The insurrectionists who stormed the nation’s capitol on January 6 are now facing the consequences and don’t like it. Perhaps these domestic terrorists really believed there would be no consequences for their acts of sedition.

They are wrong and will pay the price.

TPM 3.4.2021

The alleged Capitol intruder best known for snatching House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) mail and mugging for cameras with his feet up in her office blew up in anger at a federal judge Thursday.

Richard “Bigo” Barnett was upset at having been in federal custody for a weeks, and he let D.C. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper know that the situation was “not fair.” 

“Everybody else who did things much worse are already home,” Barnett said, according to NBC4’s Scott MacFarlane. “You can’t keep pushing me out month by month.”

“They’re dragging this out!” he yelled, per The New York Times. “They’re letting everybody else out!”

Cooper called a recess after the outburst and later said he would consider a release motion if and when Barnett’s lawyers filed one, the Times reported.

Barnett was charged criminally the day after the attack, and later indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting, and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restrictive building with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Barnett has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Prosecutors have so far argued successfully for Barnett’s pre-trial detention, asserting that he was photographed reclining at Pelosi’s desk with a stun gun on his hip.

The chief justice of the D.C. District Court, Beryl A. Howell, wrote in late January that Barnett’s alleged conduct on Jan. 6 “was brazen. He bragged about what he had done after leaving the Capitol.”

Cooper set a status conference for two months from now, May 4. Barnett remains in custody.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/alleged-capitol-attacker-who-sat-in-pelosis-office-yells-at-judge-about-still-being-in-jail

Caught with their hands in the proverbial trash can the local trash collection company Recology is calling this four year consumer ripoff an “inadvertent mistake.”  Really????!!!!

Garbage collection rates are high in San Francisco.

Residential customers pay on average $10 weekly.  There is little  oversight as Recology is granted rate increases yearly with little, if any, debate and public input.

Now, in part the result of the Federal indictments of City officials and private contractors, a ripped off public will receive a degree of restitution.

San Francisco, beneath the veneer of cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf and tourism is at its core a very venal mean spirited place. The nearly $100,000,000 coming to the rate paying public is small consolation.

Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle 3.4.2021

San Franciscans will recoup nearly $100 million in overpaid trash-collection fees after a probe by the City Attorney’s Office detailed how the waste management company Recology improperly hiked its prices over the last four years, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said Thursday.

In a statement, Recology officials characterized the overcharging as an inadvertent mistake, and said they immediately reported it to the City Attorney’s Office.

The settlement between the city and Recology represents the latest twist in the sprawling City Hall corruption saga centered around former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, other city officials, contractors and nonprofit groups.

Nuru played a key role in the rate-setting process for Recology. The results of Herrera’s investigation and a separate federal probe allege that Nuru accepted bribes from Recology in exchange for allowing the company to inflate its rates. A former Recology executive was fired and arrested in November in light of those allegations.

Officials said that in addition to the alleged bribes, Recology failed to account for revenue it would receive from ratepayers during its application for a rate increase in 2017. These underreported funds, officials said, amounted to a rate increase of 14% instead of the 7% Recology should have received.

The company serves about 160,000 customers in San Francisco.

“With this legal action, we are making San Francisco ratepayers whole and sending a clear message that cozying up to regulators won’t be tolerated,” Herrera said in a statement. “Mohammed Nuru may have had his challenges keeping the streets clean, but he clearly excelled at cronyism, slush funds, and indifferent oversight.”

Recology Chief Executive Officer Sal Coniglio said in a statement that the company is “grateful to the City Attorney for helping us reach a resolution that benefits our San Francisco customers. We are reviewing our internal processes and working with the City to ensure an issue like this never reoccurs.”

The amount each ratepayer will be refunded will depend on how long they’ve been a Recology customer and the type of service purchased. Both current and former customers are eligible for reimbursement, and current customers are required to receive their refund by Sept. 1, Herrera said.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/S-F-City-Hall-corruption-Recology-to-repay-16000807.php#photo-20443114

 

500,000 Covid-19 deaths in America is a grim statistic.

Over 50 percent of the American public is obese. Now the World Obesity Foundation has stuck a fork in the stomach of that portion of the slothful USA population and awarded this country a dubious honor.

America is amongst top countries where over half the population is obese and whose population is in the top 10 in Covid-19 deaths.

Excerpted from The Guardian 3.3.2021

In the USA, where adult overweight and obesity is at 68%, 12% of Covid patients in intensive care have normal weight, 24% are overweight and 64% are obese.

Countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19, a landmark report reveals, prompting calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, as well as prioritising overweight people for vaccinations.

The risks rise with increasing overweight. An analysis of the data seen by the Guardian shows that in the UK, where almost 64% of adults are overweight or obese, nearly 20% of Covid patients in intensive care are of normal weight, 32% are overweight and 48% are obese.

About 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from Covid were in countries with high levels of overweight people, says the report from the World Obesity Federation. Countries such as the UK, US and Italy, where more than 50% of adults are overweight, have the biggest proportions of deaths linked to coronavirus.

The issue is not just obesity, but levels of weight that many assume are now normal in many countries. Death rates are 10 times higher in those where more than half the adults had a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25kg/m2 – the point at which normal weight tips into overweight.

People who are overweight should be given greater priority for vaccinations and tests because of their increased risk of death, says the World Obesity Federation.

Among countries where more than half the adult population is overweight, Belgium has the highest level of deaths, followed by Slovenia and the UK. Italy and Portugal are 5th and 6th, while the US is 8th.

Vietnam, by contrast, has the lowest Covid death rate in the world and second lowest level of overweight in the population.

The biggest factor in the death toll is age, says the report, but being overweight comes second. It is already known to increase people’s risk when they contract infectious diseases such as flu.

“We were shocked to see such a high correlation between a country’s proportion of overweight adults and its deaths from Covid-19,” said Dr Tim Lobstein, the report’s author and former adviser to the WHO and Public Health England.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/03/covid-deaths-high-in-countries-with-more-overweight-people-says-report

In France if you commit the crime you do the time regardless of your position, wealth, social connections and high self-regard.  

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle – Barbara Wesel  3.1.2021

The verdict against former President Nicolas Sarkozy is a signal. France’s ruling class has long been used to going unpunished — The verdict serves democracy, says Barbara Wesel.

It’s not as if Nicolas Sarkozy has to go to jail with drug dealers and car thieves. If his sentence is upheld on appeal, he can stay in the comfort of his own home with an ankle bracelet. His wife, the singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, can play him a song on the guitar with a chorus that goes: “You can do a lot of things, just don’t get caught.”

So much piled up over time in the Sarkozy era. While the French were amused by the details of his love life, his political activities only emerged later. He was convicted because the court considers it proven that he bribed an attorney general in 2014 to obtain information about an investigation.

It was all there, from burner phones and wiretapped calls, to a luxury posting in Monaco — the court files have enough material for a fine screenplay. And that’s not all: In an earlier trial, Sarkozy was acquitted on charges of having accepted undeclared donations for his election campaign from Liliane Bettencourt, the L’Oreal heiress. The allegations were a burden for years.

And the judiciary is not even done with the ex-president yet.

A trial for illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign begins in two weeks. Sarkozy allegedly received €50 million ($60 million) from former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, of all people. Another investigation is looking into his consulting work for a Russian company, including awkward questions about employing his first wife as a staff member.

Sarkozy is the second former president to be convicted by a French court. In 2011, Jacques Chirac was convicted of embezzlement and misuse of public money when he was mayor of Paris. The most spectacular trial, however, was probably that against Francois Fillon, who paid his wife a salary as an employee for years even though she never worked. The verdict destroyed the conservative presidential candidate’s career and opened the door for Emmanuel Macron.

Things were different just a few decades ago. Charges against Valery d’Estaing of accepting diamonds from the notorious Central African dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa, came to nothing. And somehow, people just accepted the fact that Francois Mitterrand set up his mistress and their daughter in a state apartment guarded by police officers. For a long time, different rules applied to the ruling class in France. That is the reason the French are so angry at their politicians.

For several years now, the judiciary has increasingly prosecuted offenses committed by politicians that would have previously been swept under the carpet. The public’s expectation of a fair trial against everyday people and those with power has risen. Old ties are offering less and less protection — the recent sexual assault investigations against Paris society bigwigs points to a change in climate.

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-in-france-no-one-is-above-the-law/a-56740763

Top photo – Better times for Nicolas Sarkozy: Shaking hands with Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2007

Lee Heidhues February 27, 2021

It’s the weekend and time for a bit of rock and roll.

The following video from the Rolling Stones belting out their “Love is Strong” from Voodoo Lounge on the streets of New York City in black and white.

This is classic Stones with a great  “R” rated video montage.

Acts of bizarre cruelty continue unabated. The good news is Lady Gaga’s two stolen pet dogs have  been returned.  The bad news is her dog walker was shot, seriously wounded and still remains hospitalized.

Daily Beast 2.26.2021

An unidentified woman who was “uninvolved and unassociated” with the thieves turned them in, LAPD said.

Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs, stolen off the streets of Los Angeles Wednesday night, are homeward bound after being safely returned, according to NBC.

Multiple assailants stole the animals from Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, as he took them for a walk Wednesday evening in Hollywood. They pulled up beside Fischer in a white car, surrounded him, and shot him in the chest before making off with two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav. A third, Asia, escaped and later made it back to Fischer.

Fischer is in treatment and is expected to recover.

An unidentified woman reportedly turned the animals in to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Community Police Station around 6 p.m. Friday, Capt. Jonathan Tippett told the local station. Tippett said that the woman was “uninvolved and unassociated” with the dog thieves. How she came to possess them is unclear. No arrests have been made in the case.

The canines were unharmed, and the singer’s representatives confirmed they were the right animals. Lady Gaga, who is currently in Rome, had offered a $500,000 reward for the canines’ return, “no questions.”

TMZ reported Lady Gaga wept “tears of joy” upon receiving the news.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/lady-gagas-two-french-bulldogs-returned-safely-report-says?ref=scroll

The San Francisco Chronicle is conducting a Survey asking how the Pandemic has changed their lives.  Here is my submission followed by the article.

Lee Heidhues 1.25.2021

The Pandemic has actually produced some positive change in the midst of death and chaos.

The Pandemic has been a boon for personal outdoor recreation in San Francisco. 

A car free Golden Gate Park, Great Highway and the number of streets closed to cars was only an event I could dream about.

In addition, downtown San Francisco is no longer a human bumper to bumper Dystopia.  It is actually possible to breathe the air and not get swallowed up amongst the tangled mass of humanity and the assorted paraphernalia which accompanies it.

After a year it may be a sad truism but I believe it takes a Disaster to make a positive long term change and force people to adapt to new habits.

San Francisco Chronicle 1.25.2021

Cast your mind back, if you will, to March 17, 2020.

Six Bay Area counties had just issued first-in-the-nation orders to shelter in place, shuttering all but essential businesses and asking residents to stay home for the next three weeks. Shops boarded up, gun sales surged, and downtown San Francisco grew eerily still.

Three weeks came and went, and weeks stretched into months, then nearly a year.

Now, as we approach the anniversary of shelter-in-place, we want to hear from you. How has the past year changed you and your relationships? What have you learned? How is the person you are today different from who you were a year ago?

“We are in a rough place. And we are going to have difficult times ahead of us,” said San Mateo County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow at a news conference announcing the start of shelter-in-place. “The measures that we are putting in place are temporary. But they will last longer than any of us want.”

We didn’t know then — couldn’t have known and wouldn’t have guessed — that one year later we’d still be in the midst of the pandemic, masking up and staying apart. And we couldn’t have predicted how the past 12 months would change us in ways trivial and profound.

So, tell us your story. How has one year of the pandemic changed you?

• Send your pandemic reflection to culture@sfchronicle.com with the subject line “One Year,” and we’ll publish a selection of responses.

• We can’t respond to all emails, but your submission will be read and considered.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/How-has-a-year-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic-15973551.php

 

Thank goodness there are investigative journalists like Tim Redmond, long time San Francisco reporter.  Unceasingly vigilant at ferreting out corruption and the coziness between big business and City Hall he knows how the City really works.

The following report in 48 Hills, the on-line successor to the Bay Guardian, paints a stark picture of what the carnival barkers dream in Golden Gate Park is all about.

This latest tale of  insidious politics San Francisco  exposes once and for all why this corporate bauble, promoted by Rec and Park Director Phil Ginsburg and his corporate cronies, must go.  NOW!!

48 Hills – Tim Redmond 2.23.2021

The Ferris Wheel in Golden Gate Park has (weirdly) become another front in the Yimby battles, with the likes of Sen. Scott Wiener, Randy Shaw, and Sam Moss (but not Laura Foote!) attacking the people who don’t want to see the giant attraction stay in the park for another four years.

But there’s another side of the story that isn’t being told.

The reason the Recreation and Parks Department wants to extend the run of the Ferris Wheel – according to Rec-Park documents – is that the St. Louis-based vendor that built it, SkyStar Partners, needs about 500,000 rides to make the roughly $9 million it was counting on.

And the private San Francisco Parks Alliance, which is a part of the FBI corruption investigation in SF, was counting on taking its share of about $500,000.

You can read the contract here. Not a penny of the revenue from this carnival ride will go to the city. It’s split between SkyStar and the Parks Alliance, which is supposed to use it to finance celebrations of the 150^th anniversary of Golden Gate Park.

But we have seen the problems with what the Parks Alliance does with its money. From the SF Controller’s Office:

Mohammed Nuru and others would direct staff to procure goods and services for staff appreciation, volunteer programs, merchandise, community support, and events from specific vendors, circumventing city purchasing controls. These purchases would then be reimbursed through Public Works subaccounts held by the Parks Alliance, a non-city organization, again outside of city purchasing rules. Mr. Nuru solicited funds for these purchases from interested parties, including businesses that had contracts with the department or city building permits. The gifts, which were not accepted or disclosed by the City, create a perceived “pay-to-play” relationship.

Since COVID at first reduced the capacity of the Ferris Wheel and then shut it down, neither private entity is getting the money they expected. So the idea is to let the wheel keep running until the cash comes in. From the Rec-Park staff report:

With the future availability of operational days for the wheel and future capacity limits unknown, SFPRD proposes a permit modification that will allow the Operator to recoup extra costs incurred due to closures and operational compliance with COVID safety requirements; as well as to allow Golden Gate Park visitors to experience the wheel. To accomplish these goals, the Department is proposing to extend the Permit until March 1, 2023. This extension will accommodate the anticipated riders from the original permit and an increase in ridership to help offset the financial hardship suffered by the Operator. The Operator has had to incur significant costs (i) to secure and maintain the wheel while it was closed , (ii) to follow COVID safety requirements with extra staffing and protocols when it re-opened, and (iii) due to the significant cost of closing shortly after finally opening.

Lots of San Francisco small businesses (and SkyStar is not a San Francisco small business) have suffered deeply during the pandemic. Most of them aren’t getting this kind of deal to bail them out.

Sups. Aaron Peskin and Connie Chan are calling on the controller and the city’s budget analyst to investigate the Parks Alliance and its role in this deal:

“Instead of going directly to our city’s general fund, the revenue generated from Skystar is going to a nonprofit that is still under FBI and public corruption investigations,” said Chan, whose district includes Golden Gate Park. “It raises the question of whether this is a good government practice and whether such practices contribute to the ‘pay-to-play’ culture among city agencies.

Peskin:

Recent revelations have demonstrated that the opaque nature of several organizations, including the SF Parks Alliance, has aided and abetted corruption within San Francisco government.”

Argue all you want about how much fun the Ferris Wheel can be. (It will operate in a fenced-off area where you need an $18 ticket to enter, and will be able to sell food and booze there—at, I suspect, rather high prices.) A lot of neighbors aren’t happy. That’s one part of the debate.

But the money from this operation is going to a group that is now going to be under multiple investigations. That’s another story entirely.

https://48hills.org/2021/02/supes-call-for-investigation-of-ferris-wheel-money/

Lee Heidhues 2.23.2021

It is beyond disgusting that a political loser can raise his head in supposedly Progressive San Francisco, incite the mob and receive even a moment of serious attention.  

With obvious backing from the Police Officers Association, a  failed Republican Mayoral candidate  is now pandering to the masses and pushing a recall measure against DA Chesa Boudin.

This misguided  money wasting campaign in the midst of the Pandemic is an insult to San Francisco.  In one year in office Chesa Boudin has implemented many policy reforms he promised as a candidate.

DA Boudin needs to be lauded for his accomplishments during the past 13 months.

Yes. Crime is  a problem in San Francisco.  There has been non-stop sensationalized reporting of criminal acts.  The mainstream media has gone into overdrive to lay every crime in San Francisco at the doorstep of the District Attorney.  This loud, obnoxious chorus has received attention far beyond what it deserves.

Should this POA supported Recall make the ballot tens of thousands of people who voted Chesa into office and support his vision will have to be at the proverbial barricades and soundly defeat this reprehensible political attack.

Excerpted from The Bay Area Reporter 2.23.2021

A group of residents has started the process to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

Approval of the signature-gathering phase of the effort is likely to come in the next week, according to the recall’s lead organizer.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Richie Greenberg, a business adviser and activist who in 2018 was a Republican candidate for mayor, started a petition January 2 urging Boudin to resign.

The elections department is awaiting proof of publication and two blank copies of the petition, a spokesperson told the B.A.R.

“Once the petition format is approved, the proponents may begin circulating the petition,” Matthew Selby, the campaign services division manager with the elections department, stated. “Therefore, the department cannot confirm when the circulation of the petition will begin.”

Boudin did not respond to a request for comment.

According to a recall guide issued by the city in 2010, “valid signatures of at least 10% of registered voters of the City and County at the time the proponent(s) filed the notice of intention” are required to qualify the recall for the ballot. According to Selby, that threshold in this effort is 51,324.

https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news///302329/effort_underway_to_recall_sf_da_boudin

It was 56 years ago that Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City. His assassination, presumably by Black Muslim followers of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, has long been steeped in mystery.

The story of Malcolm’s assassination continues to unravel slowly and belatedly.  Malcolm was young, smart, charismatic. His advocacy for Black empowerment had a profound impact on American history .  Perhaps comparable to Martin Luther King who was gunned down in Memphis three years later.  Both men were 39 at the time of their assassinations.

Excerpted from Washington Post 2.22.2021