NCAA Tournament First Round Liveblog!

Welcome to Milwaukee everyone!  John Greely checking in with you here, ready to bring you all the action from UCSB’s first round match with second-seeded Ohio State.

Tipoff is at 6:45 p.m. Pacific, and check in every few minutes starting around 6:30 for all your UCSB-analysis needs. Go Gauchos!

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Live Updates

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The problem with crossing the street

I think one of my favorite things about studying abroad is being surprised by things that one never expects could be surprising.  I enjoy this because I think it says a lot about what we as people are used to in our daily lives, about what just happens around us without much notice.  So along these lines, I find it funny that one of my bigger concerns in the month that I’ve been in Australia hasn’t been anything like adjusting to the culture, feeling overwhelmed by being in a new city, or not knowing where to go (though of course, these are applicable), but rather one of those little things that one never expects couple be surprising: crossing the street.

Yes, crossing the street. (more…)

What do conservatives want, exactly?

The political spectrum in the United States has long varied to some extent from those in the rest of the developed world. While the Democrats are host to a range of ideological stances that range from the traditional left to the center-right, the Republicans and those with associated or similar positions hold many beliefs that are, shall we say, not considered acceptable in the other G-20 countries.

The sanctity of entitlement programs and other forms of direct government assistance, essentially free education through the university level, acceptance of climate change, the necessity of strong government intervention in the economy in times of recession and universal single-payer health care are all accepted as canon in Europe, a place that not coincidentally is weathering this storm, save for the Greeks and their financial shenanigans and the Spanish housing bubble, much better than we are. The fact that these items are still seen as controversial and remain under heated debate in the United States is frankly stunning, and the rest of the world had a bad taste left in their mouth by our dysfunction after our embarrassing showing in Copenhagen, where we promised to show up with legislation passed ready to sign an agreement. Needless to say, we failed on both accounts. (more…)

Maybe Studying, Definitely Abroad

I should probably start this entry off by introducing myself: Hi UCSB, I’m Drea. I’m a third-year history major studying abroad in Lyon, France. I’ve been here since August and let’s just say that it’s been one hell of a vacation. I’m not going to beat around the bush with that because it’s true – sure, I “go” to class. But I don’t like to let “class” get in the way of my travels or joie de vivre (See what I did there? Tried to be cross-cultural by saying “joy of living” in French).

If you’ve already stopped and asked yourself, “But Drea? I’ve heard of Paris, France – but Lyon? That’s crazy speak. Where is that?” To you, I say: I had that exact same question seven months ago. Lyon is the 2nd largest metropolitan in France – the first being Paris. It’s situated in the Rhone Alps (which makes snowboarding, or as I like to call it “shredding the gnar-gnar,” the Alps is a mere 1-hour train ride away), it’s the hometown of modern cinema (thanks to the Lumière Brothers), and it’s the gastronomical capital of France.

What does “gastronomical capital of France” mean exactly? It means that Lyon’s culture and reputation is based largely on food – mouth-watering, taste bud titillating, “I wish it were more socially acceptable to wear sweat pants out to dinner” food. Allow me to start by explaining (while salivating) their assortment of French cheeses: they have hundreds of specialty cheese shops and open-air markets dedicated to just finding the perfect cheese, from Camembert to Roquefort to anything in between.
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Big West Men’s Final Live Blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Anaheim. We’ll keep you updated in today’s men’s finals as the action goes.

Check in every couple of minutes for instant analysis on all the action, starting right before tipoff. (more…)

Big West Tournament Live Blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Anaheim. We’ll keep you updated in today’s men’s and women’s semi-finals as the action goes.

Check in every couple of minutes for instant analysis on all the action, starting right before tipoff. (more…)

Recent Incidents of Intolerance and Hate on UC Campuses

This letter was sent to all UCSB students registered with a umail account. While the Daily Nexus editorial staff issued a staff editorial about ASUCSD President Utsav Gupta’s funding freeze for UC San Diego campus media(viewable here), this letter from Student Affairs leadership tackles the sentiment at the core of the issue.

March 4, 2010

Dear UCSB Student:

As in the lives of individuals, there come significant moments in every community that define what it stands for, what it believes in, what principles it espouses and lives by—moments that define how each and every member of a community should act and should be treated. The UC Santa Barbara community is experiencing one of those moments, one that demands that we take stock of ourselves—what we aspire to be and what we work to be as a community.

It is important to bring this moment into sharper focus with some details of the recent incidents of incivility, intolerance, hate, stupidity, and criminal behavior occurring across the University of California campuses. Among others, these include a racial “theme” party mocking Black History Month that was sponsored by a fraternity at UC San Diego, race baiting comments by some student media there, a rope noose found hanging from a bookshelf in the library, and a Klan-style hood placed on a statue on campus. (more…)

The Arrogance of Power

The nuclear option has been decided on. President Obama and the Democrat majority leaders in Congress have decided to use the parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation to pass their unpopular health care reform bill, a bill that the Republicans oppose, a bill that some liberal Congressmen oppose for not being liberal enough, and a bill to which the majority of the American people, according to most polls, are vehemently opposed.

Here, you can see a compilation of leading Congressional Democrats lambasting the procedure… when Republicans tried to use it back when they had the majority and the Democrats tried to filibuster every bill and nomination they could. Pot, meet kettle.

My favorite quote is the one by Harry Reid. The “arrogance of power” is an apt summation of the main problem facing the United States; it is applicable to not just our politicians, but the unions and big business. (more…)

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