UC Berkeley tries to cut off trespassing tree people’s supplies; city council balks
This is getting really, really ridiculous. Last week, I noted the latest developments in the 18-month standoff between the UC Berkeley administration and the city’s moonbatty, trespassing tree people (see here and here).
Well, after all that, there are still nine idiots perched in the trees. The school erected barricades to prevent the tree people’s enablers from bringing them food and beverages. Now, the city council is balking–and demanding that the campus take down the fences:
A group of tree-sitters’ 18-month-long standoff with UC Berkeley intensified Monday, as the city of Berkeley demanded the protesters be allowed food and water.
“The city’s concern is that even though there’s not a lot of sympathy for the tactics utilized by the people in the trees, we do feel their health and safety should not be put at risk,” said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. “To starve people out of the trees does not seem rational.”
What’s nuts is the city tolerating 18 months of lawlessness by its citizens, and then turning around and telling the school to abide by the law:
The tree-sitters have been in the grove since Dec. 1, 2006 hoping to save 44 redwoods, oaks, laurels and other trees the university wants to remove to build a sports training facility. A judge ruled last week that the university’s plan mostly complies with state law but a few safety and legal issues - including the value of Memorial Stadium - must be addressed before it can proceed.
The plaintiffs - the city of Berkeley, a neighborhood group and the California Oak Foundation - will submit a sample judgment to the court today. The university will submit its response Friday, and the judge will rule.
Relations between the city and university, already strained over the lawsuit, appeared to worsen over the weekend. City and university officials have been discussing the situation but have not agreed over the barriers or how to handle the protest.“If the university wants to take this approach with the tree-sitters, they can do it on their property, not on our property,” said City Councilwoman Dona Spring. “It’s an urgent situation with the protesters’ health.”
The City Council is meeting in closed session tonight to discuss the lawsuit, and will probably talk about the protest during open session. But the city probably can’t do much to change the situation on Piedmont Avenue.
“We’re not going to intervene,” Bates said. “This is on their private property. We’re just trying to get the university to look at the situation and act rationally and abide by the laws we do have.”
If I were a UC Berkeley donor, I’d be raising holy hell.
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Just cut the damn things down with the people in them. They’ve had fair warning.
This is disgusting! 18 months? The stench & the inconvenience must be horrible. Thrash them I say! Thrash them out of those trees!
Too bad Berkely isn’t expecting a wicked storm with 75 mile per hour winds so that nature itself would knock these loons out of their perches….
Mother nature’s own way of saying, “Knock this crap off”
Rational compared to thinking humans could live in trees indefinitely?
“Rational” packed its bags and left Berkeley years ago.
I note that Berkeley would rather have the protestors than the Marines.
Berkeley and its city council have become the poster child for everything that’s wrong in this country.
You can point out that they are nothing but the laughingstock of the entire country, and they won’t understand it, nor will they understand sarcasm or satire.
The really hilarious thing about it all is that they take themselves seriously, and expect everyone else to, too. They really believe that everyone will fall into lockstep behind them as they parade towards their vision of the Promised Land.
They don’t realize that not only has their time passed, but that it never was in the first place. Even many of the moonbats in the Bay Area are beginning to hold them up in derision. How much lower can you go than that?
Maybe whale poop in the bottom of the Marianas Trench?
Is there an immunization being developed to protect the rest of us from the Brain-eating/Common Sense destroying/Hate America disease that has decimated areas like Berkley, Portland Oregon, SanFagcisco????
I use to think the Immunization/prevention was the GOP, but lately it seems many of them (We won’t mention any names, but one major one’s initials are “John S. McCain”) have been horribly infected, and appear lost causes.
They could help subsidize the cost of letting them stay up there by having a b-b rent-a-gun booth.
$20 a minute, all the b-b’s you can use.
DEFINITELY a snort-worthy moment.
I would have to give that comment & situation 4 snorts.
Hasn’t this cost them over $300,000 already? C’mon people, wake up already!! What happened to the rule of law in this country?
-JHSH
Of course! The Marines support this evil nation! The protestors are far less likely to pursue anything that does our country any good.
Well, here we go again with my solution to this.
Spotlights…24 hours a day from various angles…make them blink on and off as well.
Add in some opera played at chipmunk speed using directed sound enclosures aimed at the treebats. Maybe even have the lights blink on and off to the music.
Finally hook up a machine to slightly shake the trees…always. Not enough to make them fall off or it would be a lawsuit, just enough so you are never truly comfortable.
And only allow prune juice, guacamole and corn for them to eat and drink.
Then just stand back and wait…they’ll be down soon enough
Simple solution … post a start date for the construction … fence the entire construction area off and post no trespassing signs and security guards for the site … next bring in the bulldozers and start knocking down trees all around them until the trees they occupy are the only ones left … give them one last chance to come down on their own … then put some of those big thick movie stunt landing pads around the trees just in case and rock their world a bit when the bulldozers start coming after the occupied trees … they’ll come down one way or the other … I can guarantee you there are no “martyrs” amongst them …
The University went to court and got a judge to rule that the tree squatters were violating the law. Any one that assists the squatters can be arrested. So, the mayor and city council wants the University to violate a judges order and help people that are tresspassing and fouling its property.
Think about that one for a minute and you will realize the the elected officials in Berkeley are absolutely, certifiably, undeniably INSANE.
Fly over them with a Cessna and drop manure on them. Do that a few times and it will be over.
Perfect for moonbats, safe, biodegradable, and renewable. The residual manure can be used for lanscaping.
Well if I were in charge I would use an environmentally conscious approach. You know, ant bombs, mosquito larvae, chiggers etc, whatever you can get a supply of.
-Southpaw
Sounds to me like the mayor and city council could be arrested for assisting the squatters. Wouldn’t THAT be great!
It already exists. It is called a demanding job doing productive work. It gives one a sense of satisfaction and leaves no time or energy to engage in these games. Plus it forces one to deal with the world as it is, not what you wish it should be. These moonbats obviously need to be inoculated.
Chewbacca thinks this is whack.
A compromise proposal for JT and BrianF1967:
Use directed sound enclosures to play Brown Note and let moonbats create their own fertilizer.
Free Dumpster Muffin! Pigs of Campus! Trees Are People Too!
To paraphrase Eric Cartman, what a load of tree huggin’ hippie crap. If Berkeley won’t secede from the US, is there any way to simply expel it?
What’s the difference between them and a suicide jumper on the Golden Gate bridge? Would the city bring them snacks and juice too? Their lawlessness brought on their predicament. Give them a deadline then when it passes, set up the air bags and knock them out of the trees. And what if they had fallen to their deaths when they first climbed the trees? Would the school and city have been liable for that too?They are responsible for the consequences not the city or the school.
Perhaps the police should put up loudspeakers and play military band music, the National Anthem, “God Bless America” and an endless loop of GW Bush speeches…that would make the moonbats surrender.
mmmmmmm chiggers. Verrrry insidious. Verrry effective. Fire ants would be a good addition too.
Imagine what’ll happen when the people who share this mindset actually get into public office.
But not a dime more until they get their affairs in order.
Planet California. The #1 byword of 2008.
Screw it. Call in an airstrike.
OK, that was fantasy. Just have a drone circle the stadium, and Dumpster Muffin will work herself into a screaming frenzy and fall out.
Good lord. I must take a trip to Berkeley and show these people how a redneck with a hand full of rocks gets things out of trees.
How about a trampoline and a tranquilizer gun? It works to remove bears from trees in New Jersey!
Send up a coon-huntin’ monkey. Give him a flashlight and a sharp “stabb”(a stick) & he’ll stabb em’ out of that tree.
# 27 and # 29, you are way too funny!
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by the tree-sitters, only in San Francisco. Things around here is gettin’ weirder and weirder.
I filter all my drinking water - twice.
If Gitmo is any guide, anything other than providing them comfort items is considered torture.
I do think a wake up call every so often would do the trick. Bright lights and blaring music for about five minutes, then let them fall back asleep and in twenty minutes or so, here it goes again! Then during the day they could offset the cost of dealing with these people by charging admission to their new paintball field. I know I’d pay to get a couple of shots at a hippie.
Disclaimer: Before you trolls try to neuter this site into wussification, I don’t want to see them seriously hurt.
TIMMMMMBEEEEERRRR!!!!!
If only we had the Riot Act, we could do this.
What we need accompanying this story is a cost calculator.
There must be someway to add up the total cost in dollars to the city of berkeley and or the county/state. Whoever.
That could possibly be a thing of beauty as we see wasted dollars going up that tree.
ok … for those that want to have an airstrike … how about this …
drop massive amounts of honey on them followed by an invasion of honey bees and honey bears …
problem solved …
oldcollegeguy1980
once you get that total figured out I think the tree huggers should get the bill with interest from day one …
How about instant foam? Spray it in, wait a few and wait for them to beg to be let out.
That’s right RedDog and we do have an illegal (migrant) fire ant problem that needs solving. I say we make that area a fire ant sanctuary.
Yeah, but if you were a UC Berkeley donor, you’d be a complete moron.
Which you are not.
I don’t know why everyone is trying to think of ways to get them down. Let Berkeley and the University fight it out. Every hour that they’re up the tree makes them all look more and more like the national laughingstock they are. Hoist with their own petards, as it were.
Tx vet;
I said basically the same thing in an earlier thread.
I hope this fiasco goes all throughout the summer. In fact there needs to be even more visuals of all the hand wringing madness that goes on around this circus.
Some national braodcast should make this an evening update. Position a camera there for the live feed. We could watch the nut in the tree/box raise and lower their waste to a nut under the tree. We could be placing bets on many of the goings on. There is a lot of lost commerce that could be happening around this event.
This is a classic learning opportunity. Teach economics and have fun. I am not in favor of ending this anytime soon. In fact the larger the cost to berkeley the better.
The good people there created this mess. They own it.
Point one: The “tree frogs” put their own health and safety at risk. They can climb down anytime they feel endangered. Berkeley City Council…butt out! You have shown no common sense recently, and are the last ones to offer a solution.
Point two: Starving the “tree frogs” is not rational? How about climbing and living in a tree on property not your own is not rational?
Law enforcement can declare the offenders 51-50 (W&I Code), due to their irrational behavior, and have them removed and hospitalized for 72 hrs. Meanwhile, cut down the trees. Problem solved.
Here’s a front row seat to the Berkeley moonbat experience.
http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2008/6/22/556641/oak-grove-update-3-sacred
Warning: Drinking beverages while viewing may cause damage to monitor and keyboard.
Alas… let us not forget the age-old question…
“Don’t these people have jobs?”
I ask you - what insane logic allows these idiots to do this for as long as they have? Obviously, they don’t have families to support. Who is supporting them while they make a mockery of the legal system and society in general? Who pays their bills? Who buys their food?
Please please tell us that there’s a video.
Could be risky; it might just spawn more of them.
I think these poor folks are suffering from a lack of water. I propose a large hose aimed at the tree top with a gentle spray 24/7. We mustn’t let the poor dears dehydrate.
And then, to ensure they do not wilt from lack of nourishment, sprinkle them with birdseed. Let them commune with nature. Between the water and the bird noise and droppings, they’ll likely jump.
BSR
Bwa! With regard to their urine, I’d ask some to send down a sample for testing for dehrydration etc, but remember to double-check it for hashish.
Or just tell them if they don’t come down now, you’ll beat them in the back ’til it turn mauve.
Danceswithdachshunds said:
rambler said:
How about a trampoline and a tranquilizer gun? It works to remove bears from trees in New Jersey!
Please please tell us that there’s a video.
I think 24 hour a day loud speakers playing Rush Limbaugh. Throw in a little Hannity and Boortz to give them a break.
Anyone got a few hornets nests to drop from a crane onto the trees?
The PERFECT way to get these people to WANT to leave is erect a flag pole with Old Glory waving right next to their tree. Then put a loud speaker playing the National Anthem, America the Beautiful, and other Patriotic songs.
They’ll run away screaming, then.
(think of your best Ed McMahon voice)
And now in Berkeley, One Day Only, the World Famous Hegins Pidgin Shoot!!!
ps it should have been Pigeon but I saw their spokeperson on the tube.
WOW! What great suggestions!
I can’t decide between the paintball guns, the tranquilizer guns and the fire ants! Can we do all three?
Add in the mats at the base of the trees so that when they fall, they can go back up and start the fun all over again!
/no sarc!
The best thing to do is to ignore them.
Only in a country like ours and in a century like this do people have the leisure time to climb a tree and live like a woodpecker.
This is a luxury.
When my kids were in college they were too busy holding multiple jobs, competing in sports and getting good grades. They didn’t have time to climb trees and act like a nutball.
Someone is paying the bills for these people.
What happens if they get struck by lightning? Is it the fault of bad karma from the university? China?
If they are struck by lightining, dollars to dounuts, some lawyers will represent them and sue the university.
What if they get hit by lighting or a major storm comes through and blows them out of their perches? What happens if they get crippled for life by landing on their heads?
Where is the common sense? Where are their parents? I would be humiliated if my kids were this stupid.
Also, if these people are so brave, why do they cover their faces and give themselves weird monikers?
Where is Freud when we need him? This is nuts! In the middle ages, these people would have been burnt at the stake as witches or banned from their villages.
But we all know, every village needs an idiot and Berkley has theirs.
There are only 6 people… cut down the remaining 38 trees!!!!! If there are only 6 trees, they will come down.
Hi everyone. I live about 2 miles north of Berkeley. I went to grad school there. Some of you may not realize that the University and the city are politically distinct. The city of Berkeley has no jurisdiction over the UC campus or anything that happens there. UC has its own police force. The city’s only leverage with the university is to threaten to sue them over use of city streets or other infrastructure by students and faculty. The city cannot tax the university and can’t force it to pay anything without suing. UC is exempt from all local zoning laws, so the city has nothing to say about the new stadium.
The filthy hippies in the trees are not students, or if they were 18 months ago they aren’t now. The university goes on, mostly oblivious to the whole thing. It has become a cause celebre among the local townie hippies, though.
Post this sign.
“Over $300,000 of YOUR taxes has been wasted over 18 months to preserve a grove of trees PLANTED by this school only forty years ago. The planned facility grounds include a LARGER grove of trees.
How noble is it to laugh and throw one’s own feces at another human being?”
It should be noted that Berkeley is also in the grips of Obama-mania. He’s a god in this town. You’re lookin’ at your future if he becomes President…
Ignoring after eighteen months is dangerous. Letting this go eighteen months is dangerous. Let them protest for a day or two, then enforce the law. Lawlessness without consequences leads to anarchy.
But we all know, every village needs an idiot but Berkley is a village of idiots.
Tranq darts! Seriously, I see a new Cabela’s viedo game in the making… shoot the hippies out of the trees without being sued. Could be a classic!
Sounds like criminal trespass anywhere else in the country.
Oooh, I like. Plus, the lawsuit against the university for “torture” will be entertainment gold.
Send in the Orangutans.
Typical liberal left. They are so worried about upsetting peoples’ “feelings” and worried about being sensitive to other liberals’ so-called “rights”. No wonder nothing has been done. If anything is done to move them out, it might make the protesters upset. Can’t have that. They want to “understand” them. Sounds like some in our national government.
The orangutans are picketing the Marine Corps recruiting station and unavailable for tree duty.
UGH - I should have gone home while the gettin was good. Now, I am scared for life. Thanks DHD. Use blinders before you click that link people. Like this
JUMP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyone got a bow and arrow?
Cut down the trees! To quote KOS ’screw them”.
I like the speakers idea - they have these severely directional speakers now that will pop your eardrums from 100 yards if you set them to “stun” power-levels…
What effect will the speakers have when playing the Brown Note?
The thing I’m finding interesting at this point is that even when they collect large numbers of food and water bearing supporters there’s not enough leadership to figure out how to get some into the trees. There’s really only five or six instigators on the ground that the police have all neutralized and the lemmings don’t know what to do. Photos and video here: http://www.protestshooter.com/20080622Oaks/
Kate and i can get em out of them trees….LOL
Protest Shooter, I had been meaning to send you a small donation, and after seeing your latest report I did just that.
It is not much but I do appreciate your work.
These people are stark raving mad…and they suffer tunnel vision, they can see only the end of what they think is noble…as saving one tree…if there were no guns in the world…etc. In the history of the world these people were outcasts no one paid them any attention. This was not fair, they are people too, So I guess the only fair thing to do now is to put them in charge of some stuff, like our security our food and our energy supply. How Noble we are, we are willing to put our very lives at great risk just so these piss ants can finally gather some self esteem. Of course we are missing a very big consequence of our actions, when we are gone who will provide protection to these ding bats?