SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 3.1.2024

It’s true. President Biden will deal with whomever he needs to secure allies in the fight against Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. Now it in its third year.

Biden’s latest ally is Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.  The far-right prime minister elected two years ago and the subject of derision at the time.

The President is in a tough place. The Republicans in Congress refuse to approve additional funding. Wannabe president again Trump, whose control of the GOP is unassailable has terrorized his troops with his opposition to more funding.

So, Biden is happy to receive support from wherever he can find it. Drink the cappuccino.

Excerpted from The New York Times 3.1.2024

President Biden turned to an unlikely ally on Friday in his drive to build support for Ukraine’s war effort as U.S. aid falters, declaring during a White House visit by the far-right prime minister of Italy that the two leaders “have each other’s backs” and “have Ukraine’s back.”

The warm tone, a striking departure from Mr. Biden’s assessment of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni when she was elected, extended to a number of foreign policy fronts, as the leaders sought to portray themselves as united on topics including confronting global migration and trying to prevent a broader war in the Middle East.

Mr. Biden’s embrace of Ms. Meloni has come as a surprise after he expressed concern for democracy when she rose to power. Her party, the Brothers of Italy, has roots in the neo-fascist factions that emerged after World War II.

“She hails from Europe’s far right, and her coalition contains influential voices that are much more pro-Russian and sympathetic to Putin than the European mainstream, yet she has bucked that trend and located Italy firmly in the trans-Atlantic camp that is committed to supporting Ukraine,” said Charles A. Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Europe adviser on the National Security Council in the Obama administration.

“As you said when we first met here in the Oval, Giorgia, that we have each other’s backs,” Mr. Biden said. “We do, and you’ve demonstrated that from the moment you took office.”

Mr. Biden highlighted their unity on Kyiv’s efforts to fend off an invasion by President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia, creating a contrast with conservatives in Congress. “We also have Ukraine’s back,” Mr. Biden said. “That’s why I’m urging the House of Representatives to pass legislation” that would send billions of dollars to fund the war effort.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 2.29.2024

Vladimir Putin lectured an audience of subservient Russian apparatchiks.

Sitting on their butts for two hours hearing their Fearless Thug Leader threaten that he is not adverse to using nuclear weapons to achieve his war aims in Ukraine.

This is the way this punk terrorist Putin maintains control. Eliminating and imprisoning his domestic adversaries. Imprisoning Americans on Trumped up charges as a terror tool.Waging war against Ukraine. Like a spoiled kid in the playground Vladmir waves his nuclear stick for all the world to see.

All business as usual for this unhinged KGB operative.

Excerpted from The New York Times 2.29.2024

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said the West faced the prospect of nuclear conflict if it intervened more directly in the war in Ukraine, using an annual speech to the nation on Thursday to escalate his threats against Europe and the United States.

Mr. Putin has repeatedly made veiled nuclear threats against the West since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, seeking to leverage Russia’s enormous nuclear arsenal to deter Europe and the United States from supporting Ukraine.

“We also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory,” Mr. Putin said. “Do they not understand this?”

The Russian leader alluded to comments by President Emmanuel Macron of France this week raising the possibility of sending troops from NATO countries to Ukraine, a scenario the Kremlin said would lead to the “inevitability” of a direct conflict between Russia and the Western alliance.

Mr. Putin is showing no sign of slowing his crackdown on the opposition, which suffered a crushing blow with the death of its imprisoned leader, Aleksei A. Navalny.

Top art: Vladimir lights the match of nuclear war?

SAN FRANCISCO – OUTER RICHMOND DISTRICT

Lee Heidhues 2.26.024

Cycling home up Anza Street from my daily walk in Sutro Park I came upon a posse of San Francisco cops, health department and emergency medical staff.

For at least a year a woman has stood on the balcony of a four story building shouting out at all hours of the day and night. I live blocks away and the sound of her voice can easily be heard. Talking with the neighbors we learned the woman is a former member of the military. She suffers from PTSD.

The situation has exasperated the neighbors who, while generally empathetic, are frustrated. The authorities have responded to the building. But nothing was done legally to stop the constant disruption.

Disruption which was not good for the peace of the neighborhood. Nor for the health and personal well being of the woman herself.

Until today.

What I learned in talking to a neighbor who lives across the street is that the cops had no probable cause to enter the premises. So, the authorities waited for the bi-weekly ‘street sweeper’ day.

When the woman came out to move her car she was met by the authorities. Placed in an ambulance under a California Health and Safety Code Section 5150 Hold.

(a) When a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to others, or to themselves, or gravely disabled, a peace officer, professional person in charge of a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment, designated members of a mobile crisis team, or professional person designated by the county may, upon probable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody for a period of up to 72 hours for assessment, evaluation, and crisis intervention, or placement for evaluation and treatment in a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services. The 72-hour period begins at the time when the person is first detained. 

I stood by and watched after the woman was placed under custodial care. I could hear her screaming from inside the ambulance.

Hopefully she will receive the care and attention she obviously needs.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues with editorial assistance from Liz Heidhues 2.26.2024

The Buzz flying around San Francisco City Hall political circles is that District Attorney Brooke Jenkins already is scheming her next move. A knowledgeable source told me Brooke is plotting a run for Attorney General in 2026.

Incredulity is the first word that comes to mind.

The DA office is just a Stepping Stone for this aspiring pol from Union City.

Brooke Jenkins is a total political creature who owes her good fortune to Mayor London Breed, City Hall insiders and the dark monied contributors who fueled her meteoric rise.

Critics call S.F.’s new D.A. corrupt. Supporters say she’s a savior. Who is the real Brooke Jenkins?

Headline: SF Chronicle article by Heather Knight 8.26.2022

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Brooke-Jenkins-DA-17399111.php

This is Brooke Jenkins, fawningly portrayed in The Chronicle, who was a substantial factor in the political destruction of her one time boss DA Chesa Boudin.

A political destruction which Heather Knight, now San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times, was a significant media operative. Utilizing her twice weekly column to regularly trash DA Boudin.

Jenkins. Quitting Boudin’s office in 2021 and doing political chores as a “volunteer” in the June 2022 Recall. Jenkins only admitted after the fact that she was paid 153K for these “volunteer” services.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/san-francisco-da-brooke-jenkins-secret-pay-scheme-underscores-lack-of-honesty/article_c26325e4-1e54-11ed-ad30-7ff582be1ec6.html

The Brooke Jenkins who disingenuously told the world she is not a political person. “I’m solution oriented.” Destroying Chesa Boudin as a stepping stone to the DA’s office.

Rewarded for her “volunteer” treachery by being named DA by Mayor London Breed.

London Breed. Behind the scenes leader in the recall of nettlesome DA Chesa Boudin. Never seen as a team player by Breed and her political cronies.

San Francisco now has a DA who walks in lockstep with the Mayor who made her career.

DA Jenkins committed misconduct in murder trial, Court of Appeal finds

Top photo: DA Brooke Jenkins and the ultimate City Hall insider Da Mayor Willie Brown

SAN FRANCISCO 2.25.2024

In the late 1930’s the Nazi Party was making inroads in America. In Donald Trump’s hometown New York City.

Nearly 100 years later, we have Donald Trump exhorting his followers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). As he completes his takeover of the Republican Party. And boldly vows to decimate his foes should he win the election this November.

The shocking Academy Award nominated documentary “A Night at the Garden” tells the earlier story all too well.

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

Excerpted from The Guardian 2.25.2024

Donald Trump styled himself as a “proud political dissident” and promised “judgment day” for political opponents in an address on Saturday that offered a chilling vision of a democracy in imminent peril.

“They’ve replaced law, precedent and due process with a rabid mob of radical left Democrat partisans masquerading as judges and juries and prosecutors.”

Like demagogues of the past, the comedy and showmanship smuggled in a sinister undertow. Trump’s ability to play the crowd, turning its emotions from euphoria to fury as easily as flicking a switch, carry echoes that are hard to ignore.

Speaking days after the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Trump hinted at a self-comparison by adding: “I stand before you today not only as your past and hopefully future president but as a proud political dissident. I am a dissident.”

In classic carnival barker form, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination accused Joe Biden of weaponizing the government against him with “Stalinist show trials”. He pledged to crack down on border security and deliver the biggest deportation in US history if he wins the 5 November election.

“For hard-working Americans, November 5th will be our new liberation day,” Trump told a packed ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor in Maryland. “But for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day!”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/24/donald-trump-cpac-speech

Top Photo: Donald Trump wraps himself in the flag calling himself a “proud political dissident.”

SAN FRANCISCO 2.24.2024

Growing up I was surrounded by the world of the San Francisco Ballet.

My parents were regular attendees of performances at the San Francisco Opera House. Had dancer friends. Were close with the SFB hierarchy. And took ballet lessons themselves.

My mom worked at the San Francisco Ballet School for many years.

While I never danced myself, I definitely respected the physical ability and attractiveness of ballet dancers. I find the book ‘Swan Dive – The Making of a Rogue Ballerina by Georgina Pazcoguin’ utterly fascinating.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable engrossing read and definitely lays bare the tough world of professional ballet.

Excerpted from The New York Times 7.14.2021

The brave part wasn’t writing the book.

“The brave thing,” Georgina Pazcoguin said in an interview, “is going to be walking into the rehearsal studio Aug. 3.”

Like many ballet dancers these days (or so it seems), Pazcoguin has written a memoir. Hers is not timid. In “Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina,” this New York City Ballet soloist writes candidly about Peter Martins, the company’s former leader — she refers to him as her psychological abuser — as well as staff members and dancers, including Amar Ramasar, one of the male principals who lost his job after a photo-sharing scandal in 2018, and was later reinstated.

Pazcoguin now believes that part of the reason she was held back in the New York City Ballet company had to do with race. “A lot of feedback is presented in a correction,” she said. “Like you should correct this. Then you get the off comment, and you’re like, what? I can’t correct my features. And that’s when you’re like, what just happened?”

The company’s first female Asian American soloist — her father is Filipino and her mother is Italian — she is outspoken about her aim to bring equality to the ballet world. “Ballet is at a watershed moment,” said Pazcoguin, who with Phil Chan formed Final Bow for Yellowface, which aims to rid ballet of degrading and outdated depictions of Asian people. “We can either shift and become relevant or it’s going to fade off into the distance. That would be such a failure to me.”

Some of the experiences Pazcoguin relates are disturbing, others are just plain weird. She writes that for years, Ramasar would greet her in class “by sidling up close, whispering, ‘You look fine today,’ eyes locked on my chest, and then he’d zero in on the goal at hand by — surprise! — tweaking my nipples.” (In an email, Ramasar said “I flatly deny this allegation”; Martins didn’t respond to requests for comment.)

She writes about the time the repertory director Jean-Pierre Frohlich, rehearsing the dancers in Jerome Robbins’s “The Concert,” told them to imagine the beauty of spring and “women walking around in tank tops and short dresses, shorts! You know … ’” He paused, she writes, before ending “with this crazy bomb: ‘It’s amazing more women aren’t raped these days.’” (Frohlich said he hadn’t read the book and had no comment.)

Top photo: From left, Amar Ramasar, Robert Fairchild, Sara Mearns and Pazcoguin, who danced a villain role, in Peter Martins’s “Ocean’s Kingdom,” in 2011. Credit…Paul Kolnik

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 2.23.2024

Americans are too blissfully lazy and somnolent.

Ignoring the threat of the incipient fascism in America and the real possibility its standard bearer Trump could be president, again.

It’s a sad day when the most voluble outspoken critics of Trump come from the right wing of the American political spectrum. Nikki Haley and Liz Cheney.

In any civilized country, except America, this fascist Trump would be forever banned from being allowed to even visit the White House. Let alone preside over it.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 2.23.2024

Catholic bishops meeting in the city of Augsburg this week strongly condemned the rise of ethnic nationalism and right-wing extremism in German society.

“Right-wing extremist parties and those that run rampant on the fringes of this ideology can therefore not be a place of political activity for Christians and are also not electable,” they said in a statement.

On this point, the bishops made an explicit reference to the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD). They said the party’s beliefs are “incompatible with the Christian image of God and humankind.”

The statement is highly unusual because for the past 25 years, the Catholic bishops have been reluctant to offer any assessments of political parties.

The head of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, explained that the more than 60 bishops deliberated at length over making a statement, but agreed it was necessary. He also pointed out that the declaration had been adopted unanimously.

“After several spurts of radicalization,” the statement reads, “the AfD is now dominated by a nationalistic attitude.” It goes on to point out that the AfD oscillates between genuine right-wing extremism, which the domestic intelligence agency has documented in some regional branches and in the party’s youth organization, and less radical right-wing populism.

The statement specifically denounces hostility toward refugees, migrants and Muslims, and “to an increasing extent” Jews.

The bishops indicated that they will hold full-time church employees and volunteers to account. “Moreover, the circulation of right-wing extremist slogans — which includes racism and antisemitism in particular — is incompatible with full-time or volunteer service in the Church.”

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-catholic-church-speaks-out-against-far-right/a-68352341

Top photo: German Christians have been speaking out against the far right using the slogan ‘our cross has no hooks’ (in reference to the swastika Nazi symbol)

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 2.22.2024

My reliable political source tells me politically savvy, hard working and blunt spoken Supervisor Aaron Peskin will enter the November 2024 San Francisco mayoral race shortly after the March 5th primary voting.

San Francisco progressives have been reeling since the 2022 recalls of District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three members of the School Board.

Help is on the way for beleaguered progressives. Now we have a genuine mayoral race in 2024.

This week Peskin, who has represented the North Beach/Chinatown District 3 for over 16 years, confirmed what has widely been rumored during a dinner with close allies.

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

With the Mayor being chosen by ranked choice, “Progressive” Peskin will undoubtedly have a strong vote in the first round. He needs to convince enough voters not scared off by the attack ads which will blast his record to vote for him as their second choice. He is a veteran someone who knows how City Hall works and gets things done.

Excerpted from San Francisco Standard 1.26.2024

The president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has a message for progressive supporters hoping he’ll run for mayor in November: hard pass.

“I’m not afraid of running,” said Aaron Peskin in an interview on Thursday. “I’m not afraid of losing. I’m afraid of winning.”

Aaron knows the four candidates in the race are law and order moderate/conservatives feeding at the trough of GrowSF, Garry Tan and assorted venture capitalists trying to takeover San Francisco.

Top photo: Aaron Peskin points the way to room 200 in City Hall.

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 2.20.2024

Words cannot describe the revulsion I feel watching the video of the 33 year old Russian/American ballerina being blindfolded, handcuffed and carted off to jail by Putin’s thugs.

https://t.me/rian_ru/232202

Excerpted from Moscow Times 2.20.2024

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a U.S.-Russian woman suspected of collecting money for the Ukrainian military, the law enforcement agency’s press service announced Tuesday. 

The independent news website Mediazona and legal rights group Perviy Otdel identified the woman as Ksenia Karelina, who had previously written on social media that she obtained U.S. citizenship in late 2021 after marrying an American man.

Russian authorities placed the U.S.-Russian woman in pre-trial detention, where she faces between 12 and 20 years of imprisonment if found guilty of high treason.

Video shared by state-run news agencies showed FSB agents escorting a handcuffed and blindfolded woman out of an apartment building and later into a courtroom where she was placed inside a glass defendant’s cage.

The arrest of the “33-year-old resident of Los Angeles” took place in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, over 1,400 kilometers east of Moscow. 

The FSB said the unidentified woman is accused of “proactively collecting funds since February 2022 in the interests of a Ukrainian organization, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

“In addition, the citizen in question repeatedly took part in public actions in support of the Kyiv regime while in the United States,” the law enforcement agency added.

According to Perviy Otdel, Karelina donated $51.80 to a Ukrainian human rights non-profit from her American bank account on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Moscow Times could not independently verify either of the two reports.

Top photo: Jailed Russian/American ballerina Ksenia Karelina

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/02/20/russia-arrests-us-russian-woman-accused-of-treason-a84158

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 2.20.2024

The United States cannot call itself a beacon of human rights and press freedom as it pursues the extradition of Julian Assange from Britain.

Julian Assange shone a light on American perfidy in its overseas military intervention and catastrophic meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Julian Assange made public, for all the world to see, the real militaristic bent of American foreign policy. It has never been about human rights and freedom. American policy is to protect American hegemony.

Excerpted from The Guardian 2.20.2024

Julian Assange faces the risk of a “flagrant denial of justice” if tried in the US, his lawyers have told a permission to appeal hearing in London, which could result in the WikiLeaks founder being extradited within days if unsuccessful.

Assange, who published thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, could be jailed for up to 175 years – “a grossly disproportionate punishment” – if convicted in the US, the high court heard on Tuesday.

Edward Fitzgerald KC, representing Assange, also argued that his client could be targeted by US state agencies for “extra-legal attack elimination” if he was extradited, particularly given “the real possibility of a return of a [Donald] Trump administration”.

Assange’s lawyers are seeking a full appeal hearing. If the two judges deny permission, all challenges in the UK courts will have been exhausted, leaving an intervention by the European court of human rights (ECHR) as Assange’s only hope to avoid extradition to the US.

Outside the court, scores of his supporters held placards and chanted, demanding his release. The WikiLeaks founder was granted permission to attend the two-day hearing but Fitzgerald said Assange was unwell.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/20/julian-assange-risks-flagrant-denial-of-justice-if-tried-in-us-london-court-told