Our neighborhood Anza Branch Library celebrated its 91st anniversary this past Wednesday. On a day when San Francisco was swept up in a stream of toxicity caused by wildfire smoke from the Pacific Northwest a number of citizens braved the elements and enjoyed the festivities.
Toxic smoke over The Richmond District in San Francisco 9.20.2023
When our children were growing up the Anza Branch Library was a home away from home with its marvelous children’s room. Our daughter learned to read at an early age and spent hours in the library.Disappearing from our home for hours on end. Our blind son never missed the Tuesday morning story hour with Margaret the Librarian. She often wore a colorful skirt festooned with lady bugs. Our son, years before he learned to read braille, really loved the story hour as Margaret provided detailed verbal descriptions of the artwork and photos.
Historic Anza Branch Library in San Francisco’s Richmond District.
Attendees of all ages enjoyed the food.Every library event is not complete without books. There was a shelf of new selections for the guests to take home.
I was happily surprised to meet a former neighbor, Roberta, who we lived next to years earlier. Roberta is still going strong
I have to remember our beloved late family companion Jack. He accompanied me on many walks to the Anza Library.There was plenty of food prepared and provided by the hard working library staff.A delight of the afternoon were the moon cakes which the party goers were able to form into the finished productEvery birthday party needs musical entertainment. The duo Purring Engines provided the sounds
Germany’s Green party foreign minister Annalena Baerbock was in America this past week pitching Ukraine military assistance to skeptical Republicans the necessity to keep up the flow of arms to repel the Russian invasion. Now approaching two years.
Ms. Baerbock also received the grand treatment from Administration officials, meeting with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Both the German and American administrations are on the same page when it comes to funding the Ukraine government in its struggle against the Russian invaders of their country.
The biggest stumbling block to military aid is coming from an increasingly isolationist Republican party which for political reasons continues to oppose military assistance. A stance which marches right in line with that of Donald Trump who has a strangle hold on the Republican party.
For holocaust survivors and Jews worldwide celebrating Jewish New Year 5784 this weekend the story published today has been circulating for decades.
The Vatican under the papacy of Pope Pius XII looked the other way while the murderous Nazi regime in Germany was exterminating millions of Jews.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Chronicle via Associated Press 9.15.2023
ROME (AP) — Newly discovered correspondence suggests that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information from a trusted German Jesuit that up to 6,000 Jews and Poles were being gassed each day in German-occupied Poland, undercutting the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them.
The letter from the priest, the Rev. Lothar Koenig, to Pius’ secretary, a fellow German Jesuit named the Rev. Robert Leiber, is dated Dec. 14, 1942. Written in German, the letter addresses Leiber as “Dear friend,” and goes on to report that the Nazis were killing up to 6,000 Jews and Poles daily from Rava Ruska, a town in pre-war Poland that is today located in Ukraine, and transporting them to the Belzec death camp.
Pope Pius XII -undated photo
The date of Koenig’s letter is significant because it suggests the correspondence from a trusted fellow Jesuit arrived in Pius’ office in the same three weeks before Christmas 1942 that Pius was receiving multiple diplomatic notes from the British and Polish envoys to the Vatican with reports that up to 1 million Jews had been killed so far in Poland.
The documentation from the Vatican archives, published this weekend in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, is likely to further fuel the debate about Pius’ legacy and his now-stalled beatification campaign.
Historians have long been divided about Pius’ record, with supporters insisting he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives while critics say he remained silent as the Holocaust raged.
Corriere is reproducing a letter dated Dec. 14, 1942 from the German Jesuit priest to Pius’ secretary which is contained in an upcoming book about the newly opened files of Pius’ pontificate by Giovanni Coco, a researcher and archivist in the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives.
“The novelty and importance of this document comes from this fact: that on the Holocaust, there is now the certainty that Pius XII was receiving from the German Catholic Church exact and detailed news about crimes being perpetrated against Jews,” Coco was quoted by Corriere as saying.
FILE – Undated file photo of Pope Pius XII. Newly discovered correspondence suggests that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information from a trusted German Jesuit that up to 6,000 Jews and Poles were being gassed each day in German-occupied Poland, undercutting the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them. The documentation from the Vatican archives, published this weekend in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, is likely to further fuel the debate about Pius’ legacy and his now-stalled beatification campaign. (AP Photo, File)
Coco told Corriere that the letter was significant because it represented detailed correspondence about the Nazi extermination of Jews from an informed church source in Germany who was part of the Catholic anti-Hitler resistance that was able to get otherwise secret information to the Vatican.
According to the Belzec memorial which opened in 2004, a total of 500,000 Jews perished at the camp. The memorial’s website reports that as many as 3,500 Jews from Rava Ruska had already been sent to Belzec earlier in 1942 and that from Dec. 7-11, the city’s Jewish ghetto was liquidated. “About 3,000-5,000 people were shot on the spot and 2,000- 5,000 people were taken to Bełżec,” the website says.
Top photo: Pope Pius II meets with Adolf Hitler – date unknown
Liz and I have been and will continue to be unwavering advocates for car free spaces in San Francisco. JFK Promenade. The Great Walkway. Slow Streets.
We have prevailed and will continue to fight.We will be “magnanimous” while savoring our small victories.
For three years Liz and I have been the subject of vicious attacks on Social Media. Someone even stooped to the depth of calling Liz Heidhues a “luddite” for her advocacy. We refuse to be intimidated. Our advocacy along with that of thousands of San Francisco citizens continue to achieve incremental progress in making the City a more pedestrian and cyclist friendly City.
Liz and I have been subjected to a litany of vitriolic comments for posting our opinion in The Richmond Review. By entitled motorists who lost at the Board of Supervisors, the ballot box and the courtroom in their well funded efforts to maintain their hegemony.
Most recently we took strong exception to an oped by the former publisher Tom Pendergast titled “Despite Pleas, Geary Blvd. Quick Build Project OK’ed” bemoaning the approval of the Geary Transit project.
We spoke up in favor of theGeary Transit Corridor project approved after 20 years of mindless kvetching and whining from the entitled motoristsand business owners who blame their failures on the lack of parking.
One respondent called it a “tragedy” that the long overdue project will now go forward citing the alleged deleterious impact it will have on local business. An allegation which has no basis in fact.
An injured motorist being tended to by the emergency response team – 9.3.2023
The real “tragedy” is the continuing mayhem on City streets caused by cars.
This morning I came upon an accident scene at 43rd and Anza Street in the outer Richmond. Even though there is a four way STOP sign two cars collided. When I arrived one dazed motorist was being tended to by the emergency crew. The other motorist was sitting in the ambulance.
The financial impact to the City caused by accidents, injury and death is something which the entitled motorists refuse to acknowledge. Instead the entitled motorists continue to to assert their right of hegemony over the streets of San Francisco.
A complete waste of City resources. Cars entangled at 43rd Avenue and Anza Street – 9.3.2023
A Vision Zero SF grid showing what the City is doing to make the streets safer for all San Franciscans
13 people have been killed by motorists thus far in 2023. 23% of the deaths were suffered by seniors. 85 percent of the deaths took place in the City’s “High Injury Network.”
A shameful prosecution against American women who are literally putting their bodies on the line to save planet earth.
Here’s a story buried by the American mainstream media. A pipeline protestor in Minnesota has been convicted for obstructing construction of an environmentally destructive pipeline apparatus.A section of the notorious tar sands oil pipelinewas the site of ongoing and rigorous protests in North Dakota.
On January 20, 2021, United States President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline on his first day in office.
On June 9, 2021, the Keystone XL project was abandoned by its developer. At the time of the project’s cancellation, approximately 8% of the pipeline had been constructed.
Mylene Vialard, 54, was found guilty after a Minnesota trial beset by legal irregularities after protesters efforts to block a fossil fuel pumping station.
Mylene Vialard. Convicted in Minnesota courtroom faces a year in prison
Excerpted from The Guardian 9.2.2023
A non-violent environmental activist has been found guilty of felony obstruction for her role in trying to halt construction of a fossil fuel pipeline through Indigenous territory in Minnesota, in a trial beset by legal irregularities which ended with the prosecutor demanding jail time.
A group of indigenous people and activists raise their fists as they pass Sections of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline construction during the ‘Treaty People Walk for Water’ event near the La Salle Lake State Park in Solway, Minnesota on August 7, 2021. – Climate activists and Anishinaabe tribal community members took 2 weeks to walk to the Minnesota State Capitol Building to raise awareness for water rights and to rally against Line 3, a proposed pipeline expansion to bringing tar sands from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. (Photo by Kerem Yucel / AFP) (Photo by KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Jury returned a guilty verdict on felony obstruction, following a trial in which the prosecution engaged in repeated, flagrant and intentional misconduct throughout the trial and during closing arguments … the court turned a blind eye to the legal violations of law enforcement and the prosecutor, as well as its own legal errors, at the expense of Ms Vialard’s constitutional rights in this trial,” said Claire Glenn, Vialard’s attorney from the Climate Defense Project.
Mylene Vialard, 54, was arrested in August 2021 after attaching herself to a 25ft bamboo tower erected to block a pumping station in Aitkin county, northern Minnesota.
Her arrest was part of a crackdown on non-violent Indigenous-led protests opposing the expansion and rerouting on Line 3 – a 1,097-mile tar sands oil pipeline with a dismal safety record, that crosses more than 200 water bodies from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the US midwest.
Embridge Line 3 protesters set up camp in August 2021
“Mylene’s guidelines are presumptive 12 months and a day stayed, meaning the judge is expected to give her 366 days probation. If the prosecutor wants anything more serious than that, there are specific showings he must make to justify that request. But he asked for 366 days executed with no justification, which is illegal for him to do,” Glenn added.
The Aitkin county prosecutor, Garrett Slyva, who is reportedly under investigation for alleged misconduct in North Dakota, has been contacted for comment.
Overall, at least 967 criminal charges were filed including several people charged under the state’s new critical infrastructure protection legislation – approved as part of a wave of anti-protest laws inspired by the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), a rightwing group backed by fossil fuel companies.
Demonstrators lock themselves to Enbridge equipment during a protest against the Line 3 pipeline at a pumping station in Hubbard County, Minnesota, U.S., June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi
Earlier this week, Jill Ferguson, a 70-year-old grandmother from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was found guilty of obstructing legal process (interference with a peace office), a misdemeanor, and sentenced to two days in prison with time served for her role in a protest in July 2021 in Clearwater county.
“I am guilty,” Ferguson told the Guardian. “Guilty of protecting the headwaters of the Mississippi river, so this is a badge of honor.”
Ferguson suffered a concussion during the arrest, and continues to experience chronic physical and psychological effects from the trauma
When does a late night memorial for a senseless murder in the outer reaches of San Francisco turn into a political event?When there is an upcoming election for a seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Thursday night a large crowd gathered at the Richmond Market on Balboa and 41st Avenue to pay its respects to Yohannes “John” Tewolke who was murdered by a shoplifter a week earlier. The suspect is still at large.
The vigil at Richmond Market – 8.31.2023
The mainstream media is playing the story of the memorial service straight. Talking about the murder and its devastating personal impact on the family, friends and neighbors there is another component.
The vigil was moderated by Drew Min, who in the view of some is a political operative supporting a more law and order agenda in the politically diverse Richmond District.
Min told the crowd, “This (the murder) is going to be a turning point.”
Family and friends of Yohannes “John” Tewolke gather at the memorial service 8.31.2023
One of the speakers, Marjan Philhour, is a district resident and one time candidate for Supervisor. She was Mayor London Breed’s senior advisor after she became Mayor in 2018. It is expected Philhour will challenge incumbent Supervisor Connie Chan in 2024 to whom she lost in 2020 by 125 votes.
Supervisor Chan was at the gathering but did not speak. One of her associates told me the Supervisor, “felt it not her place to say anything.”
Philhour was one of the first to speak and told the gathering the murder of Yohannes Tewolke was. “a terrible thing which shouldn’t have happened in our neighborhood.”
Several people in attendance thought Philhour’s comments were distasteful and too political. Words such as “awful” and “crass” were used in describing her comments.
Yohannes “John” Tewolke and family
One person who was there asked, “Why was she (Marjan) the first person to speak?”
I spoke with Marjan about her appearance. She has been a long time customer at Richmond Market.
When I apprised Marjan of the negative comments directed her way she responded, “I think we need to focus on the fact we lost a dear friend to tragedy in our neighborhood.”
After talking to people on both sides of the divide in San Francisco who attended the memorial service it’s obvious that politics in this town are akin to a kick boxing match inside a phone booth.
But when it comes to speaking with the media these same political combatants parse every word before being quoted on the record.Which can lead to some uncomfortable moments for a diligent journalist.
Photos: San Francisco Chronicle and The Tewolke family
The Lee’s Perspective camera girl was on the job early this Labor Day Weekend in downtown San Francisco shopping for clothes. The inquisitive photographer got a bonus story as she walked the aisles of a major department store.
The cops know the bargains. Shopping the Sale section like any good consumer.
One of San Francisco’s finest was on the job shopping for clothes. Its reassuring to know that our taxpayer dollars are being put to good use. Making sure the cops look their best as they keep San Francisco safe.
SFPD keeping the public safe. Shopping for clothes
Another of San Francisco’s keepers of the peace was sighted checking out his messages. Was he earning some of that 25M overtime pay approved by the Board of Supervisors?
Checking the shopping list for what to buy during the Labor Day Sales?Does the SFPD follow the example set by Mayor London Breed and her handpicked personal shopper DA Brooke Jenkins?
Shoppin’ for Clothes. Music for the bargain hunting San Francisco employee
The cold blooded murder of a clerk at the Richmond Market took place just three blocks from our home in the neighborhood we have lived in for decades.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Standard and SF Gate 8.29.2023
LATEST: Aug. 29, 3:45 p.m. A 60-year-old San Francisco store clerk died after being beaten with a bat during a violent robbery, the family told KTVU-TV. The clerk, who was in a coma, died around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the family said.
A San Francisco shopkeeper has died after a brutal assault on Thursday, his daughter told The Standard on Tuesday.
Richmond Market store clerk Yohannes “John” Tewolde was pushed to the ground and beaten with a baseball bat after confronting a suspected thief in the store, his eldest daughter, Meron Tewolde, said.
Tewolde said her father, who was hospitalized, died around 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Yohannes ‘John’ Tewolde, pictured with his wife, was assaulted on Thursday and died from his head injuries. | Source: Courtesy Tewolde family
“My dad was just trying to do the right thing,” she said. “My dad stood up in front of him; the guy pushed my dad and smashed his head with a baseball bat.”
The San Francisco Police Department has not released an updated statement following Tewolde’s death.
On Monday evening, a police spokesperson confirmed the incident and said no arrests had been made.
Richmond Market in the outer Richmond district of San Francisco where store clerk Yohannes ‘John’ Tewolde was murdered in cold blood
“The suspect confronted the victim, who was holding a bat,” a police spokesperson said. “The suspect assaulted the victim, took the bat from the victim, then struck the victim with the bat. The suspect then threw the bat at another victim and fled the scene in an unknown sedan. The second victim was not injured during this incident.”
Police said this is an ongoing investigation and a suspect has not been arrested. Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to contact the department at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411.
How convenient. The very same day a California Court of Appeal rules that then Assistant District Attorney Brooke Jenkins engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, now DA Brooke Jenkins files criminal chargesagainst San Francisco city workers for corruption.
Talk about audacity. While her record of judicial misconduct implodes around her, London Breed’s hand picked successor to the man she wanted gone, Chesa Boudin, engages in a bit of prosecutorial jiu jitsu. Indicting people for misconduct on the same day she is rung up for misconduct herself.
Equally appalling is the unmistakable fact that her former boss, the man she drove from office and earned over 150K while calling herself a “volunteer,” pilloried Chesa Boudin for his alleged misguided priorities; i.e. prosecuting white collar crime.Falsely alleging Chesa Boudin was ignoring “more serious” offenses.
Excerpted from The San Francisco Standard 8.29.2023
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins committed misconduct when, as an assistant DA under Chesa Boudin, she accused a defense lawyer of fabricating their case in order to fool the jury in a murder trial, according to a California Appeals Court ruling.
The misconduct took place during the closing arguments of the initial trial, after which Daniel Gudino was found guilty of murder, according to court documents. He was later found not guilty by way of insanity and sent to a mental institution.
Even after losing her bid to declare him sane, Jenkins sought to send Gudino to prison for life instead of to a mental health facility.
When the District Attorney’s Office declined to proceed with a retrial on the insanity portion of the case, Jenkins did not show up to court, according to transcripts. She resigned that same day, saying publicly that her superiors had undermined her.
Jenkins downplayed the ruling, which culminated an appeal related to the murder case. In a statement Tuesday, she said the misconduct in the fall 2021 trial was a minor mistake that did not impact the case’s outcome.
The trial of Daniel Gudino—who killed his mother in the throes of a mental health crisis that made him think she was a demon, according to records reviewed by The Standard—was the last case Jenkins tried before quitting her job. She said her decision to leave Boudin’s office to join the push to recall him stemmed in part from how her bosses handled that case.
However, the defense attorney at the center of the ruling says the findings send a message about what she called “ethical issues” at the top of the DA’s Office.
“It calls into question her ethics—and she is the head of the office,” said Deputy Public Defender Ilona Solomon Yañez, who defended Gudino. “There is something especially gratifying by the fact that part of the misconduct was impugning my integrity.”
The wheels of justice are grinding inexorably for Mr. Donald Trump.
The Federal Judge presiding over his case of attempting a coup d’etat on January 6, 2021 has decreed defendant Trump will have his day in Court. Soon.
Excerpted from The New York Times 8.28.2023
“Mr. Trump, like any defendant, will have to make the trial date work regardless of his schedule,” Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said, adding that “there is a societal interest to a speedy trial.”
Donald Trump mug shot – Fulton County Jail
The decision by Judge Chutkan, issued at a contentious hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, to start the trial on March 4 potentially brought it into conflict with two other trials that Mr. Trump is facing that month.
The federal judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s prosecution on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election set a trial date for early March, laying out a schedule that was close to the government’s initial request of January and that rebuffed Mr. Trump’s extraordinary proposal to push off the proceeding until nearly a year and half after the 2024 election.
The Trump inspired mob attempting to over turn election results – January 6, 2021
The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., has proposed taking Mr. Trump to trial on charges of tampering with the election in that state on the same day. A second trial in Manhattan, in which Mr. Trump has been accused of more than 30 felonies connected to hush-money payments to a porn actress in the run-up the 2016 election, is set to go to trial on March 25.
While Judge Chutkan noted that she had already spoken to the judge in the Manhattan case, the fact that three of the four criminal cases confronting Mr. Trump could go before separate juries in separate cities within weeks of one another reflects the extraordinary nature of the former president’s legal situation.
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