol.

The event, held before a packed crowd, many wearing freedom shirts and MAGA hats, wrapped up without disruption shortly before 9 p.m.

The event ended somewhat less dramatically than it began. By the time it began letting out, protesters had surrounded all four exit points, and yelled insults and chants at both the police and attendees. Some attendees screamed back at them as they walked out, but most filed out quickly without making eye contact as officers created a barrier between them and the protesters.

By 9:30 p.m., police seemed to outnumber protesters, and most of the activity had died down. The crowd outside of Yogurt Park was larger than the group still near the venue.

There were three arrests in total as of just after 7 p.m., according to a UC Berkeley spokesperson, two made by Berkeley police officers and one by UC police. Berkeley police spokesperson Byron White said one of the arrests was on suspicion of battery, but did not say what prompted the other arrest. Neither spokesperson shared further information about the arrests.

A protester is detained by police in the ticketed area inside the plaza outside Zellerbach Hall. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

A protester scuffles with a Berkeley police officer before the event as other officers separate two men fighting. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

There were many disagreements among the protesters on the left, some intentionally provoking people coming to see the Turning Point event, and others pleading with each other not to engage. “This is what they want — they want to see fights,” one protester told another.

Early Monday morning, UC police arrested four students on suspicion of felony vandalism, as they allegedly attempted to hang a large cardboard insect on Sather Gate and hung posters advertising a protest of the Turning Point event, highlighting incendiary quotes of Kirk’s.

Kirk was an adversary of the left because of his often overtly racist, misogynist, homophobic and xenophobic messaging, which ranged from calling the Civil Rights Act a “huge mistake” to claiming that birth control creates “bitter young women.”

Protesters face off against police. Credit: AP/Noah Berger

A protester waves a torn-apart Turning Point shirt. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

Kirk launched Turning Point USA in 2012, aiming to spread conservatism at college and high school campuses. The organization takes aim at what they see as dominant liberal thinking and stymying of conservative students by universities, including keeping a “professor watchlist,” seeking to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda.” (Some professors on other campuses have seen an uptick in threats against their safety since Kirk’s death.)

Headline speakers are Rob Schneider and Frank Turek

Kirk was originally scheduled to headline the Berkeley stop, debating students outdoors with his signature “Prove Me Wrong” format.

In his place, Christian apologist and Kirk mentor Frank Turek and comedian Rob Schneider gave addresses. Also speaking were comedian Jobob Taeleifi; Andrew Doyle, author of the book “Free Speech and Why it Matters”; philosopher Peter Boghossian; and John Paul Leon, the president of UC Berkeley’s Turning Point chapter, who came on stage doing a Trump dance.

Turek, who was present when Kirk was assassinated, compared Kirk to Christ, saying he was martyred, and said he’s gotten emails from people in Sweden saying they’ve converted to Christianity because of Kirk’s death.

“The folks here at Berkeley are big into justice,” he said. “There is no justice unless God exists, there are no rights unless God exists.”

Actor and comedian Rob Schneider speaks during the event. Credit:AP/Godofredo Vásquez

Many of the speakers criticized the protests in their remarks, arguing it was demonstrative of an opposition to free speech on the left.

Schneider, who rose to fame via Saturday Night Live and his sidekick roles in Adam Sandler movies, began by thanking “antifa” for their welcome outside and said protesters were coming from a place of emotion rather than reason. “We must be awake, we must be aware, and we must fight for” freedom, he said.

Speaker Andrew Doyle, second from the right, is joined by Schneider, far left, author Frank Turek, center, and Peter Boghossian, right. Credit: AP/Godofredo Vásquez

He also took a swipe at Berkeley. “Berkeley claims to be a liberal town,” he said. “They claim to want affordable housing. They have vacant lots they can build on, but they always get stopped. Why? Because they want affordability, just not in our backyard.”

Schneider’s comments don’t reflect Berkeley’s current housing politics: While the city’s often fraught debates over development once drew national attention, many of its leaders have come to embrace housing construction, and candidates endorsed by Yes-In-My-Backyard advocacy groups hold a majority on the City Council. Housing production has swelled to its highest levels in decades, according to data submitted to state regulators.

Many came from far away to see Turning Point event

Mary Pelican, with her fashion honoring Charlie Kirk. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

While some Cal students were in attendance, many came from other universities or were non-students excited about the one California event on tour.

A number of people in line for the event Monday said they’d driven as far as five hours because they’re big fans of Kirk. Ella Klosek, 18, said she and her boyfriend had driven from Santa Maria to Sacramento Sunday to stay with family before coming to the event.

Like many of those who spoke to Berkeleyside, she said Kirk’s religious beliefs, not explicitly his politics, drew her to follow his work. She said his “traditional family values” inspired her — “what it looks like to be a godly husband or wife.”

The event was moved indoors for safety reasons, Leon told CalMatters.

He said the chapter’s membership has grown significantly since Kirk’s assassination.

The shooting also prompted UC President James B. Milliken to contact all UC chancellors, urging them to review their events policies and increase security measures.

“Universities are places where civil discussion and debate can and should occur, without the fear or threat of harm,” Milliken wrote.

Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof declined to share details on the security plan ahead of Monday’s event, citing “obvious reasons.”

But he said the university’s Major Events policy applied due to the size of the gathering. That policy requires extra preparation by the student group hosting the event — in this case the Berkeley chapter of Turning Point — and triggers increased security. He said it would be several weeks before the total cost of the event to the university can be tallied and shared.

In addition to the protocols outlined in the plan, Turning Point is banning attendees from bringing bags inside the venue.

“UC Berkeley always works to support the rights and ability of all speakers to participate in events hosted by student organizations without regard for their beliefs and perspectives,” Mogulof said.

Monday arrests echo battles over far-right speakers during Trump’s first term

U.S. Army veteran Jefferson Silver, a protester, watches police line up outside the event. Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

Questions around controversial campus events and the university’s role in supporting or derailing them came to a head during the first Trump presidency.

In February 2017, when the Berkeley College Republicans brought far-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos to Cal, about 150 activists — many identifying as “black bloc” antifa — descended on campus, setting fire to portable lights, throwing Molotov cocktails, and ultimately leading to the cancelation of the event.

The dramatic incident put a target on Cal and the city of Berkeley’s back. Repeated protests by largely non-student, conservative demonstrators overtook city parks and streets. At these events throughout 2017, “alt-right” activists, including members of now-prominent groups like the Proud Boys, duked it out with antifa and other counter-protesters on the left, with many skirmishes turning into bloody brawls and ending in injuries and arrests.

When the Berkeley College Republicans invited Ann Coulter to campus, UC Berkeley initially canceled the engagement, citing safety concerns given the violent protests happening at the school and city, then offered an alternative date.

A protester dressed in an animal costume outside Zellerbach Hall. One group of Bay Area activists described the protest they planned before the event as “our costume dance party for justice.” Credit: Richard H. Grant for Berkeleyside

The student group sued the university in response, claiming the administration was intentionally stifling conservative speech. The lawsuit ended in a settlement in 2018, with Cal agreeing to amend its events policy and pay attorney fees. But that agreement came after another attempt by the Berkeley College Republicans to “test” the university by inviting right-wing personality Ben Shapiro to campus. That event, also at Zellberbach, cost UC Berkeley $600,000 in security costs.

Just a couple of weeks later, Cal spent $800,000 on Yiannopoulos’ return to campus, which Mogulof at the time called “the most expensive photo-op in the university’s history.”

The current Major Events policy requires student or outside event hosts, in this case Turning Point, to pay for the venue rental, insurance, and “basic” but not “extraordinary” security costs.

Another, more recent event at Zellerbach also resulted in protests and cancellation. About 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators shut down a talk by conservative Israeli attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat in February 2024, which was organized by pro-Israel student groups.

Anti-fascist protesters clash with attendees outside Turning Point event at UC Berkeley

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In a campus full of gold and blue, red hats populated the south side of University of California, Berkeley as over 300 attendees arrived for a speaking event Monday where actor Rob Schneider and speaker and author Frank Turek appeared as featured guests for the Berkeley chapter of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA.

Watch More

Two months after the fatal shooting of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, the final stop of the controversial college speaking tour happened Monday at UC Berkeley and was met by over 100 protesters looking to voice dissatisfaction about the organization and overall conservative movement.

The event and protests remained relatively peaceful, but multiple people were taken into custody by police. Two of those individuals were in a physical altercation that left one of them bloodied in the face before being separated by Berkeley police and placed into separate vehicles.

The brawl occurred after a protester allegedly threw the merchandise the Kirk supporter was selling onto the floor. As the argument between both men became physical, they began to fight by Bancroft Way. Police created a perimeter around the fight that blocked traffic for several city blocks.

Comedian and actor Rob Schneider responds to a question with panelists Frank Turek, Andrew Doyle, and Peter Boghossian during a Turning Point USA event at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

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A car later traveled down Bancroft with the sound of loud banging trailing behind it, which spooked many protesters. The vehicle then stopped across from the gathering of over one hundred and proceeded to produce vast amounts of smoke and loud bangs. The vehicle then sped away, a police car in pursuit.

Turning Point USA is a nonprofit conservative advocacy group that has found a foothold across many college campuses. The chapter at UC Berkeley was founded in 2019 and has quickly become a vocal conservative group on a campus known for its largely progressive student body.

Protests against TPUSA's event were organized by several groups. Activists like By Any Means Necessary showed up with megaphones and signs in an attempt to disrupt the event and show the university that they didn't like TPUSA's presence.

UC Berkeley administrators have historically not set limits on what groups can come on to campus to speak. Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the university worked with the school's chapter of Turning Point USA to ensure they could conduct their event safely.

Protesters confront University of California police outside of a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) on November 10, 2025 in Berkeley, California. The event was the last stop of a tour begun by group founder Charlie California. The event was the last stop of a tour begun by group founder Charlie Kirk that has since served as a series of memorials for Kirk, who was fatally shot at an event in September. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"UC Berkeley always works to support the rights and ability of all speakers to participate in events hosted by student organizations without regard for their beliefs and perspectives," said Mogulof in an email. "The campus relies on the professional security assessments and recommendations provided by UCPD so that events sponsored by student organizations can be held successfully and safely."

In preparation for the event, the university closed four adjacent buildings as a precaution and created five points of entry and exit that could be monitored by dozens of police and security forces. Private security was joined by law enforcement from the University of California Police Department, Berkeley and San Francisco police departments, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, and the California Highway Patrol.

Student Anna Martinez found the presence of Turning Point USA advocates disruptive and said she was disappointed to see that a building she needed to enter was blocked due to the event.

"All of these student buildings are closed so a group of conservative speakers can feel safe, when we students don't feel safe when they come here," Martinez said.

:{:{Protesters confront University of California police outside of a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) on November 10, 2025 in Berkeley, California. The event was the last stop of a tour begun by group founder Charlie California. The event was the last stop of a tour begun by group founder Charlie Kirk that has since served as a series of memorials for Kirk, who was fatally shot at an event in September. (Photo by Justin}:

On the day of the event, both protesters and attendees traveled from across the state, with some coming as far as the Central Valley or Lake Tahoe.

Mario Fierro from Visalia said he wanted to show up and support TPUSA because he feels the conservative movement in California has been forgotten about.

"California is a diverse place, but there's still a place for conservative people and conservative values that we uphold," said Fierro. "We come willing, open-armed, willing to converse and willing to engage with the other side and hopefully do everything peaceful."

Grace Fortune, a high school teacher from Lodi, said she wanted to attend the event because she feels TPUSA supports her Christian faith.

"Ever since Charlie Kirk got assassinated, I support them," she said. "There should be clubs for anyone you know that can be proud of what they believe in and not feel ashamed for what they believe in."

Fortune said that the politics were not as important to her as what she said Kirk's Christian message was.

"It was more about the faith in Christ and being proud and courageous about his faith in Christ," she said.

The rest of the night remained relatively free of violence, but the tension between police and protesters was palpable. Police would swap positions in regular intervals and would hold their batons in case protesters broke across the barricade, while other officers waited to the side with empty projectile firearms.

On the opposite side, protesters chanted things like "fascists are not welcome here!" and "hey hey! Ho ho! Fascists have got to go!" directly into the faces of the police officers. They held steady with their chanting and occasionally paused to boo and yell "shame" at the officers.

Protester Christopher Jones decided to show up because the type of speech TPUSA promotes helps fuel hatred and bigotry, he said.

"Do we have free speech? Yes. But that doesn't mean we want hate speech to come to this campus and be full of rhetoric that targets those most vulnerable," said Jones. "It's a mockery to have them come here and say they are nonviolent when their very words create harm across the country."

2025 Bay City News, Inc.

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2:09

Join Frank at UC Berkeley TONIGHT (MON. 11/10) in Zellerbach Hall as he teams up with TPUSA and author/comedian Rob Schneider for the American Comeback Tour. We'll continue Charlie Kirk's mission of bold faith, open dialogue, and honest conversation about culture, faith, and truth.The event starts at 6:30 PM PT but doors open at 5:00 PM so grab your spot early! Can't attend in person? Watch the livestream on TPUSA's Rumble account. . . . #UCBerkeley #DrFrankTurek #RobSchneider #TPUSATour | Cross

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TodayTurning Point USA's "This Is Turning Point" tour was held on Monday night at the University of California Berkeley. This event is the final stop for the re-branded tour following the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. Comedian Rob Schneider and Christian apologist Dr. Frank Turek were the featured speakers for the sold-out event held at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall.

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TodayThe American Comeback Tour, featuring American actor and comedian Rob Schneider and American author Frank Turek, hosted by Turning Point USA, takes place at ...

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Smoke bombs and chaos: Turning Point USA's final tour stop ... - KRNV

TodayTurning Point USA held its final stop of the "American Comeback Tour" UC Berkeley, which was met with a crowd of masked protesters who set off smoke bombs outside of the event.

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LIVE NOW: Turning Point USA Tour Featuring Rob Schneider ... - NTD News

TodayThe American Comeback Tour, featuring American actor and comedian Rob Schneider and American author Frank Turek, hosted by Turning Point USA, takes place at the University of California-Berkeley.

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https://www.sfchronicle.com › entertainment › article › turning-point-usa-charlie-kirk-uc-berkeley-21062190.php

Charlie Kirk's Turning Point presses on with UC Berkeley date

Sep 22, 2025Turning Point USA continues its tour after Charlie Kirk's assassination, with Rob Schneider and Frank Turek set to headline at UC Berkeley.

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https://www.mercurynews.com › 2025 › 11 › 04 › how-uc-berkeley-is-preparing-for-turning-points-final-tour-stop-after-charlie-kirks-death

How UC Berkeley is preparing for Turning Point's final tour stop after ...

7 days agoTwo months after conservative advocate Charlie Kirk's assassination during a tour stop at a Utah university, his organization, Turning Point USA, will conclude its "American Comeback Tour ...

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Turning Point USA will continue tour, end series at UC Berkeley

Sep 24, 2025Of the dates announced, the final stop will be at UC Berkeley on Nov. 10, featuring actor Rob Schneider and author Frank Turek.

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Brainwashed Tour - This is the Turning Point

November 10th University of California - Berkeley - EVENING EVENT Berkeley, CA

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America Tour 2025: Rob Schneider & Frank Turek - Berkeley | Tickets ...

5 days agoWhen you see "Rob Schneider" and "University of California, Berkeley" in the same sentence, your brain immediately starts generating questions. And after digging into the details of the "American Comeback Tour" stop on November 10th, hosted by the TPUSA Berkeley chapter, we have

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UC Berkeley’s Taylor Swift course will combine 'literature, economics, business and sociology' - Alternet.org

https://crws.berkeley.edu/empire-resentment

 interview with Center for Right-Wing Studies chair Larry Rosenthal about his new book, Empire of Resentment: Populism's Toxic Embrace of Nationalism, was featured in the *Berkeley News*. An excerpt from the book, "How Identity Politics Became All About White Men," is available on Medium. "The fierceness of the new identity movements [of Trumpism, the Tea Party and the alt-right] is more about status lost than property lost. It is a loss so profoundly felt that it has generated a fierceness powerful enough to transform politics in the U.S. — and in much of the Western world."

Seven Arrested at UC Berkeley Protest of Ann Coulter Speech

https://kpfa.org/episode/talkies-april-10-2019/

mapping pjt UCB

kristina sp hill resilient by design challenge WS

use sys waste prouct to make ponton 3 story bldg // Steiger Island dutch?  heavy salt water will lift freshwater that will flood cities (1 mi inland?!)

affects infrastructre /adaptation

baynature.org

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CNN

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has filed three felony charges and one misdemeanor against Zachary Greenbergafter an attack on the University of California Berkeley campus against a conservative activist. The attack was caught on video.

UC Berkeley campus police arrested Greenberg on Friday. He bonded out of jail and his arraignment is set for Wednesday. CNN has reached out to Greenberg's representatives for comment.

The attack occurred at Sproul Plaza on February 19, officials said. Turning Point USA identified the alleged victim to CNN asHayden Williams, who had been invited to UC Berkeley to help recruit students for a yet-to-be-formed chapter on campus.

Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Warren filed the charges against Greenberg. They include felony assault, felony battery, felony criminal threats and a misdemeanor vandalism charge. The criminal threats charge says it is a "serious felony" and further alleges "that the threatened crime, on its face and under the circumstances in which it was made, was so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to convey to Hayden Williams a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution."

Before the charges were filed, a media representative for Williams said he is a field representative for the Leadership Institute,an organization that helps train conservative leaders. Williams is not a UC Berkeley student, the representative said.

"The fact that the victim was not a campus affiliate has no bearing on this case. He had every right to be on campus, and every right to express his point of view," said university spokesman Dan Mogulof.

Incident caught on video, shows two attackers

A short video recorded by a witness shows Williams and a man struggling before the man punches Williams in the face, knocking his hat off. The alleged suspect then gets close to Williams' face, calls him "racist," and shouts profanities before punching Williams again and walking away.

Williams told CNN shortly after the assault that he was fine but declined to answer other questions. He was treated at the scene, his media representative said.

Arda Erbil, the student who shot the footage provided to CNN, said he saw two men harassing Williams. As one of the men became physical, Erbil began to record video.

"Seeing something like that happen in such an open place was disheartening," he said.

The University of California Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a "report of a disturbance" on upper Sproul Plaza, a center of student activity on campus, where they found the injured victim. According to the police statement, the victim said that two men approached him, a verbal altercation ensued and he began recording the interaction on his phone.

One of the men "slapped the phone out of the victim's hand," police said. "The suspect then knocked over the table the victim was at and the two men struggled over the phone. During the incident, the suspect punched the victim several times causing injury to the victim's eye and nose."

Williams told Fox News' Sean Hannity shortly after the attack that some students were upset by a sign he had displayed at his recruitment table that said, "Hate Crime Hoaxes Hurt Real Victims" -- apparently a reference to "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who has been accused of staging what he maintains was a hate crime against him.

What's next for Jussie Smollett, in his case and his career

"This person claimed we were promoting violence on campus and proceeded to take his aggression out on us," Williams told Hannity.

University condemns assault

UC Berkeley's chancellor and vice chancellor condemned the assault in a statement February 21, calling it "reprehensible."

"That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here," the statement said. "Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering."

The statement added that university officials have "no information indicating" the perpetrators are affiliated with UC Berkeley.

The incident illustrates the "hate and anger so many on the left harbor and that our student activists encounter on a daily basis," Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA's founder and president, said in a statement last month.

"Our amazing grassroots organizers courageously face threats of violence and discrimination as they fight for the right for conservative voices to be heard on college campuses," Kirk said, adding he was proud of how the group's student activists handled the situation.

Campus known for promoting free speech accused of bias against conservative views

While UC Berkeley has a long history of promoting the tenants of free speech, in recent years there have been protests against conservatives and far right ideologues that have turned violent.

In 2017, a number of protests broke out ahead of speaking engagements by conservative commentators such as Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter. Neither of those events went forward.

Later that year, conservative radio host Ben Shapiro gave a talk as protesters swarmed outside. Nine people were arrested, but the protests appeared to be mostly peaceful.

CNN's Sarah Moon and Margaret Shuttleworth contributed to this report.

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wt bs

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/7/zachary-greenberg-28-pleads-not-guilty-punching-co/

LAW_CRIME

ZACHARY GREENBERG

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Zachary Greenberg, 28, has been charged with three felonies relating to last month’s attack against a conservative activist at the University of California at Berkeley. (Alameda County Sheriff’s Office via CBS SF) more >

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By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Thursday, March 7, 2019

A man accused of assaulting a conservative activist in an attack that was caught on video at the University of California at Berkeley last month has pleaded not guilty to several felony charges.

Zachary Greenberg, a 28-year-old software engineer, entered his plea Wednesday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland, Fox News reported.

Mr. Greenberg is charged with felony assault, felony battery, felony criminal threats and misdemeanor vandalism for his alleged attack on Hayden Williams, a Leadership Institute field representative who was recruiting conservative students for Turning Point USA during the Feb. 19 incident at UC Berkeley.

In a now-viral video, Mr. Williams was manning a table at Sproul Plaza when a man started cursing at him and calling him a racist. The man then struck Mr. Williams several times while students watched.

Prosecutors said Mr. Greenberg is the attacker in the video. Neither of the men is affiliated with UC Berkeley.

Mr. Greenberg has been ordered not to contact Mr. Williams and is not allowed within 100 yards of the UC Berkeley campus.

“We are pleased that the good investigative work of our police department has led to the filing of these charges,” Dan Mogoluf, assistant vice chancellor at UC-Berkeley, told Fox News. “The university believes that those who violate the free-speech rights of others must be held accountable and face the appropriate consequences.”

Mr. Greenberg’s criminal defense attorney, Alanna Coopersmith, said Wednesday that her client, a student at a nearby college, was studying at the UC Berkeley library on the day of the attack.

“He has a clean record,” she said, Fox News reported. “I understand many people observing this case are interested in constitutional freedom and I would remind them that one important constitutional freedom is the presumption of innocence, due process of law and due process in a courtroom, not on social media or the Internet.”

==

most i 4 cty brasil, ___ almost all grn and/or indig

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/human-rights-center/programs/technology/human-rights-investigations-lab-internships/

More

Today @UCBerkeley join @hrcberkeley and @BerkeleyIHRLC to read aloud the names of the 312 #humanrights defenders killed last year (12:45 to 1:15 in the @BerkeleyLaw courtyard near Zeb) to honor their courage and struggle.

==

neo fascist bellweather:

http://hungarianfreepress.com/2018/10/13/anti-semitic-conspiracy-theories-from-hungary-have-now-arrived-in-the-us/

==

http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/key-trump-adviser-has-disturbing-ties-anti-semitic-groups

Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories from Hungary have now arrived in the US

October 13, 2018 1:15 pm·

The US media was somewhat puzzled when the Orbán government chose George Soros as their favorite enemy and thousands of anti-Soros posters covered Budapest. Many in the US didn’t know much about the Hungarian-born New York billionaire and Holocaust survivor. Surreal pictures of Budapest streets and metro stations plastered with Soros posters, some scribbled with “Dirty Jew,” spread in the US media. Many wondered: What does this mean? Is this anti-Semitic?

Soros poster in Budapest with graffiti “Dirty Jew”.

Conspiracy theorists claimed that the anti-Soros campaign was NOT anti-Semitic, and produced “evidence” that Soros has collaborated with the Nazis in Hungary during World War II. Roseanne Barr, a Jewish TV actress spread this rumor and Hollywood immediately cancelled her contract. (Read Barr’s apologies to Soros here.)

Poster claiming that Holocaust survivor Soros was a Nazi collaborator during WWII.

During his presidential campaign Trump singled out “those who control the levers of power in Washington” and “global special interests.” Many thought that the cryptic language referred to then-Federal Reserve chief, Janet Yellen or to George Soros, both Jewish. Then on October 5, 2018 Trump tweeted that anti-Kavanaugh protests at the Capitol were “paid by Soros.” This was the first time he publicly mentioned Soros by name. More recently Trump has claimed that the paid protesters were angry “because they haven’t gotten their checks.”

Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, a friend of US Ambassador to Budapest David Cornstein, increased the rhetoric. The Catholic former New York City mayor and Trump confidant retweeted a message calling Soros the “anti-Christ.” He also suggested that Soros’s assets should be frozen.

Several universities have reported that anti-Semitic posters were distributed on their campuses showing pictures of Soros and US politicians who opposed the Kavanaugh nomination. Senior Democratic Senators Feinstein and Schumer, both Jewish, along with others appeared on the posters.

Neo-Nazi poster from a California University campus with Soros and Jewish American politicians opposing the Kavanaugh nomination.

Mainstream media outlets have started to denounce Trump’s anti-Soros outburst. (Read here.) Comedians mocked anti-Soros statements. (Watch Jimmy Kimmel here.) Jewish media connected the anti-Soros sentiment to Orbán emphasizing that Soros has been his favorite bogeyman in recent years in his native Hungary. “There Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pegged Soros and his organization Open Society Foundations as symbols of intruding globalist forces. Orbán’s unabashed anti-Soros message and anti-democratic goals have been widely criticized by the EU, Human Rights Watch and others.” (Read the Cleveland Jewish News here.)

(During WWII teenager George Soros was saved by Elza Brandeisz. Read more by clicking here.)

György Lázár

*

Letter from Chancellor Carol Christ

To the Berkeley Campus Community,

I am writing following the discovery by some of our students of a disturbing, disgusting anti-Semitic poster. The image in question, almost certainly disseminated by those who espouse neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology has, according to reports, appeared on campuses across the country. This toxic material demands a response, though I regret that by doing so we provide adherents of this vile ideology with more of the attention they seek.

The image on the poster alleges that Jewish Americans, including prominent, elected representatives, are involved in “anti-white, anti-American, anti-freedom” conspiracies, and portrays opposition to a recent Supreme Court nominee as the latest example. This, of course, is a common, classic refrain perpetrated by those who see our Jewish friends, colleagues and fellow citizens as the root of all evil. There is little, if any difference between this demonizing rhetoric and that used by the Nazis in the lead up to, and during the course of the Holocaust.

In the wake of this incident I want to make clear that my administration and this campus community stand together in condemnation of this and all hateful ideologies. We abhor and condemn anti-Semitic words and deeds on this campus and beyond. UC Berkeley unequivocally supports the University of California Regents’ “Principles Against Intolerance,” which clearly condemn bias, hatred, prejudice and discrimination. We also adhere to and strongly support this specific statement in the Principles; “Anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination have no place in the University.”

Staff from Student Affairs have reached out to students who expressed concern about this poster on social media, and we urge community members who need support to seek help. The campus has several resources, including counseling services. For students needing help navigating these resources, please contact: deanofstudents@berkeley.edu or visit deanofstudents.berkeley.edu/well-being.

We urge anyone with information about the incident to come forward. The UCPD phone number is (510) 642-6760. For information and support on reporting hate crimes or hate-motivated acts: stophate.berkeley.edu

We cannot seal off our open campus from hatred and ignorance, but what we can and will do is come together and determine how we can best deter and confront not only this particular form of bias, but all manifestations of intolerance that violate our shared values and Principles of Community.

Sincerely,

Carol Christ

Chancellor

==

==

horowtiz artl brought savio; he defended in a debate;

but lATER:  Critical sense and intellectual detachment have never been Horowitz's forte. As he embarks on a new set of battles, the stakes are somewhat lower than in the past. Lives are not on the line; only jobs and reputations are.Take Horowitz's campaign against China expert and writer Orville Schell, dean of the UC-Berkeley Journalism School.In 1998 Horowitz's legal arm, the Individual Rights Foundation, filed suit against the Regents of the University of California on behalf of Michael Savage, a conservative radio commentator who had applied unsuccessfully for the deanship.Schell got the job, but the IRF suit contended that since he was selected through an old-boy network of New Leftists, his appointment constituted political patronage and was therefore illegal under California labor law.

Why was Schell, whom Horowitz has labeled a "Gucci Marxist," unfit for the position? "Although he has written several books on China and authored some op-ed pieces," Horowitz affirmed in Hating Whitey, he is"not a working journalist." Schell's curriculum vitae lists twelve books and 206 articles, including contributions to The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. The case eventually collapsed when Savage refused to be deposed.

$800K milo 15 min foto op

After student organisers of the Berkeley "Free Speech Week" cancelled their events, far-right media personality Milo Yiannopoulos vowed to hold his own rally.  Yiannopoulos' appearance at the steps of the University of California's Sproul Plaza on Sunday was brief.

After 15 minutes, Yiannopoulos' security guards drove him off, local media reported.

The university said security precautions for the event, which involved officers from eight different law enforcement agencies, cost $800,000.

Along with far-right author Mike Cernovich and anti-Muslim figure Pamela Geller, Yiannopoulos addressed around 150 supporters who had gathered to hear him speak.  "It feels like probably the most expensive photo op in the university's history," said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof, according to The Mercury News.

The sum spent on security for  Yiannopoulos is likely to anger some members of the UC Berkeley community.

In August, Carol Christ, chancellor of the university, announced budget cuts to the tune of more than $20m for the 2017-2018 academic year.

In April 2016, Nicholas Dirks - who was then chancellor - disclosed that at least 500 staff members would be laid off over a two-year period.

'Last minute' cancellation

Sunday's small rally was announced a day after Berkeley Patriot, the right-wing student group behind "Free Speech Week", cancelled the larger, four-day event.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter and British media personality Katie Hopkins, among others, had earlier been slated to speak.

The cancellation followed a string of speakers pulling out and accusations by the university that Berkeley Patriot had missed deadlines to secure some of the requested venues.  "It is extremely unfortunate that this announcement was made at the last minute, even as the university was in the process of spending significant sums of money and preparing for substantial disruption of campus life in order to provide the needed security for these events," UC Berkeley's Mogulof said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

Berkeley Patriot's lawyer, Marguerite Melo, has accused the university of "viewpoint discrimination"and provided Al Jazeera with a copy of a letter to the university's interim vice chancellor, Stephen Sutton.  In the letter, Melo alleged that "the student group has been subjected to extraordinary pressure and resistance, if not outright hostility, by the UC Berkeley administration and your employees".  It also stated that Berkeley Patriot was considering legal action against the university for what it considers a violation of its members' civil rights.  Opponents of Free Speech Week had planned to hold several protests against the far-right.

'Outrageous' 

The furore over Free Speech Week comes after months of soaring tensions in Berkeley - now  a regular venue for clashes between the far right and their political opponents -  and elsewhere in the country.

In February, anti-fascists and anti-racists rallied outside a UC Berkeley auditorium where Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give a speech. As fires were lit outside and protesters clashed with police, police evacuated Yiannopoulos from the building and the event was cancelled. Following that incident, US President Donald Trump threatened to strip the university of its federal funding.

In April, clashes broke out in the streets of Berkeley between anti-fascists and far-right activists.  In late August, a far-right rally in Berkeley, which was dubbed "Say no to Marxism", was met with large counter-protests by community members, anti-racists and anti-fascists. Several brawls broke out, and police arrested 13 people.

Sunsara Taylor, spokesperson for Refuse Fascism, a left-wing activist group, dismissed far-right speakers' claims to come to UC Berkeley in order to promote free speech.

"It's outrageous, and people are right to raise their voices and protest against [far-right events]," Taylor told Al Jazeera by telephone.  "We are living in a time when reprehensible ideas like white supremacy and fascism are being reasserted violently both through the power of the state and through [far-right] mobs."  Elsewhere, in August, hundreds of far-right protesters assembled in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the largest white supremacist rally in recent decades.

By the end of the day, one of the far-right rally's participants had allegedly ploughed his car into a crowd of anti-racist marchers and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer. The assailant, James Alex Fields, was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and several felonies.

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/milo-yiannopoulos-security-cost-us-berkeley-800000

energy inst looks ok

https://ei.haas.berkeley.edu/about/people.html

ab 398

To address local environmental concerns, especially in districts long burdened by dirty and toxic air, Brown and top leaders introduced a separate bill, Assembly Bill 617. It would require oil refineries and other plants in heavily polluted areas to replace their equipment with cleaner technology by the end of 2023. The bill could pass with only a simple majority vote.

“Overall, I find it really encouraging that they went the route of a separate bill targeting local pollutants,” said Professor James Bushnell, a UC Davis economics professor and former research director at the University of California Energy Institute in Berkeley. “To get to two-thirds, you need a coalition of the people who are really focused on the local pollutants joining the people who are focused on the climate question.”

But the air-quality bill was not enough to assuage the concerns of advocates such as Amy Vanderwarker, of the California Environmental Justice Alliance.

==

UC Campuses Support Free Speech. Trump is Wrong to Threaten UC Berkeley.

Posted on :{February 2, 2017:(style="background:transparent;border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline"):}: by Dennis SILVERMAN

UC Campuses Support Free Speech. Trump is Wrong to Threaten UC Berkeley.

Most, if not all, UC campuses have been afflicted with their Young Republicans provocatively inviting racist, misogynist, and anti-Muslim provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on their campuses, sometimes for a second time. Rightly, his talks invite counter-protesters, executing their right of free speech, just as Mr. Yiannopoulos does, but not in hateful ways against society. The University of California supports free speech, even when it is offensive, and writes to students and faculty about this, as do the separate Campus Chancellors. Yet the Young Republicans gain their desired outcomes when some radical protestors resort to violence and force the Campuses to cancel the talks, often just hours before the talks, and to insure the safety of all involved. It is not even clear whether the violent protesters are even students.

For the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to threaten UC Berkeley with loss of Federal Funds because some demonstrators became violent, shows not only that he needed to be correctly briefed on what happened, but also shows that he has no knowledge yet of federal funding to higher education, but also of the administrative processes of funding, of the laws and contracts of federal funding, or of the Congressional approval required for funding.

Here is what Trump tweeted: “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”

There are so many lines of counters that I want to make to this that I will just list them for now and save myself a lot of additional explaining, perhaps for later, unless today brings yet another crises.

First of all, the greatest attacker of free speech and freedom of the Press in this country is President Trump himself, often through tweets, and employing his loyal henchmen, called communicators, or press secretaries, or whatever, and all of these people are supported by, wait-for-it, FEDERAL FUNDS, that’s right, our federal taxes. Except of course, not by Trump himself, who brags about being so smart that hasn’t paid federal income taxes in 18 years. I guess this means that when he cuts off FEDERAL FUNDS he is dictatorially cutting off OUR federal funding, chosen through our Congressmen and administrative reviews, without consulting with us through an election or any other process.

In front pages, TV news shows, late night shows, and TV comedy shows for weeks, and throughout Trump’s campaign, he has attacked demonstrators exercising their free speech rights, and the press, and even has urged his supporters to attack demonstrators, which they have. If anybody has encouraged violence in this country to oppose free speech and a free press, it is Trump himself.

In a picture of the demonstrators at UC Berkeley, all are marching peacefully, except a handful at the front are in black and masked, and may have caused the problem. Just as Trump called off travel from seven countries because he had a paranoid fear of one violent actor, UC Berkeley called off the talk for public safety after some attacks on property, but not people, actually did break out. Again, UC Berkeley did not call off the talk because they feared free speech, even by the most vicious alt-right speaker that could be found.

UC Berkeley has the highest admission standards among UC campuses. The students who go there have to be the most dedicatedly studious, and smartest. They will contribute greatly to research, to California professionals in medicine, law, the sciences, our social efforts, engineering, our creative cyber and computer industries, and so on. We are very proud of them and their dedication to helping and advancing society. Trump owes them an apology if he thinks that they were responsible for the violence that called off the talk.

Speaking as a UC Irvine faculty member, we are also insulted by Trump’s assertion that the University itself, or its administrators, or its faculty interfered with the exercise of free speech. This blog would not exist without free speech. It is in the interests of free speech that I now have to daily counter Trump and his henchmen’s assaults on free speech, a free Press, and on the Constitution, which Trump swore on a stack of Bibles to uphold.

I understand that the Republican right wing and Fox News has an ongoing dodge that campuses do not employ or allow right wing teachers or speakers. I now can counter that our own Business School Professor, Peter Navarro, is now the head of Trump’s National Trade Council. While Trump and Navarro complain of foreign countries’ Currency manipulations, Navarro or Trump themselves, by a simple comment or tweet, have now been able to do that on a daily basis. So there, Fox News.

As Trump well knows, even the hint that he might cut off FEDERAL FUNDS to a University, even only in a tweet, will challenge the future of the University. There are also a thousand Universities left to threaten. Most of the FEDERAL FUNDS going to the University are in fact Pell Grants and other student support. This will immediately discourage undergraduates from applying there. Trump has therefore also threatened peer reviewed research funding, and graduate students will be afraid to go there to pursue their Ph. D.s there. The University would have trouble recruiting new faculty and keeping present faculty if their funding is threatened just because of where they go. There are ten UC campuses, many of which have had or had to call of Yiannopoulos’s talks, to whom this could also be applied. And, there are many Universities around the country who may be visited by this scourge. Is each University now to be at the hands of its Young Republicans, who can threaten to invite Yiannopoulos? Would they demand that the University hire right-wing faculty who the YRs have to approve of? Doesn’t that in itself violate free speech. I can see Universities all over the country now having to lawyer-up for this.

Young Republicans have often been the source of Republican Leaders. Why would they want to invite the most racist, misogynistic, and anti-Muslim speaker, under their sponsorship and pay, when Trump is trying to say that he and his followers are not those things, and responsible Republicans are denying them as well? Why would Trump want to back such a speaker, by threatening the FEDERAL FUNDS to one of the Nation’s greatest and most helpful Universities, especially to the economy, which Trump is pledged to advance?

I have saved the zinger for last. Milo Yiannopoulos is an editor for Breitbart News. Why would former Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon, now Trump’s Chief Strategist and member of the National Security Council, want to influence Trump to make such a strong defense of Yiannopoulos, such as to destroy America’s most prestigious public University? What happened to “Make America Great Again”. Trump has started an avalanche, which he would never stop, and which he might double down on, as usual.

==

Monsanto's Dirty Tricks Campaign Against Fired Berkeley Professor Ignacio Chapela

Posted 12/16/04.

Monsanto's dirty tricks campaign against Chapela - Interview with GM Watch

founder

excerpt from: Marina Littek of Italy's 'Green Planet' interviews Jonathan

Matthews of GM Watch

http://www.gmwatch.org/p1temp.asp?pid=49&page=1**

Q: Tell me about your involvement in uncovering who was orchestrating the

attacks on the Berkeley researcher, Ignacio Chapela.

GM WATCH: That really is a tangled web. To understand it you need to

understand what happened with the Internet campaign in 2000. In 98 and 99,

the biotech industry really took a hammering in the way that unfavourable

information exploded across the Internet. On top of that, their own PR

attempts to promote GM as the saviour of the developing world blew up in

their face. Their answer was CS Prakash, who launched his website and his

AgBioView list at the beginning of 2000, as part of a campaign that he said

was all about supporting GM crops for the developing world.

We initially took Prakash completely at face value. We saw him as a pro-GM

scientist who was genuinely standing up for a cause he believed in. But it

soon became clear that his list was being used as a conduit for black

propaganda. There was stuff on his list accusing those who were critical of

GM of everything from murder to terrorism to God knows what. GM-critical

scientists were even accused of having blood on their hands over 9/11!!

...Gradually... our research started to show us that Prakash was not

operating alone but was intimately connected to a network of rightwing

pro-corporate lobbyists. In fact, it turned out the co-founder of his

campaign was Greg Conko of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Over time,

Prakash has been forced to be more open about this CEI connection, but back

then Conko just appeared to be a contributor.

You can see why they wanted to present the whole thing as if the AgBioView

campaign were really that of a lone Indian scientist rallying the science

community to the GM cause. As soon as you admit to the CEI connection then

you have the fact that the CEI has had money out of Big Tobacco and the

likes of Dow Chemicals and Monsanto, and that it lobbies just as vigorously

against restrictions on smoking and toxic chemicals as against those on GM

crops.

By the end of 2001 our research had taken us further. We had a whole dossier

showing AgBioView was a major vehicle for covert biotech industry PR. We'd

also uncovered the involvement in all this of Monsanto's Internet PR

company, Bivings. In particular, regular poison pen attacks against critics

of GM had been appearing, principally on AgBioView, though later, they

started turning up elsewhere as well, posted in the name of 'Mary Murphy'.

We'd tracked Murphy's IP address. It was that of Bivings. We were also

interested in a similar contributor to the AgBioView list - Andura Smetacek.

:{Smetacek kept promoting the website of a fake agricultural institute which

also led back to Bivings. That website tried to link Monsanto¹s critics to

violence and terrorism.}:

At this point we teamed up with the investigative journalist Andy Rowell

whose research had helped expose the treatment of Arpad Pusztai. Andy got a

private detective on the case, trying to track down Smetacek, and we were

also getting help from a couple of technical experts. They confirmed that

Monsanto¹s Internet PR firm also had a role in designing Prakash¹s website

and that they were running the AgBioView archive off the company's server,

although they¹d tried to disguise that.

It was while we were busy tracking this, that the Berkeley researchers,

Ignacio Chapela and David Quist, had their paper on Mexican maize

contamination published. We then witnessed this vicious campaign of

vilification being unleashed on AgBioView. Chapela compared it to "being fed

to the dogs".

That campaign really impacted on coverage of the research and even led to a

kind of editorial disassociation from the paper by Nature, the scientific

journal that had published it. And the catalysts in all of this were Murphy

and Smetacek. Their hate mails against Chapela came out on AgBioView on the

very day the research was published and those mails fuelled a frenzied

campaign against the researchers with Prakash calling on the scientific

community to inundate Nature with complaints. Because we knew who the actors

were we could see the whole thing unfolding right in front of our eyes. It

was extraordinary.

The result of our research was a whole series of articles that appeared in

The Ecologist, The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired News and elsewhere, as

well as stuff on radio and TV. Importantly, alot of the coverage not only

questioned the way in which the Berkeley scientists had been attacked and

the role of Prakash, AgBioView, Monsanto¹s PR firm and so on, it also

brought into question the wider campaign to overturn the research and why

that had succeeded to the extent it had. The editor of Nature faced some

pretty tough questions about why he'd buckled when the majority of the peer

reviewers supported the principal conmclusions of the original paper, and a

lot came out about the threats against Chapela even before he published his

research.

Q: In the end I think you tracked the whole thing back directly to Monsanto.

That was an amazing break. A few weeks before the story broke, they had

suddenly suspended the AgBioView archive - my guess is that they had sussed

it pointed to Bivings¹ technical involvement. They would also have known by

then we were on their trail - we were making so many enquiries -and this was

a good way to obstruct us. But one result of all the publicity, particularly

following George Monbiot's first two Guardian articles, was that a couple of

people who¹d kept personal archives of Prakash's AgBioView from the very

start of the list, forwarded us all their Murphy and Smetacek postings. And

when we looked at the earliest postings from Smetacek we realised that they,

like all the other very early postings on the list, had gone to subscribers

with the posters¹ technical headers, ie you could track exactly where the

Smetacek mails had been e-mailed from. Smetacek in these mails presented

herself as an ordinary citizen - in fact, as a lady living in London - but

the mails¹ IP address showed they had been sent directly from Monsanto in St

Louis. George Monbiot then revealed this in The Guardian.

****************************************************************************

*****************************

This GMO news service is underwritten by a generous grant from the Newman's

Own Foundation and is a production of the Ecological Farming Association

www.eco-farm.org

==

2002 hit;

On November 29 last year, two researchers at the University of California, Berkeley published a paper in Nature magazine, which claimed that native maize in Mexico had been contaminated, across vast distances, by GM pollen. The paper was a disaster for the biotech companies seeking to persuade Mexico, Brazil and the European Union to lift their embargos on GM crops.

Even before publication, the researchers knew their work was hazardous. One of them, Ignacio Chapela, was approached by the director of a Mexican corporation, who first offered him a glittering research post if he withheld his paper, then told him that he knew where to find his children. In the US, Chapela's opponents have chosen a different form of assassination.

On the day the paper was published, messages started to appear on a biotechnology listserver used by more than 3,000 scientists, called AgBioWorld. The first came from a correspondent named "Mary Murphy". Chapela is on the board of directors of the Pesticide Action Network, and therefore, she claimed, "not exactly what you'd call an unbiased writer". Her posting was followed by a message from an "Andura Smetacek", claiming, falsely, that Chapela's paper had not been peer-reviewed, that he was "first and foremost an activist" and that the research had been published in collusion with environmentalists. The next day, another email from "Smetacek" asked "how much money does Chapela take in speaking fees, travel reimbursements and other donations... for his help in misleading fear-based marketing campaigns?"

The messages from Murphy and Smetacek stimulated hundreds of others, some of which repeated or embellished the accusations they had made. Senior biotechnologists called for Chapela to be sacked from Berkeley. AgBioWorld launched a petition pointing to the paper's "fundamental flaws".

There do appear to be methodological problems with the research Chapela and his colleagueDavid Quist had published, but this is hardly unprecedented in a scientific journal. All science is, and should be, subject to challenge and disproof. But in this case the pressure on Nature was so severe that its editor did something unparalleled in its 133-year history: last month he published, alongside two papers challenging Quist and Chapela's, a retraction in which he wrote that their research should never have been published.

So the campaign against the researchers was extraordinarily successful; but who precisely started it? Who are "Mary Murphy" and "Andura Smetacek"?

Both claim to be ordinary citizens, without any corporate links. The Bivings Group says it has "no knowledge of them". "Mary Murphy" uses a hotmail account for posting messages to AgBioWorld. But a message satirising the opponents of biotech, sent by "Mary Murphy" from the same hotmail account to another server two years ago, contains the identification bw6.bivwood.com. Bivwood.com is the property of Bivings Woodell, which is part of the Bivings Group.

When I wrote to her to ask whether she was employed by Bivings and whether Mary Murphy was her real name, she replied that she had "no ties to industry". But she refused to answer my questions on the grounds that "I can see by your articles that you made your mind up long ago about biotech". The interesting thing about this response is that my message to her did not mention biotechnology. I told her only that I was researching an article about internet lobbying.

Smetacek has, on different occasions, given her address as "London" and "New York". But the electoral rolls, telephone directories and credit card records in both London and the entire US reveal no "Andura Smetacek". Her name appears only on AgBioWorld and a few other listservers, on which she has posted scores of messages falsely accusing groups such asGreenpeace of terrorism. My letters to her have elicited no response. But a clue to her possible identity is suggested by her constant promotion of "the Centre For Food and Agricultural Research". The centre appears not to exist, except as a website, which repeatedly accuses greens of plotting violence. Cffar.org is registered to someone called Manuel Theodorov. Manuel Theodorov is the "director of associations" at Bivings Woodell.

Even the website on which the campaign against the paper in Nature was launched has attracted suspicion. Its moderator, the biotech enthusiastProfessor CS Prakash, claims to have no connection to the Bivings Group. But when Jonathan Matthews was searching the site's archives he received the following error message: "can't connect to MySQL server on apollo.bivings.com". Apollo.bivings.com is the main server of the Bivings Group.

"Sometimes," Bivings boasts, "we win awards. Sometimes only the client knows the precise role we played." Sometimes, in other words, real people have no idea that they are being managed by fake ones.

==

Ignacio Chapela (born 1959) is a microbial ecologist and mycologist at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for a 2001 paper in Nature on the flow oftransgenes into wild maize populations, as an outspoken critic of the University of California's ties to the biotechnology industry, as well as a later dispute with the University over denial of tenure that Chapela argued was politically motivated. Chapela is also notable for his work with natural resources and indigenous rights.

Contents

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• :{1:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Mycological research:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{2:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Transgene research:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{3:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Disputes with University of California:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{4:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{Activism:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{5:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{References:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{6:(style="display:table-cell"):}::{External links:(style="display:table-cell"):}:

Mycological research

In the late 1980s, Chapela did his PhD dissertation research at Cardiff University on the ecology of microbial wood-rotting fungi. He continued research on a number of areas of fungal ecology through the 1990s, as a visiting scholar at various research institutions, private companies, and NGOs, finally settling at UC Berkeley, where he has been on the faculty the Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management (ESPM) since 1996.

He has worked on the symbiosis between leafcutter ants and their cultivated fungi. His research seems to indicate that some leaf-cutter ants have "domesticated" a single lineage of fungi for over 30 million years; Chapela is currently studying this symbiosis from evolutionary and agricultural perspectives, as well as looking for ways to manipulate it.

Transgene research

Chapela was co-author (with his graduate student, David Quist) of a controversial 2001 Nature paper about the flow of transgenes into wild Mexican maize.^[1]Controversy over the accuracy of the claims and methodological concerns about the paper led to an editor's note saying there was insufficient evidence to justify the original publication. Advocates of GM crops widely, and erroneously, called this a retraction.^[2]

A subsequent study performed in 2003–2004 at two independent labs, found no evidence of transgenic DNA in Mexican maize.^[3] However, a more recent study published in the February 2009 issue of Molecular Ecology confirmed the presence of transgenic DNA in Mexican maize.^[4] The study, however, did not confirm an important conclusion from the 2001 Nature paper, namely, that the transgene-contaminated corn has replicated. Chapela is reported to have stated in response to the study, "It is good to see this...but it took seven years."^[2]

Disputes with University of California

Chapela objected to an agreement in which the department and faculty of Plant and Microbial Biology at UC Berkeley took money from Novartis in exchange for a degree of publication scrutiny and trade secrecy, taking a strong position on the issue.

Chapela was initially denied tenure at UC Berkeley in 2003, despite a unanimous vote in his favor by an ad hoc tenure committee. Supporters claim that this stems from opposition to Chapela's anti-Novartis activism from Molecular and Cell Biology faculty member Jasper Rine, who was both a member of the tenure committee and in a research relationship with the company. However, Chapela was ultimately awarded tenure in 2005.^[5][6][7][8]

Chapela has also spoken out against the deal between UC Berkeley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and British Petroleum to research the development of biofuels, which may involve genetically engineering microorganisms and plants. The grant went into effect in 2007.^{[citation needed]} The case is detailed in the German documentary Gekaufte Wahrheit - Gentechnik im Magnetfeld des Geldes (Bought Truth - Gene technology influenced by money).

Activism

Chapela founded The Mycological Facility in Oaxaca state, a facility dealing with questions of natural resources and indigenous rights, and collaborates with indigenous communities in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Ecuador on issues of rights to genetic resources. He is also an advisory board member for The Sunshine Project, an organization promoting citizens' concerns with biosafety and biowarfare.

He has appeared in several films on genetically modified organism and food systems issues, The World According to Monsanto and The Future of Food.

Chapela is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area group Retort collective.

References

1. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Quist, David; Ignacio Chapela. (2001). "Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico" (PDF). Nature 414 (6863): 541–543.doi:10.1038/35107068. PMID 11734853.
2. ^ :{Jump up to::(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^a ^b(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Chapela#cite_ref-naturenews_2-1) Dalton, Rex. (2008-11-12). "Modified genes spread to local maize". Nature 456 (7219): 149. doi:10.1038/456149a. PMID 19005518. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
3. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Wagner, Holly. (2005-08-08). "Genetically modified maize not found in southern Mexico". Ohio State University Research News. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
4. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Pineyro-Nelson A, et al. (2009). "Transgenes in Mexican maize: molecular evidence and methodological considerations for GMO detection in landrace populations". Molecular Ecology 18 (4): 750–761. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03993.x. PMC 3001031. PMID 19143938.
5. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Schwartz, Emma. (2003-04-30). "Colleagues fear professor's research may adversely affect his tenure review". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
6. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Dalton, Rex. (2004-08-04). "Review of tenure refusal uncovers conflicts of interest". Nature 430: 598. doi:10.1038/430598a. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.Archived at Archive.org, 2007-09-29.
7. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Bergman, Barry. (2005-05-21). "For controversial biology researcher Ignacio Chapela, the long and winding road ends with tenure at Berkeley". UC Berkeley NewsCenter. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
8. :{Jump up:(style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute !important;padding:0px !important;border:0px !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important"):}:^ Burress, Charles. (2005-05-21). "Embattled UC teacher is granted tenure". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-12-26.

External links

• Ignacio Chapela faculty page
• Chapela lab page
• Ignacio Chapela CV

:{Categories: 

• 1959 births
• Living people
• University of California, Berkeley faculty
• American ecologists
• Mexican ecologists
• American mycologists
• Mexican mycologists

}:

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1/12 by IC

This week BASF announced that it is moving its GMOs out of Europe. Will the English-speaking media lose its nerve and write about it? Based on past experience, my wager goes to the habitual policy of silence, and I expect that the news will continue all but unrecorded in English.  Most of us will not celebrate as we should.

Other languages do comment and give a little more detail, albeit still briefly. In German, the word is printed clearly: “BASF admits defeat”, while in French: “The number one chemical concern in the world, the German BASF has announced on 16 January 2012 that it gives up the development and marketing of new transgenic products intended for the European Union.”

Clearly put: one of the largest among the few who banked on the GMO route to do agriculture is giving up in its own home turf, defeated by public opposition to its products which evidently do not live up to expectations.

You will find some records in the business websites, mostly deploring the European hostility towards GMOs, the loss of jobs (about 150-170 in Europe, although many are relocated to North Carolina, for an overall loss of about 10 jobs altogether) and repeating again the idea that rejecting GMOs in the environment is tantamount to committing economic suicide and “rejecting the future” as if this was possible.

I say that the future holds very little promise for GMOs altogether, and BASF is only the first to have the capacity to recognize the thirty years of bad investments. They can afford this move, which is not unannounced and forms part of a year-long reconfiguration of the company to navigate tighter economic straits ahead, because they are diversified and have strengths in other fields. Monsanto and Syngenta, for comparative example, have stood in complete dependency of GMOs since their mothership companies shed them off to swim or sink on transgenic markets twelve years ago; Bayer and Dow stand somewhere in between. Where Monsanto’s stock would have floundered if they announced they were closing GMO R & D in St Louis, Missouri, BASF’s stock hardly budged on the equivalent news (it actually ticked upwards in the Frankfurt exchange) – the timing of the news release may well have been a token of deference to BASF’s partner Monsanto, protecting the latter’s stock from the shock on a day when the US stock markets are closed.

The reasons for the failure of BASF’s products in Europe are many and very diverse, but the fundamental truth stands that over the decades no real benefit has offset the proven harm caused by GMOs.  It is fine to blame “the European public”, but we know that this public is no better or worse than our own in the US or anywhere else – had there been a GMO equivalent of the iPad, masses would have thronged the streets of Europe clamoring for their use. But it may be just as true that BASF would continue to push GMOs into Europe were it not for the tireless and creative work of many hundreds of thousands, the kinds of numbers needed these days to make a self-evident point which counters accepted official policy. So I say to our European friends: embrace the credit that is hurled at you and loudly celebrate what will not be announced as your victory in the newspapers.

We are left in desolate America, though, land of government by Monsanto, where BASF is relocating its GMO headquarters (some specialty technical BASF outfits remain in Ghent and Berlin). In the North it is impossible to know where the nearest non-GMO plant may be, while in the South and in Mexico the tragedy of GMO soy- and corn-agriculture continues apace, driven by corrupt or willfully ignorant governments and against public opinion much stronger and much more vocal than what we have seen in Europe. Far from recognizing the failure of GMOs altogether, something that should have happened at least a decade ago, BASF identifies the opportunities offered by the brutal realities of the Third World, opportunities which are better capitalized with the centralization, mechanization and property-rights enforcement possible only through GMOs. As we celebrate the lifting of perhaps one third of the pressure upon Europe to give in to GMOs, let’s not forget those places where they will continue to be used as the effective spear-head of corporate biological mining of other lands.

Ignacio Chapela is Associate Professor of Microbial Ecology at the University of California, Berkeley.  He is also a Senior Researcher at GenØk, the National Center for Biosafety, Norway.

Positions that Ignacio Chapela has held:

• Microbial ecologist at the University of California at Berkeley

Ignacio Chapela was a participant or observer in the following events:

October 2000: Genetically Modified Genes Found in Native Mexican Maize

Dr. Ignacio Chapela, a microbial ecologist, and his assistant, David Quist, a graduate student at UC Berkeley, discover the presence of genetically modified (GM) genes in native Mexican maize growing in the remote hills of Oaxaca, Mexico. The contaminant genes contain DNA sequences from the cauliflower mosaic virus, which is often used as a promoter to “switch on” insecticidal or herbicidal properties in GM plants. Contamination is also found in samples from a government food store that purchases animal feed from the US. The Oaxaca region is considered to be the birthplace of maize and the world’s center of diversity for corn, “exactly the kind of repository of genetic variation that environmentalists and many scientists had hoped to protect from contamination,” the New York Times reports. Scientists worry that the genes could spread through the region’s corn population reducing its genetic diversity. Critics of genetically modified crops have long argued that the technology cannot be contained. According to Dr. Norman C. Ellstrand, evolutionary biologist at University of California at Riverside, the discovery “shows in today’s modern world how rapidly genetic material can move from one place to another.” The findings are not good news for the biotech industry which is currently lobbying Brazil, the European Union, and Mexico to lift their embargoes on genetically modified crops. [NEW YORK TIMES, 10/2/2001; MANCHESTER GUARDIAN WEEKLY, 12/12/2001; BBC, 3/13/2002] It is later learned that the contamination resulted from Oaxacan peasants planting kernels they purchased from a local feed store. Though there’s a moratorium on the growing of GM crops, there’s no such ban on animal feed containing GM seed. [COX NEWS, 10/2/2001]

Entity Tags: Bivings Group, Monsanto, David Quist, Ignacio Chapela, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources

Timeline Tags: Seeds

(Late 2001): Ecologist Warned Not To Publish Study on GM Contamination in Mexico

When Dr. Ignacio Chapela, a microbial ecologist who recently discovered the presence of genetically modified (GM) genes in Mexican maize (see October 2000), meets with a Mexican agricultural official to discuss the GM contamination, he is warned not to publish his research. Chapela later recalls in an interview with BBC Newsnight, “He [told] me how terrible it was that I was doing the research and how dangerous it would be for me to publish.” When he refuses to back off the issue, the official suggests that Chapela join a research team tasked with proving that the suspected GM genes are actually naturally occuring gene sequences similar to the ones in GM corn. “We were supposed to find this in an elite scientific research team of which I was being invited to be part of and the other people were two people from Monsanto and two people from Dupont supposedly… .” Monsanto denies its scientists were involved in any such study. Chapela also meets with Mexico’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, whose officials are concerned about the discovery. They launch their own investigation and also find evidence of contamination (see September 18, 2001). [BBC, 6/2/2002]

Entity Tags: Ignacio Chapela, Mexico, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources

Timeline Tags: Seeds

Late November 2001: Berkeley Scientists Publish Study on GM Contaminated Maize in Mexico

Berkeley grad student David Quist and Dr. Ignacio Chapela, a microbial ecologist, publish the results of a study (see October 2000) finding that native Mexican maize has been contaminated with genetically modified genes. The study—published by the British journal Nature after an eight-month long peer-review process—presents two arguments. In addition to reporting the discovery that some of Oaxaca’s maize contains transgenic material, the paper says they found transgene fragments scattered throughout the plants’ modified DNA.[QUIST AND CHAPELA, 11/29/2001 ] The study’s second conclusion causes a controversy because it contradicts the assertions of the biotech industry that genetic engineering is a safe and exact science, and that the technology is capable of controlling precisely where the modified sequences are positioned, how they will be expressed, and whether or not they will be passed on to successive generations. One of the main arguments of the technology’s detractors is that the methods used to insert trangenic genes into an organism’s DNA cannot be done with accuracy and therefore are liable to produce unpredictable and undesirable effects. Following the publication of Quist and Chapela’s article, other Berkeley biologists—who work in a Berkeley University program partially funded by Syngenta, a major biotech firm—criticize the study, leading Quist and Chapela to acknowledge that the analyses of two of the eight gene sequences in their paper were flawed. However they stand by their conclusions that the remaining six sequences contained scattered modified gene sequences. Critics of the article also note that both Quist and Chapela strongly oppose the genetic engineering of crops and participated in an unsuccessful effort to block the Berkeley-Syngenta partnership. The issue soon grows into a very large controversy that some suggest is fueled by the efforts of the biotech industry, and in particular, the Bivings Group, a PR firm on Monsanto’s payroll. Forum postings at AgBioWorld.org are reportedly traced to a Bivings’ employee. It is also noted that another person posting on the forum makes “frequent reference to the Center for Food and Agricultural Research, an entity that appears to exist only online and whose domain is [allegedly] registered to a Bivings employee.” Bivings denies that it is in any way connected to the forum postings. In spite of the controversy surrounding the article’s second finding, the other conclusion, that Mexico’s maize has been contaminated, is largely uncontested, and is buttressed by at least three other studies (see January 2002; February 19, 2003-February 21, 2003). [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 4/4/2002; EAST BAY EXPRESS, 5/29/2002; BBC, 6/2/2002; MOTHER JONES, 7/9/2002]

Entity Tags: Monsanto, Bivings Group, David Quist, Ignacio Chapela, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources

Timeline Tags: Seeds

April 2002: British Science Journal Pulls Support for Article on GM Contamination in Mexico

In an unprecedented move, Nature runs an editorial pulling its support for a controversial study by Berkeley scientists David Quist and Dr. Ignacio Chapela on genetic contamination of native Mexican maize. The study, published the previous fall (see Late November 2001), reported that native maize in Oaxaca had been contaminated with genetically modified (GM) genes and that transgene fragments were found scattered throughout the plants’ modified DNA. Immediately after being published, the article came under attack by pro-GM scientists who disputed Quist’s and Chapela’s second finding. “In light of these discussions and the diverse advice received, Nature has concluded that the evidence available is not sufficient to justify the publication of the original paper,” the journal’s editor, Philip Campbell, writes. “As the authors nevertheless wish to stand by the available evidence for their conclusions, we feel it best simply to make these circumstances clear, to publish the criticisms, the authors’ response and new data, and to allow our readers to judge the science for themselves.” Though the journal withdraws its support, it does not retract the article. [ASSOCIATED PRESS, 4/4/2002; EAST BAY EXPRESS, 5/29/2002; MOTHER JONES, 7/9/2002] The decision to withdraw support is based on the opinions of three unnamed independent experts whom Nature consulted. Only one of those experts, however, disputed Quist’s and Chapela’s finding that there was evidence of contamination. All three agreed that the second finding—that transgene fragments were scattered throughout the plants’ modified DNA—was flawed. [BBC, 6/2/2002]

Entity Tags: David Quist, Ignacio Chapela, Philip Campbell

Timeline Tags: Seeds

http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=ignacio_chapela

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robert reich

 ucb bob kagan,

Robert A. Kagan

Title: Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law (Emeritus); Professor of Political Science (Emeritus); Professor in the Graduate School

Email Address: rkagan@law.berkeley.edu

Robert A. Kagan began teaching political science at Berkeley in 1974, and in 1988 he also became a member of the Boalt faculty. From 1993 to 2004, with an interval in 2001, he was Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Society. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University

gordon silverstein now at yale bork 

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