Comments by bilwil
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Posted on July 22 at 8:28 p.m.
"Independent" readers who'd like to see and hear Santa Barbara Channels Executive Director Keri Stokstad can view an interview with her at:
Posted on May 20 at 12:26 p.m.
Very sorry that the City of Santa Barbara has lost Stephen MacIntosh. His "food scraps" program, which I believe launched its full-scale implementation last November, is a wonderful, innovative, environmentally-sound effort that diverts tons of organic waste from its previous destination - the landfill (where it helped produce methane gas, a more virulent contributor to global warming than carbon dioxide) - but now goes to produce useful compost.
Mr. MacIntosh's interview on Channel 17's televison program "Just Between Us!" explains this innovation with the aid of wonderfully descriptive video footage supplied by Tony Ruggieri.
That interview, and others, is still available for viewing on the web site:
William Smithers
Posted on August 11 at 2:49 p.m.
" ...I do not believe taxpayer subsidized public education should protect professors in espousing their political views, either liberal Or conservative, without offering both sides of the argument. This guy has abused what academic freedom really intends to protect..!!" writes yendopostal.
Do you actually understand what, in this situation, academic freedom is?
Any teacher can provide any opinion to his/her students as long as the students are free to disagree without fear of reprisal. In Professor Robinson's class, students are ENCOURAGED to discuss/disagree/agree with any statement he makes.
The fact that you pay taxes like the rest of us has no bearing on this.
I challenge you to quote anything from the university Faculty Code of Conduct to refute what I've just written.
And where, may I ask, is your outrage at the corrupt behavior of key UCSB personnel in their handling of the students' charges against Professor Robinson?
"The Academic Senate at the University of California at Santa Barbara approved motions to investigate evident mismanagement of student complaints against sociology professor William I. Robinson and recommend changes in Senate procedures to avoid improprieties in the future."
"'The meeting was filled to overflowing with people from many departments across campus, but the motions passed without dissent,' [Professor] Flacks said. 'It indicates a general sentiment among faculty that something wrong happened in the treatment of the Robinson case. I've been here 40 years, but I can't remember such a remarkably unified consensus. People clearly believe this case was wrongly handled.'"
" ...[Professor] Gallagher said, 'The committee also needs to investigate external pressures in this case and conflicts of interest by faculty who processed the complaints against Robinson. '"
If you took the trouble to read my original letter, you will know what were (some) of the violations of the Faculty Code of Conduct by UCSB personnel who had a responsibility to evaluate, properly and impartially, the students' complaints..
And, by the way, "yendopostal," let's see a real name signed to your posts.
William Smithers
On None
Posted on August 10 at 1:24 p.m.
Ms. Withington, it's refreshing to see someone sign his/her name to an opinion delivered here.
"nacl" and "ucsbparent" are typical anonymous posters whose irrational, sometimes racist, comments can't be assigned to the person making them.
As you accurately report, many respected international organizations have revealed the despotic violations of international law and of human rights by Israel with regard to Palestinians, violations that constitute a policy of extermination of Palestinians as a viable social/ political people.
This is why UCSB Professor William Robinson made the comparison to his students - always subject to their disagreement - of Gaza and World War II's Warsaw.
"ucsbparent" tells us Professor Robinson should accomodate his opinions to those of "parent" because "parent" is one of thousands who pay tuition at UCSB. On the other hand, "parent" tells us that Professor Robinson's campus support against the ADL-orchestrated charges only came from "Arabs" and Arab-funded professors.
This nasty bigotry, unfortunately, has become one of the current methods of the Anti-Defamation League and its supporters. The ADL, once a vigorous defender of persecuted persons, is now devoted to scurrilous smear-mongering and attempts to silence influential persons who criticize the policies of Israel.
It's time for more and more people to stand up against the Anti-Defamation League and its current methods.
William Smithers
On None
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Posted on September 1 at 1:27 p.m.
Ah yes - Dale Francisco, the super-fiction-teller who claimed in a candidates' forum to want to broker differences that have prevented the passage of Santa Barbara's General Plan - putting the city in default of the state law requiring the Housing Element of the Plan to be revised every five years - then being exposed as the leading blocker of this Plan in subcommittee.
Ah yes - Dale Francisco, the super-patriot who lead the Flat-Earther council majority to vote for recommending the suspension of a key provision of the state's Open Meetings Law that outlaws a majority of any legislative body being able to meet in secrecy to discuss the peoples' business.
Francisco and partners - including Michael Self, one of the Representatives from Texas who seems to have originated on another planet, and who has described the homeless as "immature ...unmotivated ... terrorists" - need to be replaced on our City Council as soon as possible.
William Smithers
"Who should be afraid to stand up and put their name to their words? And why should anyone listen if they don't?"
On I Yap, Therefore I Yam