Why Editor JJ considers(labels) Berkeley the coolest city?

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Parthian
by Parthian
30-Jan-2008
 

Few months back, I was speaking to a so called "2nd generation" Iranian American girl, a university student in Maryland, who was very fond of Iran under the strict reign of Islamic Republic. I asked her, would you ever live in Iran, would you go to school in Iran? She emphatically said 'NO'. I asked her why? she mentioned that she was too Americanized to be able to live in a society like Iran. I asked than, why are you so fond of the situation in Iran? In what can only be described as a shockingly naive reply, she said: "I love how I can go and see this fascinating traditional culture every summer, I just love the "old, traditional" feeling about it"

Of course, this kind of hypocracy is very much prevelant in the Iranian community. Iranian leftist, and left-over communists take the crown when it comes to their hypocratical view of the free market system. Islamists run a very close second to first group, they hate America, yet their children using Iranian fund study throughout the universities in North America, often partying harder than most Americans and Canadians, so much for being a good muslim!

Our editor JJ here is what I call a soft islmo-leftist. He also seems to be very fond of the city of Berkeley in the Bay area. What is so appealing about Berkeley to him? probably the very extreme leftist attitude of the city which he, in his imagination associates with. But his association to city ends there, in his imagination. If he likes Berkeley so much, why not live there? Why live in Albany about 20 miles north of Berkeley on the I-880 corridor, which also happens to be one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of the East Bay region. Albany has probably one of the highest densities of multi-million dollar houses in the region. In contrast Berkeley is an extremely dirty city. Believe me, I know, I am a graduate student there! It is full of crime, twice in the last semester, UC Berkeley was shutdown in  what was described as potentially "virginia tech" style shootings. In this case, it was not the students committing crime but criminals. Students are robbed on a nightly basis, most thieves stealing their laptops. Berkeley is in most part a third world city with "progressive" ideas, and an unmistakable tax rate of a 1st world city. Yet, where does the money go? because, Berkeley also boasts as the city with the highest percentage of homelessness. No car is safe in Berkeley. There is not a night that go by, that there is not a break in into some poor students' cars.

So JJ, put your money where your mouth is, move to Berkeley, we will be more than happy to welcome enthusiasts such  as yourself. As for me, I can not wait till I get the hell out of dodge, hopefully with my laptop and car still intact.

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Nazy Kaviani

Lost your compass? Try Googling it!

by Nazy Kaviani on

Dear Parthian:

Wow, sounds like you lost your compass, my friend! City of Albany is adjacent to Berkeley, located mainly on flatlands, with only one hill! It features small, modest homes and is famous for its school system and nothing else. Albany is only 2 miles away from Berkeley (here are Google directions for getting there from UC Berkeley //maps.google.com/maps?q=Albany,+CA,+United+S...), not 20, as you say.

Berkeley is Berkeley, Parthian. It is what it is, because of decades of excellence in research, teaching, discoveries, and most importantly tolerance in which it has persevered and flourished, putting the city on the map. No one can change its history, its character and its rugged charm, no matter how dismal that person's own experience of living there may have been. People who truly live the Berkeley educational and residential experience, for the most part would have learned not to "label" others as easily as you have done. You even label your own friend, and that attitude has no trace of the Berkeley experience in it. You say you live in Berkeley, so I suggest before you leave it in a hurry, when the rains stop, you take a hike up Berkeley Hills, seeing the million and multi-million dollar homes on its hills (hopefully after you have been to visit Albany, too, where some graduate students can request to be housed in UC Berkeley's modest "Albany Village"). You will then learn and understand new dimensions and characteristics of the city. I suggest you stop by UC's Main Library, too, and research the city, its history, and its many cultural opportunities. Through researching and learning and visiting, I am sure that in no time at all you will have your true Berkeley experience, something that any individual, and particularly any Iranian (of any generation) will undoubtedly come to appreciate and enjoy for the rest of his/her life.

I hope you enjoy your discoveries and enjoy Berkeley before you leave, or as your post suggests, your Berkeley experience has been for naught!


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Berkeley is GREAT!

by Batman (not verified) on

You don't have to live somewhere to love the place.

But I lived in Berkeley and I still love it not because of any leftist association that you use to reduce Berkeley, but because the city is hub for culture and intellectual development, not to mention, it lays claim to a history that has arguably impacted the world.

And you made a lot of statements without providing us with any statistics. Perhaps it is you who is making unwarranted associations with Berkeley.

And please, just because you live there doesn't mean you are an authority on anything Berkeley.

LOVE IT OR LEAVE SUCKA!


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