| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Jihad Watch | Robert Spencer | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog |  |
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
Throw women under the bus for some Saudi cash? How long do you think the enlightened lefties of Berkeley will hesitate? As long as five or ten minutes? I don't give them that long.
"UC Berkeley, Saudi school working on secret deal," by Matt Krupnick for the Contra Costa Times (thanks to Kemaste):
BERKELEY -- UC Berkeley is negotiating a secretive deal with a developing graduate university in Saudi Arabia, where Berkeley faculty will collaborate on research and help the school hire professors.But the collaboration has raised significant questions among Berkeley instructors about whether the Saudi school will discriminate against women and others, as is the case at most of the country's institutions.
Berkeley administrators have declined to disclose most information about the developing agreement, denying several requests from the Times for public records. University attorneys said disclosing the records could derail the contract with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which the two schools expect to finalize as early as Tuesday.
A campus faculty leader said some professors in Berkeley's mechanical engineering department -- which would provide consultation to the Saudi school -- had "huge" concerns about the agreement, particularly about academic freedom and gender and religious discrimination.
An Academic Senate committee decided those concerns were unwarranted, said Bill Drummond, the body's chairman.
"They felt that the value of going forward outweighed the reservations that had been expressed so far," said Drummond, a journalism professor.
Drummond declined to provide a copy of the Academic Senate report, as did the university. The report is believed to address the human-rights concerns raised by faculty members and details about the proposal.
In a letter to the university, Times' attorney Karl Olson said the school's reticence violates state law.
Withholding the document "seems to confuse the interests of various University officials in avoiding potential embarrassment or scrutiny with the interests of the public, which funds the university, in scrutinizing proposed agreements," Olson wrote.
Faculty concerns have slowed similar proposals between other U.S. and Saudi schools. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, engineering professors are opposing an agreement to develop a men-only engineering school at Saudi Arabia's Jubail University College.
Berkeley administrators are making sure the King Abdullah proposal would not lead to discrimination, said Al Pisano, chairman of the UC Berkeley mechanical engineering department.
"We're in the middle of vetting all of this," said Pisano, who declined to say how much money the Saudi school would pay UC Berkeley. "If this agreement goes forward as planned, I think you're going to find that there will be no discrimination on any basis."
Well, I doubt that. I hope I'm proven wrong.
Posted by Robert at March 3, 2008 11:21 AM
Print this entry
| Email this entry
| Digg this
| del.icio.us
I propose that Berkley should be obliged to send ONLY female, Jewish instructors. That should put "paid" to this stupid idea!
Posted by: kenprice![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 3, 2008 11:31 AM
"A campus faculty leader said some professors in Berkeley's mechanical engineering department -- which would provide consultation to the Saudi school -- had "huge" concerns about the agreement, particularly about academic freedom and gender and religious discrimination.
An Academic Senate committee decided those concerns were unwarranted, said Bill Drummond, the body's chairman.
'They felt that the value of going forward outweighed the reservations that had been expressed so far,' said Drummond, a journalism professor."
-- from the article above
The "value" in the literal sense.
And future historians, if there are any, will sum it up thus:
For this is how they defeated the West:
Radix malorum cupiditas est.
at March 3, 2008 11:35 AM
Three cheers for the engineers.
Posted by: Pelayo at March 3, 2008 11:53 AM
These pink people have an open mind.
They are tolerant, you see..
They are accommodating to other cultures.
You guys must be Islamophobic.
Here in Georgetown they are right on track, you see:
Georgetown to Congressman: Don't Worry About Our Petrodollars
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/614
And here, Downunder, the uni's are all real eager to their hands on some of these petrodollers, no matter what the cost...
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at March 3, 2008 11:54 AM
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Now there is an oxymoron to conjure with.
Posted by: ericthekuffar at March 3, 2008 12:13 PM
"These pink people have an open mind."
Yeah, and their brains oozed out through the opening.
Posted by: Pelayo at March 3, 2008 12:20 PM
And there are imams still teaching that the world is flat.
This will be the only time in recorded history where a barbarian nation will have such influence without a war. Usually barbarians do not have any influence in a world of scholars.
Posted by: Borg at March 3, 2008 12:28 PM
Greetings:
What I find interesting is that, not long ago, there was a multi-month, faculty brouhaha about UC Berkeley taking funding from an American oil company for some kind of "green" research.
And so it goes.
Posted by: 11B40 at March 3, 2008 12:29 PM
Wonder what the Berzerkley City Council, which has in the past called for its own sanctions against Israel, do here? On one hand, being Leningrad by the Bay, they could support the Saudi proposal, since Islam, being a third world religion, has got to be faultless; OTOH, the Saudi Royals are in bed with the hated Bush.
So which side do they pick? Decisions, decisions!
Posted by: Infidel Pride at March 3, 2008 12:34 PM
Dhimmis in academia.
Posted by: tanstaafl at March 3, 2008 1:03 PM
say how much money the Saudi school would pay UC Berkeley. "If this agreement goes forward as planned, I think you're going to find that there will be no discrimination on any basis.unfortunately universities and colleges live on grants in part -- and show remarkable blindness towards their benefactors. Politics and policies as long as the money train is flowing
at March 3, 2008 1:09 PM
One thing I learned from reading and posting at liberal blogs for the last 4 years is that liberals don't care about people they care about ideology and being right.
Like their communist ancestors people are just tools to be used in the acquisition of power.
As for Berkeley, they'd make women wear burkhas and under go FGM if the price is right. They'd rationalize it as mocking the U.S. gov't, Christians and the horrific western society in general.
at March 3, 2008 2:01 PM
Sell outs
Posted by: interestinconundrum at March 3, 2008 2:51 PM
Money trumps ideology every time, and college administrators are no exception.
Posted by: sceptico at March 3, 2008 5:52 PM
Assistance in improving the technical capability of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology?
Geeezuz, maybe we should save a step, and cut our own throats.
Take our "humanities" professors, please.
If any country in the world would benefit from some redirected, force fed feminism, it's Saudi Arabia.
We have a large supply of Middle Eastern Studies professors in stock too, they can't wait to tell you about the Religion of Peace.
Talk to us about engineering and science assistance in another generation or two.
Posted by: RalphInfidel at March 3, 2008 6:07 PM
RalphInfidel, hopefully this is what they will wind up with : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlDUK7YG6A
Posted by: Shakey_Premise at March 3, 2008 7:04 PM
Pimps usually don't whore themselves.
These are a New Breed:
Human condoms.
Posted by: profitsbeard at March 3, 2008 10:36 PM
If you live in California, call your representatives and tell them you don't want federal funds going to a public institution that would support gender apartheid!
The hypocrisy is breathtaking....
Also, I would suggest calling the Departments and the College President and letting them know how you feel.
Posted by: treehugger at March 4, 2008 10:13 AM
I would like to add that since I'm a Calpoly Alumnus, I am proud to see that my Alma Mater is holding out on this disgraceful deal.
Posted by: treehugger at March 4, 2008 10:14 AM
Comments are turned off and archived for this entry.
(Note: Comments on articles are unmoderated, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dhimmi Watch or Robert Spencer. Comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying may be summarily deleted. However, the fact that particular comments remain on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Robert Spencer of the views expressed therein.)