Author: leeheidhues

I am a Green Party member, legal worker, walker, cyclist who follows politics, world events, 🌎 the literary world and 🎥 film

In cold blood. 5 Al Jazeera journalists assassinated by Israel in Gaza

SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 8.10.2025

The war criminal Netanyahu is out to totally obliterate not only the citizens of Gazas, of whom he is now responsible for the slaughter of over 61,000 children, women and men.

The criminal thug Netanyahu will stamp out any journalist who dares to speak up and tell the real story about the genocide Israel has committed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

This criminal murderer needs to immediately be arrested, shackled and dragged before the International Criminal Court of Justice in the Hague.

The Israelis are engaged in a crime against humanity which will long be remembered and never forgotten throughout history.

There will be a price to pay for the Jewish State.

Excerpted from Al Jazeera 8.10.2025

Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.

Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has been killed alongside four colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City.

Seven people were killed in the attack on the tent located outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital late on Sunday evening. They include Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.

Shortly before being killed, al-Sharif, a well-known 28-year-old Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who had reportedly extensively from northern Gaza, wrote on X that Israel had launched intense, concentrated bombardment – also known as “fire belts” – on the eastern and southern parts of Gaza City.

In his last video, the loud booms of Israel’s intensive missile bombing can be heard in the background as the dark sky is lit in a flash of orange light.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/10/al-jazeera-journalist-anas-al-sharif-killed-in-israeli-attack-in-gaza-city

SFPD #1 recruitment problem. It needs a modern Police Academy

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 8.9.2025

Where are cop friendly Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors? I have never read a story about any elected officials talking about the overarching need to present a modern facility to the future generations of law enforcement in San Francisco.

Admittedly, I will be the last blogger to ever write that the cops are lacking in resources.

There’s an exception to every rule.

I was shocked to read the latest GrowSF newsletter with its searing critique of the San Francisco Police Department Training Academy. Located in a dilapidated not earthquake proofed elementary school from the 1960’s.

SFPD recruits doing their exercises in the parking lot at the Police Academy

The past several years the media has been deluging the public about all the presumed unmet needs of the SFPD and why San Francisco has trouble recruiting new officers.

I had no idea until this morning that, perhaps, the biggest reason why there is a 500 officer shortage can be found by looking at the current training facility.

SFPD Academy vintage 1960’s classroom. Note the loose wires running along the floor

Why would today’s tech knowledgeable future cops want to spend their long training period in what only be charitably described as an outdated Dump?

SFPD recruits doing their push ups in former elementary school auditorium

In comparison, the New York City Police Department has a modern up to date state of the art facility. Looking very much like a university campus.

While San Francisco welcomes its recruits with a dilapidated, rundown shabby old elementary school.

New York City Police Academy
Other major cities have invested in modern training campuses. New York City opened a 32‑acre police‑academy campus in College Point, Queens in 2014. The official description from the NYC government notes that the campus contains about 750,000 square feet of usable space, including state‑of‑the‑art classrooms, a gymnasium, an indoor track and a “tactical village” with mock environments such as a precinct station, multi‑family residence, grocery store, restaurant, park, court room, bank and subway car. The New York Times notes that the project cost $950 million and features a physical and tactical‑training building with a gymnasium and swimming pool. In other words, New York treats police training as a public‑safety priority and invests accordingly.

https://growsf.org/research/2025-08-04-SFPD-Academy/

Top photo: Diamond Heights Elementary School, 1968, shortly before it became the SFPD Academy, Photo Credit: Modern Diamond Heights Project

In authoritarian Trump America integrity and honesty are history

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 8.8.2025

I have to acknowledge you often don’t appreciate someone until they’ve left the stage. William Webster met that criterion.

William Webster being sworn in as FBI Director by Chief Justice Warren Burger as President Jimmy Carter looks on – 2.23.1978

William Webster was a government official I never paid much attention to because I considered him to be an honest and equitable public servant. He performed his job and stood up for democracy and the rule of law.

12/02/2002 photograph attorney William Webster, former FBI and CIA director who resigned as chair of the Accounting Oversight Board during a press conference at Baker & McKenzie regarding conclusions reached by the Oversight Board. (Photo by Gerald Martineau/The The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Traits in short supply in MAGA America. And which we may not see again for a long time, if ever.

A ride down busy Hwy 101 in search of a difficult solution

SAN FRANCISCO – GOING DOWN HIGHWAY 101

Lee Heidhues 8.7.2025

This afternoon I was transported via Uber and Yellow Cab through the streets and freeways of San Francisco and the surrounding areas.

Happily sequestered close by the Pacific Ocean in a quiet neighborhood of northwest San Francisco I rarely must confront the mayhem which is the American car centric life.

My everyday normal mode of transport is via foot and riding the buses.

I could only sit back and appreciate that I do not have to immerse myself in the normal daily routine of speeding down streets and highways in 21st century America.

There was definitely a reason for suddenly being thrown into the everyday maelstrom. A problem needs a solution and the only way of addressing it is to reach my destination via the mode of transportation I avoid. The car.

So, there I was hurtling through space like a visitor from the off world colonies. It was definitely a pleasure to return home to my house in the fog.

Bob Dylan fits the mood with his ‘HIghway 61 Revisited’

Top photo: The blogger waits for his Uber. – photo – Liz Heidhues

Death of a gas station. Good riddance to a toxic eyesore

SAN FRANCISCO – OUTER RICHMOND DISTRICT

Lee Heidhues 7.30.2025

Another gas station has shut down in my neighborhood. It’s all for the better, I say. The toxic eyesore has polluted our neighborhood for decades.

The now shuttered and soon to be completely demolished gas station at 38th Avenue and Geary

It gives me joy to know that it’s gone. Particularly when I see the three empty gas containers which have been embedded underground for who knows how long. Who knows what toxins have seeped into the soil.

Our first house was less than half block away from this disaster waiting to happen. I cringe when I think what would have happened had a disaster occurred and the fuel containers exploded. The conflagration would have come down the block and incinerated the homes.

During the fuel crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_oil_crisis of 1979 and 1980 cars were lined up down the street past our home every morning as the gas guzzling motorists fed their fuel driven appetite.

Decades ago there was an abundance of gas stations in the outer Richmond District of San Francisco. Now, fortunately, there are only three remaining west of Park Presidio Boulevard.

Perhaps, one day, the three remaining climate killing relics will be gone, too.

People need to escape their cars and ride public transit.

Top Photo: The empty fuel tanks which have polluted the neighborhood for decades.

A Most Wanted Man. Could be anywhere in a time of paranoia

SAN FRANCISCO

Liz and Lee Heidhues 7.24.2025

Several nights ago we walked down to the neighborhood cinema and watched one of the most chilling and impactful films of the 21st century. “A Most Wanted Man.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Most_Wanted_Man_(film)

The adaptation of John Le Carre’s 2008 novel brought into sharp focus the post 9/11 political internecine warfare between the American and German intelligence agencies.

A mosque scene in “A Most Wanted Man”

It was very frustrating that only 21 viewers came to watch this important piece of political film making. It depressed us when we walked by the Balboa Cinema three days earlier when the line was backed up into the street to see the film “Godzilla.” That speaks volumes about the American mindset when it comes to the salient political issues of the day.

Liz stands by the Balboa Cinema marquee featuring the Philip Seymour Hoffman retrospective – July 21st, 2025
“Hamburg is one of the great ports of the world. For centuries it opened its arms to every foreigner who washed up on its shores.“

The story takes place in Hamburg, Germany. A city we have traveled to. Early in the film Philip Seymour Hoffman who portrays a German anti-terror specialist Gunther Bachmann aptly describes present day Hamburg. Sadly, it was Hoffman’s last film. He died at the age of 46 in February 2014 shortly after the film was completed. It is dedicated to his memory.

Issa Karpov (a Russian/Chechen asylum seeker portrayed by Grigorly Dobrygin)

“Hamburg is one of the great ports of the world. For centuries it opened its arms to every foreigner who washed up on its shores. Now, since 9.11, the eyes of every dark skinned man – we see someone who wants to kill us. The problem is, some of them do. The question is whether Issa Karpov (a Russian/Chechen asylum seeker portrayed by Grigorly Dobrygin) is one of them.”

Dieter Mohr, the German intelligence operative, portrayed by Rainer Bock, and nemesis of Gunther Bachmann
Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) with his ‘insider’ Jamal Abdullah portrayed by Mehdi Dehbi
Gunther Bachmann tells the banker Tommy Brue, “You’re gonna help me, Tommy.”
“Lawyer. Social worker for terrorists.” Human rights lawyer Annabel Richter has a face to face meeting with Gunther Bachmann in the Hamburg interrogation center
Rachel McAdams portrays the human rights attorney Annabel Richter. She gets around Hamburg, Germany utilizing the common form of transportation
Gunther Bachmann and his crew try futilely to capture Issa Karpov and human rights lawyer Annabel Richter in a tense pursuit on the SBahn, the crowded streets and a music blasting techno nightclub in Hamburg.

A story of treachery, betrayal and double dealing amongst the German and American surveillance States during the so called War on Terror which began in the aftermath of the 9.11 attacks on the the United States.

Willem Dafoe portraying banker Tommy Brue and Rachel McAdams portraying a human rights attorney are two of the pivotal characters

The most telling dialogue in the film takes place between Gunther Bachmann, a German anti-terror expert (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and Martha Sullivan, a CIA operative stationed in Berlin (Robin Wright).

Robin Wright, attired totally in black, portrays the murky CIA operative Martha Sullivan. She parleys with Gunther Bachmann at 20 Up on the 20th floor of the Empire Riverside Hotel with a panoramic view of Hamburg’s harbor and the Elbe River.

Gunther Bachmann. “And all that damage we leave behind. All those lies. All those empty rooms. What were they in vain for? You have asked yourself that question? Why do what we do?”

Martha Sullivan. “Mmm hmm. Sometimes. But I always come up with the same answer.”

Gunther Bachmann. “And what is it?”

Martha Sullivan. “To make the world a safer place. Isn’t that enough?”

Nina Hoss, an accomplished German actress, is Gunther Bachmann’s fellow operative Nina Frey.
Dr. Faisal Abdullah, portrayed by Homayoun Ershadi, meets with Tommy Brue, the banker, portrayed by WIllem Dafoe.
The brutal betrayal scene engineered by the CIA at the end of A Most Wanted Man
The incredible meltdown by Gunther Bachmann following the betrayal by the CIA

Top photo: Philip Seymour Hoffman lets go with one of the all time screams in cinema.

Black Sabbath lives on. For me Ozzy Osbourne began in Germany

SAN FRANCISCO via MIESAU, GERMANY

Lee Heidhues 7.22.2025

It was long ago when we were living in the quiet beautiful German countryside. Nearby were the German woods and the American military at the Miesau Army Depot.

The first Black Sabbath album came out in those days and with our old record player we listened to this classic LP frequently. It set the perfect mood for the dark and beautiful German countryside.

It has stayed with me forever.

The turret at the Landstuhl castle

Ozzy Osbourne undoubtedly went on to great commercial success at many levels.

Overlooking the German countryside from the Landstuhl castle

It was the first album, listened to in the incongruous setting of the German countryside and the American military which has stayed with me for over 50 years.

Liz and I returned to Miesau in 2017. We weren’t listening to Black Sabbath but the memories were definitely on my mind.

The Guardian (of London) headline 7.22.2025
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath_(album) – the first album appropriately titled ‘Black Sabbath

Photos: Lee Heidhues – May 2017

From Italy to Sonoma. The violent sorry state of the world in 2025

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 7.19.2025

A quick glance at the San Francisco Chronicle provides a depressing and sorry snapshot of the world in 2025.

A beloved 29 year old teacher from Riordan High School in San Francisco is brutally assaulted while on vacation in Italy.

A public defender is assaulted by a former client in front of the Sonoma County Courthouse.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 7.19.2025

Popular S.F. teacher and coach brutally attacked and robbed while visiting Italy

The thought kept flashing through Nicholas Pellegrino’s mind as he sat on a train station outside of Milan, blood pouring from his throat.

If the 29-year-old San Francisco high school teacher and track coach didn’t get help soon, he was going to die. 

“I had no doubt about that in my mind,” he said. “It’s a feeling of helplessness that I don’t wish on my worst enemy.”

Moments before, several passengers had attacked him, slashing his throat with a knife and robbing him.

Pellegrino, who teaches religion at San Francisco’s Archbishop Riordan High School, had traveled to Italy this month for vacation. He was looking forward to seeing relatives and friends in northern Italy.

On July 15, he’d caught a train just before noon from Melegnano, a Milanese suburb, bound for Florence. But the moment he stepped on the train, something felt off.

A few seats down, several passengers kept staring at him â€” then quickly looking away whenever they saw him looking back. As the train rolled into the next stop, one of them rushed him, swinging a knife.

With blood pouring from his neck, the thieves ripped the crucifix he was wearing and grabbed his backpack and luggage.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/sf-teacher-nicholas-pellegrino-attacked-italy-20776385.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2NyaW1lL2FydGljbGUvc2YtdGVhY2hlci1uaWNob2xhcy1wZWxsZWdyaW5vLWF0dGFja2VkLWl0YWx5LTIwNzc2Mzg1LnBocA%3D%3D&time=MTc1Mjk1ODA0NTAyMw%3D%3D&rid=OTJhM2RhZWItNDMzYy00ZjMxLTgyMTQtZTU2ZjE2NDIzNDRl&sharecount=Mg%3D%3D

Bay Area public defender beaten and robbed by former client, police say

A former client has been arrested in an attack on a Sonoma County public defender, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Leon Simms, 44, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of robbery, attempted kidnapping, criminal threats and battery causing serious injury in the attack, police said.

Sonoma County Courthouse

Officers responded to a report of an assault outside the Sonoma County Courthouse at 12:37 p.m. Thursday, police said. Simms, who had fled the scene, struck the victim several times in the face, stole personal property, and threatened further violence and kidnapping, police said.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/public-defender-attacked-20776584.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2NyaW1lL2FydGljbGUvcHVibGljLWRlZmVuZGVyLWF0dGFja2VkLTIwNzc2NTg0LnBocA%3D%3D&time=MTc1Mjk1Nzg3Njc1MQ%3D%3D&rid=OTJhM2RhZWItNDMzYy00ZjMxLTgyMTQtZTU2ZjE2NDIzNDRl&sharecount=MQ%3D%3D

Top photo: Nicholas Pellegrino being treated by paramedics after having his throat slashed while riding on a train while vacationing in Italy

S.F. gov rolling out OpenAI-powered chatbot for 30K workers

SAN FRANCISCO

OpenAI chatbot meets SF City Hall worker

Lee Heidhues 7.14.2025

If nothing else the billionaire Mayor Levi Strauss & Co. scion Daniel Lurie is hip with the technology.

Based on his corporate pedigree it’s no surprise that he’s bringing the power of Artificial Intelligence to San Francisco City Hall. LS &Co. has always been at the forefront of technology in the workplace.

How City employees will make use of AI remains to be seen. It’s a real game changer and will hurtle San Francisco government into the 21st century.

An OpenAI-powered chatbot is a conversational AI that leverages OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs) to generate human-like text responses and engage in natural language interactions. These chatbots are built using OpenAI’s API and can be customized for various applications, including customer service, information retrieval, and more. 

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 7.14.2025

San Francisco’s city government is getting chatbot access as it continues to embrace artificial intelligence, Mayor Daniel Lurie said.

San Francisco city workers are being told to follow guidelines including keeping data secure, fact checking and disclosing AI use. The city is partnering with nonprofit InnovateUS to train staff.

Microsoft 365 Copilot, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o chatbot product, will be available starting Monday to nearly 30,000 city employees. Lurie said the city is the largest local government to use generative AI for tasks including writing reports, data analysis and document summaries.

“San Francisco is the global home of AI, and now, we’re putting that innovation to work with Microsoft Copilot Chat â€” allowing City Hall to better deliver for our residents,” said Lurie in a statement. “As our city and the world embrace AI technology, San Francisco is setting the standard for how local government can responsibly do the same.

The city is the biggest hub for leading AI companies in the world, with headquarters from OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks and Scale AI.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft also has multiple offices in San Francisco and is bringing its Ignite conference to Moscone Center in the fall for the first time. A win for the city as it continues to grapple with lost business travel since the pandemic.

The San Francisco event is booked for the week of Nov. 17, 2025.

Lurie previously worked with 26 business leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to establish a new advocacy group called the Partnership for San Francisco.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/microsoft-ignite-sf-19936631.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL3NmL2FydGljbGUvbWljcm9zb2Z0LWlnbml0ZS1zZi0xOTkzNjYzMS5waHA%3D&time=MTc1MjU1MDAwNzIzOQ%3D%3D&rid=OTJhM2RhZWItNDMzYy00ZjMxLTgyMTQtZTU2ZjE2NDIzNDRl&sharecount=MA%3D%3D
A soundtrack cut from the ultimate AI movie Ex Machina

Note: ‘OpenAI chatbot meets SF City Hall worker’ – artwork in Wall Street Journal 6.30.2025

Berlin police brutally break up banned pro-Palestinian rally

SAN FRANCISCO via BERLIN

Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel weighs ceasefire plan – 7.5.2025

Emmy Sasipornkarn | Richard Connor with AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters

Dozens have been killed in Gaza as Israel presses its offensive. Reports say many died while waiting for food near aid sites and others were killed in airstrikes at different locations. DW has the latest.

The Israeli genocide against the people of Gaza continues unabated.

Lee Heidhues 7.5.2025

The German government cracked down from the beginning on those speaking out against the Israeli terror campaign against Gaza. The crackdown began less than 10 days after the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, 2023.

It’s dangerous to speak up for the Palestinians and against the Israeli ongoing genocide in Gaza. Nearly 60,000 children, women and men have been slaughtered by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) since the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, 2023.

Germany, which was responsible for the Nazi holocaust (1933-1945) and the death of 6M Jews, gypsies, those thought to be degenerate and opponents of Hitler, has stood by Israel since its creation in 1948.

The Israeli genocide is unspeakable and the crackdown on those speaking up for the Palestinian people is political, police and judicial overkill.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.16.2023

German police and courts responded in different manners to a series of protests and demonstrations showing solidarity with Palestinians over the weekend, with some forbidden and others allowed to go ahead. 

Berlin cops roust Palestinian demonstrators – 10.16.2023

In the German capital Berlin, police on Sunday evening appealed online to people not to come to a planned “vigil” for people in Gaza at Potsdamer Platz in the city center, saying it had been prohibited “because in this case it is a replacement-event for an already banned demonstration.”

In a later update, police explained more on their reasoning for the restrictions. 

“More and more participants with flags and pro-Palestinian symbols were flocking to the gathering, originally planned as a vigil, which the organizer had said was neither desired nor planned when in prior collaborative talks,” Berlin police wrote on social media. “As a result of the considerable number of people with pro-Palestinian symbols arriving, the replacement event was forbidden even before it had formally begun.”

The issue of demonstrations in support of Palestinians has been highly visible in many European countries since Israel launched relaliatory airstrikes on Gaza after the militant Islamist group Hamas, which rules the strip, attacked Israel on October 7 killing some 1,300 Israelis as well as foreign nationals. In Germany, the issue has been particularly sensitive and met with a relatively hard line by politicians of all stripes. 

Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck tried to describe these issues at some length in a speech released online late on Friday that gathered traction over the weekend.

Habeck’s personal video message, addressed at first to Israelis, promised them “we stand at your side, and we have forgotten nothing,” an apparent reference to Germany’s role in the Holocaust and its post-war guarantee of Israel’s security.

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-break-up-banned-pro-palestinian-rally/a-67104373