Being Human = Being Brilliant!

I don't know how you might feel about American Network TV shows...

Personally, IMHO, many - and on some nights, most - Suck.

Enter the BBC... or, to be more accurate, BBCA (BBC America).

In one word... "Brilliant".

Brilliantly original shows, Brilliantly cast, Brilliant acting, Brilliantly clever, smart and funny writing with Brilliant twists and unexpected turns.

Take, for example, the show called "Being Human".

Premise:
"George (Russell Tovey) and Mitchell (Aidan Turner) work in anonymous drudgery as hospital porters in Bristol, England. They lead lives of quiet desperation under the burden of a terrible secret - Mitchell's a vampire and George a werewolf... Not known, historically, to pal around with each other. But, Mitchell and George have become friends and confide in each other. Deciding to start life afresh and leave behind the dark side (the two young men take special measures to try to avoid killing people), they move into a house, only to find that Annie (Lenora Crichlow), the ghost of a woman killed in mysterious circumstances, haunts it. As the monster threesome deal with the challenges of their new life together, they're united in their strong desire to be "normal", to blend in with their human neighbors... to Be Human."

(From: bbca.com)

Regardless of how corny the description may sound... It's a Fantastic show!

I've included three videos - below - that introduce each of the characters... Just to give you a... uh, taste.

Enjoy!

Peace.

L.

Women On The Frontline For Human Rights

(From: Amnesty International (amnesty.org))



Women On The Frontline For Human Rights

10 December 2009

Women often bear the brunt of poverty and human rights abuses; but as activists they use these roles to trigger positive social change. To mark World Human Rights Day, Amnesty International spoke to three women who put their lives on the line in defence of human rights.

Women are affected by poverty, violence and human rights violations more than men because of the discrimination they face the world over. Over 70 per cent of the world’s poor are women. Women earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income but do two thirds of the world’s work.

Three quarters of the world’s illiterate are women. Women produce up to 80 per cent of the food in developing countries but own only one per cent of the land.

In spite of these overwhelming odds, women are often the most active agents of positive social change in their communities, working tirelessly to improve their lives and the situation of their families. Women are responsible for some of the most effective grassroots-based human rights work all over the globe.

The three courageous women interviewed for this Amnesty International article are:

Gertrude Hambira has been threatened and told to leave her job several times

© Amnesty International

1.) Gertrude Hambira, General Secretary of the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ)

Women wanting rights advice go to Zebo Sharifova's League of Women's Lawyers

© Amnesty International

2.) Zebo Sharifova, head of the League of Women’s Lawyers, Tajikistan

Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike at Lanzarote airport since 15 November

© Berserk Productions

3.) Aminatou Haidar, Western Saharan human rights defender who has been on hunger strike since 15 November to protest her expulsion from Laayoune in Western Sahara by the Moroccan authorities. She is currently stranded in Lanzarote airport in Spain’s Canary Islands.

To Read The Interviews/Article, Please Go To The Amnesty International Website (<From: Amnesty International (amnesty.org))

HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS Indie Film Fundraiser Tues 10/20 Annie's Social Club * San Francisco!

(*I Auditioned For And Have Been Cast As One Of The Haight Street Monster Girls! See You At Annie's! ~ L.)

TUESDAY OCTOBER 20TH
A Fundraising event of Monstrous Proportion!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE INDEPENDENT FILM: HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS
"we don't play with dollies because monsters are much better"

HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS & DRUNKEN MONKEY Present:

THE BROTHERS COMATOSE
(just the best darn bluegrass band in all of monstertown)
Belly Dancing by blackhoodygrrl
Drunken Monkey Bread served by Brie Wyrd
Monster Karaoke in the Back Room - Hosted by Medusa

$1 Hamms Beers - Free Pool
Raffle, Door Prizes & More!

live at Annie's Social Club
917 Folsom (5th & Folsom)
for a special edition of Country Monkey
$5-15 suggested donation at the door

RAFFLE PRIZES TO INCLUDE:
$100 Gift Certificate for a TATTOO from Kevin @ Cold Steele
A Gift Certificate good for ONE PIERCING from Cold Steel
4 Free Passes to THE RED VIC MOVIE HOUSE on Haight Street
A $20 Bar Tab @ BENDERS
And more more more!

FUNDRAISER FOR THE INDEPENDENT FILM
HAIGHT STREET MONSTER GIRLS
"we don't play with dollies because monsters are much better"

http://www.facebook.com/homephp#/eventphp?eid=150578126066&index=1

Thanks, John Hughes... From All Of Us Oddballs, Outsiders And Outcasts Of The World.

A Legendary Artist/Filmmaker has suddenly, unexpectedly and all too soon '... left the building.'

John Hughes, the man behind an amazing list of iconic movies that were the voice of and spoke to a generation in the 1980's, died from a heart attack that felled him while he was out on a walk.

If you don't recognize his name, perhaps you'll recognize the titles of some of his modern classics of teenage angst, the hell that is High School, and the inner life of 'The Outsider'...

The Breakfast Club



Sixteen Candles



Ferris Bueller's Day Off



If you've never seen any of these films... Go Rent Them, Now, You Dorks!

If you've seen them, now is a great time to see them again... to Laugh With Them... to (Try Not To) Cry With Them... And - Most Of All - To Be Soooo Greatful That You're No Longer In High School...

Thanks, John Hughes... From All Of Us Oddballs, Outsiders And Outcasts Of The World.

Rest In Peace.

L.

The Ballad Of The Little Blue Lab Rat... Neccessary Evil? ... Or Just Plain Torture?

This Little Guy (or Girl?) Just Breaks My Heart. From University of Rochester Med Ctr.: After Suffering Intentional Spinal Cord Injuries, Rats injected with BBG not only regained their mobility but temporarily turned blue...
And... then What? They Were Thrown Out? Composted? Fed to other still-needed lab animals?

Initially, when the first murmurings of this story were trotted out, it sounded Terrific!

What was that?!... The Blue Dye found in drinks like Gatorade, when injected into the damaged spines of lab rats immediately after they were injured, resulted in them being mobile again... albeit with a limp?

Oh my Gd!... It's a Miracle!... The Cure for spinal cord injuries has finally been discovered!... albeit, in a bottle of Gatorade. (smirk.)

And, it only took mauling a few dozen lab rats' little spines and then immediately injecting the blue stuff (BBG) into the injured area.

When do the Human Trials Start? (No, I'm not volunteering.)

What?... You're kidding, right?

What do you mean, "...this method would not be practical for use with spinal cord-injured (human) patients"?

Of course, no one would "... want to put a needle into a spinal cord that has just been severely injured". But, how about intravenously?...

Oh, the compound that you used, the oxidized ATP, "... cannot be injected into the bloodstream because of its dangerous side effects."

Well, then... I have only one question.

You say that the research team isn't calling BBG a cure for spinal injuries, that, "... instead it offers a potential improvement in patients."... That's all well and good...

But, if you can't/won't inject it into the spines of humans who have just been injured (like you could/did to the rats)... and you can't introduce BBG intravenously, either...

Then, why the F*%$ did you do it to the rats?!

Just for fun?... Just to see if they turned Blue? (they did. See above pic.)

What was the freaking point? Please Explain it to me.
You may read the whole story in the article at cnn.com.


But, my op-ed piece is a good synopsis.

Aargh!

Peace.... Especially for the Lab Animals of the World.

L.

I'm In Love W/David Duchovny Or, How "The X-Files" Saved My Life

Here's something that I wrote recently and I thought I'd share it with you.

It's my personal review of "The X-Files" TV series. I originally wrote it for TV.com. I was feeling great pressure to produce something there. The 'Level' that they had assigned to me was "Sweathog" - as in Vinnie Babarino - and I just couldn't leave it at that.

So, with that explanation, I present my latest work - Entitled:




"How The X-Files Saved My Life"

The X-Files may have saved my Life.

In the inimitable words of Sarah Palin: "I kid you not.".

I owe Chris Carter, The X-Files writers, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, etc. a sincere debt of gratitude...

For me, "The X-Files" stands alone as a modern classic of science fiction. It is terrific storytelling. The X-Files is Folklore mixed with Legends mixed with Campfire-Stories mixed with Ghost-Stories mixed with some Ripley's mixed with pinches of The Truth... here-and-there.

When The X-Files was at its scary-best - It was Cover-Your-Eyes/"I Can't Watch!"-Scary.

Most every episode - as well as the continuing storyline - was written with a sharp wit and sense of humor. The dialogue was intelligent and thoughtful. The interactions of the characters felt genuine and and there was plenty of mystery, action and hold-your-breath suspense.

The casting of Duchovny and Anderson was brilliant, as they shared great on-screen chemistry and displayed great acting chops. Agents Scully and Mulder - as characters - were beautifully written and were fleshed-out. They weren't one or two-dimensional pseudo-superheroes. They were utterly human - with all the positive and negative character traits and the frailties of two human beings.

I love "The X-Files" and I will always love "The X-Files". I'd recommend it to anyone with a brain - particularly if you have any interest in unusual phenomena/extraordinary experiences. Or, even just to watch something several notches above (and much more interesting than) so-called "Reality" shows.

In my humble opinion, "The X-Files" is Extraordinary Television.

What Was That?
Oh... How did "The X-Files" save my life?

Well, it's kind of personal. Between Chris Carter and I...

O.K., O.K. ~ Let's just say that - a few years ago -I went through a very harrowing experience that was also experienced by a character in one episode. (I won't be more specific than that.)

But, there were two distinct differences between his horrible experience and mine:

In the show, the character's period of torment only lasted about a month/30 days.

Lucky bastard... My real-life experience - on the other hand - went on for years.

The second difference was the clincher for me.

The tormented character - having reached the absolute limit of his ability to deal with his experiences - finally cracked up and murdered someone.

Hmmm... Well, I'll admit that I did - occasionally, in my more desperate moments and at my wit's end - consider taking my own life. But, I would never consider taking someone else's life because of what I was experiencing.

It made me feel so much better about the way I was dealing with those events.

"Hey, at least I haven't killed anyone."

To someone, like myself, who has the occasional extraordinary experience, "The X-Files" was not just thrilling entertainment... Watching the scenarios play out in the series helped me to both deal with and to feel better about how I dealt with the unsettling experiences in my life

It also showed me - at a time when I was suffering and felt utterly alone in the universe - that - Wow! There was someone else who knew about things that I experienced (even if their version was fictional)... that I wasn't entirely alone.

Thank You, The X-Files, you're a Life Saver.

Betsey Johnson?! I Must've Bumped My Head...

Greetings & Salutations, Beautiful People!

I'm not feeling particularly politically or socially outraged at this moment...It's about 12:45am on Monday... Er, No... Make that Tuesday.

So, in lieu of my usual Blog M.O.... Here's something I hope You (or, at least Some of You) Really Like:

A Spectacular BETSEY JOHNSON Black & White Dress!

It is Brand & New/Unworn. I bought two dresses at a Betsey Johnson store recently... Gd, I must've bumped my head or something... And, now that my mental clarity is returning, I've decided to keep one and sell the other.

It's available on my eBay page. Seller ID is: vintage_u_luv.




Cheers!

Peace.

L.

MOD Vintage 1970's PAGANNE By Gene Berk Gown/Dress!

MOD
VINTAGE 1970's
PAGANNE By GENE BERK
Dress




Available Now...
Along With Other Fab Vintage & Designer Clothing...
At My eBay Seller's Page: Just Click On vintage_u_luv!

Vintage Fashion: Vintage 70s Emilio Pucci Chevron Jumpsuit!!

VINTAGE EMILIO PUCCI!!




I just listed this
Stunning Vintage 1970's Emilio Pucci, Chevron-Striped Jumpsuit
on my eBay Page.

It Features Semi-Sheer Red, Opaque Red and Metallic Silver Chevron & Diagonal Stripes.

To Check This Beauty Out As Well As My Other Extraordinary Vintage & Designer Clothing, Shoes and Accessory Auctions ~ Just Click On: vintage_u_luv!


Cheers!

It's Not Nice To Fool With Mother Nature: Beijing Storm Turns Day Into Night

Day turns to night as a ferocious storm sweeps across Beijing, China just before midday on June 16, 2009. (ABC News: Rob Hill)

I have heard mention here-and-there of reports of the Chinese Government fooling around with weather modification. (No, I'm not kidding. And, no, it wasn't a story in the National Enquirer.) Chinese officials have claimed to have had some actual success with attempts at cloud-seeding (Please see bottom of this Blog for more background on Cloud-Seeding.) in order to bring rain to some drought-stricken areas.

This past Tuesday, Ma Nature possibly gave them a not-so-subtle rap on the knuckles and a stern warning about not fooling around with those forces of hers.

It came in the form of a frightening and ferocious storm.

What have been described as 'thunder-clouds' rolled in ominously Tuesday morning... and by noon the clouds had all but obliterated entirely the light of the sun - plunging Bejing into a complete darkness that is usually reserved for the midnight hour.

Officials were forced to turn streetlights on, drivers had to engage their headlights and businesses flicked on their fluorescents.

Chatter on online social sites joked about The End Of Days and of weaponized weather.

The storm passed after an hour.

Unfortunately, The End did come for at least seven citizens, who were reportedly killed by lightning strikes.

Wouldn't it be ironic (and really weird) if any of the seven persons who were reportedly killed by the storm turned out to be employees of the Chinese Meteorological Bureau... specifically their cloud-seeding program?

The Moral Of This Story?...

"Just Because You Can Do Something... Doesn't Mean You Should."

Peace.
L.

>
(2007 file photo: An artillery operator stands next to one of the guns used to seed clouds to induce rain at a station of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.)
Maybe Mother Nature doesn't like to take fire from these?

(From: www.guardian.co.uk/)

At midday in Beijing today the sky turned black as midnight, as one of the most spectacular storms in recent memory struck the Chinese capital.

Thunder clouds blocked the sun from 11am, forcing the authorities to turn on streetlamps, offices to blaze with fluorescent lights and cars to drive with their headlights on.

During the darkest period, around 11.20am, office cooler, classroom, Twitter and Facebook gossip turned apocalyptic with many half-jokingly prophesying the end of the world and new weather weapons, while others wondered publicly about a secret solar eclipse or the death of the sun.

The storm passed within an hour with little apparent damage. But for a small handful, the portents of doom came true. Local media reported seven people were fatally struck by lightning as the storms swept across north-east China.

Weather forecasters said it was extremely rare for such ferocious weather to hit the country at this time of year.

Speculation inevitably centred on the government's weather modification programme, which has been ramped up in recent years to offset droughts by seeding clouds. But Guardian efforts to contact the meteorological bureau have as yet been unanswered.

(From: findingdulcinea.com/.)

"Cloud Seeding is a means of modifying weather patterns by sending chemicals into the atmosphere that induce or suppress precipitation. China has been engaging in the practice for years, shooting shells with silver iodide into the atmosphere to encourage or prevent rainfall for farmers, fight fires and relieve drought.

Cloud seeding is a controversial practice and its benefits are often difficult to track. Scientists cannot definitively say how much rain would have fallen if seeding did not take place, and large storms are often unaffected by seeding attempts.

The United States, which experimented with cloud seeding at various points during the 20th century, has since moved away from the process.

Asia Times Online reported in 2007 that cloud seeding shells and rockets sometimes go astray, “damaging homes and injuring inhabitants.” (In 2005, a wayward cloud-seeding artillery shell killed a Chinese man and then blew up his corpse a few days later. Cloud-Seeding Collateral Damage, anyone?) The publication notes that, in 2006, a pedestrian in Chongqing was killed by part of a rain cannon after it misfired. In addition, some Chinese citizens have expressed concern over the environmental and health ramifications of cloud seeding.

An article on the Dartmouth Toxic Metals Research Program Web site suggests that “Cloud-seeding technology raises some concerns that adding chemicals to clouds would pollute the air, water or earth.”

Dick "F-U" Cheney Comes Out For Same-Sex Marriage.

Whoa...

I just heard some news that has me quite stunned...

News that has me uncharacteristically intrigued...

And wanting to know...

Is it possible that I dozed off in my usual 'Reality'... And woke up in another Parallel Universe? A 'Reality' that is almost exactly like the 'usual' one... Almost... Except for one - maybe two - minor differences?

In my 'usual' Reality, I might not have thought it was even a possibility that former Vice President Dick "Old Scratch" Cheney could have undergone such a stunning Transformation... One which - if it happened in a movie - would likely be referred to as being 'Body Snatched'? (From the Horror Film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers.)

Not that I would be complaining if he was...

I just heard the news... And saw the video clip that confirms it.

Our Gee-Dubya-B Deputy, The Self-Proclaimed Water-Boarding Wunderkind... Darth Cheney...

Has 'come out' - on-the-record - To say that he personally feels that:

"... people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish."

The Very Same Dick who - as Vice President - Creatively Granted Himself Any and Every Imaginable and Unimaginable Freedom...

(These Included All "Known Freedoms" - Those Freedoms Which We All Know About... As well as An Unknown Number of "Unknown Freedoms"... The Latter Are In Reference To Previously Unidentified and Unspecified Freedoms That We Weren't Aware Of... And, That We Didn't Know We Weren't aware Of. :P *From Cheney's "Unknown Unknowns" Speech. )

To Do Whatever He Wanted...

Or - Depending Upon What Was Being Asked Of Him...

To Refuse To Do Anything He Didn't Want To Do.

The Dick Cheney Who May Be Seen In This Video Saying, "... I think that freedom means freedom for everyone...",,,

Is The Very Same Dick Who - Simultaneously - Didn't See Fit To Expand On His Own Passionate Personal Fight For Freedoms...

At Least, Not Enough To Protect and Defend Several Of America's Founding Freedoms When They Were Initially Threatened And Later - Crippled - For Countless Other Americans.

Ahh, The Bad Old Days...

But, I digress.

This is a Good Thing.

Dick is now... at this moment... at least on this one enormously important Civil Rights issue...

Progressively LEFT of President Obama!

Cheney supports Same-Sex Marriage?

What's Next?

'Down' Will Mean 'Up'?

The North and South Poles Will Suddenly Switch Places?

Jesus will return (again?)... Arriving in a flying saucer... And He will tell all of His Followers to "... Stop Doing Stupid Things In My Name. And, Get a Life, Already!"?

Cool!

Peace. L.

Cheney Offers Support For Gay Marriage (With VIDEO)

(From: www.huffingtonpost.com
Sam Stein

Dick Cheney rarely takes a position that places him at a more progressive tilt than President Obama. But on Monday, the former vice president did just that, saying that he supports gay marriage as long as it is deemed legal by state and not federal government.

Speaking at the National Press Club for the Gerald R. Ford Foundation journalism awards, Cheney was asked about recent rulings and legislative action in Iowa and elsewhere that allowed for gay couples to legally wed.

"I think that freedom means freedom for everyone," replied the former V.P. "As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish. The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute to protect this, I don't support. I do believe that the historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level. It has always been a state issue and I think that is the way it ought to be handled, on a state-by-state basis. ... But I don't have any problem with that. People ought to get a shot at that."



Cheney has made similar arguments in support of gay marriage in the past, including during the run-up to the 2004 election. But his current comments come at a moment when the Republican Party and conservative movement is increasingly split on the issue. Bush recount lawyer Ted Olsen and John McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt have both argued in favor of gay marriage. The religious right, as expected, remains opposed.

Caught up in the debate is the Obama administration. The president has said he supports civil unions for gay couples but that he remains committed to marriage being between and man and woman. His press department has been completely quiet about the recent California Supreme Court case upholding a ban on gay marriage in the state -- something that, it seems, Cheney would object to in spirit if not law.

Food, Inc. If You Are What You Eat - Know Where Your Food Comes From!

I was trying very hard to stay away from My MySpace Blog and My "Forget Big Brother" Blog tonight (Friday).

I had made the decision to spend several hours working exclusively on my upcoming Vintage & Designer eBay Listings.

And, I was actually sticking to my plan for about an hour.

Until I heard about the story that this Blog addresses.

I was listening to PBS's NOW program, hosted by David Brancaccio. Tonight's guest: Robert Kenner, the man behind the upcoming film "Food, Inc".

I held back for a while... Focus.... Focus... Damn It!... until I couldn't hold back any longer...

What I was hearing about America's Food Producers, Suppliers, and Retailers demanded my immediate attention.

eBay would just have to wait.

It was about the time that the host and Mr. Kenner were discussing the fact that a fast-food burger from, say McDonald's, has meat in it from 1000 (that's One Thousand) individual animals!

Ugh!... This little tidbit made me feel queasy... even though I've been a vegetarian for most of my life.

The filmmaker has made a film to be proud of. He truly wants to inform the American people. Particularly about how the food choices they make effect the choices that are available. He focuses on real people and real lives.
Don't worry... it isn't a film made in a slaughterhouse... he wants people to
actually watch it.

The Informative Website for: Food, Inc. - The Movie.. (Food, Inc. debuts in San Francisco on June 12, 2009. Among many things, the website lists dates for other cities/theatres where you can see it.)

Below is the trailer for Food, Inc..

Peace & Bon Appetit!

L.

(From: www.pbs.org/now.)

Food, Inc.

Behind the food we love—Secrets that giant food companies don't want you to know.

Americans have a longstanding love affair with food—the modern supermarket has, on average, 47,000 products. But do we really know what goes into making the products we so eagerly consume?

This week, David Brancaccio talks with filmmaker Robert Kenner, the director of "Food, Inc.," which takes a hard look at the secretive and surprising journey food takes on the way from processing plants to our dinner tables. The two discuss why contemporary food processing secrets are so closely guarded, their impact on our health, and another surprising fact: how consumers are actually empowered to make a difference.

Find out why you'll never look at dinner the same way.



About the Film...

"How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families?

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here. "

(From: ://www.youtube.com.)

Ex BART Cop Johannes Mehserle To Stand Trial For Murder Of Oscar Grant

A Very Good Sign that there will be Justice For Oscar Grant...
and that Johannes Mehserle, who shot and killed the unarmed Oscar, will be punished for his callous crime and subsequent cowardice.

After listening to seven days of witness testimony during former BART officer, Johannes Mehserle's, preliminary hearing in Oakland, Judge C. Don Clay concluded that, contrary to many of the witness statements made, Mehserle hadn't confused his stun gun and his service pistol when he shot Oscar Grant. "There's no doubt in my mind," Judge Clay declared, "that Mr. Mehserle intended to shoot Oscar Grant with a gun and not a Taser."

He then ordered Johannes Mehserle to stand trial for murder in the shooting death of the young father of one this past New Year's Eve.

I'd had my doubts, until now, that we'd reach this point.

Former BART Transit Officer, Johannes Mehserle, shot Oscar Grant in the back - as he lay face down and in handcuffs - at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California early New Year's Day - fatally wounding him.

Thankfully, the events leading up to the shooting, the shooting itself and the events immediately after the shooting - as well as the behavior and actions of all of those involved - all happened in clear view of numerous witnesses... and it was also recorded from different angles by several bystanders on the scene using their cell-phones.

The days that followed the shooting death of Oscar Grant by Officer Mehserle were utterly maddening...

The familiar faces of Official BART Spokespeople...
The ones who have always made immediate and repeated appearances on local news when anything goes wrong or badly that involves BART... were uncharacteristically absent.

The PR-savvy BART spokespeople; BART Transit Police spokespeople and Oakland Police Department spokespeople said... Absolutely Nothing. Not One Single Press Conference.
Only a deafening silence.

Simple common sense evaded those in positions of leadership in local government. No one at BART; none of the BART Transit Police officials; nor the Oakland Police Department brought Officer Mehserle in to make a formal report of the shooting or to make an official statement to any investigators.

(This is ridiculous. An unarmed, prone and handcuffed young man is shot to death and because the shooter is a BART cop... he goes about living his life like nothing happened? Being a BART cop isn't the same as being a Foreign Diplomat. No diplomatic immunity. He should have been detained & questioned immediately.)

Two Weeks after shooting Oscar Grant to death, Johannes Mehserle resigned from the BART Transit Police Department. Mehserle's calculated resignation meant that now - since he was no longer employed by BART - he could not be forced to talk to BART police internal affairs investigators. The news of his resignation outraged not only the good people of the City of Oakland, but countless people in communities throughout the Bay Area and the nation.

It might or might not come as a surprise to you that at no point did Mr. Mehserle ever volunteer to meet with investigators, either.

It was disheartening to think this would be another officer-involved shooting of an unarmed civilian that wasn't going to result in a trial for the killer-cop and that there might be no Justice for Oscar Grant and his family.

I understand why many people began to suspect a cover-up.

And, I understand their anger and outrage at the injustice and inaction.

The complete absence of leadership from anyone in charge of the various departments and the complete lack of an immediate investigation into Oscar Grant's murder and immediate questioning of Johannes Mehserle is inexcusable.

That said... the acts of vandalism against and the pointless destruction of personal property, cars and locally-owned businesses in the community that were carried out (not by "anarchists" - the term many uneducated TV news reporters commonly use to refer to vandals and idiots) by simple criminals who infiltrated the peaceful rallies for Justice For Oscar which were organized... are also inexcusable.
(TV News People: Emma Goldman was an Anarchist... Look her up.)

I watched several videos of the shooting. In one video, Oscar Grant can be seen initially looking relaxed and even laughing with his friends after they had been detained by the BART Police. Immediately afterward, Oscar was ordered to lie - face down - on the floor. He also appeared to be handcuffed with his hands behind his back.

An over-reaction by the handgun and Tazer-carrying BART Officers to - alleged - verbal jabs made by the young men to the officers for being transit cops.

Officer Mehserle can be seen looming above his back. Mehserle's mentor and friend, Officer Pirone can be seen in the foreground, at Oscar's head. (It was Pirone who detained Grant and decided to arrest him for allegedly obstructing police.) One of Pirone's knees is pinning Oscar down by his neck. One of Oscar's fellow detainee friends is sitting with his back against the wall where he had sat with Oscar was only moments before. His legs are straight out in front of him - inches away from and almost touching Oscar's. He appears worried and is looking directly at Mehserle's face and talking to him... animatedly. He appears to be pleading with the officer. Both of the friend's arms are extended in front of him, palms out - as when signaling for someone to "Stop" - and is waving them in an arc - from left to right - repeatedly. Mehserle suddenly rises up and with his right hand, draws his gun and fires it, shooting Oscar in the back.
(I empathize with the friend who witnessed Oscar's violent and unjustified death - at the hands of a police officer - from inches away. I know very well, from personal experience, what it feels like to witness, point-blank, something terribly violent done to someone right in front of you... and to then immediately go through the harrowing, utterly helpless and doomed feelings that you could be next.)

The gunshot seems to have caught Pirone off-guard and he gets to his feet. In a few moments, he reaches down and grabs Oscar roughly by the back of the neck/hair/collar... and then jerks Oscar's head up and down like a rag-doll. (Did he think Oscar was unhurt or feigning injury?)

In testimony Pirone gave during the preliminary hearing, he told the judge of his actions during Oscar Grant's last moments. Apparently, Pirone's got quite an imagination. He made himself sound utterly heroic.

But (surprise! surprise!), contrary to his own testimony, the videos clearly show that not a single one of Officer Pirone's actions at that time in any way supports Pirone's claims of "... holding Oscar's hand" in his own; of telling Oscar to "... squeeze my (Pirone's) hand"; and of encouraging Oscar to "... stay with me'." (Unbelievably, BART officer witness testimony even dredged up the laughable, "I saw him going for a gun." claim... Laughable and a disgusting lie because Oscar was prone - face down - with his hands cuffed behind him.)

Seeing is Believing. There's no doubt about what happened.

It's a fact that the all of the officers involved and the defense team have had access to the videos (Hell... Anyone can see them... just look on YouTube.).

So, it's irrational and stupid for the officers who testified as witnesses to consciously choose to make up lies and give false testimony that is contradictory to the video evidence of the shooting.

Unless, perhaps, they are looking ahead and hoping to make an appeal based upon Incompetent Legal Representation. (Don't bother... It won't work.)

You may read the San Francisco Chronicle article on the judge's ruling HERE.

Hurray For The 2009 San Francisco Bay To Breakers!

(From:www.ingbaytobreakers.com/.)

It was with a sizeable amount of dread that I anticipated this past weekend's 98th Annual San Francisco Bay To Breakers.

Basically, The Bay To Breakers is a Dual Event:

It's One Part Serious Foot Race.

Officially, it's a USA Track & Field Certified 12K Run.
From San Francisco Bay to The Breakers.

Originally called "The Cross City Race", it was first run in 1912 - a precursor to the world-class athletic events organized for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition.

In that Inaugural Event, there were less than 200 participants. Robert Jackson Vlught was the first to cross the finish line, with a finishing time of 44 minutes and 10 seconds.

In recent years, it's been a safe bet that the Winning Woman Athlete and the Winning Male Athlete would be from Africa.

This year, 22-year-old Sammy Kitwara of Kenya was the first professional runner to cross the finish line. He set a course record, winning the seven mile race in an amazing 33 minutes, 31 seconds!

And, 26-year-old Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso was the first woman to cross the finish line - setting a personal best time of 38 minutes, 29 seconds.

I didn't know this until today, but the first place winners of the race each take home a prize of $25,000.

Another remarkable Evolution since the early days of the Race has Everything to do with the Second Part of this Event:

The Parade/Party Part.

The City knows to expect around 65,000+ registered participants... many of whom (individually and in groups) perennially invest a great deal of thought, time and work in the costumes they wear and the floats (yes, I said 'floats' - as in "Parade".) they display during the Race.

The City also knows to expect about 100,000+ jubilant, costumed (and frequently intoxicated) spectators annually. Kegs and open containers were abundant - that is, until this year's Event.

This year, the New Improvements/Enhancements included "Shared Enforcement of City Ordinances Regarding Alcohol" (open container and wasted-in-public): the "Leave No Trace" Statement/Keep Our City Clean (Dumpster locations were mapped.); Additional Port-A-Johns. Last Year's myopic 500-or-so didn't quite match the 165,000-or-so person Event. (Sigh...) It's ludicrous, but this actually needs to be said: "Just Because You Can Urinate/Defecate In Public Doesn't Mean You Should."

I am sincerely grateful to my Beloved City of San Francisco for finally setting a few new rules and regulations.

I have absolutely no problem with people stepping outside their usual Monday-Friday/9-5 comfort zones and - basically - Letting Their Freak Flags Fly. In fact, I'm all for it. And, I encourage them to Break Free and do so more than once or twice a year (the other oft-perceived 'safe' day to do so being All Hallow's Eve/Halloween.).

What I take serious issue with is what some of the colorful revelers would thoughtlessly do to our Beautiful & World-Famous San Francisco - particularly to Her Public Parks - along the Race Route.

After the 2008 Bay To Breakers, I headed to the Panhandle Park - between Oak Street and Fell Street - with Jessi the Dog...

What I saw when I looked into the Park from Oak Street made, I wanted to scream... I did scream, "Oh My F'g God!"

The Beautiful, Lush & Green Panhandle Park that I LOVE... the Park that countless men, women, children, tourists and dogs LOVE... was trashed beyond belief.

The word "TORNADO" came to mind - except that the trees were still standing. But, other than that, Park-wide swath of destruction looked the same.

My eyes welled up with tears.

It broke my heart that people could be so utterly thoughtless, callous and LAZY as to have left the Park looking like...

... Like the basement of a fraternity house after a three-day weekend beer bash.

I let Jessi run around - keeping a watchful eye on her - as I spent the next Two Hours picking up the trash and gathering together the recyclables left scattered helter-skelter by people who - at all other times - masquerade through Life as sentient beings.

At one point, I even had to call the Fire Department, because one particular group of Brainless, Beered-Up Bozoids had left a large, rectangular, aluminum tray - full of still-burning charcoal briquets on the grass... In the middle of a Park where people play Frisbee, catch, volleyball... where young children run around... and where people's beloved dogs run and play...

And, not one of them would ever expect nor would they want to suddenly set a foot or a tender paw down into a tray of red-hot coals!

I went to pick up the tray, found it was still Hot and that it was burning the grass underneath and around it. That's when I called the Fire Department.

I waited for them to arrive... I had to wait for them and direct them to its location. Otherwise, they would never have found the tray in the grassy and tree-lined Park.

Needless to say, I was cursing the lazy, liquored-up litterers. In fact, I cursed their incompetent parents for birthing them.

But, this year, it was Different...

Gloriously Different!

I don't know if it was the New Rules and Regulations...

Or, if it was possibly that the worst offenders died of alcohol poisoning since last year's debacle. :)

Again, I returned to the Park with Jessi the Dog. This time, I brought a large trash bag with me - just in case.

And - I am thrilled to say that the Panhandle Park survived this year's Bay To Breakers Bacchinalia with much less damage than last year.

Whew!

Thank You, San Francisco.

And, Thank You, Bay To Breakers Revelers.

You've restored some of my faith in Homo-Sapiens and their ability to choose to not be pathologically self-destructive.

Peace.

L.

SFSK8rGrrl & Her Trusty '87 Caballero Vs The Speeding SFPD Cruiser

Decidedly Not The Sort Of Thing That You Ever Want To See (Or Hear) Charging Towards You...
(*Please Note: This is not the one that nearly made me a wealthy hood ornament.)

Thought I'd Blog about my Near-Miss...
No. Wait a minute.
Wouldn't a 'Near-Miss', by definition, equate a 'direct hit'?
Hmmm...
Then, I would say it was an 'almost'...
Except for the "'Almost' only counts in hand-grenades and croquet" - thing.
Criminy!

I'll just tell you what happened a few nights ago that caused me - in an instant - to see, in my mind's eye, several variations of what my immediate future might be... all at once.
That... and it briefly left me a little on the shaky side with my pulse pounding like crazy in my chest...
But, on the bright side, the Adrenaline Rush it generated Kicked Ass!
(Don't let anyone ever tell you that a near-death experience can't have a Silver Lining.)

Anyway...

I had gone out cruising on my Powell/Peralta Dragons & Bats Board while the sun was still up in the sky. A few hours later, I decided to head home and I caught the N-Judah Light Rail back to Carl & Cole Streets from the stop at Church & Duboce (behind the behemoth Safeway on Upper Market St.)

I was wearing my 'second skin' - my beloved black leather motorcycle jacket to which I have added spikes and studs (I say 'Second Skin' because I rarely leave home without it.), black Tripp pants that ended just below my knees, Hot Pink & Black Rectors. (I don't have Carpal Tunnel. But, I've fractured my wrists more than once. Future-fracture prevention, road-rash prevention and the rock-hard, squared piece on the palm comes in handy whenever I need to let the occasional blind driver know that I see them - even if they don't see me.)

I admit it wasn't the best color choice for skateboarding at night, but, when I left, it was daylight. But, the pants and belt have a lot of polished silver things on them. A silver handcuff earring dangling from my left ear held a blindingly brilliant Red, White & Blue Strobe light. Jessi the Dog wears it most of the time - to be more visible. I borrow it when skateboarding after dark. And, of course, there's my glow-in-the-dark hair.

A Brief Aside Re: San Francisco's Criminalizing and just plain STUPID, Skateboard-Related Traffic Codes: I usually don't skateboard on Haight Street. Plenty of skaters do it, but I try to avoid it. Why? One of my ex-boyfriends - actually the one who introduced me to skateboarding and provided my first Caballero and Santa Cruz boards - was cited and had his skateboard confiscated by the SFPD for "skateboarding on the sidewalk"... even though he was neither "skateboarding" nor "on the sidewalk"! He had just exited the doors of the (now defunct) Cala Foods and was Standing Next to Me In Cala's Parking Lot. We tried to reason with the over-eager officer - Silly Us - he refused to hear Reason.

Several friends had their decks confiscated "For skating on Haight Street". There is a "No Skateboarding Permitted" Sign posted at Haight and Schrader. But, it's enforcement appears to be arbitrary. If you get caught - some officers will stop you, kindly inform you about the law and tell you to get off your board; some will glare at you with contempt, cite you and confiscate your board; and some will leave you alone... they are busy protecting and serving - the latter are my Favorites.

In San Francisco, it's also illegal to skateboard on many sidewalks. This law is Utterly & Unbelieveably STUPID! Think about what this means: It orders skateboarders to skate in the Street. The Streets of San Francisco. You know... alongside the 2+Ton Cars, Vans, Taxis, Pickup Trucks and the occasional 18-Wheel Semi. Vehicles often driven by people who are barely aware that there are other people present in other 2+Ton. Steel & Fiberglass, Enclosed Vehicles all around them... Do you honestly believe they're looking for individuals riding on sticks of wood with four wheels and No Enclosure? (Here's a hint: Ask a bicyclist.)

It's like ordering kids to "Go Play In Commuter Traffic". It's Vehicular Russian Roulette. Except it lacks the direct control of the gun, and - in lieu of bullets - shoots 2-ton automotive ammo.

Needless to say, since I stopped being suicidal/self-destructive a few years ago - I often skateboard the sidewalks. It depends on a few variables:
the condition of the surface vs that of the black-top, the density of pedestrian vs car traffic and if drivers indicate they are awake, alert and sane.

Back To The Incident...

So, I'm skating from Carl Street down Cole Street towards Haight. If I remember correctly, the curiously-named "Cole Valley" area - oddly enough, it's uphill from Haight Street - has signs that declare "No Skateboarding On The Sidewalks". Skate Here... Skate There... Don't Skate Here... Don't Skate There... My Side... Your Side... My Side... Your Side... (Sorry. FARSCAPE Reference.)

Fine With Me: I LOVE to Skate Cole Street! It's been re-paved recently and is pothole-free, offers a slight decline and is divinely smooooth all the way.

So, I'm dutifully skateboarding down Cole Street - in the street. I'm approaching the intersection at Frederick Street. I look to the left and right of Frederick. No cars on the left. On the right, I noted headlights. They seemed to be stopped/not advancing forward and were about 2 car-lengths away from the Stop sign. I figured it was safe to proceed through the intersection and did so.

When I reached the geographical center of the intersection, the quiet night air was suddenly filled with a terrible sound and I knew -
in that instant - that I was in immediate physical danger.

It was a sound that I recognized immediately. It was the low & rumbling, growing louder and accelerating roar of the amped-up engine of a police cruiser. I knew this... even before I glanced up towards my right and saw the black-and-white vehicle. (This was one of those extraordinary moments where so-called 'time' doesn't behave in the same linear fashion that it
might seem to when you aren't in immediate danger.)

There I was... on my skateboard... having just reached the point of being smack in the middle of the intersection...
And, here comes trouble... with his foot laying down the accelerator.

In spite of my nightmarish predicament, I remember being aware of a strange yet definite feeling of calm... I suddenly Really felt Myself in that moment... I could feel the coolness of the air on my skin; my field of vision included not just my right side and the approaching police car... but also the three approaches to the intersection (the fourth was behind me). I could see the
hill that the car had come down, the faraway onyx night sky above and the houses framing either side. It surprised me.

And, in spite of the spontaneous and clear, "Oh, F*ck!" that I uttered in my head at the instant that my mind put together the gutteral roar with the black-and-white... and I knew that the officer behind the wheel was pushing the accelerator, sending the speeding the car forward exponentially. I knew that he/she was likely thinking about their destination (in the direction of Park Station)
And I knew without any doubt that I was a pitiful few feet from the front grill of the car from whence that horrible sound originated.

I knew - in the same instant - that I was on target to become - in only a couple beats of my heart (if I carried out the unavoidable and momentary take-off and landing well) - an SFPD Hood Ornament. It seemed to take no more than two heartbeats for the police cruiser to travel from the Stop sign to me.

The Stop sign... Surprise! Surprise! They didn't stop at the Stop sign.
They didn't switch on the Colorful Beacon/Light Bar on top of the vehicle. Nor do I recall hearing any screeching or squealing - indicative of sudden braking.

I remember thinking, in this fleeting alternate universe, where seconds were stretched - like gobs of salt-water taffy, "They don't see me.".
I was at a virtual standstill on my skateboard - in the middle of the intersection...
El Diabolo/Toro is bearing down on me... roaring.
And, they have no awareness that I'm here.

Perhaps the strange feeling I experienced is the Calm that comes with the knowledge that what was happening was unavoidable... That, Death, in that moment, may be unavoidable... That - at that moment - As some Friends Tell me, "Whatever Is... Is."

I felt some small comfort when the officer driving - in the nanoseconds leading up to the moment they were going to hit me - seemed to finally see me. For, just before the car was going hit me, it swerved to the left - desperate to veer around me. There was virtually no room to manuever in - there were cars parked on Cole Street - all the way to the Stop sign on the corner (this may have contributed to the cruiser's driver not seeing me. Perhaps he was looking for headlights as I was.)
It wasn't much comfort because I felt that they weren't going to be able to avoid me. There didn't seem to be enough room. The police cruiser was coming much too fast.

After seeing all this, I glanced down my right side.
I saw Two Things:
My right hip and leg...
And... No more than 2-inches away from my leg - the jet black rubber frame of the cruiser's chrome bumper. My leg wasn't quite to the corner of the bumper. I was still in front of the car. I remember glancing on top of the front right corner of the hood... and (I had said 'carried out well' because) I decided that - when the car hit me - "F*ck the skateboard... I would aim to throw myself up and over the hood and towards street on the right side of the car.

At the same instant that I had looked down to see my leg inches from the car's bumper, I also made a desperate attempt to make a sharp, fast right turn on my skateboard - around that bumper and out from in front of the wheels underneath.
My Brilliant On-The-Fly Plan was this: Avoid Being Run-Over.

It's Amazing how fast your thoughts fly and how s-l-o-w-l-y 'time' struggles to crawl in these Death-Defying Moments.

And... I still don't know How it happened... But, the speeding police car that had - only a moment ago - been less than 2" from my right leg... didn't hit me.

From where I stood - in front of the car - it would have been simply impossible for me to get out of the way. It Was A Physical Impossibility! There wasn't 'time' for the cruiser to stop, there wasn't any room for them to steer around me without hitting another car, I wasn't going fast enough to get out of their way...
Any way I looked at it, it went against the laws of physics.

I continued on my skateboard in my original direction and I headed directly for the sidewalk on my right. I don't know if I was even breathing yet. I glanced behind me, towards the infamous intersection at Frederick Street and...
The police car was gone... no flashing lights... no squeal of car brakes... no apoplectic voice yelling at me over the PA system... Nothing... It was now just me, my Cab and the utterly still and quiet night.

My heart was pounding in my chest and in my ears. Having just defied the Laws of Physics and Death itself...
I was now trying to prepare myself for the coming onslaught: the return of the would-be Reaper/Police car... this time with light-bar flashing and the angry, booming voice over the PA system...
I got off my skateboard and continued walking along the sidewalk towards Haight Street. My rapid breathing mimiced a 100-yd dash runner.

I kept replaying the events of what had just happened over and over in my head, while simultaneously trying to think how best to deal with what I expected to be a Very Irate Police Officer...

Strangely enough, they never returned.

I was both relieved and surprised.

The SFPD officer in the speeding police car who - by all known physical laws - should have struck me in that intersection and who probably was close enough to me to identify my eye color... didn't Stop.

Nor did they come back to:
A.) See if I was O.K. or B.) Yell at me. or C.) Confiscate my Caballero. (Whew!)

When I reached my home, I set down my skateboard and blurted out, "He didn't even stop."... I was recovered from my miraculous experience of "evading high speed pursuit" and was now feeling rather incredulous.

When I told some friends what had just happened, they all asked me, "Did you get the number of the police car?". And I told them... "No. It happened too fast. I never saw the number. I never saw the driver. They didn't stop or come back."

They couldn't believe it, either, "You're kidding! They didn't stop?!".
"No.", I answered.

In spite of that... I'm just Thankful that I continue to be Blessed - when I find myself suddenly facing an event that could potentially end in either serious bodily injury and or Death - with this sort of outcome.

It isn't the first time that I've experienced such an inexplicable and impossible intervention...

Who knows? I may even share some of those stories with you... But, not here and not now.

Peace.

L.

Butt-Kicking/Crime-Solving SFPD vs. Haight-Ashbury Homeless (With Photos)

I was on the scene, with my trusty Kodak Digital Camera, as several officers working out of the San Francisco Police Department's Park Station coordinated their crime-solving and butt-kicking efforts and took down a hard-core, violent San Francisco crime boss.

Sounds Freaking Fantastic, doesn't it?

Had it actually happened, I'd have been first in line to shake their hands and salute each one of them.

Hell, I'd even call SFPD Chief Fong and insist that they all be given promotions.

If that was what they had actually done.

But, I was on the scene (with my camera) of a serious situation. Well, it apparently was serious enough to the officers involved that they felt it justified the presence of a total of Four SFPD Patrol Cars and at least Six Police Officers!

One would rightly think that such a sizeable show of uniformed force, firepower and - frankly - testosterone would indicate a tactical Police Response to something Big, like reports of "Shots Fired." or a Bank Robbery in progress, or - at least - a traffic accident with injuries.

But, this was not the case. Not by a long shot. And it isn't the first time. And, sadly, it won't be the last.

The events I witnessed took place a couple days ago. I was sitting at my computer, when I heard the sounds of a girl from outside my windows who was tearfully asking for her dog back. Hearing this, I assumed that some asshole had grabbed her canine companion. So, I got up and looked out the window...

I wasn't completely wrong. There was a girl sitting against the building across the street who was in tears.

I was a little off about the asshole, though...

I had underestimated the number of them. Eventually, a total of Six Armed Assholes were on the scene.

I talked with the girl yesterday. She told me what had happened.

It had been raining all day. As she sat on the sidewalk, she had thoughtfully covered her two dogs with a tarp to protect them from the rain. At one point, she got up and crossed the street to get some water for them to drink. The first cops were on the scene as she got back. She returned to her dogs and one of the officers snarled at her, "Give me the dog.". She didn't know what was going on. He repeated his order, "Give me the dog!". She started to explain to them that she had only left them for a moment to go get them some water to drink. The officer didn't care, didn't want to hear any explanation, he just demanded she hand over the dog. She took the dog out from under the tarp and the officer took the dog and tied it - in the rain - to his patrol car's side mirror.

Initially, there had been a male friend of the girl's present, but the officers had threatened him and made him leave her alone with them after he challenged them loudly.
Something to the effect of: "Don't you have anything better to do? Aren't there any rapes or robberies going on that you could be stopping? Of course there are... and yet, you're Here!".

The Truth Hurts. And, apparently, when you're given a gun and a badge, you don't have to listen to it.

Anyway, there was the one red-headed officer who apparently had proclaimed himself Officer Asshole. The other five were there to... hmm... just in case... err... he needed 5 armed officers as backup because... Hell. There simply was Nothing going on that can justify the other five of them being there.

She was sitting against the building, hands at her sides, tearfully pleading with the officer to return her dog. To just let her hold it. But, red-headed Officer Asshole had a plan. To intimidate. To harass. To bully. He told the girl that he remembers seeing her and her dogs a year and a half ago. He then stated that he had wanted to shoot and kill one of her dogs back then. He said that he was sorry that he hadn't.

He was probably annoyed that he couldn't just kill her dog right then & there. But, in front of fellow officers... (actually, they'd probably back him up and say it was " a justified shooting", so) in front of civilian witnesses (Thank Gd there were civies around!) he might be chastised by the Police Commission... or (given their history) given a promotion.

(I remember several incidents a few years back, where some SFPD officers had shot several homeless peoples' dogs. I personally knew three of the homeless people whose dogs were shot & killed in front of their owner's eyes, with no just cause. These dogs weren't aggressive, ever. Adding insult to excruciating injury, a couple of their owners were detained briefly after the shootings and then released without charges. No explanation. No Apology. Nothing - but the body of their formerly unconditionally-loving, warm and lively and now bloody, cold and lifeless companion.
*To the SFPD Officer(s) who were involved in those callous murders of the dogs: May You Get What You Truly Deserve. To the Officers who just looked the other way... Shame On You and the Parents Who Stuck Us With You.)

Back to The Current Incident:
Both of the girl's dogs are registered. She showed the officers that she had their rabies vaccination tags clipped to her belt. She obeyed the laws. Her dogs were legal, vaccinated & registered.

So, again, I ask: WHY The Over The Top Show Of Force?

Obviously, she wasn't a dangerous criminal. Obviously, she wasn't abusing her dogs... In fact, she takes excellent care of them. They are registered. They've been vaccinated.

So, what was the justification for that pronounced Police Presence?
What did Officer Dog-Hater do? He ran her name... but, that's just GP (General Practice) for the SFPD when they identify someone as 'homeless'. They couldn't give her a Citation (I can hear them realizing this, now: "Damn It! She already has them Registered! We can't ticket her for it! How am I gonna make my Quota?)

So, in the end, all of this taxpayer paid Police Presence resulted in... What?
A scared dog. Another victim of SFPD Police Brutality/Psychological Torment. Anyone committing a crime elsewhere in the neighborhood at the time likely got away with it. And... Oh, yeah... Six Police Officers who stealthily avoided doing REAL POLICE WORK while still Getting Paid.
("Police Work" i.e. Activities Like Investigating Crimes; Cultivating Relationships With The Public; Protecting Civilians From Violence and Threats of Violence.)

If a "Picture Paints A Thousand Words" - Here's the story in Pictures:

ONE SFPD PATROL CAR:


PLUS TWO MORE SFPD PATROL CARS:


MAKING THE FRIEND LEAVE HER ALONE:


"WE'VE GOT HER SURROUNDED."


"DID YOU CALL FOR BACK-UP?
"

"WE HAVE A SITUATION."


Facing the girl - below - is Officer Asshole (The one who made a testicle of himself and Who has a hard-on To Shoot And KILL Her Dog.)
This gun-toting 'public servant' is targeting our most-vulnerable citizens - the Homeless and their dogs - with his mental/emotional issues. He's in Acute need of an Independent Psych Evaluation.


As for the other uniformed/armed 'rubber-neckers', they're in need of refresher courses in 'Police Work' (W/emphasis on both Human Rights and How To Tell The Difference Between A Criminal and A Civilian.)

Stand Up & Speak Out Against Police Brutality In All Its Forms!
Peace.
L.

The H1N1 Influenza Shell Game Begins: Surprise! It's Really Just Kinds of Swine Flu.

Scout's Honor (I'm holding my three fingers in the appropriate formation): I am not a Conspiracy Theorist...

Nor am I trying to start a Conspiracy...

I only write this with the sincere hope that it gives you something else to think about... something other than what is said in the mass media, by the CDC, by the government, by any of the parade of scientists that are undoubtedly lining up.

I am not saying that any or all of the afore-mentioned are or will be blatantly lying to you.

I only encourage you to think for yourselves. Be critical thinkers. Question Authority Figures - no matter what their credentials.

Here's my (perhaps unique/perhaps not)view of the poorly-named "Swine Flu" Pandemic. ('poorly-named' because no pig or piglet has ever developed it, according to scientists.)

These are my thoughts - How I see it - through 'glasses' colored by researching documented historical events when our Uncle Sam, the US military or CIA, etc. are known to have used civilians - without those civilians knowledge or consent - as test subjects.

I'm not saying that is what is happening now. I'm just saying leave room for other possibilities.

When I first heard the news reports of Swine Flu cases exclusively in Mexico, something - no, a few things - set off alerts in my head.

First, every single report that I watched stated without hesitation that the Deadly H1N1 virus in Mexico was actually a hodgepodge of at least 3 different viral strains: One Avian. One Human. One Swine.
(They even displayed a blown-up, black-and-white image of the virus - which definitely looked like it contained at least 3 distinct-looking organisms in it.) After hearing this and that it was believed that no pigs have actually had it, I thought, matter-of-factly, "Oh, someone made it in a lab somewhere."

I have had no formal medical training, but, that information and image stood out and struck my fairly well-read mind as 'Odd'.

Next - Those same news reports also stated that - in no uncertain terms - not one of the confirmed Swine Flu cases in Mexico had had any close contact with pigs or pig farms. (again...Odd.)

Unfortunately, the network news seemed to have no other as-juicy stories to Sensationalize and Shock-n-Awe the public with... at least that were on par with the "Deadly Swine Flu Pandemic" story... And, boy! They ran and ran and ran with it.

Congratulations, Network/Affiliate News Departments: Yesterday, here in San Francisco, our local hospitals had bust their butts to set up Outdoor "Swine Flu" Triage Tents to accomodate the growing numbers of people who were showing up at their Emergency Rooms (*Meant for Genuine "Emergencies") who were convinced that they had caught it or that their offspring had caught it.
Earlier today, I heard that the hospitals were pleading with the public to "Please don't come to the Emergency Room, unless you are REALLY VERY SICK."

Needless to say, none of the hypochondriacs had it. In fact, our first confirmed case was only announced today. That's ONE Confirmed Case, people. ONE Case that doesn't require hospitalization.

Which brings me to a third Odd Thing: From what I understand, those confirmed cases in Mexico seemed to be fatal. While cases in the US seem to be able to be treated with the appropriate meds and a stay at home - with a prognosis of expected full-recovery. Why is that? Doesn't Mexico have access to the same pharmaceuticals? Or, is it not the same "Swine Flu" in Mexico as it is in the US? Or, did (all?) the victims in Mexico not seek medical attention until they were beyond the point where available & effective meds would be effective?

Now... Arriving straight outta God-Knows-Where... I come across an article article in Wired Magazine (online) that really caught me off-guard. It has this jaw-dropping title: "Swine Flu Genes From Pigs Only, Not Humans or Birds"

As I read the article, I find myself shaking my head and unconsciously saying, "Bullshit.", softly and somewhat under my breath.

The article basically quotes a Univ. of Edinburgh viral geneticist, a PA virus evolution specialist and a Maryland bioinformaticist (What the Hell is a 'bioinformaticist'?)... who all seem to have come to the remarkable conclusion that (drum-roll, please!):
According to them, all earlier reports from all sources were ALL WRONG! The World Health Organization is Wrong!
Rather than being a a combination of pig, human and bird flu strains, as previously stated... The H1N1 Virus is actually "... a hybrid of two common pig flu strains."

The only thing - according to the scientists in the article - that the countless earlier reports got right is that it still "... hasn’t been seen before in pigs."(Still "Odd".)

My first response to the article: Sounds like SPIN to me. As in: "You Spin me 'round and 'round, like a record, baby...".

One of the three scientists came to their ground-breaking conclusion after he analyzed gene sequences of viral samples taken from just two California cases.

The samples were collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC then made the samples available to "... researchers through an international database of flu genomes".

That's all well and good... If... A.)You trust that the California cases of Influenza A H1N1 are the Same Strain as the Fatal one in Mexico. B.)You completely trust Everyone at the CDC. and C.)You trust that the three scientists were given the correct samples.

I've learned that, in forensics, you have to have a detailed accounting for the handling/testing/documenting of evidence. How many people handled the samples between their collection in California and the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia? After that, how many people were involved with the project until it reached the stage of flu genomes in the database? Who has access to the database?

Another nagging thought of mine: knowing of the military's interest in developing so-called "non-lethal" weapons (not that I'm complaining. Non-lethal is better than Lethal.)

What I'm saying is this: The Military wouldn't exclude Non-Lethal Biological Weapons from their testing programs.

In closing... I offer a quote and 2 bits of (Un)Common Sense:

"Just Because You're Paranoid, Doesn't Mean They're Not Out To Get You..."

And...
1.)Wash Your Hands, Regularly.
And 2.)Please Cover Your Mouth With The Crook of Your Arm - Not Your Hands When Coughing Or Sneezing.

Peace... And Good Health.

L.



Colorized image, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention April 24, 2009. Depicts the influenza A H1N1 "swine flu" virus from an outbreak in 1976. A deadly strain of this flu virus that has never been seen before may be behind the deaths of more than 100 people in Mexico and its spread into the United States, where 40 people have become infected, though none have died so far. (Dr. Erskine Palmer and R.E. Bates/Centers for Disease Control/Handout/Reuters )

(From: www.wired.com/.)

Swine Flu Genes From Pigs Only, Not Humans or Birds

The deadly H1N1 influenza virus that’s fueling fears of a global pandemic is a hybrid of two common pig flu strains, scientists who have studied the disease told Wired.com Tuesday. Earlier reports called it a combination of pig, human and avian influenza strains.

The findings may resolve some uncertainty about the nature of the virus, but much is still unknown about its origins and effects.

“This is what we call a reassortment between two currently circulating pig flu viruses,” said Andrew Rambaut, a University of Edinburgh viral geneticist. “Why it’s emerged in humans is anyone’s guess. It hasn’t been seen before in pigs as far as I know.”

Rambaut analyzed the gene sequences of viral samples taken from two infected California children. The samples were collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and made available to researchers through an international database of flu genomes.

His conclusions were echoed by Eddie Holmes, a virus evolution specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Steven Salzberg, a University of Maryland bioinformaticist. Both have looked at the CDC-provided sequences. The CDC could not be reached for comment, but a document released to scientists and obtained by Wired.com affirms their analysis. The samples from California are the same viral strain as one that’s believed to have killed as many as 150 of an estimated 1,600 hospitalized Mexicans, and caused hundreds more infections worldwide, including at least 64 in the United States.

The two strains whose genes are found in the hybrid belong to influenza families known generally as North American and Eurasian pig flu. The former was first described in the 1930s, and the latter in 1979. The Eurasian strain is generally found in Europe and Asia, rather than North America.

Neither of the strains have ever proven contagious in humans. One of the genes inherited from the Eurasian strain has reportedly never been seen in humans. It codes for the neuraminidase enzyme — the N1 in H1N1 — which controls the expansion of the virus from infected cells.

“The new neuraminidase gene that came in from Eurasian swine is one we’ve never before seen circulating in humans,” said Rambaut. “That’s one of the reasons it’s spreading rapidly. Very few people will have any immunity to this particular combination, which is what gives the concern that this will be a pandemic rather than just a normal seasonal flu outbreak. It remains to be seen how much and to what extent there is existing immunity.”

In medical terms, the genetic origins of the virus may not matter. Whether it come solely from pigs rather than a mix of pigs, birds and humans doesn’t change its immunological novelty.

However, understanding the origins could eventually help scientists determine how the virus evolved and where it originally emerged.

The earliest cases occurred in the town of La Gloria in the Mexican state of Veracruz, not far from a large and notoriously unsanitary hog farm operated by Granjas Carroll, a subsidiary of giant American food company Smithfield Foods.

Vercruz residents and some journalists have alleged that the virus could have evolved in the farm’s pigs, then passed into humans through water or insects tainted by infected waste. Many researchers, including the authors of a report issued last year by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, have warned that unsanitary conditions at industrial hog farms could prove a breeding ground for new forms of influenza.

The World Health Organization has sent inspectors to the Granjas Carroll farm. The results of the investigation have not been announced. Smithfield issued a press release on Saturday stating that “it has found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in the company’s swine herd or its employees at its joint ventures in Mexico.” The company declined further comment, though CEO Larry Pope told USA Today that “(The term) swine flu is a misnomer.”

Rambaut, Holmes and Salzberg declined to speculate on whether the new H1N1 virus evolved on a hog farm or specifically in the Granjas Carroll facility.

However, it seems likely that pigs were the original host.

“That’s a logical conclusion,” said Salzberg. “It was probably two different pigs, or one who got co-infected from others. The two strains mixed, and now you have a brand-new strain.”

“Presumably somewhere there was a pig infected with both forms. We don’t know where or when. It could have been circulating in this form for a while,” said Rambaut.

What comes next is anyone’s guess.

“Influenza virus mutates remarkably rapidly so there is no doubt that the virus will mutate and evolve in humans,” said Holmes. “Quite what this evolution will result in is difficult to tell.”

A Sneak Peek At My Newest Vintage & Designer Clothing Auctions

Here's a MySpace Sneak Peek At a Few Of My Newest Auction Listings of Exquisite Vintage and Exclusive Designer Clothing...

If You see something you like... I've made it effortless for you to find my eBay Page.

Just click here: vintage_u_luv.

Or, even if you don't care for any of these three items...

In addition to these three, you'll find several more unique items on my page.

(Including this amazing, vintage 1970's, men's Disco shirt with a print of several scenes from The Sorcerer's Apprentice - From Walt Disney's Feature Film "Fantasia".)


Here's a Stunning, Vintage 1920's~1930's, Bias-cut, Semi-sheer, Black Silk Slip Dress. Mint/Unworn Condition!


Here's a To-Die-For, Avant-Garde Diane Von Furstenberg, Silk Dress. Mint/Unworn Condition!


Here's an Exquisite, Vintage 1980's, ST.JOHN By Marie Gray Beaded, Knit Cocktail Dress. Mint Condition!


If nothing catches your eye today, please check back with me again.

I'm always adding new listings of hand-picked, rare and unique vintage and designer clothing at irrestistibly reasonable, below-retail prices.

Thanks For Looking & Supporting My One-Grrl Green Garment Biz!

Peace.

L.

Cheney In Chains? ...Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

"I'm Back In The Saddle, Again."

I found myself Internet Access-Less for almost a week recently.

I was going mad with World-Wide Web Withdrawals.

Try to go a few days without going online for any reason...

It forces you to realize how much of your daily life involves a keyboard, a monitor, a computer and access to the Internet.

I found myself sitting in my little vintage chair - in front of my desk, reaching for the mouse, looking up at the screen and...

Aww, shite!

Thankfully, I'm now getting my long-delayed
dose of DSL.

Just in time, too.

Check this out:

Picturing Dick Cheney with his hands and feet in shackles and doing the convict shuffle to a Federal Penitentiary...

Mmmmm...

What can I say...

It just puts a blissful smile on my face and always provides me with an especially warm, head-to-toe warm fuzzy feeling.

I was kind of ambivalent to read of the recent release of the so-called 'Terror Memos'. No Big Deal, in my eyes.

I don't see why the memo release caused certain former CIA spook officials and other Bush Admin officials to get their big-boy panties in such a bunch.

"Now, Al Qaida's operatives will know what techniques they might be facing and they will train to withstand it."

No.
According to the Obama Admin., the 'interrogation' techniques described in the memos were no longer to be considered approved means of questioning detainees.

"Now, the terrorists know that the US is unable to keep its "TOP SECRETS" Top Secret."

Again... No.
Nothing that I heard described from the memos was anything that could have been "EYES ONLY" material. Nothing was revealed that I hadn't heard before regarding the Bush legal team's acrobatic spin of legalese and semantics as they did their best to make it OK for US interrogators to torture detainees/suspects/innocents. And, I'm quite sure that, as AQ has internet access, they could have dug up the same info there, as I have.

I was concerned about the references to letting sleeping torturers lie... Water under the bridge... Look forward, not backwards...

I actually heard a few officials state something along the lines of:

"As long as interrogators were only using those (torture) methods approved by Bush's legal beagles - and in the ways and to the extent they are described - they will not face prosecution."

WHAT?! Objection!

Uh... Hello?!
There already is a solid legal precident that covers this sort of situation.

Just in case anyone forgot their 20th century History Lessons:

After W.W.II, certain Nazi officials were made to stand trial for their heinous crimes and their participation in mass murder.

In their own defense, some defendents stated:
"We were just following orders."

The Finding: "Guilty!"

It's a common reference - whenever someone commits some act(s) which basic common sense informs goes against everything that is Human and/or Humane... And they try to defend their actions by saying they were just following orders...
"Yeah?... Well, the Nazis were 'just following orders."

Basically - Unless there is something seriously and/or medically wrong with You...
You know what is Right. And, You know what is Wrong.

"Following orders" doesn't fly in the eyes of The Law.
When in Doubt, just walk out.

Peace.

L.


(From dailymail.com.)

(From: msnbc.msn.com)

Obama Open To Some Interrogation Prosecution -
But President Concerned About The Impact Of Hearings

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama left the door open Tuesday to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terrorism-suspect interrogations, saying the United States lost "our moral bearings" with use of the tactics.

The question of whether to bring charges against those who devised justification for the methods "is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said.

The president discussed the issue of terrorism-era interrogation tactics with reporters as he finished an Oval Office meeting with visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan.


Obama also said he could support a congressional investigation into the Bush-era terrorist detainee program, but only under certain conditions, such as if it were done on a bipartisan basis. He said he worries about the impact that high-intensity, politicized hearings in Congress could have on the government's efforts to cope with terrorism.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said later that the independent Sept. 11 Commission, which investigated and then reported on the terror attacks of 2001, might be a model.

The president had said earlier that he didn't want to see prosecutions of the CIA agents and interrogators who took part in waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, so long as they acted within parameters spelled out by government superiors who held that such practices were legal at the time.

The vexing issue of how terrorism-era detainees held by the United States were interrogated has presented Obama with a quandary, both political and pragmatic. He harshly criticized these practices as the campaigning Democratic presidential candidate, and still feels pressure from his party's liberal wing to come down hard on it, even after the fact. But he also is being criticized by Republicans, including people as high-ranking as former Vice President Dick Cheney, who say the Bush administration doesn't get enough credit for protecting the country from a second 9/11-style attack.

Worsening Obama's dilemma: Now that he is president, he has to worry even more about the fallout of a release of government interrogation memoranda since he now oversees the entire national security establishment, including the spy apparatus.

Cheney said in a Fox News Channel interview that the U.S. government gained valuable intelligence from its aggressive interrogations. This came after conservatives roundly criticized Obama for releasing the internal Bush administration memos, saying that action was not in the U.S. national security interests.

In the interview, Cheney said, "I've now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was, as well as to see this debate over the legal opinions."

The Cheney transition office says that the former vice president made the request to the National Archives to declassify the CIA documents on March 31st - and the Archives confirmed on April 8th that they had forwarded the request to the relevant agencies. The Archives are the agency that former vice presidents contact for such matters.

Tuesday afternoon senior intelligence officials told NBC News they have not yet received any request. Late Tuesday an intelligence official said "these things take time" and as of their latest check it had not reached the Agency.

Tuesday evening senior intelligence officials told NBC News that they have checked again, at NBC’s request, after hearing from the Cheney transition office and the request from the former vice president to the National Archives for declassification "made its way to the agency" Tuesday afternoon.

That contradicts what the Archives told the Cheney office - which is that they forwarded the request on April 8th - more than a week after it was received from the former vice president’s office.

Complicated issues
The new administration's stance on Bush administration lawyers who actually wrote the memos approving these tactics has been somewhat murky. "There are a host of very complicated issues involved," Obama said Tuesday.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said in a television interview over the weekend that the administration does not support prosecutions for "those who devised policy." Later, White House aides said that he was referring to CIA superiors who ordered the interrogations, not the Justice Department officials who wrote the legal memos allowing them.

White House press secretary Gibbs was peppered with questions at a Tuesday briefing about whether Obama's latest statements conflicted with signals the administration had sent earlier and Emanuel's statements of Sunday.

"Instead of referring to what anybody might have said ... I think it's important to refer to what the president said," Gibbs replied. He said that Obama has said "he does not believe that people are above the rule of law." And his spokesman reiterated Obama's position that any determination on whether laws were broken "would be rightly determined by the United States Department of Justice."

If an investigation for a "further accounting" of the interrogation decision-making is launched, Gibbs said that Obama might favor the kind of independent, bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Congress set up that panel but did not run it.

"I think that the president would see a 9/11 commission, in all honesty, a model for how ... a commission might be set up," Gibbs said. He added, "I'm reminded that Congress has a pretty big say in something like that given their ability and their lawmaking power."

Obama earlier Tuesday had taken a question on this for the first time since he ordered Justice to release top-secret Bush-era memos that gave the government's first full accounting of the CIA's use of waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning — and other harsh methods criticized as torture.

The previously classified memos were released Thursday, over the objections of many in the intelligence community. CIA Director Leon Panetta had pressed for heavier censorship when they were released, but the memos were put out with only light redactions.

Far from putting the matter in the past, the move has resulted in Obama being buffeted by increased pressure from both sides.

Republican lawmakers and former CIA chiefs have criticized Obama's decision, contending that revealing the limits of interrogation techniques will hamper the effectiveness of interrogators and critical U.S. relationships with foreign intelligence services.

The release also has appeared to intensify calls for further investigations of the Bush-era terrorist treatment program and for prosecutions of those responsible for any techniques that crossed the line into torture.

Obama banned all such techniques days after taking office. But members of Congress have continued to seek the release of information about the early stages of the U.S. response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror under former President George W. Bush. Lawsuits have been brought, seeking the same information.

Obama said an investigation might be acceptable "outside of the typical hearing process" and with the participation of "independent participants who are above reproach." This, he said, could help ensure that any investigation would be a tool to learn, not to provide partisan advantage to one side or another.

"That would probably be a more sensible approach to take," Obama said. "I'm not saying that it should be done, I'm saying that if you've got a choice."

The president made clear that his preference would be not to revisit the era extensively.

"As a general view, I do think we should be looking forward, not back," Obama said. "I do worry about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations."

For more than a year, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility has been reviewing the interrogation memos and whether the lawyers who drafted them complied with department standards. Spokesman Matt Miller said the agency had no comment "on the outcome of that review or on other possible investigations."