As usual, the reason why Berkley's take on national politics is the lack of cohesive thinking.  

They share one trait with their nemesis the president: fuzzy thinking.

If Berkley wants to protest the war, protest the war.

But if they want to protest the recruitment into the Marines, there won't be any logic found in their over-dramatized prose nor any semblance to reality.

However, that said, there are serious reasons to be worried about U.S. military recruitment tactics.  The most serious is their recent practise of waiving criminal records, including felonies.

Another is the general downturn in standards as the military finds it harder to harder to recruit for an unpopular war. There's been a spike since the Iraq war began of falsifications of records by the military's recruiting officers.

I tried to link the two articles talking about these two problems, but I am hideously bad at tech things, so I offer the links straight out (sorry it's so ugly):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/us/14military.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1171429200&en=c0cc079ae8 7389d4&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/nyregion/27recruit.html?pagewanted=4

When the concept of civil disobedience was proposed - one key element was to be prepared to accept the consequences of breaking the law. You protest and you peacefully go to jail.

Somewhere along the way the way the "go to jail" part got dropped by modern protesters. The result has been violent action by some protestors at conferences like the G8, world economic forum etc. People have used the perceived anonymity of crows to act out their anarchistic fantasies. Destroying the plate glass of a starbucks store and burning a few SUV's shows the man...well shows him something!

Now you have activist groups seeking permits from the government, and in this particular case allied with local government to protest government foreign policy - in a location which has virtually no control over said policy. The level of emasculation and south-park level planning necessary to achieve this is stunning.

Why not protest outside Rep. Barbara Lee's office? Surely she as the federal representative in congress has far more control over what the marine's are doing than the local recruiting center? If the city and Code Pink wants to take a stand against the federal government why not target Rep. Nancy Pelosi who coincidentally has offices nearby as well?

Moreoever -- why target the marines and not the army? Surely the army has a greater military presence in Iraq?

I'm not such much disappointed that people are protesting the Iraq War, but that the protest is so weak and misdirected.  

Memory is a strange bell, jubilee and knell.

First off, what a bunch of idiots. I could almost respect the city position if they had said "We are against the war, and even though this office is mostly clerical in nature for recruiting officer selectees we are still against the war in any way shape or form. Therefore, we surrender all federal money and take whatever punishment from the Federal and state level is handed out to make a point." That is a true non-violent protest, akin to true heroes like Gandhi or Dr. King. Did they do that? No. They pulled some weak-ass grade school shenanigans and once the government contemplated a response that would hit them in the wallet they cried. Come on.

Second, what in the world is up with Code Pink? I agree to an extent with the words of the Marine officer in charge of recruitment in that area. He didn't authorize the war, he is just doing his job, and frankly, that office has no control over foreign policy. If Code Pink really has a problem with the war, they can pull their juvenile shenanigans outside the offices or home of their local representatives, Senator, or take the dog and pony show on the road to DC and chill outside the White House. Don't go acting like jackasses in front of a military office where the only people involved are educated folks who know what they are getting into (not the high school kids Code Pink claims to want to protect). Also, is anybody else here uncomfortable with the city granting Code Pink designated parking rights in front of that office? Wouldn't that open up a 14th amendment claim of equal protection clause for anti-abortionists or another group that Berkeley would likely detest to demanding reserved parking in front of a protest site of their choice? What a bunch of short sighted morons.

Also, does Code Pink, et al, really have to be so obnoxious in their protests? Could their actions actually be hurting the anti-war movement in a broader sense? Everybody ripped on Ron Paul for his fervent supporters for posting signs all over the place and being active, so imagine what people who watch their protests feel about the peace movement now? Finally both Berkeley and Code Pink give the anti-war movement a bad name.

That is all.

Do those idiotic senators know that UC Berkeley just happens to be located in Berkeley, and that the city of Berkeley is a separate entity, and that cutting off grant funding for UC Berkeley will only hurt students at UCB?  Do they know that John "Dr. Yes" Yoo teaches at Boalt Hall?

That being said, I have lived in the East Bay nearly all my life, and while Berkeley enjoys this freethinking reputation, I have never encountered more self-satisfied, pontificating, know-it-all, lecture-me-on-how-to-live-my-life assholes than in Berkeley.  Underneath all that hair and patchouli - assholes.

sierra tango foxtrot uniform

I believe these sanctimonious flamboyant left-coast dumb-asses do the endless-war-for-profit machine a HUGE favor with their 'protest'.  They make themselves out to be such incredibly stupid idiots that they inspire nothing but widespread contempt and derision from just about anyone who is not a self-righteous pothead asshole.  Thanks a lot Berkley - all you have shown us that your town has enough concentrated fruit-loops in it to force your local government to embarrass all of you with this shit - you haven't done the anti-war effort any good.

Serious people can't take this pathetic example of 'protest' seriously so these tie-dye and giant-puppet-on-a-unicycle morons serve as a very uncomfortable reminder that the term 'loony-left' is sometimes a very appropriate label.  I hate this fucking war, I hate this evil torture loving government, I hate that I am surrounded by people who want to consume a bunch of ridiculous 'American Exceptionalism' fiction about what is going on in the world rather than face any ugly truths about what violence for profit has gone on and continues to go on while Americans avoid giving a shit about anything just as long as they can anesthetize themselves with consumer comfort like mythological lotus eaters.

A bunch of Berkley hippie side show freaks are not the antidote to the massive pageant of evil that has been unfolding and continues to unfold.  The United States Marines are not the problem.  The problem is each and every one of us who is awake  who doesn't try each day to nudge someone else out of their lotus eating dream.  It is a discouraging  and thankless task almost guaranteed to engender massive depression in anyone who attempts it, the truth is really that awful and the odds of making any difference are very, very low.

Crapping on the USMC only offends those whom you need to communicate with and by association makes it harder for 'normal' people opposed to the war to be heard.

"...when theft and high crime becomes obscenely obvious to even the blindest beer sucking idiot, it is always the Republicans who are in office." -- Joe Bageant