The entitled motorists have moved beyond political posturing.
It was barely 24 hours since the two mile stretch along the San Francisco Pacific Coast shoreline was permanently closed to cars.
It’s infuriating that the entitled motorists desire to slash, burn and break the law has sunk to the depth of criminal behavior. Motorists. A group in America which will never accept any limits on their false sense of entitlement.The political and community leader enablers of this crime need to be held accountable for this wanton act of vandalism.
‘heavily vandalized’ mural on Great Highway Park. Whodunit?
Lee Heidhues – March 14 , 2025
It’s a historic event Liz and I could only have dreamed for. The two mile stretch of road polluted by motorists for decades is undergoing a seismic transformation.
As of today Great Highway Park is a reality. Approved by 55 percent of the voters last Novemberthis stretch of land along the Pacific Coastline of San Franciscois now a cyclist and pedestrian oasis.
Looking down towards Great Highway Park from Sutro Heights – Photo Lee Heidhues
Great Highway Park is the latest victory for The People who who continue to advocate for a more pedestrian and bicyclist friendly San Francisco.
“Car-free for good and celebrating it” was the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 30, 2022. Celebrating passage of the ordinance by the Board of Supervisors making JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park a car free oasis. A legislative vote which was affirmed by the voters in November 2022 with a resounding nearly two-thirds YES vote.
This is the Nazi felon Donald Trump Amerika in 2025. And it’s only going to get worse.
Excerpted from The Daily Mail UK 3.5.2025
A German tattoo artist says she was locked up in solitary confinement after she was detained 46 days while trying to walk through a checkpoint on the southern border.
‘After nine days, she said she went so insane that she started punching the walls and then she’s got blood on her knuckles.’
Brösche insisted the alleged solitary confinement was ‘like a horror movie.’
Jessica Brösche, 26, was arrested by US Customs and Border Protection as she tried to enter the country through San Diego, from Tijuana, on January 25th, ABC10 reported.
‘I just want to get home, you know? I’m really desperate,’ she told ABC 10.
Her detainment included a ‘horrible’ eight days in solitary confinement, she added.
However, the company that owns the detention center – CoreCivic – told the outlet Brösche ‘was not in any kind of restrictive housing for eight days.’
But Brösche insisted the alleged solitary confinement was ‘like a horror movie.’
‘They were screaming in all different rooms,’ Lofving said.
German tattoo artist Jessica Brösche, 26, says she was left in solitary confinement with over a week after being arrested while trying to legally cross the US-Mexico border
Lofving said she did not know where her friend was taken until she pleaded for help online and used the the federal Detainee Locator website.
She also claimed that a psychologist tried to prescribe Brösche anti-psychotic medicine, which she has refused to take.
Brösche was traveling with her American friend Nikita Lofving as a tourist under the ESTA visa waiver program. The two had met in Tijuana and were carrying tattooing equipment.
Brösche was traveling with her American friend Nikita Lofving
Immigration officials reportedly accused Brösche of working in the US the last time she entered the country with the ESTA program, an electronic system that determines whether someone is eligible to enter the US without a visa.
ESTAs are only intended for tourists and people are not allowed to work in the US while visiting on one.
Lofving told the outlet she asked officials if Brösche could be sent back to Mexico, but they said she would be deported to Germany in three to five days because she could not offer proof of residence in the Latin American country.
But Brösche says she spent days in a cell at the San Diego border before she was taken into ICE custody and brought to the the Otay Mesa Detention Center, where she was held for more than a month.
Chained, detained for weeks and eventually deported, two German tourists trying to enter the United States were recently tangled in a system responding to President Trump’s push to sharply restrict entry and deport people en masse.
The cases of Jessica Brösche, held for 46 days, and Lucas Sielaff, held for 16, and accounts of their rough handling by immigration officers, have grabbed headlines in Germany as a sign of what being caught on the wrong side of the White House’s immigration policy could mean for European travelers. New York Times 3.13.2025
Top photo: German tattoo artist Jessica Brosche incarcerated 46 days.
On Thursday, Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin were set to deliver their closing arguments. The verdict must be handed down within five days.
Now, this deadline has been pushed back by a week, with the defendants now scheduled to make their final statements on March 20. The circumstances for the delay were unknown at the time of publishing.
The trial has taken place behind closed doors. Few details are known, but the imprisoned journalists (outlined below) have been writing letters to stay in touch with the outside world.
3.12.2025
The convicted felon Donald Trump must be salivating as four Russian journalists stand trial and face six year prison terms for alleged “extremist” ties. The entire assault on the press is nothing more than a show trial so Vladimir Putin can show the Russian people who’s boss.
Two thugs agree the Press is an “Enemy of the State.”
Trump’s thug buddy Vladimir Putin treats journalists in a manner the criminal American president wishes he could introduce to America. Harassment, kangaroo court and imprisonment.
Fortunately there is the First Amendment in America which protects all journalists, including bloggers. Even the wannabe dictator Trump will be trumped in his rhetorical assault on the free press.
Americans can never forget that thug Putin detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for over 16 months as an intimidation tactic against the press. He was freed. Unfortunately, Russian reporters can’t expect the same verdict.
One has to hope that a free press in America survives Donald Trump.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 3.12.2025
Four Russian journalists are currently on trial in Moscow, charged with involvement in an “extremist” group.
Left to right: The journalists Konstantin Gabov, Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger and Sergey Karelin have been on trial for alleged “extremist” ties Image: Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS
The group in question is the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navanly, who died in early 2024 in an Arctic penal colony under unclear circumstances. In 2021, Russian authorities designated and banned the foundation as extremist.
All four defendants deny the charges and argue they did not work for the foundation but rather were reporting on it independently.
On Thursday, Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin will deliver their closing arguments. The verdict must be handed down within five days.
If found guilty, the defendants face up to six years in prison. The Russian human rights project Political Prisoners Memorial has classified them political prisoners.
The trial has taken place behind closed doors. Few details are known, but the imprisoned journalists (outlined below) have been writing letters to stay in touch with the outside world.
Top photo: Antonina Kravtsova in handcuffs being taken to court is more widely known under her pseudonym Antonina Favorskaya
The entitled motorists have an ally in Room 200 at City Hall.
In a brutal last ditch attempt to halt creation of an environmental oasis by the Pacific Ocean, Levi’s scion and billionaire Mayor Daniel Lurie has enlisted his legal fixer to destroy Great Highway Park
Proposition K was approved by 55 percent of San Francisco voters last November.
Daniel Lurie has been Mayor only nine weeks and his attempt to slash and burn the environmental legacy of his predecessor London Breed is evident for any who care to notice.
Rather than come out and publicly say he opposes Great Highway Park, approved by 55 percent of the voters last November, Mayor Lurie enlisted his campaign lawyer to slash and burn the voters will.The only conclusion one can draw from this turning his back on The People is that the Mayor has been bullied into submission by the entitled motorists.
It’s a crass political calculation that the environmentalists who have waged a successful battle can be safely politically ignored.
It’s a shame that even though the proponents of a more pedestrian and cyclist friendly San Francisco have emerged victorious in all the major battles; JFK Promenade, Slow Streets and Great Highway Park the spoiled rotten entitled motorists refuse to acknowledge reality.
Former Mayor London Breed was a champion for the environment and car free streets. She advocated for JFK Promenade and Great Highway Park. Those halcyon days of environmental progress are over.
Former Mayor London Breed, champion of both JFK Promenade and Great Highway Park, signs enabling legislation creating JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park – May 7, 2022 – photo Lee Heidhues
Excerpted from The San Francisco Standard 3.10.2025
Opponents of Proposition K, the ballot measure that authorized the closure, and created Great Highway Park last November were expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that San Francisco voters don’t have the right to close the street to cars.
The lawsuit, led by Jim Sutton, alleges that the city ignored the state’s authority and unlawfully placed a measure before San Francisco voters. Sutton was Mayor Daniel Lurie’s campaign attorney.
Advocates for Proposition K – Great Highway Park. Will Daniel Lurie destroy their success?
The lawsuit also questions how the measure was put on the ballot, saying it bypassed the California Environmental Quality Act review process.
“This lawsuit is about standing up for the people who are being left behind,” said Albert Chow, a Sunset small-business owner and plaintiff. “Seniors, kids, and families will be forced to navigate more dangerous streets just so City Hall can score political points.”
Prop. K passed with 54% of votes in November 2024 after being placed on the ballot by five supervisors, including Joel Engardio of the Sunset, where the stretch of road is located. Approximately 64% of Sunset residents opposed the measure. Some have launched a recall effort against Engardio.
Top photo: Daniel Lurie prays that his Hail Mary to destroy Great Highway Park succeeds.
American justice is disgraceful. The convicted felon Donald Trump is in the White Housewhile the ex Presidents of The Philippines and Brazil have been indicted for their criminal acts and face major jail time. In these countries a compliant judiciary will not save them.
Where Trump belongs.
In the Philippines former President has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.
Excerpted from The New York Times 3.10.2025
Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was arrested on Tuesday in Manila, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity in his war on drugs in which, human rights groups say, tens of thousands of Filipinos were summarily executed.
He was taken into custody at the airport in Manila after returning from a trip to Hong Kong, according to the Philippine government. Mr. Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, said the arrest was unlawful, partly because the Philippines withdrew from the court while Mr. Duterte was in office.
Mr. Duterte, 79, who left office in 2022, is a populist firebrand who remains one of the Philippines’ most influential politicians, and he has enjoyed relative immunity despite several accusations against him in connection with his antidrug campaign.
But Mr. Duterte’s arrest could be a major step toward accountability for thousands of Filipinos who have long sought justice for their loved ones, many of whom were gunned down by police officers, hit men and vigilantes. Activists say the vast majority of victims were poor, urban Filipinos, some of whom were minors and people who had nothing to do with the drug trade.
In Brazil Jair Bolsonaro has been indicted for attempting to overthrow an election he lost.
What say now all you fools who fell for the BS being spouted off by the Convicted Felon Donald Trump? How are things looking now out there in MAGA land?This arrogant clown has been President only seven weeks and the economy is already in the tank.
The arrogant felon Trump. What me worry?
Too bad the intelligent ones are going to pay a price for your idiocyat the ballot box.
Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal 3.10.2025
Stocks slid Monday as concerns about the U.S. economy tipping into a recession grew.
The Dow gave up nearly 900 points, the S&P 500 fell 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 4% as shares of big tech companies extended their selloff. Tesla’s stock lost 15%. Shares of the other Magnificent Seven stocks—Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Nvidia and Meta Platforms—fell between 2% and 5%.
Bring on a Recession says the convicted felon Trump
President Trump over the weekend refused to rule out the U.S. entering a recession this year, telling Fox News there will be a “period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big.” In contrast, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC News: “There’s going to be no recession in America.”
Some investors say that the Trump administration’s seemingly blasé attitude toward potentially setting off a downturn is rattling market watchers, who had believed that Trump’s pro-growth stance would boost the economy and markets.
“This is the first time we’ve had an administration pretty much say with a straight face…the objectives are going to cause pain,” said Shelby McFaddin, investment analyst at Motley Fool Asset Management.
This is what San Francisco has become in 2025. A surveillance State.
Unbeknownst to the hundreds of people who gathered in San Francisco Civic Center on a beautiful March afternoon to protest Donald Trump’s evisceration of the federal work force their every move was being filmed from above.
Perched on the fourth floor of the Superior Court building the blogger had the same view as the omnipresent surveillance cameras positioned atop the Asian Art Museum and the San Francisco Library.
Hundreds of people gathered at a Stand Up for Science rally outside City Hall on Friday, protesting in the face of widespread cuts and layoffs from the Trump administration. Attendees held up signs like “Public Health Over Private Wealth” and “Science for All. Justice for All.” They chanted, “This is what democracy looks like” and cheered.SF Chronicle 3.7.2025
Surveillance camera atop the Asian Art Museum films everyone and everything. “What we’ve seen so far are cuts on the order of 10% to NOAA and the weather service,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, during a briefing Friday. “There are highly credible rumors that the plan is for a further 30% to 50% cut.”SF Chronicle 3.7.2025 –
Surveillance has been a decades long fixture in San Francisco. Its early history is best memorialized in the classic opening scene of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film “The Conversation.”
The opening scene of “The Conversation” establishes Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a surveillance expert, eavesdropping on a couple walking through Union Square in San Francisco, using a team and equipment to record their conversation, which is often muffled by ambient noise.
Top photo: Surveillance camera perched atop the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library sees all in the Civic Center.
This afternoon Liz and I, on our way home after a meeting in North Beach, walked by the 333 Pine Street skyscraper in which California Senator Alex Padilla has a local office. Outside during the rush hour on a cold windy afternoon a hardy group from Amnesty International was campaigning to CLOSE GUANTANAMO.
We spoke with several Amnesty International campaigners who have been advocating for the closure of this American incarceration facility in Cuba which has detained, tortured and abused detainees since its opening in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks.
Liz Heidhues and Gavrilah Wells – Amnesty International Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator, CA, at California Senator Alex Padilla’s San Francisco office.
The Guantanamo Survivors Fund
A portion of a letter sent by several senators to Donald Trump 2.24.2025.
YES IT CAN…AND IT IS… HAPPENING HERE..PATHETIC THAT ONLY ONE MEMBER OF CONGRESS HAS ENOUGH COURAGE TO CALL OUT THIS FELON.
Top photo: Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green was removed from the House chamber after heckling President Trump during his first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term.
Though lawmakers in the opposition party have been vocal from their seats during past presidential addresses, Green’s removal from the chamber marked a stark break from tradition.
Green stood up and began yelling at Trump after the president referenced his 2024 election win and claimed he had been given a mandate from the American people. Green first received a warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson and when he did not stop was escorted out by the Sergeant at Arms.https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/nx-s1-5318102/trump-joint-session-al-green-protest
A Night in the Garden in 1939 was the preview of what America has become in 2025.
“I’ll pass on tonight’s state of the union. I’ve already seen it on the history channel.” Posted by a user on Elon Musk’s “X”
On a glitzy night in Hollywood when a kow towing cinema industry shamefully bowed down to the Nazi Felon President Trump there was a notable exception.
The Palestinian Israeli produced film “No Other Land” which chronicles the destruction of a Palestinian village, in an act which the director described as “ethnic cleansing”, by the Israel military won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Despite the fact this gripping documentary received rave reviews and awards including best documentary at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in 2024 no American large scale distributor has picked up the film.
For fear of offending the powerful Israeli lobby in America, the Israeli government and the current regime in Washington “No Other Land” cannot be readily seen in Trump’s America.
The West Bank-based film No Other Land has won this year’s best documentary feature Oscar.
Despite acclaim, the film could not find distribution in the US and was self-distributed instead. The Guardian’s Adrian Horton called it “straightforward, un-sensationalized and completely infuriating” in a five-star review.
The film, which is made by a Palestinian–Israeli collective, won out against competition from Black Box Diaries, Porcelain War and Sugarcane.
No Other Land premiered at the Berlin film festival last year where it won the Berlinale documentary award. The film was made between 2019 and 2023 and focuses on the steady forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta, a region in the occupied West Bank targeted by Israeli forces.
Speaking to a standing ovation, the film-makers thanked the Academy before co-director Basel Adra said he had recently become a father and hoped his daughter’s life would not be like his – “always fearing certain violence, home demolitions and forced displacement”.
He continued by saying his film reflected “the harsh reality” that his fellow Palestinians had endured for many years, “as we call on the world to take serious action to stop the injustice and stop the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people”.
Co-director Yuval Abraham then took to the stage to say that Palestinians and Israelis had made the film together “because together our voices are stronger. We see each other the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people must end.
Excerpted from The New York Times 3.3.2025 – Marc Tracy
Most Political Speech
It was not surprising that “No Other Land” took home the Oscar for best documentary feature. Nor was it surprising that, upon accepting the award, the filmmakers would discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the demolition of homes in the West Bank.
But the acceptance speeches by two of the film’s four credited directors, the Palestinian activist Basel Adra and the Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, notably did not hold back from a kind of rhetoric not ordinarily heard in mainstream American discourse. Adra called on the world to “stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”
Abraham condemned “the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people” (he also characterized Israeli hostages in Gaza as victims of “the crime of Oct. 7” who were “brutally taken”). The remarks were delivered eloquently by filmmakers who have lived, seen and documented some of the events they sought to describe. They also entered a political maelstrom, with a presidential administration that has sought to transfer Gaza’s Palestinian population and a film industry rived by charges that its pro-Palestinian voices have been insensitive to Israeli suffering and antisemitism generally.
No Other Land. “I don’t wan them to take our home.”
Lee's Perspective 