February 4, 2017

"I was there for part of last night, and I know what I saw and those people were not Berkeley students. Those people were outside agitators. I have never seen them before."

Said UC Berkeley professor and former Democratic Secretary of Labor Robert Reich — about the rioters who succeeded in shutting down a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos.
"There’s rumors that they actually were right-wingers. They were a part of a kind of group that was organized and ready to create the kind of tumult and danger you saw that forced the police to cancel the event. So Donald Trump, when he says Berkeley doesn’t respect free speech rights, that’s a complete distortion of the truth.”

“You think it’s a strategy by [Milo Yiannopoulos] or right-wingers?” asked host Don Lemon.

“I wouldn’t bet against it,” Reich said. “I saw these people. They all looked very– almost paramilitary. They were not from the campus. I don’t want to say factually, but I’ve heard there was some relationship here between these people and the right-wing movement that is affiliated with Breitbart News.”
Yes, they did look "almost paramilitary." Here's a description:
Black-clad protesters wearing masks threw commercial-grade fireworks and rocks at police. Some even hurled Molotov cocktails that ignited fires. They also smashed windows of the student union center on the Berkeley campus where the Yiannopoulos event was to be held.
They wore masks. It's ludicrous to say "I have never seen them before" when you are talking about people who hid their faces with masks.

How can you say they were from the "outside" and "not from the campus" when you can't see who they are? Even if you could see the faces, how could you know if you were looking at students? Reich may be a Berkeley professor, but there are over 38,000 students at Berkeley. He can't recognize them all.

Is he relying on some sort of stereotype of what Berkeley students look like?



That's a microaggression against students who don't look like the stereotype.

Although Reich went to Yale Law School — he's currently a professor not of law but public policy — he does not use weaseling language to say something without saying anything. That makes it easier to cry "fake news" on him as he wafts his theory.

But that doesn't mean his theory is wrong. It might be true. It's interesting to hear a person of the left say "outside agitators."

"Outside agitators" was a classic phrase used against civil rights workers. Here it is in a classic context from 1963:
While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."...
I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in."...

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here....

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
The last time I looked Berkeley was inside the United States.

212 comments:

1 – 200 of 212   Newer›   Newest»
PB said...

You could randomly select 150 students from the Berkeley campus and he still could claim he's never seen them before.

Why is all the violence on the left?

rehajm said...

Taranto: How about a federal investigation to clear this matter up?

tcrosse said...

No arrests ? Why not ? Cui bono ?

Xmas said...

If the former secretary of labor is making a claim that he doesn't know about the IWW and Black Bloc protest methods, then he is the shittiest secretary of labor we've ever had.

traditionalguy said...

This is the actual Nazi, Soros, running his paid brown shirt thug teams to cause Chaos, and thus overthrow the elected President and Congress of the USA. Poor Soros still thinks his European was are enough to conquer America. Stay tuned.

Original Mike said...

"So Donald Trump, when he says Berkeley doesn’t respect free speech rights, that’s a complete distortion of the truth.”

Riiiiight, because there's no precedent for lefties shutting down conservative speakers on campus.

David Begley said...

The police should have immediately arrested everyone in masks. That's the story.

When the Left occupied the Wisconsin State Capitol, were masked people allowed to run around and protest? I think not.

traditionalguy said...

The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age.

Original Mike said...

"Taranto: How about a federal investigation to clear this matter up?"

Hard to do when you don't arrest any of them. Hey! Ya don't think......?

rehajm said...

I don’t want to say factually...

i.e.
'I want to lie'.

alan markus said...

Whenever I see Robert Reich's name, I conjure up an image of Hitler.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age

He lives in California, works in Berkeley, at a university, as a professor.....the whole Bay Area, Hell practically the whole State of California is fantasy land central and he is surrounded daily with the residents of fantasy land.

When you live in an echo chamber and shout really loudly, all you can hear is yourself.

Hagar said...

But we have seen them before. It used to be quite the thing to jet around the world following international economic conferences, etc., and do this sort of thing.

Guildofcannonballs said...

But do we know if they're white, like the interlopers Al Sharpton almost had murdered ala the death he provoked at Freddie's Fashion Mart?

Al thought race was important and he is a distinguished White House guest, or was until recently at least, who also had his own prime time hour on MSNBC. No small potatoes.

Let's find out what race the rioters claim to be, today, so we can know how to best precede with consideration of only the specific races in numbers we choose to identify as belonging to our cause, as of this moment.

Michael K said...

There are a few people trying to infiltrate the anarchist groups to learn more about them but they are very dangerous people.

Here is an account of one group trying to infiltrate.

While most of our operatives started and stayed with one specific group, I was unable to initially penetrate the group I was responsible for infiltrating. I had to work my way up the ladder, moving from one group to another in order to achieve my objective. In my migration from group to group, I found that political ideology was a significant factor in the determination of what types of activities the groups would sponsor; ranging from sit-ins to marches to direct action. I can broadly classify these ideologies as liberal socialists, communists and anarchists.

The liberal socialists are primarily coming out of our higher education system. They are comprised of professors, students and under-employed graduates. They are primarily white with a roughly equal split between male/female. They are not militant. They are willing to conduct blockades, marches and sit-ins.

The communists are a much broader spectrum of society with a strong leaning towards immigration issues. The communists actively recruit from a wide pool of candidates, including liberal socialists, the LBGT community, the environmental activists and the anti-white racist groups (Black Lives Matter, La Raza, Islamic Fundamentalists, etc.). They have a significant number of minorities in their ranks and they are militant in their operations and planning.


Interesting, if long, account.

rehajm said...

The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age.

When you stare into crotches all day you become skilled in crafting your own realities.

Original Mike said...

"They wore masks. It's ludicrous to say "I have never seen them before" when you are talking about people who hid their faces with masks."

I'm guessing Don Lemmon let that slide.

Bob Ellison said...

Reich has never been over-burdened with smarts.

Sprezzatura said...

Althouse seems to be seeing a lot of wafting around her.

Projection is as projection does.



Carry on.

Karen of Texas said...

Just going to leave this right here.

David Begley said...

Bob Ellison

Reich was a Rhodes Scholar with Bill Clinton.

Curious George said...

"rehajm said...
The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age.

When you stare into crotches all day you become skilled in crafting your own realities."

And when half the time you're smelling asses you long for crotches.

rhhardin said...

A Rush caller said that since Reich is only 4'10" tall he'd be unlikely to see anything at all in a riot.

Kevin said...

"Is he relying on some sort of stereotype of what Berkeley students look like?"

No, he's relying on the fact that his side needs talking points. They do not need to be true, or even evidence-based. They simply need to exist to help those who otherwise might begin to doubt they are on the right side of history.

As Obama has taught us, the right side of history blows away all unsupportive facts.

rhhardin said...

Derbyshire reminds us that the anniversary of Trevon Martin is coming up so we can expect a fake news retrospective, a best of fake news, on the matter.

hiswiserangel said...

One of them has already been identified as a UC-Berkeley employee. Check out AOSHQ.

rehajm said...

Reich was a Rhodes Scholar with Bill Clinton.

Does not necessarily invalidate Bob's observation.

Gilbert Pinfold said...

The single arrested rioter turns out to be a UC Berkley staff member; see
http://theralphretort.com/uc-berkeley-rioter-exposed-works-university-203017/

Larry J said...

If this story is accurate, one of the rioters has stupidly outed himself on Twitter. He works for the university.

http://theralphretort.com/uc-berkeley-rioter-exposed-works-university-203017/

Laslo Spatula said...

“Rioter Job Applicant.”

“I have many years of experience in the Agitation field, including functioning as a major organizer in the 1999 Seattle WTO protests. In fact, I was among the first to target Starbucks Locations for window smashing — indeed, people today are still following my lead…

I am fluent in Black Bloc, and have my own extensive gear: black clothing, sunglasses, Vaseline, ball bearings, glue for locks and a keffiyeh…

I keep myself in prime physical shape, focusing on the strength and agility needed to kick in windows, overturn dumpsters for fires and for resisting arrest…

I am currently looking for a sponsor to provide travel and lodging expenses so I can Fight The Power wherever it is needed. I have very reasonable rates, depending on the level of ‘disobedience’ you require…

I have experience with giving Journalists good quotes, and am willing to do so with your prepared statements and talking points…

As a sponsor, I will wear a T-shirt with the slogan you select — please inquire, I probably already have the one that you are looking for: ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘No Justice No Peace,’ ‘Hands Up Don’t Shoot, ‘Fuck Capitalism’ and ‘Die Fascist Scum’ to name a few…

I am ready for whatever your needs may be; please contact me through the usual channels…

I am Laslo.

dustbunny said...

Mr. McCleery: Are you a student?
Benjamin: Not exactly.
Mr. McCleery: What's that?
Benjamin: I said 'Not exactly.' No.
Mr. McCleery: What are ya then?
Benjamin: Oh, I'm just sorta travelin' through.
Mr. McCleery: I like to know who's living in my house. Like to know what my boys are up to.
Benjamin: I'm not up to much, actually. I'm just visiting. I mean, I've always wanted to see Berkeley.
Mr. McCleery: You're not one of those agitators?
Benjamin: What?
Mr. McCleery: One of those outside agitators?
Ben: Oh no.
Mr. McCleery: I hate that. I won't stand for it. I won't stand for that.

mockturtle said...

And, did these throngs of peaceful demonstrators do anything to try to stop these 'outside agitators'?

Curious George said...

Putting this idiocy aside, there were thousands of people that were clearly students at the protest. And twelve idiot professors called for cancellation of Milo's talk:

“We believe wholeheartedly in free speech and in the presentation of views that may be controversial or disturbing, politically or personally,” said David Landreth, one of the 12 professors who authored the letter, in an email. “However, Mr. Yiannopoulos’s public talks routinely veer into direct personal harassment of individuals; they often also call for such harassment and aim to incite it.”

So "when he says Berkeley doesn’t respect free speech rights, that’s a complete distortion of the truth.” is a steaming pile.

chickelit said...

@Althouse: What about the "Berkeley Of The Midwest"? Have there been no anti-Trump rumblings on the Madison campus?

mockturtle said...

Well done, Laslo!

Michael K said...

Berkeley, like the University District in Seattle, is full of wannabe and wouldabeen student types who hang around and do menial jobs.

That rioter, with all his tattoos, may be one of them.

He doesn't sound smart enough to be one of the organizers

Probably a volunteer foot soldier but not a pro.

Sebastian said...

"How can you say they were from the "outside" and "not from the campus" when you can't see who they are? Even if you could see the faces, how could you know if you were looking at students?" Appreciate the sentiment -- but faux questions right? I mean, when a prog wants to slander the right, anything goes. They don't need no effing facts.

chickelit said...

I'm intrigued by the apparent police stand down at Berkeley. Very much like the stand down at the Trump rally in San Jose.

I think it's the specter of George Soros

Saint Croix said...

How can you say they were from the "outside" and "not from the campus" when you can't see who they are? Even if you could see the faces, how could you know if you were looking at students? Reich may be a Berkeley professor, but there are over 38,000 students at Berkeley. He can't recognize them all.

Maybe it's Dustin Hoffman!

Steve said...

You've got your Birmingham analogy backwards.

The outside agitators are the Milo supporters. The black clad ANTIFA are the Klan. The cops are still just the cops. Jesse Arreguin special guest stars as Bull Connor.

Looking forward to Milo's Instagram from a Berkeley Jail.

mockturtle said...

Saint Croix, I think Dust Bunny beat you to it. ;-)

Saint Croix said...

dustbunny beat me to it!

Saint Croix said...

mockturtle beat me too!

Ambrose said...

They must have been right wingers - 'cause they looked sort of paramilitary-ish. This lades and gentlemen from a former Rhodes Scholar.

Saint Croix said...

this damn ski mask slows me down

chickelit said...

Why has the Sessions nomination stalled? His leadership will go a long ways in rooting out the bad hombres behind all this.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Reich is simply lying in order to keep the squeamish from bolting. A lot of the left is uncomfortable with these clearly fascist tactics and aims.

Expect him to celebrate them as courageous freedom fighters when Trump supporters start effectively fighting back.

Once a pepper sprayer gets her nose or arm broken you can bet the MSM will be playing the video constantly while stressing the unprovoked nature of the attack on a peaceful demonstrator. Hell, I've already seen multiple instances of the friendly fire incident (antifas demonstrator sees another antifas demonstrator with a tattoo that he thinks is racist but is actually anti-racist and shoots him) as an example of a Trump supporter shooting an innocent demonstrater, including at least one comment thread here.

Saint Croix said...

never ever ever fight in a ski mask

you got to warpaint if you're going for street fight

warpaint, not ski mask

duh

chickelit said...

Not Just Third Reich Reich Tactics, But Robert Reich Tactics

Tommy Duncan said...

As I offered on a previous thread: The Berkeley police arrest right wingers and ignore left wingers. The rioters were ignored and not arrested by the Berkeley police, therefore they are not right wingers.

Curious George said...

"rhhardin said...
A Rush caller said that since Reich is only 4'10" tall he'd be unlikely to see anything at all in a riot."

Well, except for "de plane, de plane!"

FullMoon said...

traditionalguy said... [hush]​[hide comment]

The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age.


He knows he is lying. So does Lemon.
BTW, the blonde girl who was pepper sprayed by an asshole, was hit with a flagpole first. She went after the guy, but he ran away.


Ron Winkleheimer said...

https://twitter.com/jakeshieldsajj/status/827023984273219584

Why is that guy, masked with a club at a riot, not being arrested?

Michael said...

The false flag story is false, Reich knows it is false and his promoting it is vile. It is shocking to see him join the ranks of the unhinged political actors willing to chuckle at the truth, sneer at it.

glenn said...

"The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age."

Got him on CNN to spout some lefty drivel. BTW the reason no arrests were made is because we might find out some of the Black Bloc "folks" are university employees.

See, I can do it too.

Bruce Hayden said...

@Chick -.apparently Sessions' vote as a Senator is apparently needed for two nominees - Education is one, where two Rep Senators have already defected.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

You walk like a duck, you quack like a duck, your a facist.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Anyway, Trump and the GOP need to start defunding Berkley as much as possible. I need more liberal tears to drink. I am afraid I am becoming quite addicted.

chickelit said...

Outsider stalks Berkeley student, inspires Robert Reich

William said...

True Berkeley students can be distinguished by their pale yellow halo. The graduate students sometimes develop gossamer wings, but all Berkeley students have halos. In certain lights the translucency of the halo makes these halos difficult to spot, but a trained observer like Reich can spot them anywhere.

Anonymous said...

Watching the clip reminded me of why I never watch the news: bubble-addled old Clinton apparatchik put on national "news" show for several meandering minutes of evidence-free "I'm not sayin', I'm jus' sayin'".

I'm dumber and less informed now than when I started watching.

Meanwhile, I notice that the headlines in my newsfeed are getting stupider and crazier by the day.

Saint Croix said...

The short ninja is Robert Reich!

jaydub said...

Dust Bunny Queen said..."The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age

He lives in California, works in Berkeley, at a university, as a professor.....the whole Bay Area, Hell practically the whole State of California is fantasy land central and he is surrounded daily with the residents of fantasy land.

When you live in an echo chamber and shout really loudly, all you can hear is yourself."

I don't think a bubble has anything to do with it. Reich is a pricipal in the Trump Resistance Movement who posts You Tube videos reporting on the status of the resistance and various anti-Trump propaganda. I don't know if he's intelligent, but he knows exactly what he's doing and which side he's on. Only Don Lemon and CNN would interview him and present his opinions as anything but propaganda and only because CNN, Reich and the anarchists have the same objectives.

Saint Croix said...

If I was playing Clue...

It's Robert Reich

in the street

smacking people with Reason

hard to kill somebody with a paperback, though

really hard

don't try it

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I read the article at the link Karen of Texas posted a couple of days ago. It brings up a very important point. The left provides funds and employment for its radicals. A lot of them go to work for universities, which receive public funding. That is, my tax dollars are going to support people who promote ideologies that I not only oppose, but are in fact harmful to me.

Why should I acquiesce to that? Common sense would seem to dictate that you stop funding your enemies.

Birkel said...

http://theralphretort.com/uc-berkeley-rioter-exposed-works-university-203017/

Not a student. A college emploee.

Gusty Winds said...

Oh bullshit. Reich knows how bad it looks and doesn't want the left associated with what it has actually become.

JaimeRoberto said...

If he's living in the Bay Area and he's never seen them before, then he's not paying attention. Amongst other things they smash up downtown Oakland on a regular basis. Perhaps the police should try arresting them so we can find out more about them.

Fernandinande said...

traditionalguy said...
The real question is how an intelligent man like Reich can live in a fantasy world at his age.


He's obviously lying. "Hanlon's razor" is applied much too often.

Robert "Third" Reich sounds like a little kid caught stealing cookies - "Joey coulda tooken 'em!"

Ron Winkleheimer said...

At least I know that I make much, much more money than they do, and I live in a much less expensive area.

http://theralphretort.com/uc-berkeley-rioter-exposed-works-university-203017/

chickelit said...

jaydub said...Hell practically the whole State of California is fantasy land central and he is surrounded daily with the residents of fantasy land.

DBQ and I both live in different parts of CA but outside the bubble. We look at Berkeley like the rest of the nation looks at California.

chickelit said...

Bruce Hayden said...@Chick -.apparently Sessions' vote as a Senator is apparently needed for two nominees - Education is one, where two Rep Senators have already defected.

Thanks, Bruce

Roy Lofquist said...

Funding for this program was provided by the RSCC and the RNC.

Yancey Ward said...

I looked carefully at that CNN clip, and I am here to tell you that WASN'T ROBERT REICH!

It appears that Reich has been replaced by a right wing doppleganger who is trashing Reich's well earned reputation for intellectual rigor and honesty by making idiot argument on CNN. Is the real Robert Reich still alive? Or is he being held captive in a black site that has been reopened by Adolph Trump? Inquiring minds want to know!

Big Mike said...

Robert Reich is a very small person. He's also quite short.

Peter Irons said...

Wow! Robert Reich is getting very deep into Nazi/Brownshirt techniques when he attributes left wing anarchists to the people who are being attacked--like the student wearing a Trump hat who was pepper-sprayed by a black-clad figure as she was being interviewed.

What Reich is doing is exactly what the Nazis and Brownshirts did to the communists and Jews.

Where, exactly, is his evidence to make such claims on CNN (Calumny News Network)?

robother said...

Robert Reich calling them Republicans at least grants permission to Berkley police to arrest them, so file this under even a blind squirrel....

mockturtle said...

All this crap was played out in the late 60's and early 70's and I was part of it. But our demonstrations had to be planned by word of mouth. Now the comrades can be called together at the touch of a screen. Truly, I don't think most of them really believe they are fighting fascism but they want to display power and feel relevant, feeling powerless and irrelevant after the election. And, face it. Some people just like to riot. Maybe there should be a video game where they can work off their aggression.

mockturtle said...

Peter Irons correctly observes: What Reich is doing is exactly what the Nazis and Brownshirts did to the communists and Jews.

Precisely!

Laslo Spatula said...

Protesters join their groups for the same reasons youth join gangs like the Crips and Bloods and Nortenos.

A sense of belonging, a sense of oppression, a sense of strength through violence and the excitement of battle over society's turf.

Treat them like criminal gangs, perhaps.

I am Laslo.



exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

mockturtle said...
All this crap was played out in the late 60's and early 70's and I was part of it."

One big difference is that you didn't have a major political party and the university administration itself running interference for you. That's what makes this so surreal - the rioters are angry because the status quo is being challenged. How dare Milo question Berkeley's established norms and conventional wisdom?

sane_voter said...

I want a RICO prosecution of these left wing rioters. They are a part of a conspiracy that crosses state lines, commits felonies such as assault/battery, property destruction, and kidnapping by interfering with the movement of traffic. They also conspire to prevent the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of US citizens.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Also, Reich is constructing a narrative where, when Trump takes action to curb the violence, Trump's opposition is the victim.

And, the thugs that riot at these things don't really care about ideology. They just like doing violence, but are smart enough to know that without the approval of the authorities they would get in a lot of trouble. If a couple of those guys caught someone alone and were sure they couldn't get caught, they would happily pound him.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

He's only 4'8" - he cannot see a damn thing (stolen from a Rush caller who made a good point)

Leftwing ISIS anti-free-speech fascists were wearing black ISIS masks. I smell radical intolerant anti-free-speech progressives.

robother said...

"I want a RICO prosecution of these left wing rioters."

Yes, but it needs to follow the money to Steyer and Soros or whoever else is funding these anarchists. Those guys need to spend some serious time behind bars.

Virgil Hilts said...

On leftie campuses, the schools will not arrest or even investigate if they think it is going to be one of their own at fault. Just as hoax investigations will be called off as soon as administrators realize that progressives were probably behind it. It's quite rationale behavior from their perspective and allows Reich to peddle his BS without fear. Do you really think this Miller guy (assuming the identification of this guy is correct) is going to be investigated or arrested by Berkeley police?
Still, it would be cool to see Milo or one of the victims file/publicize a lawsuit against Miller on Monday and name John Doe conspirators.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Yes, but it needs to follow the money to Steyer and Soros or whoever else is funding these anarchists.

Since at least one rioter works for UC Berkley, if you are a taxpayer you are at least partially funding the anarchists.

Withdraw all federal funding from the university and investigate who in the administration is complicit. Shock and Awe!

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Still, it would be cool to see Milo or one of the victims file/publicize a lawsuit against Miller on Monday and name John Doe conspirators.

As a non-lawyer, that sounds like a good idea to me. Any lawyers here care to comment?

Greg Hlatky said...

"We're so proud of The Great Resistance that we're accusing Trump of engineering it!"

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

And Newsweek described the riots as Milo getting "schooled" at Berkeley.

Really.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Newsweek is corruptocrat commie rag.

steve uhr said...

If the goal was to make it appear they were left wing agitators, why the paramilitary garb? Grateful dead /Che Guevara shirts would make more sense.

Also, the plan would backfire big time if even one of them was arrested, which would seem quite likely going in.

Sebastian said...

"It is shocking to see him join the ranks of the unhinged political actors willing to chuckle at the truth, sneer at it." VP candidate Kaine is calling for fighting in the streets. Booker goes against a colleague he praised only recently. A former O official holds out hope for a military coup. Senate Dems don't even show up for ordinary meetings. Are there any hinged lefties left?

David said...

Assuming the existence of "outside agitators," it's largely up to the students at these schools to shut them down. More cops is what the agitators want. When you have to bring in more cops, the battle is already lost.

If the students, including the ones protesting the Trump policy, make it clear that they do not want violence, the thugs can be isolated and weakened. This can not be lead by the conservative students (a rare breed at places like Berkley anyway.) The liberal mainstream has to act.

So far I see few signs of this happening, but it's not likely to be publicized so maybe there still is hope. More likely something truly awful will have to happen to turn things around.

I speak from personal experience, as a then left wing protester, after the Kent State and Jackson State (remember them?) massacres in 1970.

Paco Wové said...

Here's a self-identified Berkeley student endorsing the violence:

But UC Berkeley sophomore Jonathan Gow, 19, rejected Yiannopoulos’ insistence that free speech took a hit.
“The whole reason we’re here is for free speech,” Gow said. “Milo’s hate speech is not allowed here. When it’s hate speech, our free speech is to shut him down.”

Michael K said...

it's largely up to the students at these schools to shut them down. More cops is what the agitators want. When you have to bring in more cops, the battle is already lost

I don't think that is the issue. The cops are being told to stand down by the politicians. The Berkeley Mayor encouraged the riot.

What is needed is an FBI investigation of the rioters, not the peaceful protestors. I think Sessions will do it and maybe a RICO case will come out of it.

Big Mike said...

Janet Napolitano is the President of the University of California. As Obama's Secretary for Homeland Security she was charged with protecting the entire country. Turns out she can't protect one of her top campuses from a pack of 100 or do thugs.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Milo is right though, leftists are ugly.

Michael K said...

Yes, but it needs to follow the money to Steyer and Soros or whoever else is funding these anarchists. Those guys need to spend some serious time behind bars.

I suspect that there are cutouts between the funders and the riot organizers. Probably foundations like "The Tides Foundation and others that are left wing. Penetrating that veil may take some doing. This is what the FBI does when it is allowed to do so.

Speaking of that, there was a 178 page document dump on Hillary's server last night.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

to leftists, rioting thugs who wear ISIS masks, destroy property and stomp on free speech = freedom fighters.

damikesc said...

One of the protestors got found out, because his Twitter handle was easily tied to his OTHER social media accounts.

Berkeley faculty member, Ian Dabney Miller.

Even if he wasn't --- if these people were interlopers causing problems, why did the rioters applaud and cheer and then help them hide and escape?

I'm intrigued by the apparent police stand down at Berkeley. Very much like the stand down at the Trump rally in San Jose.

I was...but then I remembered that the Dems have gotten BETTER. In the old days, they'd have the police themselves beat the protestors, as we saw when Dems did it during the Civil Rights movement. Now, they just have their police stand by and allow others to do it.

I wonder if there is any legal issue with a state intentionally refusing to protect one group of people the people in power don't like? I know the police have no legal obligation to save a life (making gun control REALLY dumb), but aren't they required to enforce laws equally?

Always remember --- Reich LIED ABOUT VIDEOTAPED MEETINGS IN HIS MEMOIRS. When called on it, he never once apologized or admitted he was wrong.

Mark said...

Clintonistas -- and this includes Reich -- are stupid.

But they are also master practitioners of deflection, spin and deceit, of knowingly stating falsehoods and trying to turn things around against their enemy.

Reich knows exactly who these leftist punks are.

Amadeus 48 said...

Reich is really scared that the government has gotten out of the hands of like-minded people, so he is fishing around for ways to discredit Trump's supporters. False flag operation! Reichstag Fire! Nazis! Godwin's Law!
Reich just lost the argument.

Mark said...

Meanwhile, was anyone horrified at the Trump paramilitary forces attacking all those women at the Women's March? Instead of allowing them to speak, the Trumpists shut them down.

Ray said...

"They wore masks. It's ludicrous to say "I have never seen them before" when you are talking about people who hid their faces with masks."
Maybe he meant to say they didn't smell like Berkley students.

Mark said...

What puzzles me is why those same pro-Trump masked thugs at Berkley should also have rioted and burned cars in D.C. the night before Trump's inauguration. Shouldn't they have been celebrating instead of protesting?

Fernandinande said...

AprilApple said...
Milo is right though, leftists are ugly.


"I’m a professor! How dare you!"

I'm a professor! How dare you not beat-up someone whose ideas I don't like!

TheOnion has some seriously funny competition.

Also at the link: The Star Trek crew watches one of those celebrities rant 'n' rave.

RMc said...

1) All flags are false.
2) Free speech is only for us, the good people.

Mark said...

Reich is simply lying in order to keep the squeamish from bolting

More likely, it is the common Clinton tactic of instead of conceding and regret, attack. Never admit your side is wrong and always attack, accusing the enemy of doing exactly what it is that your side is doing. And even if it should positively be proved that your side has done wrong, justify it by saying that they are only doing what the enemy did first.

Mark said...

To be clear for the record -- in these sorts of things, there are also the non-political types who really don't care what the protest is. They just get a kick out of breaking and burning things and, if they get the chance, looting.

Fernandinande said...

On 1/30/17 Reich claimed that Quakers, Gerald Ford, Sargent Shriver, and John F. Kennedy were pro-Nazi.

Reich Rips Third Reich-loving Alt-Reich for Reichstag Fire False Flag at Berkeley

Reich emitted:
Not incidentally, “America First” was the name of the pro-Nazi group led by Charles Lindbergh that bitterly fought FDR before U.S. entry into World War II to keep America neutral between Churchill’s Britain and Hitler’s Reich.

This is truly scary.


+

"[America First Committee' was one of the largest anti-war organizations in American history."

The AFC was established on September 4, 1940, by Yale Law School student R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. (son of R. Douglas Stuart, co-founder of Quaker Oats), along with other students, including future President Gerald Ford, future Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver, and future U.S. Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart. Future President John F. Kennedy contributed $100, along with a note saying "What you all are doing is vital."

rhhardin said...

“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” Trump tweets.

Trump so far is the only one doing legal analysis of the travel ban stay.

He agrees with my analysis.

Anonymous said...

I recall reports of left wing infiltrators with extremely rude signs at the Tea Party rallies. At least that's what was claimed.

Che Dolf said...

Michael K, thanks for the oathkeepers/infiltration link. That's interesting.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This is a reasonable assessment of the start of Trump's presidency. He came into office with very little political capital. A lot of his voters were cool, at best, on his candidacy. He had to win people over early by appearing competent, calm and focused on the core economic issues that got him elected. Didn't do it.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Ten days! Already a failure! Because he kept his campaign promises!

chickelit said...

If people hadn't teased Reich so as a child, he wouldn't have grown up to be such giant goatse .

Michael said...

Maybe if the authorities would arrest some of these Black Bloc-ers we could find out who they are and who is behind them. My money would be on Soros rather than Breitbart. But the Berkeley authorities won't do that, because they don't want (us) to know.

narciso said...

The gallop poll with a 34 point democratic example, the flood of fake news

Seeing Red said...

Berkeley is inside the US physically. For now....

Mentally, they've been, for me, outside the US since I started paying attention to them.

At some point, Professor, you have to believe or realize what they say they mean.

They don't like US. Haven't for decades. Want US gone.


Same thing with the marches against Walker. They are on the other side, and that includes a part of UW.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Quick - this makes progressives look like pathetic desperate loser brown-shirted fascists.

change the subject.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Stop hiding behind ISIS masks, so Robert can see you.

wildswan said...

In the old days they passed laws that held prolifers responsible for any violence that occurred at their protests. So all protests had marshals to move in on people who got violent. It is in fact the responsibility of those who protest peacefully to keep it peaceful - both morally and in the law. If Soros is funding these marches he might be liable as well as the march organizers.

It's obvious that Davos-type anarchists are overrunning peaceful protests by the left. They wear masks, black clothes, carry baseball bats to break windows, have kneepads and so on. This is not equipment for a peaceful protest. The first thing that is wafted out is the assertion by Reich that these men in black are the right but as mentioned above, the right would have been arrested if it was doing it. Furthermore, these are familiar anarchist tactics. No, this is the far-left anarchists taking over peaceful, legitimate marches.

The left is not maintaining control of its protests and marches. Millennials don't think that keeping their marches peaceful is their responsibility. But there are laws (court-tested against prolifers) which can hold march organizers and participants responsible for any violence that occurs during the march. Especially since the march organizers currently make no attempt whatsoever to stop the anarchists and neither do they call on the police to do so.

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

I recall reports of left wing infiltrators with extremely rude signs at the Tea Party rallies. At least that's what was claimed.

We photographed several. Here is one.

The rest of the rally was peaceful.

Also, there were many young people there. This was not an oldster movement.

Mike Sylwester said...

This is what happens when a Scientific Progressive is allowed to become a professor of public policy.

Mark said...

Ten days! Already a failure! Because he kept his campaign promises!

If the Democrats were smart -- which they are not since they are so dedicated to blind rage and agitation -- they would have swiftly confirmed the cabinet nominees. But by their obstruction, the Dems are only hurting themselves. Rather than be loose-cannon enablers of a loose-cannon president, the cabinet officials would provide a moderating balance.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

AprilApple said...
Stop hiding behind ISIS masks, so Robert can see you.

2/4/17, 10:47 AM

He has to stand on a box and tilt his head waaaaaay back so he can get a good look at their nostrils.

Wince said...

When did Robert Reich morph into Norman Fell?

Benjamin: I'm not up to much, actually. I'm just visiting. I mean, I've always wanted to see Berkeley.
Reich: (He stops at one of the landings) You're not one of those agitators?
Benjamin: What?
Proprietor: One of those outside agitators?
Benjamin: Oh no.
Proprietor: I hate that. I won't stand for it. I won't stand for that.

Mark said...

Davos-type anarchists are overrunning peaceful protests by the left

Yeah, those "peaceful protestors" are not as innocent as they let on, but are accessories to the entire enterprise. They encourage and acquiesce in having their protest being "overrun" by the thugs. They are the peaceful getaway driver to a planned peaceful liquor store robbery where one of the robbers "unexpectedly" shoots the store owner.

LightenUpFrancis said...

As everyone has said, the idea that the Black Block protesters are somehow Breitbart plants / rightwing folks is absurd.

There is a group of people that can put together, reliably, around 20 to 30 of these types for most major protests in the Bay Area. They show up in black masks, often with wooden clubs and projectiles, and hang around the outskirts fucking things up. They just jump on whatever bandwagon that's going by - this week, it was down-with-Milo. I used to live a block away from the main protest spot in downtown Oakland (Frank Ogawa Plaza) and they showed up for BLM, T. Martin, Occupy Wallstreet, etc. These people don't just start at black masked assholes; they build up to it. Like someone was upset with Milo and just thought, "Hey, time to put on the ol' bandanna and get burning!" They're leftist hobbiest agitators.

And they do real damage. This one wasn't so bad, but the last three years saw several blocks of downtown Oakland get torn up pretty badly. They run around in groups of three or four and just break things and run. If anyone wants to see all of these people get proper violent, google Sacromento nazi battle.

I find it infuriating as well that the police do not arrest them. I asked one of my friends in local law enforcement why the police seem to just let them go and, put shortly, it is a combination of orders to protect certain areas / to not further engage or agitate, numbers, and officer safety.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fernandinande said...

Lewis Wetzel said...
Ten days! Already a failure! Because he kept his campaign promises!


You know who else had campaign promises? Hitler.

SukieTawdry said...

“I wouldn’t bet against it,” Reich said.

Put your money where your mouth is, Bobby. I'd like a piece of that action.

Anonymous said...

The sign the man was holding in Michael K's picture was obviously anti tea party. There was nothing false flag about it, that deserves a "duh". That guy wasn't trying to hide the fact that he wasn't one of them. But if there were leftist infiltrators trying to appear as particularily dumb or obnoxious Tea Party rally goers, then it would stand to reason that there are similar types of infiltrators at anti Trump protests.

BJM said...

@Mark - Exactly, the East Bay has a problem with flash mobs of teens and youths who rob and assault people on the streets, vandalize property, loot mall shops and hijack cars. They and anarchists infiltrate protests to trash, burn and loot then melt away in the ensuing melee.

mockturtle said...

One big difference is that you didn't have a major political party and the university administration itself running interference for you. That's what makes this so surreal - the rioters are angry because the status quo is being challenged. How dare Milo question Berkeley's established norms and conventional wisdom?

Good point, Exiled. However, you should remember that Angela Davis was on the UCLA faculty at the time. Many universities on the West coast encouraged this [mis]behavior.

Mark said...

several blocks of downtown Oakland get torn up pretty badly. They run around in groups of three or four and just break things and run.

It's not just the thugs that run. Businesses run too. Neighborhood stores, restaurants, offices -- history shows that they leave and go elsewhere when there is social unrest and violence and destruction. And they don't come back -- at least not for a few decades.

Some businesses do come into the void, however. They often ply their trade on street corners and generally offer two kinds of wares.

roesch/voltaire said...

I want evidence that the mayor told the police to stand down but I agree it is very strange no arrest were made. If these are outside agitators who are they, have any been interviewed? The only time I saw the police stand down during demonstrations in the sixties was when we were attacked by a group of bikers.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

SandraC said...
if there were leftist infiltrators trying to appear as particularily dumb or obnoxious Tea Party rally goers, then it would stand to reason that there are similar types of infiltrators at anti Trump protests.


Don't be bothering these poor people with reason. They have enough on their minds already. Peggy Noonan, one of Trump's few early moderate supporters, is already looking to jump ship. Not a good few weeks.

LightenUpFrancis said...

@Mark / @BJM

It is extremely uncomfortable having to walk through or anywhere near these protests as a random whiteguy passerby. My wife and I would simply declare Oakland protest nights "drink at home and watch Netflix" nights.

Re the businesses, the last protest in downtown Oakland that got violent was interesting - OPD basically made a Roman legionnaire line at the Oakland City Center (13th/Clay; non-locals: a bunch of nice businesses in a line from our public transit to the major federal facility down the street). It was very obvious that OPD was told that no one was to get into that area. The next morning I spoke with one of them and they said that the businesses around there made a lot of noise after they got trashed. So they can protect areas when properly motivated.

Naturally, they left anyone outside of that zone to their own devices. Thankfully, my liquor store on the corner didn't get touched - those guys don't fuck around.

TWW said...

Rumor has it that the same person who told Harry Reid that Mitch Romney didn't pay taxes told Robert Reich that the agitators were Alt-Right Wingers. Don Lemmon drools.

Jupiter said...

Mark said...
"To be clear for the record -- in these sorts of things, there are also the non-political types who really don't care what the protest is. They just get a kick out of breaking and burning things and, if they get the chance, looting."

Not so. The looters are over in Oakland. The Berkley cops would shut them down pronto if they tried to loot in Berkley.

Rick said...

Reich isn't stupid, he just has different values than reasonable people. He's willing to trade a small measure of credibility for the esteem of the left. Part of his willingness is the accurate understanding than his loss of credibility is limited by the left supporting nature of essentially all the relevant institutions. Institutional support for the radical left means the small number of people opposed will remain silent lest they be retaliated against. So the credibility risk is limited to the tiny fraction of people who are willing to endure this retaliation - like Althouse. But Althouse is so unique in her adherence to principle even people who aren't part of the intentional othering retaliation consider her a conservative.

Drago said...

roesch/Voltaire:"I want evidence that the mayor told the police to stand down but I agree it is very strange no arrest were made."

LOL

Wince said...

Right-wing Tea Party types are mostly older, white men with beer bellies when the stereotype works for the left.

They are young, low-BMI bomb throwers in the Berkley area when the opposite works for the left.

According to Reich, right wingers must have been on Ramen Noodle diets for the last several months preparing for this protest.

Drago said...

ARM: "Don't be bothering these poor people with reason. They have enough on their minds already. Peggy Noonan, one of Trump's few early moderate supporters, is already looking to jump ship. Not a good few weeks."

LOL

Keep telling yourself that.

LightenUpFrancis said...

Yeah, the looters aren't the black bloc folks. The looters are just - how do I say this... - ghetto trash that only show up on BLM related stuff. These black bloc folks are not inner city poor folks, they are middle/upper class or the odd "bums but by choice" population.

Dude1394 said...

Milo paid 7K for his own security and there was not a single arrest made. Not one arrest. What that says is that the Security detail was told NOT to arrest anyone. They certainly seem complicit.

Reich is such a partisan that taking anything he says without a ton of salt is just being naive.

Anonymous said...

Trumpists are having a bad week. As time goes by it's not going to get any better for them or the Trump Adminstration. We are no longer in the campaign, now it's rubber meets the road and Trump and President Bannon are being shown to be not ready for prime time. Leaks are reported to be at an all time high coming out of the White House, I think what they are seeing is scaring the shit out of them.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Milo paid 7K for his own security and there was not a single arrest made. Not one arrest. What that says is that the Security detail was told NOT to arrest anyone"

LOL

Milo's private security detail are former military and do not have the authority to arrest anyone.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Drago said...
roesch/Voltaire:"I want evidence that the mayor told the police to stand down but I agree it is very strange no arrest were made."

LOL"

This is even funnier:

AReasonableMan said....

Don't be bothering these poor people with reason"

I knew it was a matter of time before the usual parade of left wing nimrods would show up to try to desperately reclaim the moral high ground.

Because they are utterly incapable seeing their side as anything but the Good People - even when their stooges are looting Starbucks and pepper spraying young women in the name of antiFascism.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Unknown: "Milo paid 7K for his own security and there was not a single arrest made. Not one arrest. What that says is that the Security detail was told NOT to arrest anyone"

Oh, for Chrissake, how stupid are you?

Fabi said...

"Why has the Sessions nomination stalled? His leadership will go a long ways in rooting out the bad hombres behind all this."

To ask is to answer. The longer they keep Sessions tied up in confirmation hearings, the longer it will be before he can launch investigations into this bullshit.

Drago said...

SandraC: "Trumpists are having a bad week."

LOL

Yes, this is easily the 94th time that Trump has suffered a catastrophic week from which he can never recover.

There is now clearly no pathway for Trump to be successful and reach 270 electoral votes in 2020. No possible way.

We have polls that show it!!!

mockturtle said...

No federal funding for campuses--or cities--that allow vandalism to go unpunished.

Michael said...

Sandra C
"But if there were leftist infiltrators trying to appear as particularily dumb or obnoxious Tea Party rally goers, then it would stand to reason that there are similar types of infiltrators at anti Trump protests."

Why would it "stand to reason?" There is no logical connection at all. Further the contention is that all, not a few, of the rioters were alt right people posing as alt lefters. Would you conclude then that all Tea Party members were really lefty infiltrators? Plus right wingers are not given to window breaking, car burning, interstate traffic stopping mayhem.

Drago said...

Its funny to watch the unhinged and obviously medicated lefties and some "lifelong republicans" posting here continuing with the same pre-election tactics as if nothing has happened that might cause them to rethink those tactics.

Yes yes, we all know that this time, for sure, without a doubt, Trump is finished!! It must be true! All the same people who said he would never run and could never win are telling us so!

Don Lemon is on a roll!!

Trump won't last out the year!!

LOL

How magnificent the collapse of the left has been and continues to be.

Anonymous said...

Trump will continue to fool the foolish, but there are others who are not so foolish. Trump is running into the Judicial System, where his foolishness will not be tolerated.

Anonymous said...

Drago is sounding a bit hysterical today.

Fabi said...

President Bannon -- drink!

Comanche Voter said...

There was and is some good LSD in Berkeley. Been that way for 50 plus years now. Methinks that Reich may have scored some of that before he made his statement about "rumours".

One of the protestors/window breakers/amateur arsonist has been identified. He posted something on his Facebook video bragging about his participation. Lo and behold he was not a Berkeley student (lets Reich off the hook on that). Nope, he's been an employee on the Berkeley campus for the last three years! So he's a "member of the campus community".

As for Reich nattering away about imported outside agitators, isn't he channeling his inner Bull Connors who used to worry that those people wearing white sheets to lynch the local Negroes were in fact "imports from Vermont"?

You go Reich===living in Berserkeley has softened your brain.

SweatBee said...

Occupy Oakland was cheering on the rioters. "We won this night. We will control the streets. We will liberate the land. We will fight fascists. We will dismantle the state. This is war." Is Reich saying that group has been a false flag operation all these years?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...


Mark said...
Davos-type anarchists are overrunning peaceful protests by the left

Yeah, those "peaceful protestors" are not as innocent as they let on, but are accessories to the entire enterprise. They encourage and acquiesce in having their protest being "overrun" by the thugs. They are the peaceful getaway driver to a planned peaceful liquor store robbery where one of the robbers "unexpectedly" shoots the store owner.

2/4/17, 10:59 AM

Yep. Here's another example of that. This low-T twink attending the Women's March in Canada punches a female conservative reporter in the face. The hideous fat Medusas surrounding him move to protect him after he runs away - because they're so into Sisterhood that they don't mind seeing a woman who doesn' know her place get a knuckle sandwich from a man.

http://www.yesimright.com/liberal-idiot-that-punches-trump-supporting-woman-in-the-face-gets-instant-justice/

This pitiful excuse for a male clearly isn't a pro, however, like the ones in Berkeley. He didn't cover his face, so he was able to be identified and now he's facing charges.

But the stupid bitches who protected him are the reason he felt bold enough to bravely punch a woman.

n.n said...

Anarchists in the Left-Right nexus serve at the pleasure of the Left, who are ideologically bent on monopoly formations. They are the modern militant faction of the DNC.

Mike Sylwester said...

I saw these people. They all looked very– almost paramilitary. They were not from the campus.

What was Reich doing at this event?

Michael K said...

The sign the man was holding in Michael K's picture was obviously anti tea party. There was nothing false flag about it, that deserves a "duh".

We had video of one false flag guy but it was 6 years ago and I can't find it. The point of the photo was that there were some opponents at Tea Party rallies. The Tea Party folks spotted them and went after them with signs pointing out that they were opponents. If you looked at that photo I linked to, you would see the same thing.

There were others with outrageous signs who were obvious plants. They were all followed with arrow signs showing who they were. Most left then.

n.n said...

"Never Again" refers to [class] diversity, redistributive change, and abortion chambers.

The "mainstream" Left has coalesced with the "far-Left".

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Stupid bimbo SandraC/Karen, stop thinking with your twat if that's possible. You embarrass all us sensible women, including the 53% of white women who voted for Trump.

According to the liberal Brookings Institute, you're the ones with the hysteria and the sadz:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/02/02/the-trump-unhappiness-effect-nears-the-great-recession-for-many/

And that was true even BEFORE the election:

"Democrats, who are typically more stressed and less happy than Republicans"

I'm so sorry you have to project your own mental illness and deep unhappiness onto others. However, I just can't restrain myself from making fun of you and enjoying your misery and desperation, because you deserve every bit of it.

It's especially fun to see you claiming that we are the ones who are falling apart.

Beach Brutus said...

Robert Reich's deflections smack of a refusal to accept the evidence/facts, that reflect poorly on his side (not that he is responsible for their behavior). Like a parent confronted with evidence that her child committed murder and wildly hypothesizes all sorts of conspiracies. Robert Reich is the Marguerite Oswald of the left.

Darrell said...

The Third Reich--idiot all the time.

n.n said...

Resurrecting dead soviets to cover-up Deep Plunger's expose of Water Closet. Refugee crises to cover-up social justice adventures. Immigration reform to normalize [class] diversity (e.g. institutional prejudice/racism). Abortion rites to deny life unworthy. Pro-Choice forever!

Mark said...

No federal funding for campuses--or cities--that allow vandalism to go unpunished

When they are violently preventing a gay immigrant from coming on campus and speaking, that would seem obvious that they should lose funding because of such homophobic nativist hate.

Mark said...

It's time to tell these folks, "Say hello to my little friend, RICO."

Mike Sylwester said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike Sylwester said...

Beach Brutus at 11:55 AM
Robert Reich is the Marguerite Oswald of the left.

I'm going to steal that brilliant analogy.

Dr Weevil said...

Almost 200 comments and no one noticed AA's wit in accusing munchkinesque Robert Reich of a "microagression"? Any aggression he commits is going to be "micro", unless it's a nanoagression (from Latin nanus, 'dwarf').

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

SandraC accuses us of being hysterical. Well, what would you call this display from a leftist beacon of intellectualism and reason? Like ARM, I'm sure she's a moderate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJa_s_2QX_c

AND SHE'S A PROFESSOR! LISTEN TO HER!

Anonymous said...

"Stupid bimbo SandraC/Karen, stop thinking with your twat if that's possible. You embarrass all us sensible women...."

Ohhhh hahahahahaha!

Anonymous said...

"SandraC accuses us of being hysterical."

"Us"? Are you saying you're Drago's sock puppet? LOL! Thanks for the laughs this fine Saturday.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

So called reasonable or moderate democrats - are like so called moderate Muslims. When bad actors do bad things in the name of their religion -well, so what? Ignore and look the other way.

Radical leftists hate you, so they have a right to abuse you with ISIS masks on, they have a right to shut you up. Like ISIS gets to abuse you (even kill you) because you do not obey their religion.

buwaya said...

This was a desperation move by the PTB in CA.

They cant allow a manifestation of political opposition in the universities, one of their sensitive power centers, in fear of a preference cascade. They rule in these places by excluding conservatives of all kinds, effectively through threats to livelihood, justified as prudent responses to public opinion or prevailing mores.

The go-to ref on this is, perhaps ironically, Gramsci.

A popular movement of such as Milo that brings out the conservatives and encourages latent ones to come out is the true danger to them. This cannot be permitted to continue. The threats of violence (and the outbreaks like Berkeley) are just a pretext to shut down the tour. This has been done at the three top UC campuses, Berkeley, UCLA, Davis. This is no coincidence.

The black block are simply a tool, they are insignificant on their own and arent any sort of real power against which to struggle. They are a limited tactic that is dangerous to use as it can backfire.

It will backfire worst if the real hotheads among them go urban guerilla, which the left is risking. The effective way to deal with that is to make the most of the martyrs they give you. It will be a gross error to give the left martyrs.

They are a distraction. It doesnt matter that one or a hundred of them are imprisoned. And you will not likely find the money trail. They are, as I mentioned earlier, employees of a host of left oriented NGOs that offer a livelihood to professional political activists. I bet you will find that, if you ID them, these people work for all sorts of outfits. Kept on salary for use as needed, but you wont untangle that.

hombre said...

There are 40,000 students at UC Berkeley. Reich knows them all, even masked. The school is lucky to have him, as is CNN. Lol.

Unbelievable isn't it?

buwaya said...

A shorter answer is that these people are professional "inside agitators", the local NKVD, in mufti.

Putin, interestingly, makes much use of such people, his "deniable" muscle.

And ubiquitous in the third world. Duterte has many thousands of these guys on call.

James Graham said...

I only listen to NPR on my bathroom radio so that if I puke the appropriate facility is nearby.

Yesterday in reporting on the anti-Milo riot the regular news guy introduced another guy to explain for the audience just who and what Milo was.

He said he was a provocateur, was with Brietbart, gave rabble-rousing speeches, was invited by the Young Republicans, and a few other things.

The "explainer" spoke for about five minutes and managed to not mention that Milo was gay!

Why would he not mention that? After all, Milo calls himself a faggot and mentions that he really likes black men.

Well, silly boy, that would monkey-wrench the fav narrative of the left that conservatives are homophobic racists.

Candidate Trump never mentioned NPR. I hope some on his staff are paying attention and are ready to issue an exec order killing tax money to it.


damikesc said...

I find it funny that "anti-Fascists" DRESS like Fascists and BEHAVE like Fascists.

They justify it because he "singled out" a tranny "student" at Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was there to protest him.

Well, hate to break it to you, when you're there to PROTEST, you're PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE. He didn't pick somebody at random. He targeted somebody protesting him. And the "student" he "singled out" wasn't even a student. They dropped out months before. It is quite upset that the school didn't intervene when "a student" (who had withdrawn) was "attacked".

THAT is a big part of their "justification".

then it would stand to reason that there are similar types of infiltrators at anti Trump protests.

We're discussing BERKELEY. Let's stay in the same zip code as reality here.

Milo paid 7K for his own security and there was not a single arrest made. Not one arrest. What that says is that the Security detail was told NOT to arrest anyone. They certainly seem complicit.

Did the same at DePaul. And when BLM thugs rushed the stage, the security --- did nothing. And they were there for a while.

But, I'm curious --- when can security details arrest people? I was unaware private security had that level of authority.

Trump is running into the Judicial System, where his foolishness will not be tolerated.

He's already won his first case. Because his orders are 100% legal.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"He said he was a provocateur, was with Brietbart, gave rabble-rousing speeches"

Milo's "rabble rousing" consists of making fun of lesbians and trannies and making fat jokes. He's about as much of a "rabble rouser" as Don Rickles.

But in the world of the left, mocking Leslie Jones for looking manly is equivalent to calling for a lynching.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Hi Inga/SandraC - you can change your nic as often as you want but your witless imbecility remains easily identifiable. A sack of crap by another other name still smells like shit. Go put on your pussy hat and wave your bloody bedsheets - or you can do what that stupid hag in CT did and try to hit a cop with your car. I have no doubt you'll drive into a tree too.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Democrats, who are typically more stressed and less happy than Republicans"

Go pop another valium, SandraC. Hug your blankie. Get some coloring books and draw nice teddy bears. We wouldn't want you to run out into the street and break Starbuck's windows, no matter how much you want that lemon scone.

Earnest Prole said...

Though clueless in general, in this case Reich is not as wrong as you think. The violent protesters in the East Bay are communists and anarchists, the alliance that rioted in Seattle in 1999 over the World Trade Organization and in Downtown Oakland for most of this decade over the usual stuff. The rioters are not students; you can easily tell they are older. Since anarchists are anti-state, a bourgeois liberal like Reich plops that down on his left-right spectrum and calls it right-wing. It's dumb, but so is a lot of the commentary on this subject both right and left.

Rick said...

Earnest,

Your explanation is unequivocally wrong. He specifically linked them to Breitbart as a false flag operation.

buwaya said...

Reich knows perfectly well who they are and why they were called out on this. They are elements of the same system and are both playing their parts under direction.

Saint Croix said...

We used to have a ski mask guy on the Althouse blog

Seven Machos

Which apparently is a drink.

Actually I think it was more a wrestling mask than a ski mask.

No idea if he hangs out at Berkeley.

It would be really, really, really funny to have a cage match with Mr. Wrestling 2 and Robert Reich.

He's 82 years old.

But I'm pretty sure he could take him.

mockturtle said...

Aren't they damaging their own 'safe place'?

Earnest Prole said...

Rick: Fair enough — I hadn’t noticed Reich's Breitbart quote. I do know that right-thinking East Bay non-violent progressive-types don’t know what to make of violent anarchists constantly threatening to kill them, so the right-wing label makes sense to them (dopey as that may seem).

mockturtle said...

All 'reds' should flee the deep blue cities. In fact, they should flee the blue states. Leave the lefty urban elite to their own devices and self-destruction. But keep them contained.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Mark,

To be clear for the record -- in these sorts of things, there are also the non-political types who really don't care what the protest is. They just get a kick out of breaking and burning things and, if they get the chance, looting.

I think, actually, that might be a good part of this protest, as in most Bay Area protests. The people who are serious about their politics, however bizarre, tend to be peaceful, but there's always a set that arrives at the same time and starts smashing windows and torching cars and looting. I mean, they might nominally be anarchists or A.N.S.W.E.R. members, but the violence is the end, not the means.

As many have noted, Reich can't possibly say that the 150 or so weren't Cal students, because (a) there are 38K Cal students, and (b) they were masked. Still, he's probably right; normal Cal students do not want to torch Sproul Plaza.

I sold him a couple CDs at the late Tower Classics on Telegraph Ave. once.

BTW, I'm not happy with people blaming Cal for this. I went there, as undergraduate (mechanical engineering) and graduate (musicology) both, and the students are in the main terrific. So did my husband. The vast majority of Cal students are strenuously opposed to riots. Though some are given to weird protests, like the shantytowns erected around the South Africa divestment campaign when I was there, or the living-in-the-trees stunt to prevent their being cut down, which was after I left. No, I bet these guys are from outside. Like the "youths of unspecified color" who congregate at Telegraph and Durant every weekend.

Cal is a great university despite its sucky environs. In my time at two completely different departments, I got unbelievably great education in both fields. Don't knock what works.

Mark said...

The people who are serious about their politics, however bizarre, tend to be peaceful, but there's always a set that arrives at the same time and starts smashing windows and torching cars and looting.

Yeah, but like all those moderate Muslims who, when the radical Islamists strike, do not condemn them, but instead direct their ire toward victimized Americans, those peaceful progressives and liberals and Democrats would rather continue bashing conservatives, Republicans, Western Civilization and traditional institutions and beliefs, than to voice one complaint against their violent thug comrades on the left.

They may or may not invite the violence, but they do not distance themselves from those engaging in it.

Drago said...

SandraC: "Drago is sounding a bit hysterical today."

Laughing hysterically at the latest hysterics of the left.

But that stuff has been around forever.

What is most amusing is the perpetual loop of assertion/negation/reset! for the lefts Trump impeachment/failure predictions.

hamsters/wheels comes to mind, and it will never, ever get old.

I hear other commentators wondering when the left will snap out of this self-destructive mode and I wonder what those commenters are thinking since the left is incapable of snapping out of this mode.

I hate to say it but it appears that Maduro and his crew of morons actually put our lefties to shame. You would think our lefties would have more pride, but it is what it is.

Joe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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