Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe OH, THOSE PEACE-NIKS! The left-wing bastion of Berkeley, Calif., has voted to condemn U.S. military action in Afghanistan -- but not before adding an amendment denouncing the terrorist "mass murder" of thousands of Americans on Sept. 11. Advertisement The San Francisco Chronicle reports the resolution, which narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote Tuesday night, is believed to be the first official statement by a U.S. city critical of the U.S. military response to the destruction of the World Trade Center and the damage to the Pentagon. Although public opinion polls show the American public in favor of the military response by an unprecedented margin, former city council member Ying Lee Kelley urged the panel to "continue to honor Berkeley's tradition of opposition to brute force to solve profoundly difficult social problems." Berkeley -- home of the University of California at Berkeley campus -- was the birthplace of the free speech movement in the 1960s and has been a hotbed of peace protests since the Vietnam War. Advertisement RICHARD PRYOR PLAYS IN PEORIA Comedian Richard Pryor will finally get his due in his hometown of Peoria, Ill. After months of arguing, the City Council voted 6-5 Tuesday to recognize the town's famous and funny native son with six blocks of Sheridan Road and the first block of Persimmon Street renamed "Richard Pryor Place." First District Councilman Clyde Gulley Jr. convinced the majority that the city should be proud of Pryor's achievements and not focus on his past drug use or history of domestic violence. "I'm not focusing on all the bad -- all the negative aspects -- but the good things that Richard Pryor has done for the city of Peoria," he told the Peoria Journal Star. "Richard Pryor Place" will be located in the center of Peoria's South Side African-American community. Pryor, 60, suffers from multiple sclerosis. FUNNY GIFT CONTEST Sears is looking for the funniest holiday gift stories. The most memorable of them --- 150 words or less, please -- could be worth $5,000. The "World's Funniest Gift You Returned" contest kicks off the Sears Gift Card campaign. The company says it'll donate $1 for every entry received to the American Red Cross. Advertisement Gift-giving expert Lucy Pereda, host of the nationally-acclaimed Hispanic television program "En Casa de Lucy," will lead a panel of judges to determine who has the world's funniest gift return story. The winner will be selected from five finalists who'll showcase their stories in Chicago at Sears on State St. in December. (To enter, visit sears.com/giftcardcontest, e-mail [email protected] or mail to "World's Funniest Gift You Returned," P.O. Box 1788, Paramus, N.J. 70652 by Nov. 28.) REASONS TO CELEBRATE TODAY: THURSDAY: This is Alaska Day, a holiday in Alaska. It marks the 1867 transfer of ownership of Alaska from Russia to the United States. Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, celebrates its Independence Day today. And today is Persons Day in Canada, commemorating the anniversary of the 1929 ruling that declared women to be persons in Canada. (Thanks to Chase's 2001 Calendar of Events) BY THE WAY... This actress was elected to the Greek parliament and later appointed as Greece's minister of culture. Who? Melina Mercouri, who was born on this date in 1922.
