<p>Check this article out. Some University of California thugs beat up a researcher because they were afraid he would "testify to Congress about UCs fiscal mismanagement at Los Alamos National Laboratory." This sounds more like Godfather or Scarface than a "world-class" university. Has Berkeley become little Italy? </p>
<p>Maybe part of the UC application can include a space for extracirriculars like "extortion" and "beatings."</p>
<p>That's awful.</p>
<p>if you check out the updates youll see that the beating was not connected</p>
<p>I beg to differ. Here is all the evidence that the University of California Board of Regents and her cronies beat up this man in a true mobster fashion:</p>
<p>"In March 2003, Hook and fellow auditor Charles Montano sued the UC Board of Regents and five lab officials for first amendment and California Whistleblower Protection Act violations, alleging that they were threatened and that their work was silenced while they were auditors at the lab. </p>
<p>Daley said that after Hooks reports, his offices were moved to the basement and some of her work was taken away."</p>
<p>Afterwards....</p>
<p>"An internal auditor preparing to testify to Congress about UCs fiscal mismanagement at Los Alamos National Laboratory was severely beaten outside a Santa Fe, N.M. bar early Sunday in what his wife called an effort to silence him.
Tommy Hook, 52, was pulled out of his car and assaulted by between four and six men...</p>
<p>Hook went to the bar to meet an anonymous tipster who said he would give him evidence of fraud at the lab, his wife said</p>
<p>The attackers told him to keep his mouth shut, she said. They didnt take his wallet or our car. It is clear to us that this was a message. </p>
<p>Finally, after seeing the evidence of the University of California's guilt, shall we examine her motives?</p>
<p>Well here it is:</p>
<p>"UC is competing with Lockheed Martin Corp. and the University of Texas to continue managing the lab. The U.S Department of Energy put the lab up for competition for the first time since its inception in World War II after a series of security lapses under UC management."</p>
<p>This is severely bad for UC Berkeley's image as an academic insitution. However, I think Tony Soprano would be proud.</p>
<p>This is actually shocking to me. Normally, I would find something funny to say about Berkeley. This time, however, I am at a loss for words. I didn't know universities did this sort of thing.</p>
<p>Imagine Stanford's SLAC (linear accelerator center) trying to silence one of its employees by beating him up nearly to death. Imagine Caltech's JPL practicing extortion. Imagine MIT's Wheeler Labs establishing a prostitution ring. This is crazy man.</p>
<p>Ya know, I would make quibbles about UC Berkeley (mostly students and some profs) never respecting other people's opinions and shouting them down, but if this is true -- it really takes the cake. I don't think it is, but if it is... I'm sorry, but the university is never seeing one penny from me in alumni donations. This is way low for the premeir world research university. I hope to God it's not true... and it looks like it ain't.</p>
<p>........what?</p>
<p>Yeah, that's right, at Cal we be straight thugg'n it beeatch! You step into our hood you best be rocken a kevlar vest, boyee!</p>
<p>Los Alamos is in New Mexico, so those people could have been people from Riverside or UCLA or UCSD. Or the attackers weren't supporters of the UC's at all.</p>
<p>I love how everyone here is
1)Blaming the UCs for this in the first place when there's no evidence at all.
2)Singling out UC Berkeley as the culprit. Cal isnt the only school that controls the Los Alamos Labs (although it probably exerts more control than any other UC).</p>
<p>Gutrade and Andrewtdx...</p>
<p>Berkeley has nothing to do with the administration of the labs...
It is the University of California system that has contract to run Los Alamos, which is outside Sante Fe, New Mexico.</p>
<p>The Regents of the University of California own and operate the 10 U.C. campuses, and have contracts to run 3 national labs...
But each campus and each lab have their own SEPARATE administrations...</p>
<p>Trying to pin this on Berkeley is like saying if the chancellor of U.C. Riverside was corrupt, that it is somehow U.C. Berkeley's fault.</p>
<p>By the way, these are just unsubstantiated allegations at this point... the FBI will probably investigate, as they should, but so far nothing has been proven.</p>
<p>Gutrade, save the indignation. Why don't you go after your precious stanfurd. After all, isn't there a certain gap-toothed, right-wing, warmongerin woman by the name of condi rice that is a former provost down at the farm? I'll take a couple of uc brawlers over condi any old day.</p>
<p>"but if this is true -- it really takes the cake. I don't think it is, but if it is... I'm sorry, but the university is never seeing one penny from me in alumni donations."</p>
<p>Oh but this is true. It's from Berkeley's own campus newspaper. WHy would the DailyCal make slanderous lies about itself? Unfortunately, this is 100 percent true. </p>
<p>And ubermensch, getting beat up like that is not funny--especially if University officials ordered or sanctioned the beatings. Universities are supposed to be academic places of learning and inquiry--not places to order hits and getting people whacked. This is crazy. </p>
<p>Just read the article. It's title is: "Lab Auditor Assaulted Before Testimony
Whistleblowers Wife Says Attack Aimed at Protecting UCs Bid for Los Alamos Lab"</p>
<p>uber and college...</p>
<p>again... you are confusing the university of california system with u.c. berkeley in particular... what is going on at the los alamos national lab has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with u.c. berkeley in particular... </p>
<p>all 10 campuses of the u.c. system as well as the 3 national labs each have their own SEPARATE administrations... again, if there were internal problems at say, U.C. Irvine, why would you blame U.C. Berkeley??</p>
<p>If we go by your line of reasoning, then why should Berkeley take credit for anything that came out of the national labs? If they truly are so separate, I guess Berkeley didn't discover any new chemical elements after all. </p>
<p>You can't take all the credit when it suits you, and then distance yourself when things go sour.</p>
<p>A new low for Berkeley bashers. You must be completely stupid to blame the beating of a guy outside a seedy topless bar on UC Berkeley. "Wow. I'm shocked. I can't believe it." Good lord...</p>
<p>collegeperson... </p>
<p>those discoveries were made by BERKELEY professors, so of course Berkeley can claim credit... just because some of the professors may or may not have had dual affiliations with national labs does NOT negate that... in fact, there are plenty of scientists from other universities who have multiple affiliations with the national labs... that is a completely separate issue from the administration of the contracts for those labs...</p>
<p>i just don't understand the hostility and animosity towards Berkeley...</p>
<p>^^
Don't worry</p>
<p>The trolls can find nothing that's bad about Berkeley, so this is the best they can do: tie together two events that have nothing to do with each other. It would about as stupid to blame George W Bush for the new Hurricane down in Florida because he didnt stop CO2 emissions.</p>
<p>After all, it's natural to bash a school that is better and has far more international recognition.</p>
<p>I did some more research and the events are likely unrelated, but it still is rather upsetting to see the two things can be even linked because of this lab contract. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>jab93: Berkeley garners a lot of hostility from both the press and even the students and alumni for a variety of reasons whether it be for the alleged out of control liberalism and political indoctrination in the classrooms to simple quibbles as our football team. Being a large, nationally recognized icon is liable to make you a target. I have my beefs with the university, but mostly with how the place is run.</p>
<p>"out of control liberalism and indoctrination"</p>
<p>Riiiiggghhhhht.... I see you've been reading the pedantic drivel of Rush, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin, & O'Reilly, and FAUX News. Give me a break.</p>
<p>I was a grad student there, and there is a very vocal conservative presence on campus, a ridiculous number of conservative evangelical Christian groups...</p>
<p>I can think of a number of prominent conservative faculty... John McWhorter comes to mind.</p>
<p>The cry of "liberal indoctrination" is the way conservatives like to play the role of "oppressed victim"... the very same thing they critisize liberals for.</p>
<p>What a stupid thread. This thread just brought down the quality of CC down a notch. </p>
<p>
[quote]
*Police: beating not connected to lab *
Source: KRQE News 13 / AP</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Authorities says Los Alamos National Laboratory whistleblower Tommy Hook wasn't beaten because of his connection to the lab.
Instead, they say the attack on Hook outside a Santa Fe topless bar last weekend occurred after he struck a pedestrian while leaving the club.</p>
<p>Hook, who is 52, suffered a broken jaw, a herniated disc and missing teeth in the attack outside the Cheeks nightclub in Santa Fe.</p>
<p>Hook and his supporters maintain the beating was carried out by thugs intent on keeping him from talking about alleged financial irregularities at the nuclear lab.</p>
<p>Police say they've identified people involved in the attack and are sending the case to prosecutors. They haven't released the identities of anyone involved in the beating
[/quote]
</p>