I added sidebar links. Strange that I hadn't done that earlier. Apologies to my fellow bloggers. I hope I linked to you guys enough that it wasn't too much of an issue.

As someone who has been to Japan and used their "squatting" toilets, I find this intriguing....

Nature's Platform.

All of there claims are, perhaps, true.... But what about injuries from falling off?

Plus, it's hardly conducive to reading the Sunday comics.

First of all, cheers to good old Pleasanton bud Anand Upadhye for spearheading the demolition of Wally Adeyamo's disgusting waste of words One-Campus Campaign. Some good money out there now for some end-of-the-year efforts of student groups. Is a 3-D Squelch on the horizon? No.

I have some more direct information on the Putnam Porn Star. Although I do know his name and other more personal details, I will not disclose that information. Apparently, the room in which it takes place is not his room, but the room of two other guys on the floor who set up the webcam and everything for him, making one wonder just how secret he wanted to really keep this little escapade. In addition, word around Putnam is that he is not just showing his face but he's walking around like some sort of star. I dunno if that's wise since he did show the entire campus his three-inch wang, and that can't be good for his game.

More to come.

Cheers.

For the first time, Praglib is posting ASUC insider information. Apparently, beloved icon of ASUC-lifers, his chin-ness Tony Falcone, is already recruiting people for the Academic Senate. This is particularly strange considering that he is the AAVP candidate and has not, in fact, won the office. He is using the Office of the President to do this right now. Now, this tactic is definitely unethical (not sure if it violates bylaws) because he could be influencing votes in this manner by making recruitments and appointments for authority he doesn't have. Wait till you've won the election, Tony, then you'll have all the time in the world to buy friends with appointments.

Also, many ASUC politicos say that Tony will win because he has the frosh dorm vote. This may be true, but I have a friend in the dorm in which he is an RA, and nobody that I've talked to there can stand him.

And of course, in one last tasty detail:

Tony Falcone, that intrepid RA, is one of the RA's in Putnam hall, where the now-infamous UC Berkeley amateur porno was shot. Read about the video at Angry Clam.

And in more bittersweet news, it's good to see that a memorial has been established at the corner frequented by the late Dwight Leeray. You can read more about this at Angry Clam as well. There are already some things in the planning stages to establish something permanent.

Godspeed.

It's time for election projections! That's right, if you love mindless predictions based on very little evidence, today is your lucky day. Praglib believes that this is a wide-open elections, rendering predictions meaningless. Nevertheless, here are my 2002 predictions for the ASUC.

President: Sean Byrne. This is going to be a very very close race, but between the Daily Cal endorsement and his networks among transfer students and RallyComm I think he can pull it off.

Executive VP: Totally up in the air. My head says that it'll be Sajid Khan, despite a mediocre campaign and flipflopping endorsements, but my heart thinks that Sunny Lu is going to pick it up after her (relatively) suprising Daily Cal endorsement. So my prediction is Sunny.

External VP: Evan Holland. Evan has the support of more or less everybody (except the Patriot) and is far and away the most qualified and popular candidate.

Academic Affairs VP: Although he'll hate me for saying it, Kevin Deenihan will win, I think. He has the support of most of the campus with the huge exception of freshman in the dorms. Tony has that locked up. It'll be close, but I think Kevin will barely edge Tony out, striking a blow for low-budget campaigns and a non-existent presence on Sproul.

Student Advocate: Salam Rafeedie. As much as I can't stand this arrogant and self-righteous bitch and I personally voted for her dead last on my ballot, she will win.

Senate: This should be interesting. From Student Action, I see Clifford and Shawn getting in definitely, and probably John and Pierce but it's tough to say after that. It depends on how much Sproul presence = votes. Apple's going to put Juan in, as well as Shaudi, with Elana and Misha near-locks as well. I don't think BCR has the votes to put Paul in, but we'll see. Cal-SERVE will get Patrick in, and probably Taina and Dan too. As much as it pains me to say, I don't think Squelch! will get any Senators this year, although Ryan has a good chance if he can milk his Bowles Hall connection, given our general campaign apathy though, it probably won't happen. Goatmilk will get put Adnan in the senate and DAAP will probably put Hoku back in for another term. In the world of independents, I see both Anand and Noah as dark horses who can easily win seats with their connections, but they haven't been campaigning on Sproul at all. The Free Weed candidate Ian is a really good campaigner and has a pretty good chance to get in. Also, Daniel Frankenstein, running independet, is a popular figure with a good chance of being elected. And I think CalDems will be able to elect Eric to the Senate.

And those are my predictions. We'll see how it works out.

Good luck.

Apparently fellow bloggers Angry Clam, CalStuff, and CalAnon were all linked to by InstaPundit for their coverage of the Palestinian thing. Because I was not linked to by InstaPundit, I'm formally protesting InstaPundit. Nobody should ever again go to InstaPundit for any news or information. InstaPundit has made a mockery of the Berkeley Blogs by failing to include mine! Nevermind that I didn't write about the pro-Palestine protest, it is still a mockery! If you hate InstaPundit as much as I do you should never go to InstaPundit again. In fact, I hope I never see another one of InstaPundit's links on the internet. I wonder if there are any people who would put a link to InstaPundit ten times in their blog? They must be losers. InstaPundit.

Angry Clam reports that the homeless man who died recently at Alta Bates after being assaulted and robbed of $2, Dwight Leeray, was the same man who often stood on Bancroft Avenue by the Wells Fargo ATMs wishing passersby luck on their midterms and in general a good day.

I really don't have anything else to say, but I am shocked and saddened. I wonder if there's anything that can be done to establish something to remember him by. He made the days brighter for many people. What a tragedy for it to have happened in such a senseless and brutal way.

The results of the hard-hitting scientific testing are in!


discover what candy you are @ stvlive.com

Who'd a thought?

CalAnon has a nice little post today regarding the news stories in the Daily Cal. Nolo asks:

"IN CASE you've forgotten what mom and dad told you, don't take rides from strangers. A part of the article that I wish had been expanded on is how the Berkeley Marina seems to be a place where rape happens quite often. If one of the reasons is because it's so dark, why hasn't there been a push to install more lights?"

Though I have no proof, who wants to bet the Berkeley residents complained about "lightposts blocking our views" or the "excessive light making the sky unenjoyable" or some similar shite? These are the same citizens who protested the construction of a radio tower so as to have uninterrupted police and fire communication in the case of an emergency.

I wouldn't put it past them.

And I have relatives who live in this town.

Elections start tomorrow!

Praglib has decided to revise his ASUC endorsements:

President: Sean Byrne
He seems like he'd do a good job, with a wide-range of supporters and an interesting background. Primarily, he seems genuinely devoted to Cal as an institution with particular attention to its history.
Executive VP: Joe Henchman
Joe is an interesting and polemical character, who I don't think has any chance of actually winning, but if he did he'd do a good job. Unless he seized power in a fit of megalomania, in which case it'd still be amusing.
Academic Affairs VP: Kevin Deenihan
Simply the most qualified candidate, he has worked the last year in the Academic Affairs office.
External Affairs VP: Evan Holland
I don't agree with much of her politics, but she is a very dedicated member of the ASUC Senate and would do a good job.
Student Advocate: Romie Littrell
Romie is a charismatic individual and a good leader who could do some decent things with the office. Primarily, though, I can't vote for an anti-semite like Salam Rafeedie with a clear conscience.

Senate picks (in no particular order): Anand Upadhye, David Duman, Shawn Fried, Noah Kagan, Ryan Pauley. These individuals have independent minds, strongly support the needs of student groups, and want to enrich campus life through simple means like expanding entertainment opportunities and amenities for students. Plus, they don't take themselves too seriously and don't get caught up in the bullshit and symbolic gestures that have run rampant in the ASUC this past year. Most importantly, though, pick a senate candidate you really identify with and vote for him or her as your number 1, the Senate is an extremely important post and should be filled with free-thinking and non-partisan individuals.

Propositions:

A: I will vote no. Senators should for no reason miss 30% of their meetings. There is no way that a religious reason could possibly consume that many meeting nights. If there was a Prop to remove the medical excuses section too, I'd vote in favor of it. The 30% of meeting you're allowed to miss should be enough to cover any medical/religious/personal reasons for somebody who really wants to be a Senator and anybody who has missed more than 30% for any reason shouldn't be in the Senate.

B: I'll vote yes. I met some really cool extension students in the dorms last year, and I have many friends who were extension students. Living in the dorms your freshman year is very important to the transition into college and all freshmen, whether Fall or Spring admits (provided that they are enrolled in the extension program) should live in the dorms. I don't know exactly what can actually come from this, but it can't hurt. Definitely vote yes.

C: This is a no-brainer. Conversations between a student and the SAO should be protected by a code of cofidentiality.

D: Vote yes. Why shouldn't the SAO continue to hold its publicity events and plan additional ones to make every aspect of the office known to the student body?

E: No. Hiring should always be based on merit and qualifications. Race/gender should only be used as a hiring consideration in the event of two similarly qualified individuals. In addition, I do not feel that this is the sort of proposition that should even be on the ballot.

F: No. This is actually true, I've never read the "ASUC Monthly." However, if you have read it, but you think it's a useless waste of paper, then you should vote No as well. Very strange thing to have on the ballot, but when you see how much money goes into publishing the "ASUC Monthly," it would be good to get some sort of statistics on its readership.

G: No. I'm not even going to get into this one other than this statement: the University should maintain a population of research animals adequate for its needs, if someone were to show me evidence of there being an excess of animals in the research population, then I'd vote for a reduction.

H: Vote yes, but not for the reasons you may think. This bill will actually give the Executive Vice President something to do during the school year. Plus, using recycled paper and making reasonable environment-friendly decisions is never a bad policy. I just hope this bill doesn't result in irresponsible spending.

There you go. Now just get your asses out there and vote Tuesday-Thursday.