I have only one comment. It’s about time and long overdue.
Along with a sound track from the English rock group Free ‘Mr. Big’.
Roger Ailes must be turning in his grave as the Fox news clip below indicates.
I work hard everyday Come rain or shine And I don’t need no one To tell me ’bout a girl of mine She’s got so much love And she saves it all for me I would not be lying That’s the way it’s got to be
So Mr. Big You’d better watch out When only you hang around me Oh for you now I will dig A great big hole in the ground.
Excerpted from The Guardian 3.20.2023
A grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump in New York, over a hush money payment made to the adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
It is unclear whether or not he will be handcuffed, because of his status, but he will be fingerprinted, photographed and processed for a felony arrest. His legal team is expected to vigorously fight the charges, and a timeline for a potential trial remains unclear.
No former US president has ever been criminally indicted. The news is set to shake the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, in which Trump leads most polls.
The indictment has not yet been publicly unsealed, and some reports say Trump will appear in court next week. Trump will be required to appear at an arraignment, where he will enter a plea on the charges.
The brazen arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter in Russia is yet another assault on free speech by Vladimir Putin. It is an act of intimidation and harassment.
An open media is fundamental.
The arrest of Evan Gershkovich for what it described as espionage is an outrage and another sign that the paranoid Vladimir Putin will do everything in his power to stifle free speech and opposition as he continues his war of aggression against Ukraine.
Excerpted from Wall Street Journal 3.23.2023
Russia’s main security agency said Thursday it had detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for what it described as espionage.
Mr. Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen and member of the Journal’s Moscow bureau, was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg, around 880 miles east of Moscow, on Wednesday while on a reporting trip.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the arrest. “CPJ is deeply concerned by the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. This is the latest in a long line of attempts by Russia to use national security laws to silence reporting. We urge his immediate release,” said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg.
Russia’s main security agency said Thursday it had detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for what it described as espionage.
The Federal Security Bureau said Mr. Gershkovich, “acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Mr. Gershkovich is accredited to work as a journalist in Russia by the country’s Foreign Ministry.
“The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich,” the Journal said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”
Authorities took Mr. Gershkovich to Moscow, where he appeared in court with a state-appointed defense attorney and was ordered held in custody until May 29, said the press service of the court, according to state news agency TASS.
Mr. Gershkovich dropped out of contact with his editors while working in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday afternoon.
A post later appeared on Telegram describing a man with his face hidden being bundled from a restaurant in the city and put into a waiting van. It couldn’t be determined whether the person was Mr. Gershkovich.
A lawyer hired by the Journal attempted to find Mr. Gershkovich at the FSB building in Yekaterinburg, but was told authorities had no information about him.
7 of 7 | An entrance of the Lefortovo prison, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023. Russia’s top security agency says an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal has been arrested on espionage charges. The Federal Security Service said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Mr. Gershkovich later appeared in Moscow, where he was represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
According to TASS, which cited unnamed sources, Mr. Gershkovich pleaded not guilty at the closed hearing. His case, according to TASS, is considered top secret.
Mr. Gershkovich, 31 years old, joined the Journal in January 2022. He has worked as a reporter in Russia since 2017, first for the Moscow Times and then for Agence France-Presse. Earlier, he was a news assistant in New York for the New York Times. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he most recently wrote about the impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy.
Mr. Gershkovich since joining the Journal has covered a variety of Russia-related topics, including the recent visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Moscow, close associates of Mr. Putin and tensions between Kremlin officials and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) just announced she is running for reelection in 2024.
The Senator is one of the few people in Congress who relentlessly goes after the Federal Reserve Board and its chairman Jerome Powell. Her continued presence in the Senate is crucial. The American working public needs an intelligent advocate who will look after the interests of The People and is not intimidated by bankers, financiers, hedge fund managers and Wall Street.
The video is illustrative of how the Senator deals with the Federal Reserve.Take note this exchange occurred shortly before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Excerpted from The Nation 3.21.2023 John Nichols
The fallout from the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank continues to rock financial and political circles. There is plenty of finger-pointing and blame-laying going on. But Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren reminds us that a lot more attention needs to be paid to the role that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell played in the collapse that continues to shake confidence in the banking system.
Warren has been the loudest critic, and since the SVB collapse, she has made it particularly clear that she thinks Powell should step down. “Look,” she said Sunday. “I don’t think he should be chairman of the Federal Reserve.”
Warren has also asked that Powell recuse himself from internal probes by the Fed into the Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, writing in a March 18 letter to the inspectors general and the Fed board, “It is also critical that your investigation be completely independent and free of influence from the bank executives or regulators that were responsible for action that led to these bank failures.
I am particularly concerned that you avoid any interference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who bears direct responsibility for—and has a long record of failure involving—regulatory and supervisory matters involving these two banks.”
But Warren has been the loudest critic, and since the SVB collapse, she has made it particularly clear that she thinks Powell should step down. “Look,” she said Sunday. “I don’t think he should be chairman of the Federal Reserve.”
Warren is right: Powell should go. Unfortunately, he’s unlikely to step down and equally unlikely to be removed. His term as chair is not due to end until 2026, and his term as a Federal Reserve Board member is set to last until January 31, 2028. But his tenure can and should face more serious scrutiny.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) Monetary Policy & The Economy
In a blistering letter to Powell last week, Warren put things in perspective, arguing with regard to the second-largest bank failure in US history:
Warren’s complaints come as news reports suggest that the Fed knew of problems at SVB and other banks, with The New York Timesexplaining, “Silicon Valley Bank’s risky practices were on the Federal Reserve’s radar for more than a year—an awareness that proved insufficient to stop the bank’s demise.”
The American public may not, yet, be paying attention. It should.
Vladimir Putin will be placing tactical nukes in Belarus. A large country which borders on Ukraine.
The Ukrainians may be fighting Russia to a standstill on the battlefield but Putin shows no intention of negotiating a settlement. He intends to continue his aggression no matter what the cost.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 3.25.2023
Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, according to TASS state news agency.
Dr. Strangelove’s Major Kong rides his Nuke to oblivion
Putin said he reached an agreement with Belarusian president — and his closest regional ally — Alexander Lukashenko.
“We agreed with Lukashenko that we could place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating the nonproliferation regime,” Putin said, according to the TASS report.
Russia will soon position nuclear weapons in Belarus which borders on Ukraine
“There is nothing unusual here either: The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies,” Putin added.
Tactical nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains in the battlefield and the transfer of the weapons would mark the first time Russia will have based them outside the country since the mid-1990s.
Top photo – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko observe training launches of ballistic missiles as part of the exercise of the strategic deterrence force, in Moscow, Russia February 19, 2022. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS
Crashed out. Blissed out. Politically checked out. Under the Big Mouth.- Photo from ‘Family Matters’ exhibit – Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Lee Heidhues 3.25.2023
Donald Trump wants to be President, again.
It’s worthwhile to look back at his ascension to the White House in 2016.
The Israelis played a pivotal role in Trump’s victory. A political story which has been ignored by the mainstream media.
Only now is it seeing some light. The Nation and Democracy Now are reporting details of the sordid tale.
The mainstream media needs to get involved.
Excerpted from The Nation 3.25.2023 – James Bamford
Roger, hello from Jerusalem,” read the message from an Israeli secret agent. Dated August 12, 2016, it was addressed to Roger Stone—at the time a key player in Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign. “Any progress? He is going to be defeated unless we intervene. We have critical intel. The key is in your hands! Back in the US next week.” Later, the agent promised, “October Surprise coming!”
While the American media and political system fixated on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his armies of cyber warriors, trolls, and bots, what was completely missed in the Russiagate investigation of 2016 was the Israeli connection.
Photo from ‘Family Matters’ exhibit – Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
No details of it were ever revealed in the heavily redacted Mueller Report.
Nor was there any mention of an Israeli plot in the similarly redacted Senate Intelligence Committee Report on collusion charges in the 2016 election, or in any of the indictments or trials stemming from the Russia charges. Nor did any mention of Israeli involvement ever leak into the press.
Yet I can reveal here the details of an elaborate covert operation personally directed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that aimed to use secret intelligence to clandestinely intervene at the highest levels in the presidential election on behalf of Trump.
In the spring of 2016, no issue was more important to Benjamin Netanyahu than Donald Trump winning the White House. The GOP presidential candidate was key to everything he was after, from ending the Iran nuclear agreement, to recognizing Jerusalem—rather than Tel Aviv—as Israel’s capital, to continuing the occupation of Palestine. But November was months away, and there was no guarantee Trump would win.
Netanyahu appears to have made a drastic decision. He would dispatch a discreet, highly trusted aide, armed with critical intelligence, to covertly “intervene” in the US election to help put his man Trump in the White House.
Photo from ‘Family Matters’ exhibit – Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Based on the FBI documents, the intelligence appears to have consisted of advance knowledge of Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and it may have included confidential details from the stolen e-mails. It was likely obtained by Israeli eavesdropping operations that were targeting secret Russian communications, as well as those of WikiLeaks.
The prospect of an October Surprise, along with the offer of critical intelligence, apparently got Trump’s attention.
On September 25, Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met privately with Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer in his Trump Tower penthouse. Later that day, he publicly announced that if he was elected, his administration would finally “recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.” Since 1947, there has been virtual unanimity within the international community—and among US presidents—that the future of Jerusalem must be the subject of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Trump was vowing to trash that consensus, along with the Palestinians, and support Netanyahu’s agenda. Whether Trump and the Israeli agent ever met in person is unclear. By late summer, Roger Stone and his associate Jerome Corsi were becoming increasingly concerned about potential charges, and to eliminate a paper trail they began meeting only in private with the Israeli agent. What is very clear, however, is that in the end Netanyahu got what he wanted—and so did Trump
A Trump aide heavily involved in the conspiracy, according to the FBI documents, was Stone’s associate Corsi, who appears to have been the original contact who connected the Israelis to Stone. An ultraconservative journalist with a doctorate in political science from Harvard and the author of a shelf of books harshly critical of liberals and Democrats, Corsi was a leading literary light of the extreme right. He gained fame in 2004 for his “swiftboating” attacks on the military record of then–presidential candidate John Kerry. The secret agent was particularly drawn to Corsi’s adulation of Israel and support for its belligerence toward Iran.
Photo from ‘Family Matters’ exhibit – Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Although the secret agent’s name was redacted from the FBI’s search warrant, his profile is strikingly similar to that of Isaac Molho.
Like Molho, who was described by Haaretz as a “discreet man for sensitive missions,” the secret agent is described as highly trusted and very close to Netanyahu. Most important, at one point, according to an affidavit, the agent was summoned from the US to Rome at a moment’s notice to be by Netanyahu’s side on a date the Israeli prime minister was conducting negotiations with John Kerry in the Italian capital over Palestine. This critical role was for many years played exclusively by Molho. In addition, the agent referred to in the warrant had enough clout and authority to direct the actions of two other high-ranking Israeli officials involved in the clandestine operation to influence the results of the US election. Molho did not respond to The Nation’s request for comment.
The entire exhibit is very disconcerting. I continuously shook my head as I spent the afternoon in a generally quiet exhibit hall at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.
Family Matters exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum
Family elder lies in repose after her Yoga class while Trump rattles on
I come from a family where athleticism, dance, opera and the symphony was an integral everyday part of my life. I don’t see much of that here. I see a tight knit clan cocooned in their bubble as the world goes round and round around them.
Young and old in the bathroom
The lifestyle portrayed in this extended family seems totally Removed from my youthful experience…
I think of the young people and wonder how they will follow in the footsteps of their elders.
Most disturbing politicallyare those who became Trump supporters.
Family elder hands full of meat wearing a Trump Keep America Great 2020 feeds the family dogThe onle photo I felt genuinely comfortable with is the one of a younger family member with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, President Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warrenadorning her walls.
On the other hand the three minute Video of people attending Trump’s 2017 Inaugural is Revolting .. I was transfixed and watched it several times.
A scene from Trump’s inaugural ball in 2017
In retrospect I’m glad the older generation portrayed here (my peers age wise) was not the political, cultural environment in which I was raised …
A family elder – Women for TrumpGrandma with her help mateThe photo of grandma laying close to death in 2015 by her granddaughter is very eerie —Gillian Laub – creator of Family MattersA wall of family photos at the Family Matters exhibit
It’s obvious the authorities in Berlin this movement is dangerous and a threat. The government is taking the threat this organization presents seriously. One of the towns raided today was Chemnitz, scene of violent anti-immigrant demonstrations in August 2018.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 3.22.2023
Authorities on Wednesday carried out searches linked to the far-right extremist Reichsbürger scene across eight German states and in neighboring Switzerland.
Reichsbürgersupporters at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
A policeman was injured after shots were fired during one of the operations against the group, which was said to have been planning a coup against the German government.
According to media reports, the officer was injured in a raid in the town of Reutlingen in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann tweeted that 20 properties had been searched and highlighted the danger posed by armed members of the group.
“A police officer was shot. That shows how dangerous these missions are. The weapons authorities are obliged to disarm Reichsbürger [members].”
The raids on Wednesday were said to have been directed against five suspects believed to belong to a terrorist organization. Officials said the individuals were from the cities of Munich and Chemnitz, the Hannover region, and Switzerland.
Police also searched the premises of 14 people who were not suspects.
A total of 25 suspects were taken into custody after raids in December against members of the Reichsbürger movement. They are accused of membership of or support for a terrorist association and aiming to topple the German state.
A cache of arms seized by German authorities during raids at Reichsbürger sites
What is the Reichsbürger movement?
The Reichsbürger movement consists of a diffuse set of groups that do not recognize the authority of the German state.
Members of the Reichsbürger movement deny the existence of Germany’s post-World War 2 Federal Republic. They believe the current state is no more than an administrative construct still occupied by the Western powers — the US, the UK, and France. For them, the German Empire founded in 1871 still exists and so do Germany’s pre-WW2 borders.
DW spoke to Tobias Ginsburg on Wednesday, who wrote a 2018 book based on several months spent undercover among Reichsbürger and other German extremists.
Ginsburg said that the clampdown by authorities was “way too late and way too little,” saying this was demonstrated by the fact that many suspected members are people of means, often with important jobs.
“These people … arrested now are not like fringe-y, dopey neo-Nazis or conspiracy theorists,” Tobias Ginsburg said. “These are policemen, members of the German army, stuff like this. Normal people who believe those far-right fascist ideas.”
The New York Times ‘Hitler Tamed by Prison 12.21.1924
“Stegner said.that 100 years ago in Germany, after the failed 1923 Munich Beer Hall Putsch that led to the imprisonment of a young Adolf Hitler, few would have foreseen at the time that Hitler would be leading the country around a decade later.
The overt blatant racism coming out of Texas is appalling.
Texas has been in the forefront in its attempts to keep out immigrants coming across its border from Mexico.
Now Texas has gone further as a legislator wants to prohibit Chinese, Russians, North Koreans and Iranians from owning certain types of property.
This type of legislation illustrates the xenophobia entrenched not far from the surface in America.
The Standard 3.20.2023
After a Texas legislator introduced a bill that would ban land sales to citizens of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, a committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has voted to condemn it.
At a meeting in San Francisco City Hall on Monday afternoon, the board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee voted unanimously to pass the resolution. Leading the effort was Supervisor Connie Chan, a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong.
“This bill is dangerous and racist,” Chan said. “We must stand up for our community, not just here where we live, but also all across the nation.”
Supervisor Connie Chan
She went on to compare the law with California’s own Alien land laws during the early 20th century, which restricted Asian immigrants from property ownership.
Julie Tang, a retired San Francisco judge and a Chinese immigrant, said the amended bill doesn’t change its character.
She said that classifying the group of Chinese, Russians, North Koreans and Iranians from buying properties is barring them from enjoying the equal rights that other Americans have, regardless of their citizenship.
“That itself is discrimination,” Tang said. “And that in itself is illegal and unconstitutional.”
Texas bill SB 147, authored by Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, seeks to prohibit citizens and government entities from those four countries from buying real estate in Texas over alleged national security concerns.
After strong criticism, Kolkhorst, the Texas state senator, had already changed her bill by exempting permanent residents (which is to say, green card holders) from the ban.
She clarified that “property” in her bill refers only to farmland, mines, quarries, mineral and forests where logging occurs—meaning that citizens of all nations can buy Texas real estate for residential purposes.
Because the bill targets certain immigrants based on their countries of origin, it has sparked backlash from Chinese American and other immigrant communities nationwide, renewing a vigorous debate on anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.
Opponents of the Texas resolution still think it’s still unacceptable, even with the softened tone
Speaking out against anti-foreigner SB 147
Representatives from Chinese for Affirmative Action, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and other activist groups spoke at the board meeting in support of the resolution.
If passed by the full board, San Francisco will send an official copy of the resolution to leaders in both Texas and California. Currently, San Francisco has a list of sanctioned states that the city is prohibited from doing official business with because of reproductive rights. Texas is already on the list.
“I have listened to concerns,” Kolkhorst said in a press release statement. “[The changes] make it crystal clear that dual citizens and legal permanent residents are able to purchase property.”
She emphasized the goal of the bill is to establish safeguards against the authoritarian regimes of Russia, North Korea, China and Iran.
The Standard reached out to Kolkhorst’s office for comment ahead of today’s resolution.
The online San Francisco Standard has achieved a presence in local media circles during its brief tenure.
Its coverage of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the pending implosion of First Republic Bank are receiving daily exposure. There’s a reason for this detailed reporting as explained by Wikipedia
The San Francisco Standard is an online news organization based in San Francisco, California. It was funded in part by the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz.
Wealthy venture capitalists founded this publication which has done extensive reporting on political life in San Francisco. For example.
In May 2022, the Standard published a story showing that Boudin’s office secured three convictions for drug dealing in 2021, whereas Boudin’s predecessor George Gascón oversaw over 90 convictions in 2018. Instead, Boudin’s office emphasized convictions for a different crime which would not penalize foreign nationals with deportation or threats to naturalization.[8] The story generated secondary coverage in the National Review,[9]Washington Monthly,[10]Center for Immigration Studies,[11]Courthouse News Service.[12] The story was criticized by Matt Charnock of The Bold Italic for allegedly misrepresenting facts and contributing to xenophobic rhetoric.[1]
Earlier this year the New York Times published an Op ed penned by Michael Moritz which raised the hackles of many in San Franciso.
It is fair to surmise that the ownership of The San Francisco Standard has a vested interested in the fate of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republicso that it may continue its political coverage of the news.
First Republic Bank in outer Richmond District of San Francisco
The Standard 3.19.2023
San Francisco-based First Republic Bank suffered another blow on Sunday after S&P Global Inc. downgraded its long-term issuer credit rating from BB+ to B+, Bloomberg reported, making it harder and more expensive for the bank to borrow the very funds that could help it continue to stay afloat.
The downgrade comes as banks around the world are struggling to fend off catastrophe following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10. It came just days after the bank’s debt rating was downgraded to junk status, and means that First Republic’s creditworthiness is considered highly speculative by the ratings agency.
The bank had already suffered downgrades from by S&P and Moody’s on Wednesday, moving it to a level considered a risky bet. S&P lowered the bank’s rating from A- to BB+, or high risk. Moody’s followed suit, downgrading the bank below investment grade.
Following the recent downgrades, a spokesperson for First Republic Bank said that the bank was well-positioned to manage short-term deposit activity thanks to the U.S.-orchestrated rescue by 11 of the bank’s competitors, which deposited $30 billion. The spokesperson said the support—which commentators have said was essential to stave off a systemwide crisis—reflects confidence in First Republic and its ability to continue to provide exceptional service to its clients and communities.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 13: A person walks by the First Republic Bank headquarters on March 13, 2023 in San Francisco, California. First Republic shares lost over 60 percent on Monday even after regulators took actions Sunday evening to backstop all depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and offer additional funding to other troubled institutions. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
However, this latest downgrade suggests that First Republic Bank’s solvency is becoming increasingly fragile. It has been the subject of global attention as a possible next domino to fall in the context of the current crisis in bank solvency globally, which has been caused by a combination of factors, including low interest rates, economic uncertainty and rising levels of debt.
The recent deposit infusion from other banks is only a temporary solution, and the bank needs to find a more sustainable way to attract deposits to support its operations, according to S&P, Bloomberg reported. If the bank is not able to attract additional depositors and defend the value of its stock, its rating could be downgraded further, the report said.
Liz aka @simbagirrl has been documenting the political life in San Francisco the past two years.
The Recall of progressive DA Chesa Boudin, three school board members and the fight to save car free JFK Promenade and the Great Walkway along the Pacific Ocean galvanized Liz into artistic political action.
She has now turned her attention to the banking crisis which finds local banks Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic collapsing.
There is definitely a correlation between the political upheaval in San Francisco and the collapse of two local venture capital banks. David Sacks and Garry Tan were both major backers and funders of the 2022 recalls of Chesa Boudin and three school board members.
See RELATED: ‘Ballot box Political Lynching of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’ – March 26, 2022.
Silicon Valley libertarian David Sacks discovers the virtues of government action
Garry Tan – The Boy who cried Bail me out!
Liz political art on display
Liz displays her latest work – Rage Against the Machine
Lee's Perspective 