Category: In the News

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Who’s REALLY embarrassing Cal Poly?

Warren Baker, who is REALLY embarrassing Cal Poly?

Who’s Really embarrassing Cal Poly?

Recently, a member of the engineering faculty was called into what appeared to be a administrative ‘disciplinary meeting’ but ended as a rant by the engineering dean and the provost regarding how certain disgruntled folks were ‘embarrassing the university.’ Little did they know, it aint one guy!

Well, the only advice I can give Cal Poly is ‘don’t do anything embarrassing.’ Unfortunately, according to one expose’, Cal Poly has a lot of things that might be called ‘embarrassing’; here are a few select quotes:

1) “Declining morale and a high level of turnovers also plague the college. During the past three years, staff turnovers have exceeded 50 percent. In addition, six chairs have stepped down and numerous faculty and staff have voiced dissatisfaction.”

2) “… this year’s anticipated $1.3 million shortfall.”

3) “Noori also is the guiding force behind a controversial effort by Cal Poly officials to provide College of Engineering expertise and personnel to help start a similar institution in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Critics of the plan contend women, Jews and other minorities will be excluded.”

4) It appears as though both Dean Mohammad Noori and Provost Bill Durgan worked at the same small college years ago which may explain why:

Cal Poly Professor Mike Cirovic said, “Durgin wanted to quell rumors that would not help, and in fact, would harm the college.”

5) Yet, Mohammad is “the highest paid dean, adding salary and perks, in the California State University system”…. And in spite of faculty objections has been rewarded by higher administrators by having his: “salary has increased 11 percent over the past two years; his $900 monthly housing allowance is additional to his $213,000 annual salary.”

6) One can only wonder why Cal Poly even entertained employing Mohammad Noori after comments like this were made by North Carolina State University:

“He is an incredible bully who doesn’t respect his faculty,” said Larry Silverberg, Professor and Associate Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NCSU. “This place shut down while we waited for his contract to run out.”

In any event, the one thing I have learned about Cal Poly is that everything starts at the top. Nothing, from my observation, happens without Cal Poly President’s Warren Baker’s tacit or expressed approval.

So, who is really embarrassing Cal Poly? Don’t be surprised after all this; Warren gets a 21% raise.

Roger

For the complete story on the recent Cal Poly Follies!

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Cal Poly Students elect ‘Saudi Deal’ Critic as President

I LooOoooOOve Cal Poly Engineering!Cal Poly students elected vocal ‘Saudi Deal critic’ Angella Kramer overwhelmingly as student body President at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

In a daring move on the day of election, the two college presidents of the Cal Poly Democrats and Cal Poly Republicans came out with a personal strong endorsement letter in the student newspaper of Angela Kramer:

“….and (she) stood up at ASI board meetings when all others remained silent. An important example of this lies in the recent student outcry over the pending contract with JUC in Saudi Arabia. Students wanted a forum to have their concerns addressed when previous attempts to talk about the issue were shut down. Angela was the only member of the Board of Directors who stood up in public repeatedly, not only against discriminatory programs, but also in support of the rights of students to be heard by members of the Cal Poly administration, including President Baker.”

Not everyone at every university is so quick to sell their principles for some quick cash. Some folks have begun to rethink their positions, even at UC Berkeley:

UC Berkeley’s civil and environmental engineering department declined to join KAUST.

There is much different between us and the Saudis and although one wants to be accepting; however, we must recognize that tolerance only goes to the point of sacrificing who we are. We are a free nation, they are not. Women have a place in our world, women are cattle in theirs. There are more comparisons equally disturbing.

Just say no to the Saudis.

Roger Freberg

What Cal Poly’s Dance Really Costs
Cal Poly: Learning to do Bad by Doing!
at the Cal Poly Gender Apartheid Oasis
Cal Poly degrees for sale!
Cal Poly’s REAL Responsibility is at home!

The WORLD to Cal Poly: the Saudis are a BAD Deal!

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the Fight For Local News

SLo comment on local happenings!
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water, another blogger steps up to take on the world… isn’t the internet grand!

Local News folks who have had the world to themselves now have to face their latest competition… and it’s free! Here comes SLOcomment.com !

Most locals have already begin to watch as sloUncovered would break the hard stories that few others — if any — would touch!

Just as economic competition has finally come to our county… so has news coverage.

It’s a brave new world.

Roger Freberg

Are you wondering how the  Cal Poly bin Saudi Deal  is going down? Well the ’empire is striking back’ by bringing Islamic Speakers to inform and reeducate us. Thanks, SloComment.com.

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the PRICE of a loaf of bread?

what am I gonig to do when a loaf of bread costs $1600?

An interesting article entitled “Load up the Pantry” in the Wall Street Journal by Brett Arends half jokingly asks America to start ‘hoarding food.” His logic is based on the fundamental principles of price/demand and supply.

“The latest data show cereal prices rising by more than 8% a year. Both flour and rice are up more than 13%. Milk, cheese, bananas and even peanut butter: They’re all up by more than 10%. Eggs have rocketed up 30% in a year. Ground beef prices are up 4.8% and chicken by 5.4%.”

Why is this happening one might ask? The answer is fairly straightforward:

“The main reason for rising prices, of course, is the surge in demand from China and India. Hundreds of millions of people are joining the middle class each year, and that means they want to eat more and better food.

A secondary reason has been the growing demand for ethanol as a fuel additive. That’s soaking up some of the corn supply.”

Looking at the Consumer Price index, the ever increasing price of food and energy has been driving the index upward, in spite of significant declines in areas like apparel. In the last 3 months (ending Mar 2008), food prices have started to increase faster than their 12 month historical trend. Energy still remains far and away the biggest affect on the Consumer Price increase moving at an annual rate of 17 percent.

One of the real changes in a global marketplace is that shortages are a genuine concern, everywhere. Looking at the price of wheat over the past few years gives anyone a chance for pause. Some predict that this could continue for decades. On the bright side, investors looking at a market in which profitability is virtually assured are moving assets into the agricultural and select consumer food arena.

So, what and how should we buy? Clearly, nonperishable items are best , also products that are likely to be affected most by increased transportation costs. Some examples:

Canned goods
imported foods (pasta, condiments, wine)
Grains and Cereals
Paper products (computer paper, paper towels, etc.)

Of course, energy efficient freezers stuffed will seem golden if a turkey ends up costing $300.

Since the double digit inflationary period of the late ‘70’s, the best financial advice has been to keep your fixed costs low (mortgage/rent, car payments, utilities) in order to have enough cash to cover the ever increasing variable costs in one’s life (energy, food, entertainment, travel, and unforeseen expenses).

It’s an old formula that works in inflationary environments, like the one we are in right now.

Roger Freberg

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Western Women’s Conference 2008

Western Women's Conference 2008Laura and I have enjoyed attending each others functions, although lately, Laura’s level of ‘activities’ has bumped upward significantly.

It’s still fun to see the ‘other half’ in action.

Laura will be speaking at this year’s Western Women’s Summit being held at the Reagan Ranch Center. Although I haven’t seen her presentation, I am sure it will be entertaining.

Part of the appeal to me will be a tour of “Dutch’s” Ranch and that should be fun.

Clare Boothe Luce Policy institute is sponsoring the event. Clare Boothe Luce was certainly interesting in her day, here are a few quotes that amused me:

I don’t have a warm personal enemy left. They’ve all died off. I miss them terribly because they helped define me.

Nature abhors a virgin — a frozen asset.

There is nothing harder than the softness of indifference.

Love is a verb

No good deed goes unpunished

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes”

Roger Freberg