October 9, 2022 I have been trying to figure out why The Chronicle has banned me from the @SFchronicle Twitter feed for several months.
Perhaps it had something to do with this Blog Post I published on January 19, 2020.
Less than two weeks after Chesa Boudin was sworn into office as District Attorney The Chronicle shamelessly published an Op Ed by Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Companion of Donald Trump, Jr. Loudmouth Foghorn for the MAGA crowd.
And, by the way, one time Assistant District Attorney in San Francisco and one time wife of former Mayor, now Governor Gavin Newsom.
What is not an assumption is the undisputed FACT that The Chronicle had its sites set on bringing down Chesa Boudin on the day he was sworn in as District Attorney on January 8, 2020.
Award winning columnist Heather Knight being the main torch carrier for The Chronicle’s war on Progressive Justice in general and Progressive DA Chesa Boudin, in particular. Heather’s reportorial record speaks for itself.
Kimberly Guilfoyle. San Francisco Chronicle Op Ed columnist
Has the Chronicle no decency? It’s fitting the Chronicle would print this Red baiting Opinion piece just after the American Experience Documentary on Joseph McCarthy. The Kimberly Guilfoyle hit piece is a 2020 version of McCarthyism. The Chronicle is continuing its crusade to undermine DA Chesa Boudin. The Chronicle has become the forum for the Police Officers Association and others who look unfavorably on the criminal justice reforms DA Boudin will be implementing. These attacks will only serve to strengthen the resolve of the San Franciscans who voted Chesa into office.
I was in High School when the Cuban Missile Crisis totally upended my life. The entire Planet Earth was transfixed with the looming spectre of nuclear war.
It was genuinely terrifying.
Years before the Internet people were glued to their television sets, radios and newspapers as the Crisis unfolded.
President Kennedy meets the Generals during the Cuban Missile CrisisPresident Kennedy and Russian Premier Khruschchev in Herblock cartoon during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Now we have Vladimir Putin threatening to use nuclear weapons as his war of aggression falters in Ukraine.
We can only watch and wait.
Vladimir Putin rattles his Nuclear sabres as his War of Aggression in Ukraine faltersPutin’s Guns of October 2022
Perhaps the best cinematic take on the Cuban Missile Crisis is the 2000 film “Thirteen Days.” For those of you who want a quick primer on this terrifying period 60 years ago the movie is a good place to start.
The theme of the afternoon – VOTE YES ON J FOR JFK PROMENADE.
It was a foggy afternoon in historic Golden Gate Park in the midst of Fleet Week with the Blue Angels flying overhead.
The foggy cool weather did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd which came to enjoy Prom on the Prom as advocates for Proposition J fight to preserve the car free oasis JFK Promenade.
There was music, food, a photo booth, free books courtesy of the San Francisco Public Library, and an atmosphere of camaraderie in the air.
Valet parking at Prom on the Prom
A couple from Cali, Colombia cycling around The City on their tandem bike take a rest stop to check out Prom on the PromA month to go until election day. It’s all hands on deck to fight for the preservation of JFK PromenadeProm on the Prom emcee with guestsA trio of military men on JFK PromenadeCycling on JFK PromenadeRuth Malone and her partner. Ruth the ferocious fighter for JFK Promenade in a cast healing from the broken wrist she suffered recently. The discomfit of her injury did not keep Ruth away from Prom on the PromA tuxedo clad canine campaigns for Yes on J for JFK PromenadeA posse of single wheeled vehicles cruises by Prom on the PromJFK Promenade on a foggy Saturday afternoon
Dancing at Prom on the Prom
Andy Thornley – Smiling veteran of the fight to make San Francisco a bicycle friendly place
Luke Bornheimer – longtime advocate for JFK Promenade
Tuxedo wearing attendee at Prom on the Prom enjoys a donut holeThe San Francisco Fire Department stands by always ready for actionNutmeg, in full party Dress for Prom on the Prom, gives his owner a, “What kind of expression is that?!” lookLooming over all is the behemoth Tower of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco adjacent to JFK Promenade – The powerful politically connected who oversee this venerable institution have spent nearly $800,000 in their campaign to destroy JFK Promenade.Liz and Lee – Cycling partners for 50 years in Golden Gate Park
People may be protesting around the Globe the murder by Iran’s “morality police” of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for violating the strict dress code for women.
But, back in Iran, it’s business as usual. The government continues its crackdown on protest as The People struggle to have their voice of protest heard.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 10.7.2022
Iranian authorities have been struggling to put an end to the demonstrations that have roiled the country for weeks. The protests against the leadership began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran’s so-called morality police for allegedly failing to observe the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
The anti-regime rallies are some of the largest and boldest seen in years. They have so far been largely led by young women and directed at the Islamic Republic’s male and clerical leadership. But schoolgirls are also now taking part in them, removing their hijabs, chanting anti-government slogans and defacing images of the nation’s leaders.
The internet is still very slow. I feel cut off from the world;” “VPN connections don’t work this time either;” “Messaging services like WhatsApp or Signal are blocked.” These kinds of messages are rife in Iran amid escalating anti-hijab protests and people in the Islamic country are reporting extensive internet blockades.
Streets in the capital Tehran are quieter during the day. It’s a long weekend in the country, but more protests are planned for the coming days. To prevent this from happening, the country’s police and security forces are arbitrarily arresting civil society activists and journalists.
The cry for “HELP” from Iranian women
On Wednesday, Iranian police arrested Amir Mirmirani, one of the country’s best-known bloggers. For a decade, Mirmirani has been producing a tech podcast, “Jadi.” In 2021, it received a national prize for the dissemination of knowledge.
From an award-winning blogger and podcaster, Mirmirani has become a “public enemy,” as his recent podcasts have openly criticized the internet blockades. He is also one of the few tech pros who did not support the government’s plans to “nationalize” the internet. Five of these IT experts have been arrested in the past few days as a result.
People march in San Francisco’s Union Square to protest the murder of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s “morality police.” 10.1.2022
Authorities have so far detained people from various walks of life, including football players, singers, students, filmmakers and women’s rights activists.
Femme vie Liberté in Iran
“The wave of arrests started in Kurdistan, shortly after Mahsa Amini’s funeral,” said Asieh Amini, an author and women’s rights activist who currently lives in exile in Norway.
She has compiled a list of female activists who have been arrested in the past three weeks. Among those on the list is Bahareh Hedayat, who was detained by authorities on October 3. The 41-year-old has been repeatedly arrested over the past 13 years, following the 2009 anti-government protests in the country. She has served a total of seven years in prison during this period for her peaceful advocacy for greater democracy in Iran. She has not commented publicly on the ongoing demonstrations.
The media must continue to dig and expose the blatant ethical dishonesty of San Francisco’s interim District Attorney.
Today The San Francisco Standard published a piece with details about an Ethics Complaint filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission against interim DA Brooke Jenkins.
Nearly two months ago The San Francisco Chronicle went into detail about the monies paid to Brooke Jenkins as she worked to Recall a democratically elected District Attorney.
Shortly thereafter a Complaint was filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the State watchdog Agency.
The disclosure of the latest Complaint filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission is another effort to force the interim DA, handmaiden of Mayor London Breed, to come clean about the true nature of her 153K “volunteer” payment.
A payment utilized to politically lynch Progressive DA Chesa Boudin.
A political operative who destroyed her one time boss, DA Chesa Boudin and now seeks to be elected on November 8.
There’s a tried and true axiom in politics. “Follow the money.”
Puppet DA Brooke Jenkins assertion that she was simply a “Volunteer” in the Coup d’etat against her former boss, DA Chesa Boudin is a flat out lie.
The disclosure of Jenkins being paid over $100,000 to promote the Recall of her former boss ads fuel to the fire surrounding the chief law enforcement officer in San Francisco.
Queen of the Puppet DAs – Artwork by Liz Heidhues
When Jenkins was a City employee she lived in Union City. After she quit her job and became a “Volunteer” Jenkins moved into a $6,000 a month Condo in San Francisco.
If this assertion is true the question is “How could a “Volunteer” afford such a pricey rent?”
This is just another of the questions swirling around Brooke Jenkins. Her record of prosecutorial misconduct as an Assistant District Attorney…
Mayor London Breed signing the legislation to create JFK Promenade on May 7, 2022. Will the Fine Arts Museums with its deep pockets destroy this Oasis in Golden Gate Park?
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has spent nearly $700,000 to destroy JFK Promenade.
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco just dumped another $75,000 into its selfish greed driven campaign to destroy Golden Gate Park’s car free Oasis and bring cars back to JFK Promenade. (see attached)
On September 24, 2022 The ‘Access for All, Yes on I, No on J Sponsored by Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums and Open the Great Highway Alliance’ reported TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED $618,135.65 (see attached)
This has been a shameful dismal performance by San Francisco officialdom.
Joshua Klipp, Liz Heidhues and I went through the entire Appeal process to preserve the beautiful New Zealand Christmas Tree at 39th Avenue and Clement Street.
Neighborhood skateboarders cruise by the New Zealand Christmas Tree
We prevailed. Yet, the City went its own merry way and totally blew off the Decision by its own SFPUC Hearing Officer.
It has been nearly month since we learned that the City and County of San Francisco willfully ignored the Final Decision by an San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Hearing Officer on July 6, 2022. Workers from the Recreation and Parks Department wantonly cut away a 9″ root on the tree.
9″ root destroyed by Rec and Park workers – 9.7.2022
In that Decision the Hearing Officer ordered the City to preserve the decades old New Zealand Christmas Tree at 39th Avenue and Clement Street.
On September 26, 2022 after nearly three weeks of imploring the SFPUC, The Department of Public Works, the Bureau of Urban Forestry and the Recreation and Parks Department we received the following on September 26.
It now appears the mission to install a water pipe to accommodate the entitled class of golfers at Lincoln Park Golf Course is complete. The tree has been severely damaged in the process.
Whether it is able to survive only time will tell.
It’s takes a lot of guts for a journalist to stand up to war mongering thug dictator Vladimir Putin.
There is no freedom of the press in Russia where the media is nothing more than a State owned subsidiary of Putin.
Marina Ovsyannikova says she refuses to comply with a restraint order because she is ‘completely innocent’.
The Guardian 10.5.2022
Marina Ovsyannikova, the former state TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast to protest against the Ukraine war, has said she decided to escape house arrest because she was “innocent”.
“Put a tag like this on Putin,” Ovsyannikova said, pointing to what appeared to be an electronic ankle tag. “It should be him, not me, who has to be isolated from society and prosecuted for committing genocide in Ukraine.”
On Monday, Russia put her on a wanted list after her ex-husband said she had escaped house arrest with her young daughter.
Ovsyannikova’s lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov, said she failed to attend a court hearing on Wednesday morning, which was held in absentia after investigators were not able to establish her location.
Marina Ovsyannikova in a Russian courtroom earlier this year.
“I consider myself completely innocent, and since our state refuses to comply with its own laws, I refuse to comply with the measure of restraint imposed on me as of 30 September 2022 and release myself from it,” Ovsyannikova said on Wednesday in a statement posted on her social media channels.
Ovsyannikova also published a short video from an undisclosed location, in which she criticised Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian-born Ovsyannikova, 44, gained international attention in March after bursting into a studio of Channel One, her then employer, to denounce the Ukraine war during a live news bulletin, holding a poster reading “no war”. At the time, she was fined 30,000 roubles (£460) for ignoring protest laws.
Ovsyannikova continued protesting against the war after quitting her job at Channel One and was charged in August with spreading false information about the Russian army for holding up a poster that read “Putin is a murderer, his soldiers are fascists” during a solo protest on the Moskva River embankment opposite the Kremlin. She was subsequently placed under house arrest in Moscow to await trial and was facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia has launched an unprecedented crackdown on protesters, independent news outlets and foreign social media networks. In early March, Putin signed off on a draconian law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military, in effect criminalising any public criticism of the war.
AMERICAN MASSACRES – UC COLLEGE OF LAW SAN FRANCISCO EDITION
The arrogance of White Americans in denying their brutal racist history continues.
No sooner did Governor Newsom sign legislation changing the name of UC Hastings from one which honored a landowner who sponsored massacres against Native Americans did heirs of Serranus Hastings file a lawsuit.
Rather than acknowledge the family’s history in crimes against Californian’s original inhabitants these Entitled people want compensation for the crimes of their forbear.
Days after Gov. Gavin Newson signed a bill to reverse an 1878 law requiring that UC Hastings College of the Law forever keep its founder’s name — or the state must repay descendants $100,000 plus interest — six family members sued on Tuesday to get their money back.
Historians say that Hastings, a wealthy rancher who was angry at cattle thieves, petitioned the government for militias to carry out the massacres.
“There’s no denying there were atrocities against the Native people,” plaintiff Scott Hastings Breeze of Oregon, Serranus Hastings’ great-great-great grandson, said at San Francisco Superior Court.
“Serranus Hastings petitioned the government for militias for protection” for his cattle. “There’s no direct proof” that he committed crimes, he said.
Besides, “it was a different world in 1860.”
“Different world in 1860.”
The suit rejects the claim that the founder was a racist who sponsored massacres of Native people. It says that unless the state keeps the name, it must pay up.
Descendants of the Round Valley and Yuki tribes massacred during the 19th century participated in the process.
“This was done fairly and justly,” said Nikcole Whipple, secretary of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Yuki Committee formed in 2020 to work with the school on a name change. Although the Yukis chose Powe’ N’om, meaning “one people,” as their preferred name, “we most definitely opposed ‘Hastings,’” Whipple said.
If California persists in removing Hastings’ name from the law school on Jan. 1, the interest rate would be an annual 7%, family and supporters said Tuesday at a press conference outside San Francisco Superior Court.
Serranus Clinton Hastings – (1814-1893)
After 144 years, California would owe Serranus Hastings’ descendants more than $1.7 billion, The Chronicle calculated. That’s a lot of money, even if it were split among countless Hastings descendants. But the family members who filed the lawsuit said they’d be happy just keeping the name “Hastings.”
Their suit accuses the state and the Hastings directors of breaching the 1878 contract and seeks an injunction to stop the name change. One of the Hastings directors is himself a great-great grandson of Hastings, and voted this summer to get rid of the name.
Harmeet Dhillon, the family’s lawyer, said that Hastings, who was also the first chief justice of the California Supreme Court, has been the victim of “hit pieces.”
Queen of the Puppet DAs – Artwork by Liz Heidhues
Lee's Perspective 