Lee Heidhues 12.4.2022

The cruelty inflicted on wolves in Montana is reprehensible and shameful.

The Federal government is equally to blame for this carnage by not putting a stop to this senseless slaughter.

It was bad enough when Donald Trump permitted the killing of wolves.

It’s worse that the Biden Administration, which preaches its love of the environment, allows this mayhem to continue against one of the original inhabitants of North America. Wolves need to be protected.

Fortunately in California wolves are a protected species.

Since 2014, gray wolves are listed as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act and federal Endangered Species Act. The “take” of a gray wolf is prohibited anywhere in the state, including to hunt, pursue, harass, catch, capture, or kill. There is no hunting season for wolves in California.

https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Gray-Wolf#560052459-what-is-the-legal-status-of-wolves-in-california

https://www.californiawolfcenter.org/wolves-in-california

Excerpted from Montana Free Press 11.29.2022

A Helena judge reinstated the 2022-2023 wolf hunting and trapping regulations passed by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Tuesday in a ruling that rejected environmental groups’ request for an order halting wolf hunting and trapping while the larger issue of Montana’s wolf management is weighed by courts.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Christopher Abbott’s order also dissolved his Nov. 15 restraining order that had temporarily reinstated regulations from 2020-2021, before the Legislature passed four bills aimed at reducing wolf populations. The management framework adopted by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission after those bills became law legalizes neck snares, loosens quotas in areas bordering national parks and raises the bag limit dictating how many wolves individual hunters and trappers can kill. 

Plaintiffs WildEarth Guardians and Project Coyote had filed suit against the commission and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Oct. 28. They argue that laws passed by the Legislature and regulations adopted by the commission run counter to the public trust doctrine enshrined in the Montana Constitution, which requires the state to manage natural resources like wildlife to preserve them for future generations.

In an emailed release about the decision, WildEarth Guardians carnivore coexistence advocate Lizzy Pennock said plaintiffs will “keep fighting for Montana’s wolves in the courtroom while our case carries on and outside the courtroom in every way possible.”

The lawsuit comes as the Biden administration weighs reinstating federal protections for gray wolves.

In September of 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service examined petitions to restore Endangered Species Act protections to gray wolves of the West and determined that there was enough evidence to merit closer study of gray wolves’ viability, due in part to wolf management frameworks in Idaho and Montana. That assessment was supposed to be completed within a year but is still ongoing.

https://montanafreepress.org/2022/11/29/wolf-hunting-regulations-reinstated-while-lawsuit-proceeds/

Lee Heidhues 12.2.2022

Brooke Jenkins spent eight months working as the 153K “Volunteer” to destroy and politically lynch her former boss Progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

She shamelessly appealed to the law and order MAGA crowd with over the top claims about the number of Perps being released from jail under Chesa’s watch.

The mainstream media was a willing partner in the dishonest reporting on Chesa Boudin.

What this opportunistic politician failed to mention, even though she had eight years experience, is that often suspects are released pending Trial on the Order of a Judge. It is well documented that Chesa Boudin argued to have Perps locked up when he thought the circumstances merited it.

Now DA Jenkins is receiving reminders from the Court about how the System works.

Why is the media ignoring this reality and not holding Brooke Jenkins up to the same standard?

The San Francisco Standard 12.2.2022

Suspects in two high-profile crimes against Asian Americans in San Francisco were released despite pressure from prosecutors for them to await trial in jail.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Marisa Chun decided Friday to put 20-year-old Gustavo Ribeiro-Quintanilha—who’s accused of holding an 88-year-old Asian woman at gunpoint during a home invasion and robbery in Ingleside—on house arrest with electronic monitoring.

In arguing for Ribeiro-Quintanilha to stay in jail on Monday, Nancy Tung, the chief of the Vulnerable Victims Unit at the District Attorney’s Office, said he’s a danger to the public because he used guns and has a rap sheet with multiple offenses in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. 

Releasing him would put others at risk of “great bodily injury,” Tung said. 

However, Judge Chun, who jailed Ribeiro-Quintanilha after his arrest in October, said he has “now been assessed,” and that new information suggests he’s suitable for supervised release.

Other factors that weighed into the judge’s decision included the suspect’s young age, family support, a short criminal history and how he didn’t physically hurt anyone during the alleged crime, which took place in April. Even so, Judge Chun admonished him to stay away from people who’d be a “bad influence.”

According to the police report, two suspects broke into the octogenarian’s home and “forced her into her bathroom at gunpoint” while they rummaged through her belongings. The victim’s daughter told KPIX the ordeal reduced the victim to tears and terrified her whole family.

Ribeiro-Quintanilha’s release from jail comes soon after a similar decision in a separate crime that victimized an Asian American.

Robert Green—who’s accused of driving the car involved in a fatal crash that killed a 66-year-old Asian woman, Huansu He, and seriously injured an 81-year-old—got out of jail last month. 

Prosecutors said releasing Green, who’s charged with manslaughter, would endanger the public, citing police reports that claim he was high on cannabis and heavily medicated while behind the wheel.

Chinese-language media first reported on Judge Patrick Thompson’s decision to release the 47-year-old Bay Area native.

Jesse Hsieh, the deputy public defender representing Green, told The Standard that supervised release would pose no danger to anyone. Some of the factors that Hsieh said suggest as much, include the defendant’s clean driving record, family support and a job that was steady until he was sidelined from injuries in the crash. Plus, he stayed at the crash scene, which indicates he’s not much of a flight risk.

“These facts,” Hsieh said, “demonstrated to the judge that this was a one-time, tragic accident.”

https://sfstandard.com/community/suspects-released-in-high-profile-sf-crimes-against-asians-despite-das-pushback/

Top photo – San Francisco DA and her parrots.

Lee Heidhues 12.2022

“There ain’t no Great Society as it applies to you and me. Our country isn’t Free.” Frank Zappa

It’s a Police State.

Cops rule America.

Aided and abetted by an American public indoctrinated with law and order rhetoric, mindless cop shows on TV.

An all too often fawning compliant media.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 12.2.2022

A Vallejo police officer fired for sending a threatening email to former Chronicle columnist Otis Taylor Jr., among other misconduct allegations, was cleared of wrongdoing by an arbitrator, Open Vallejo reported.

Taylor, a managing editor of KQED, said he was surprised, but not shocked, by the decision, and that it indicates that the department is “disinterested in actual reform.”

“It’s just really disheartening,” he said. “How is anyone supposed to believe that policing in Vallejo is going to change?”

Michael Nichelini, the combative leader of Vallejo’s police union, was fired in April 2021 following an investigation into an email he sent to Taylor, who reported extensively on misconduct and abusive behavior by the Vallejo Police Department, including reports on Nichelini.

The city also cited another email that Nichelini sent to members of the police union included the image of a 1906 Vallejo police badge, which was inscribed with what appeared to be a Nazi symbol, as reason for his termination. Lawyers for Nichelini immediately appealed the termination, sending it to arbitration.

Open Vallejo reported that Nichelini called the decision overturning his termination “a win for all of us and the process” in an email sent to union members Wednesday.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Report-Vallejo-police-officer-who-threatened-17627048.php

Lee Heidhues 11.29.2022

Attn:  Supervisor Connie Chan – D1 San Francisco

Connie

Whatever shred of Progressive “In Solidarity” credibility you may have had was just buried this evening.

Your blatant cave in with your YES vote to approve Police killer robots puts you firmly in league with the worst law and order reactionaries in San Francisco.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-could-approve-the-use-of-killer-robots-17618170.php

It is beyond disgraceful.

Only three of your comrades had enough guts to stand up to this Orwellian proposal. You were missing in action.

If you think that bowing to the reactionaries in District 1 is going to save your political career, forget it.

The Progressives are abandoning you in droves.

The reactionaries don’t trust you due to your Chameleon like behavior in office.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 11.29.2022

San Francisco police will be allowed to use robots to kill people in limited emergency situations under a controversial new policy approved by city supervisors on Tuesday.

Police leaders said they want the ability to deploy robots with lethal force during extremely rare cases against violent suspects such as mass shooters or suicide bombers. But critics, including a minority of the board, strongly objected to the policy over concerns that it could be abused and allow police to kill people too easily.

Following an impassioned debate, supervisors approved the policy in an 8-3 vote. They adopted an amendment that requires one of two high-ranking SFPD leaders to authorize any actual use of a deadly robot.

Several supervisors remained deeply skeptical that police need the extraordinary ability to kill someone with a robot. Supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen and Shamann Walton voted against the policy.

“This is a local police force here to protect us. This is not the U.S. military that we are arming,” Preston said at the board meeting. “There is serious potential for misuse and abuse of this military-grade technology, and zero showing of necessity.”

Ronen unsuccessfully sought to amend the policy to require police to exhaust non-lethal options before using a robot with deadly force. Peskin later proposed a successful and less restrictive amendment that lets police use a robot to kill someone if they have tried other de-escalation tactics or concluded that they would not be able to subdue the threat with alternative options.

“This is a big deal,” Ronen said. “This is opening up a Pandora’s box that could change our society in a significant way.”

Lee Heidhues 11.29.2022

It was a nail biting World Cup match. Both teams left it all on the Pitch, particularly USA striker Christian Pulisic who was injured plowing into the Iranian goalkeeper as he scored the only goal of the match.

In the end the Americans prevailed.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 11.29.2022

Iran’s run at the World Cup is over after they narrowly lost to the the United States in a tense contest in Doha.

A single Iranian goal would have been enough to flip the result on its head, but it never came as the US held firm to reach the knockout stages for the first time since 2014.

“The dream is over,” Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said.”We will keep going and try to win respect and admiration and credibility all over the world, because I think my players deserve it.”

Iran leave the competition having made headlines around the world when they refused to sing the national anthem in their opening game, which set the tone as Iranian fans, including many women, proudly displayed their pro-revolutionary symbols, slogans and attire.

The Iranian player Voria Ghafouri, not selected for the tournament but one of the country’s most prominent players, was even arrested back in Iran for supporting the women-led protests and “spreading propaganda” back home.

Reports even surfaced on Monday night that Iran had threatened the players’ families with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” ahead of Tuesday’s game.

“Conditions in our country are not right, and our people are not happy,” Iranian captain Ehsan Hajsafi told reporters after the England game. Hajsafi added that the victims’ families back home “should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them.”

The US will face the Netherlands on Saturday after Christian Pulisic’s solitary goal settled what was effectively a playoff for the knockout stages with group winners England beating Wales 3-0 in the group’s other game.

Tensions went up a notch at the World Cup when US Soccer posted the Iranian flag minus the emblem of the Islamic Republic, which has been present on the flag since 1980, one year after the Islamic Republic was established. US Soccer deleted the posts claiming that it was done to “show support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights” but the damage was already done.

The American coach, Gregg Berhalter, apologised for the tweet of the flag. “I can only reiterate that the players and staff knew nothing about what was being posted sometimes things are out of our control,” he said. That didn’t stop US captain Tyler Adams, the youngest captain at the tournament at 23, from being rebuked by an Iranian journalist in the pre-match press conference for mispronouncing “Iran”.

https://www.dw.com/en/world-cup-2022-dream-is-over-for-iran-who-leave-lasting-impression/a-63934697

Lee Heidhues 11.27.2022

LETTER TO THE EDITOR – SAN FRANCISCO RICHMOND REVIEW

The overwhelming Victory of Proposition J and the crushing defeat of Proposition I should have sent a message to the motorists and their followers who howled incessantly to put this issue to a vote of The People.

Funded by Dede Wilsey and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to the tune of 800K the motorists got their Vote.

There can be no doubt about the Result.

The People want car free areas in San Francisco.

It is sad and all too predictable that the Losers in this Vote by The People refuse to accept the result and continue to push their campaign to drive anywhere anytime.

The motorists want to further limit the car free time on The Great Walkway and continue to argue that The Great Walkway should not be car free beginning on Fridays at noon.

The motorists purposefully have forgotten already that Proposition I, their call to bring cars back to The Great Walkway, was crushed. Sixty-five percent of The People voted NO.

Equally disturbing is the motorists latest war on Slow Streets.

Like barnacles hanging to a collapsing pier the motorists have attached themselves to Slow Streets Cabrillo and 23rd Avenue as an assault on their hegemony in another attempt to thwart the will of The People.

The SFMTA, in a mind-numbing decision, has voted to cut by half the number of Slow Streets despite the election results.

This sense of Entitlement by the motorists is reprehensible and will be firmly rejected.

Sunday News Quiz Error – San Francisco Chronicle Edition

Lee Heidhues 11.27.2022

The Chronicle weekly news quiz editor must still be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday.

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-S.F.) was the subject of a homophobic slur by MAGA flame thrower, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Rep-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-calls-Sen-Scott-17606923.php

Question 9 this week asked, “Who did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene refer to with a homophobic slur on Twitter?”

The correct Answer, according to The Chronicle, is B. George Takei who made his fame on the Star Trek television and cinematic franchise. Wrong!!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Takei

Senator Wiener and George Takei do have one thing in common. Both are Gay men and have been very active in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Rep. Greene would probably ascribe the same disgusting slur to the 85 year old Mr. Takei.

Lee Heidhues 11.26.2022

It was Black Friday, the traditional post Thanksgiving shopping day.

The yearly event certainly turned out to be a special day at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park.

I first saw this painting, The Flag is Bleeding by Ruth Ringgold on November 8, 2019 at the DeYoung members only showing of ‘Soul of a Nation.’

The next day progressive Chesa Boudin was declared winner in the San Francisco District Attorney election. 

I posted a blog about the ‘Soul of a Nation’ and used the painting. 

In the last three years I have displayed it several times on my Blog to illustrate the volatile political and racist history of America.

It is arguably my favorite piece I have EVER viewed at the DeYoung Museum.

Sunday is the last day of the Faith Ringgold exhibit.

The Flag is Bleeding is a lead painting of the Exhibit.

We purchased a beautifully framed print for a very fair price which includes a further discount Liz receives as a longtime member of the DeYoung Museum. Our purchase is now affixed with a RED DOT waiting to be specially wrapped prior to its journey to our home.

The curator will package it and I will pick it up next Tuesday after the  v  World Cup match.

https://www.famsf.org/press-room/unprecedented-faith-ringgold-american-people-to-make-west-coast-debut-at-de-young-museum