Sam Spade's San Francisco

By now just about everyone has heard about the Fang's newspaper and the horribly racist article they published. Kenneth Eng, a writer who works for the Fang family, wrote an opinion piece titled "Why I Hate Blacks". The horrifying element of the story is not that Eng wrote the piece, but that the Fangs, who own and manage Asian Week, agreed to publish the piece. Doesn't that give the article the Fang Stamp of Approval?

The Fangs knew that Kenneth Eng is a racist. They had that knowledge well in advance of his "Why I Hate Blacks" article. On November 24th he published another inflammatory article, "Proof that Whites Inherently Hate Us" that ended with these incendiary words, "We vastly outnumber them (white people). When you have a disobedient child, you do not give him gifts to make him abide to your will. You show him the cane".

Not content with that article in November, Eng wrote another inflammatory hate piece this past January. Although he cleverly titled the story, "Why I Hate Asians", the true meaning and intent of the story became evident by the second sentence, which was, "The first thing I hate about Asians in America is how so many of them want to suck up to whites."

With this evidence clearly on the table, it is absolutely inexcusable that Florence Fang (Chairwoman of Asian Week), James Fang (President of Asian Week) and Ted Fang (Editor-at-Large of Asian Week) allowed Kenneth Eng to continue his relationship with Asian Week.

This latest cruel and hateful attack on African Americans is absolutely over the limits. It is unacceptable, inexcusable and completely reprehensible. Asian Week should not be published by the Fang family. The Fangs have so thoroughly humiliated and disgraced themselves, that they should never again be in a position of public trust.

It is the Fang family, not Kenneth Eng, who seem to be the instigators and hate-promoters here. The Fangs knew well in advance that Kenneth Eng is a racial supremacist by his own admission. On January 12, 2007 Kenneth Eng wrote these words that he used to describe why he was writing a hate piece that was published by the Fangs in Asian Week, "It seems like an odd title for an article written by an Asian Supremacist."

Kenneth Eng is a unrepentant racist. The Fangs knew that about Eng, yet they still permitted him to continue his relationship with Asian Week. The Fangs must have approved Eng's message. It is their newspaper and they have absolute and total control over the newspaper's operations.

No matter how big San Francisco may be, we do not have enough room for hate mongers and overt racists. San Francisco has always been a City of Acceptance. San Francisco welcomes everybody and we reject nobody ... except those who hate. We have no room here for those who hate. San Francisco is a HATE-FREE ZONE.

The Fangs have disgraced the man who brought their family to prominence, John Fang, who died in 1992. They have destroyed his memory and deeply insulted what John Fang believed in life. The Fangs ... Florence, James and Ted ... have disgraced the memory of their ancestor. They have disgraced themselves.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I am entitled to mine just as much as the Fangs and Kenneth Eng are entitled to theirs.

The on-going crusade on behalf of medical marijuana clubs being conducted by Kevin Reed shows no signs of slowing down. Today I received a letter from Reed and, although I do not generally print letters verbatum as they are received by me, I am making an exception in this case. Mr. Reed's letter was to-the-point and well crafted, so, here is the letter.

Received from Keven Reed, February 28, 2007:

I am writing you today to ask for your assistance. Tomorrow March 1, 2007 patients will experience a 1000% increase in the state voluntary medical cannabis identification card program. However, based on local regulations a mandatory state card is needed to enter a mcd in San Francisco.

Activists and patients have pressured our Board of Supervisors to take action. Supervisor Mirkarimi introduced a resolution to bring back the city card if this increase occurs to save patients hardship. However, it was sent to (and stalled) a neighborhood committee when Supervisor Ed Jew said he needed more information before he could take action.

Please inquire about why a City that is supposed to be leading the way in the medical cannabis movement is just standing back doing nothing as patients face this horrendous hardship.. I invite you to stop by the San Francisco General Hospital today at 12:00 pm to see the panic this has inspired for patients everywhere.

Shame on everyone NOT involved in stopping this situation from occurring, and then calling themselves supporters of the medical cannabis movement.

Thank you,

Kevin Reed, President, The Green Cross
www.thegreencross.org
ph. 415.846.7671 or 415.648.4420

By now most of us have heard about the section of Telegraph Hill that crumbled and slid down on some buildings that front on Broadway. The full story in today's San Franciso Chronicle is here.

This should be a clear warning to all of us in San Francisco. We live in a City on the Move. Who knows ... the next big news story may be the Great Earthquake of 2007.

So what's a person to do?

Take the free NERT training offered by the San Francisco Fire Department. That's what a person should do.

Since 1990 the NERT program has trained more than 15,000 San Francisco residents to be self sufficient in a major disaster. Through this program, individuals will also learn hands-on disaster skills that will help them as members of the City's official Neighborhood Emergency Response Team.

The NERT Training Program is a 20 hour comprehensive program consisting 6 class sessions lasting approximately 3 hours each. The training instructors are professional firefighter members of the San Francisco Fire Department. There is no cost for the classes.

The San Francisco Fire Department NERT program is a registered, FEMA compliant Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. It is the second oldest program of its type in the nation.

For more information visit the NERT web site here.

Or contact:
San Francisco Fire Department NERT Training
Lt. Erica Arteseros, Program Coordinator
2310 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Voice
Fax
email:

The Mark Hopkins Hotel will be the venue for the official San Francisco Bay Area kick-off (and fundraiser) for Barack Obama. The event was announced in an email sent to Obama supporters by the event chair committe: Eileen Chamberlain Donahue, Doug Hickey, Mark Gorenberg, Laurel Simes and Bill Levin, Wade Randlett, Susie and John Roos, Tony West, Steve Westly, Shelby Bonnie, Jessica and Kirk Kaludis, Thomas McInerney and Vishal Virma.

The kick-off and reception will be held on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The doors open and the pre-reception begins at 6:30 PM. The official kick-off is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM. The cost is $1,000 per ticket. For more information contact Tammy Paster by phone at or by email at

If a thousand-dollars for a kick-off event is just not in your budget, there will be a more serious organizing meeting for Barack Obama supporters on March 1st at 7:30 PM.

This second opportunity is a meeting for Barack Obama supporters who are committed, ready to organize and itching to get to work. It is an opportunity to meet one another and take the first steps in building a grassroots organization to help Barack Obama win the Demoratic Party nomination for the presidency. There is limited room, so if you want to know more about how you can get on board with other local people supporting Barack Obama, please register today.

If you are interested in this second event, contact Nicholas Short at Hive Advertising, 639 Front Street, 1st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111. Call: . You can also register online at www.barackobama.com/

The 79th Academy Awards will be presented tomorrow on ABC-7 beginning at 5:30 PM. If you are not planning to attend the annual Academy of Friends Gala or the special Oscar party at the Balboa Theatre, then watching it on TV may be your only option (if you are an Oscar fanatic).

The Queen has been nominated for six Oscars: Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Directing, Achievement for Music Written for Motion Pictures (original score), Original Screenplay and finally ... the big one ... Best Motion Picture of the Year.

I saw The Queen and enjoyed it, but I did notice a number of inaccuracies between the Hollywood Queen and the real Buckingham Palace Queen. I visited the IMDb web site (Earth's biggest movie database) and found a number of documented goofs made by Hollywood. Here they are. Enjoy.

• Continuity: The Queen takes two black dogs and they get into her Landrover. When she gets out of the Landrover in the forest, telling Prince Charles that she will walk back to Balmoral, she lets three black dogs out.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When Blair is in his study surrounded by books using a telephone, a copy of "Carter Beats the Devil" is visible which wasn't first published in Britain until 2001. The film is set in 1997.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When Tony Blair is riding to the airport in the back of his Jaguar, in the background you can see a Mercedes Benz S-class with an 02 number plate (ie March-August 2002). There also appears to be an out-of focus 52 plate (September 2002-February 2003) later in the same scene. At this point in the film it is 1997.
  
  

• Anachronisms: In the first scene where Blair is talking to the Queen, when she puts down the phone he hears the old pulse dialing tone, this was phased out by BT, in London, long previous to 1997 when the film is set.
  
  
• Anachronisms: At the end of August the heather on the hills of Scotland would be in full bloom, so it was obviously filmed earlier in the year.
  
  
• Anachronisms: While in the back of his car, Tony Blair takes a call on his mobile phone from the Lord Chamberlain. Blair's handset is a Nokia 6210 which was not released until 2001 (four years after the film was set).
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: In the scene in which the queen disables her Rover in the riverbed and is stranded, alone, when she opens the car door you can very clearly see in the window the reflection of a man looking on from the shore.
  

I work in the Financial District and every weekday I spot UPS, FedEx and a plethora of other commercial carrier trucks double parked.

It creates quite a mess for people who are driving. The horns honk, the cars jerk and jockey to cut in front of one another to get around the big double-parked delivery trucks.

It has never really bothered me too much because I take MUNI to work. I walk a few blocks from my home to catch public transportation. On the other end I walk just two-blocks to my office. Watching the weekday Financial District traffic mess is little more than an amusing pastime for me.

Still, I scowl at those trucks as I pass because they block progress and blatantly violate our City's traffic laws. I scowled, that was, until today. Next week I think I'll smile.

This morning I read in the San Francisco Chronicle that UPS paid $673,334 in fines for 11,788 tickets -- an average of one ticket every 45 minutes throughout the year. Eighteen companies have special accounts with the city to pay off parking tickets in bulk. Together, they racked up 27,395 tickets and paid more than $1.5 million in fines for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Great! What a wonderful additional revenue source for the City.

By the way ... you can read the full story by Rachel Gordon, a Chronicle staff writer, by following this link.

The issuance of parking tickets is big business for the City and I am all in favor of expanding the business. Let's hire more more parking enforcement officers and buy more parking enforcement vehicles and make sure we don't miss a single UPS or FedEx double-parked cash cow.

Just to illustrate the point, here are some statistics Rachel Gordon and the Chronicle put together:

---

By the numbers:

1.9 million: Approximate number of parking citations San Francisco issues each year.

$85 million: Approximate amount of fines collected.

27,395: Number of tickets issued to companies in the city's bulk-ticket program.

$1.5 million: Approximate amount these companies paid in fines.

---

Paying in bulk:

The top five companies enrolled in San Francisco's bulk-payment parking ticket program:

-- UPS: 11,788 tickets, $673,334 in fines

-- FedEx: 7,711 tickets, $434,046 in fines

-- Airborne Express: 2,581 tickets, $140,845 in fines

-- McMillan Electric Co.: 1,497 tickets, $74,375

-- Comcast: 1,067 tickets, $51,230

Note: All data from 2005-06 fiscal year. Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

So, on behalf of all of us who live in San Francisco and depend upon parking violation revenue for so many City services, I want to thank all you commercial double-parkers and encourage you to continue paying us through the nose for your violations. Your contributions are appreciated.

The American Constitution Society presents a panel discussion featuring:

-Erin Callahan, Western Regional Director, Amnesty International USA;

-Brandt Goldstein, Author, Storming the Court: How a Band of Yale Law Students Sued the President--and Won;

Former Vice-President Al Gore is shown in the photo speaking at a recent ACS event.

-Lucas Guttentag, National Director, Immigrants' Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, 405 Howard Street, 10th Floor, San Francisco

(CLE Credit will be available)

This is a brown bag event. Drinks, fruit and cookies will be provided courtesy of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

RSVP

.

Academy of Friends Mercedes-Benz Raffle!

Purchase your ticket for a chance to win a 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK280 Roadster.

Only 3,000 tickets will be sold. Tickets are only $50 each and there will be only 3,000 sold. (i.e. your odds of winning are 1 in 3,000).

The prize is a brand new 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK280 Roadster (MSRP: $44,125).

The drawing will take place at the 2007 Academy of Friends Gala. You need not be present to win. Call to purchase the tickets.

In a February 28 news conference at the ACLU offices, civil rights groups announced the filing of a class action lawsuit against the federal government for its practice of indefinitely delaying citizenship applications in violation of the Constitution and federal statutes and regulations.

The first of its kind in Northern California, the lawsuit seeks to enforce federal laws that expect the government to decide a citizenship application within 120 days of the naturalization test. Many of the named plaintiffs have been waiting for several years, a clear violation of the law.

The ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, the ACLU of Northern California, the Asian Law Caucus, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations -San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, all jointly filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in San Francisco.

Read the full story from the ACLU here.

Despite three attempts by the Bush Administration to eliminate this longstanding program, Congress strongly supported Perkins Loans in FY 2006.

The financial gain the government seeks to recover by cutting the Perkins Loan program is dwarfed by the hardship these cuts would create for the 750,000 students from low-income backgrounds who benefit from the loans each year. Through matching grants from academic institutions and the recycling of interest payments into loans for future applicants, Perkins Loans represent one of the more cost-effective student aid programs.

Without the availability of low-interest loans, college graduates seeking to qualify for the higher paying jobs that require a college degree end up trapped in debt peonage, struggling to pay for their college education throughout their most productive years. The elimination of Perkins Loans would further chip away at America's middle class, and remove one more rung from the ladder of upward mobility.

Tonight on California Connected:

See: California Connected web site
See: KQED Chanel 9 - PBS

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COSTLY CURES
Has the cost of staying alive become too high? Breaking pre-existing price barriers, a new generation of cancer drugs is financially out of reach for many patients. California Connected follows one patient facing a crushing debt as he fights for his life.
http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/383

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AUDIO COMMENTARY
Executive Producer Bret Marcus joins Associate Producer Anne Lilburn to discuss the story behind Costly Cures.
http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/390

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FIRST PERSON: KEITH RICHMAN
Assemblyman Keith Richman discusses the challenge of legislating healthcare reform in California.
http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/384

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MEXICAN HEALTH INSURANCE
Californians are traveling in record numbers to Baja California, Mexico, for healthcare. The news is that they're doing it through their own HMOs. http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/297



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Countless Americans like us were shocked when Congress passed and the President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act (MCA).

When they did, they cast aside the Constitution and the centuries-old principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. The MCA also gave the president the power to decide by himself who is and who is not an enemy, and to strip individuals of their right to due process under the law.

Now, an excellent bill to fix these problems is about to be proposed, but we need Congress to hear from us to make passing it a priority.

Fix the Military Commissions Act

The Un-American Military Commissions Act needs to be fixed because it:

* Allows the president alone to decide who is and who is not an enemy of this country.
* Eliminates the Constitution’s due process right to habeas corpus for people the president decides are enemies of our country, and permits the government to keep hundreds of detainees imprisoned indefinitely and without charge.
* Lets the president make up his own rules on what is torture and abuse, instead of simply following the rules in the Geneva Conventions; and
* Removes accountability for top government officials, which means that we can’t know that torture and abuse has stopped and won’t happen again.

S. 576, the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, fixes these problems by stopping the president from designating anyone he wants as an enemy combatant, and instead defines enemy combatants as those people who are actually fighting against us.

Urge Senators Feinstein and Boxer to cosponsor the "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007," and to restore American vales by fixing the Un-American Military Commissions Act.

The bill would make clear that the federal government must comply with the Geneva Conventions, and that no one in the federal government can make up their own rules on the use of torture and abuse. Not an army private in the field. Not a top official sitting in a cushy office in Washington. Not even the president.

It restores habeas corpus and due process by:

* Stopping the President from deciding on his own who is an enemy of the country and then taking away the person’s habeas corpus due process right against unlawful imprisonment. The new bill would limit enemy combatants to people actually fighting our country, and not innocent people snatched from streets far from any battlefield. For those detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, it restores the Constitution’s habeas corpus protection of having a court decide whether a person is being imprisoned unlawfully.

* Blocking the federal government from making up its own rules on torture and abuse. The Geneva Conventions have been the law for decades on how we behave during war. The new bill makes clear that the federal government must comply with the Geneva Conventions, and no one in the federal government -- not even the president -- can make up their own rules on the use of torture and abuse.

* Making sure that there aren’t two different standards -- one for privates and sergeants and the other for top government officials. When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, it left men and women in the military subject to comprehensive laws against torture and abuse, but gave top government officials a get-out-of-jail free card. The new bill makes sure that all felony torture and abuse can be prosecuted, even if the perpetrator is sitting in a cushy office in Washington instead of serving as a private in the field.

When the Military Commissions Act was signed into law in October, many Americans realized that the only thing scarier than a government that would take away our basic freedoms is a Congress and a people that would let it happen. We need to let Congress know that it is time to correct the October mistake and restore habeas corpus and due process in America, stop the president from deciding on his own who is an enemy of our country, and make sure that we all follow the same set of rules.

Urge Senators Feinstein and Boxer to co-sponsor the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, and to restore American vales by fixing the Un-American Military Commissions Act. To send a pre-written letter to Senators Feinstein and Boxer through the ACLU website, click here.

Senator Diane Feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer

For more information read "Cleaning Up Washington" by Senator Barack Obama here.

A few Thursday Thoughts ...

1) HBO Documentary Films presents Ghosts of Abu Ghraib tonight. Acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy explores the dark events that occurred at the infamous Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003. Premieres tonight at 9:30pm/8:30c only on HBO. More information here.

2) The Nation magazine: If they gave an Oscar for the year's best progressive film, the winner would be ... Click here to see the nominees and cast your vote.

3) Senator Barbara Boxer rode a wave of "Obamamania" Monday night as she kicked off her re-election campaign. About 1,400 people packed a ballroom at the Westin St. Francis ostensibly to support Boxer. But the real draw was current political celebrity and Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Read more from the Bay Area Reporter here and visit Barack Obama's web site here.

Once again, if you are gay, lesbian or transgender, your basic rights are on the line.

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will not sign legislation this year giving same-sex couples the freedom to marry in California.

Before debate has even begun on AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, the governor has said “no” to treating same-sex couples with the same dignity, respect and support that every other California couple can get through marriage. Sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, AB 43 is the same bill the Legislature passed in 2005 granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry.

Write the governor today and remind him that all Californians deserve the freedom to marry.

While the Legislature is standing up for fairness, the governor continues to duck the issue — hoping the ballot measure process or the courts will decide. Remind the governor that every Californian deserves a fair chance to realize his or her hopes and dreams without going to court or having them put to a vote.

Our message to the governor is clear. Excluding same-sex couples from marriage denies them a basic freedom every other Californian enjoys. The governor should show true leadership by standing up for all couples, all families and all Californians.

Global Climate Change is going to impact some areas very dramatically in a very short time. Other areas will experience a slower and more graduated schedule of change. San Francisco is in the Hot Zone, which means we are going to see dramatic change and see it soon.

I came across a fascinating fully interactive global climate change map and I want to share it with you. Global temperature in 1998 was the hottest in the historical record, and the temperature increase over the 21st century is likely to be the highest of the past thousand years. Global average temperatures have warmed about one degree Fahrenheit (0.6 c) since 1900. The ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1987, seven of them since 1994.

This map illustrates the local consequences of global warming.

Events indicated on the map are divided into two categories:

• Fingerprints. Some of the events are direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures, as already documented and projected to continue by models of a changing climate. These "fingerprints" of climate change are indicated with yellow icons.

• Harbingers. The map also identifies events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming. These "harbingers" of climate change are indicated with red icons. For these events, evidence for a direct link to long-term climate change cannot be confirmed or ruled out at this time.

Here's your link to the map: http://www.climatehotmap.org/index.html

On February 19, 1851 ... 156 years ago today, a very angry group of three-piece-suited businessmen from the Financial District (which was not yet on land re-claimed from the bay) reached their collective boiling point. Earlier that month, C. J. Jansen, a fellow businessman who operated a store at the corner of Montgomery and Washington Street, was robbed of $2,000 (a very substantial sum at the time) and beaten mercilessly by two members of the Sydney Ducks.

In the San Francisco of 1851 there was a particularly ruthless gang of brutal thugs who roamed the streets of San Francisco in search of any lawlessness they could find. They raped, the robbed, they vandalized. The name of their gang came from their common point of origin. All of them had come over to San Francisco from Australia, and the majority of them from Sydney.

Australia at the time was used as a penal colony by England. Undesirables were simply shipped-off to Australia. Some were even sent money by relatives to stay there and not return home to England. Those were know as remittance men and were commonly known as the unwanted bastards of the British Empire. Others were true criminals who had been sentenced by British courts and ordered to be exiled in Australia. Sydney became the unfortunate City that was destined to house the dregs of British society.

As might be imagined, the exiled criminals soon became restless and when word of the Great Gold Rush in California reached them, they headed for the docks in droves and began their journey to San Francisco. Once here they formed one of the most notorious gangs in San Francisco history ... the Sydney Ducks.

It was the Sydney Ducks who had robbed and beaten poor Mr. Jansen and this time the business community of San Francisco had had enough! When they identified the suspects they wasted no time in angrily taking legal matters into their own hands. They dragged the defendants down to Portsmouth Square, which was the de-facto Civic Center at the time, and selected both judges and a jury from amidst their own crowd.

Surprisingly the businessmen did a pretty fair job of creating an instant juris prudence system. many of the businessmen were well educated and some of them were lawyers. The trial, which commenced on the spot, turned on to be more impartial than the angry crowd had hoped for. Three of the jury members agreed with the defense argument (the defense attorney was also recruited from the crowd of businessmen) that Mr. Jansen had not been able to clearly see his attackers.

The crowd-appointed judges ruled that the trial would end without a verdict as result of a locked-jury. Although many in the crowd wanted the hanging to proceed, the crowd-appointed court officers won the day and dispersed the crowd. The accused Sydney ducks were turned over to the Sheriff of San Francisco. They were jailed and eventually convicted in a real court of law.

The vigilante committees were just getting started. By 1856 there were 6,000 vigilante committee members in San Francisco. During the second-half of the 1800's thirty Sydney Ducks were thrown out of San Francisco by the vigilantes and four were publicly hanged.

What ever happened to the vigilantes?

Well, by the late 1850's the vigilantes in San Francisco were so well regarded that they literally took over the Democratic Party in San Francisco and some of their leaders became highly respected politicians and elected leaders.

Sir Robert Swan has earned his place in history alongside the great explorers and adventurers who have tested their physical and mental strength to the limit in the planet’s most hostile environments.

By the age of 33 he became the first man to walk to both the North and South Poles. His 900-mile journey “In The Footsteps of Scott” across the treacherous Antarctic ice cap to the South Pole stands as the longest unassisted walk ever made.

For his scientific explorations Swan was awarded the Polar Medal in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth II and has been knighted by Her Majesty as an Officer in the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)

Swan's credentials not only include those of explorer, mariner and scientist, but he is one of the relatively few people on the planet who actually does something about leaving the environment better than he found it. Swan's Mission Antarctica in 2002 removed 1,000 tons of trash left behind by less environmentally-minded Russian scientists at their Bellingshausen Station, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands, located at 62°12′S 58°58′W.

So, it was with delight this morning as I sipped my coffee and began my first check of the day's news. As is often my practice, my first stop was CNET where I came across this fascinating article about Sir Robert's latest quest. Next week he will launch a major polar expedition and create the world's first online education center in Antarctica that will offer students a real-time glimpse of life on the Antarctic ice in the midst of major global climate change.

Students will experience the urgency of preserving Antarctica. The knowledge they take back to their universities, schools, governments and communities will be absolutely essential in expanding global awareness of the world's new climate and changing environment and how humankind can survive as a species.

This blog will be following Sir Robert's expedition and making regular progress reports. Check back.

Story Tools:
Sir Robert Swan's Expedition web site
Wikipedia Article on Robert Swan
CNET News article
Cool Antarctica - an interesting site
The British Antarctic Survey
U.S. Antarctic Program
The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
Polar Link Pages - VERY extensive

Urban combat often devolves into a series of actions that traverse winding streets and narrow alleys--sometimes for hours. That was certainly the case for Sergeant 1st Class Chad M. Stephens on June 24, 2004, in Baqubah.


That morning, Stephens and his platoon were called in to assist another platoon taking heavy fire from insurgents. Stephens’s platoon helped the others fight through the engagement and then proceeded further into Baqubah. And then they ran into the first ambush of the day. His company commander was severely wounded, and elements of the company disengaged to evacuate him--leaving an even slimmer force. Undaunted, Stephens’s platoon fought through the ambush and continued the offensive as it wound through the city.

Then came a second ambush. In a barrage of fire from all directions, one of the Bradleys was disabled by an RPG round--leaving a wounded man trapped in the open. As enemies continued to pour down a heavy stream of fire, Stephens leapt from his vehicle and sprinted 50 meters in the open to reach the injured soldier. As rounds ricocheted off the metal, Stephens climbed into the open hatch to pull the soldier out of the wrecked vehicle. Medics crouched on the protected side of the vehicle, and Stephens lowered the injured man to them.

He then ran back across the open space, dodging the enemies’ fire. Stephens rallied his men and pushed on through the city, repelling numerous attacks as they evacuated the wounded soldier. Despite an injury, Stephens led his men to the opposite side of the city to a nearby base, where they hoped to save their downed man. Unfortunately, his wounds were too grave. For his selfless act in retrieving a fellow soldier while under enemy fire, Stephens was awarded the Silver Star on Oct. 22, 2006.

According to recent news reports, the Army lacks thousands of advanced armor kits for Humvees that could protect against roadside bombs, the cause of 70% of American casualties in Iraq. The photo at right shows a fully up-armored Humvee using the Humvee Armor Survivability Kit (ASK).

This is the way every U.S. military Humvee in Iraq should look

In addition, existing shortages of trucks and other crucial equipment such as jamming devices, radios and other gear will only be exacerbated by President Bush's troop surge. Lodging and logistical support is also reportedly in short supply for the newly deployed forces.

It is wrong to deploy troops until they have the up-armored Humvees and other equipment required to carry out their mission. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid signed a strong letter to President Bush this week, urging him to take the necessary steps to ensure that the tens of thousands of soldiers being sent to escalate the war in Iraq have the armor and equipment needed to perform their mission and protect their lives.

Story tools:
The Pelosi-Reid letter
Up-Armored Humvee
Up-Armored HMMWV

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals. Their mission is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law.

ACS is a non-partisan, non-profit educational organization. They do not, as an organization, lobby, litigate or take positions on specific issues, cases, legislation or nominations. The ACS does encourage members to express their views and make their voices heard.

On February 27th the ACS will present: Robust Local Government, a presentation featuring Dennis J. Herrera, City Attorney of San Francisco. Advance registration is requested. To RSVP click here.

What: City Attorney Dennis Herrera speaking on Robust Local Government
When: Tuesday, February 27th at 12 noon
Where: The Mayor's Conference Room, 2nd Floor, Room 201, San Francisco City Hall

There is no cost to attend this event. Luncheon will be provided.

Speakers at past ACS events have included:

Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Antonin Scalia;

Former Vice President Al Gore;

Senators Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russ Feingold, Tom Harkin, Edward Kennedy, Charles Schumer and the late Paul Wellstone;

Federal judges Ann Aiken, Lynn Adelman, Marsha Berzon, Rosemary Barkett, William Bryant, Guido Calabresi, Ruben Castillo, Robin J. Cauthron, David Coar, Andre Davis, Michael J. Davis, Raymond Fisher, William Fletcher, Marvin Garbis, Merrick Garland, Nancy Gertner, John Gleeson, Joan Gottschall, David Hamilton, Michael Daly Hawkins, Thelton Henderson, Ellen Segal Huvelle, William Wayne Justice, Alex Kozinski, Kermit Lipez, Gerard Lynch, Boyce Martin, Paul Magnuson, Michael McConnell, Michael McCuskey, Theodore McKee, Diana Gribbon Motz, Louis Oberdorfer, Richard Paez, Virginia Phillips, Robert Pratt, Jed S. Rakoff, Stephen Reinhardt, James Rosenbaum, Edmund Sargus, Shira Scheindlin, Mary Schroeder, Sonia Sotomayor, Jeffrey Sutton, David Tatel, Kim McLane Wardlaw and Diane Wood.

Thousands of us were on hand to welcome the Queen Mary 2 to San Francisco. I stood atop the Golden Gate Bridge and watched the ocean liner glide beneath the bridge and enter San Francisco Bay. The World War II Liberty Ship, Jeremiah O'Brien went out beyond the Gate to welcome the Queen and escort her in. Hundreds of sailboats dotted the bay. The San Francisco Fireboat Guardian sprayed water high into the air to welcome the largest ship ever to enter San Francisco Bay. Bright orange U.S. Coast Guard helicopters circled around, often flying under, around and over the Golden Gate Bridge as the 115,000 ton ship made her royal entrance.

The photo shows the bridge of the QM2. She is en route to Honolulu. The photo is courtesy of Frederic Larsen of the San Francisco Chronicle. To see the live bridge cam aboard the QM2, follow the directions at the end of this story.

Throughout the day thousands of QM2 passengers flooded the City and thousands more descended upon the Embarcadero to see the gigantic ship berthed at Pier 27. While some cruise ships are hidden by the wharf buildings, the Queen Mary 2 towered above the Port of San Francisco skyline and could be seen from every direction. The Dawn Princess, itself a massive cruise ship at 77,000 tons, was berthed a few piers away, but remained almost invisible against the magnificent British ocean liner.

Today the QM2 is en route to Honolulu as it continues its Around the World in 80 Days tour. If you would like to check-in with Her Majesty from time-to-time as she sails around the world, you may do so by visiting the live camera the QM2 has set up on the bridge. To view the live bridge cam, follow this link to the Queen's live bridge cam.

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This just in from the IRS ...

IRS Begins Work on Whistleblower Office;
Whitlock Named First Director

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today named Stephen A. Whitlock as director of its new Whistleblower Office, where he will be responsible for administering the program designed to receive information that helps uncover tax cheating and to provide appropriate rewards to whistleblowers.

“This is an important new office at the IRS, and Steve brings a strong background in ethics and tax issues to help get this program off to a good start,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “Under Steve’s leadership, we will meet expectations from Sen. Grassley and other supporters to run a robust program.”

During his 27-year government career, Whitlock has led the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility and helped run anti-fraud and abuse programs at the Defense Department.

The IRS Whistleblower Office, which was established by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, will process tips received from individuals who spot tax problems in their workplace, while conducting day-to-day personal business or anywhere else they may be encountered.

A reward worth between 15 percent and 30 percent of the total proceeds that IRS collects could be awarded, if the IRS moves ahead based on the information provided.

Whitlock’s office will be responsible for assessing and analyzing incoming tips. After determining their degree of credibility, his office will assign the information to the appropriate IRS office for further investigation.

As program director, Whitlock’s key responsibilities include:
* Establishing the strategic direction of the program
* Defining specific goals and operating guidelines
* Communicating and implementing guidance to ensure the office’s success

Prior to his new appointment, Whitlock served since May 2003 as the Deputy Director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, which administers the regulations governing the practice of attorneys, CPAs, and other tax professionals. From March 1999 until May 2003, he was the director of the IRS Commissioner’s Complaint Processing and Analysis Group.

Before joining the IRS, Whitlock directed several programs at the Defense Department involving the identification, investigation and correction of fraud, waste and abuse. In particular, he directed the operations of the Defense Hotline, which served as the model for Inspector General fraud, waste and abuse hotlines throughout the Executive branch. Whitlock earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Auburn University, a Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University and a Masters in Business Administration degree from George Mason University.

Story tools:
IRS
Taxpayer Advocate Service (IRS)
IRS FAQ
IRS News
Whistlerblower Story from IRS web site

By now everybody knows the latest dirt about Mayor Gavin Newsom. He had an affair with the wife of his campaign manager. The woman is going through a substance abuse recovery program and in the process of making amends she told her husband about the affair, which, of course, blew the dome off City Hall.

For San Francisco this is all pretty tame stuff. Folks who are transplants from some other part of the country are now the majority in the City. Not many of us are old enough to remember past scandals and a lot of us have not really studied San Francisco history. These folks are the ones who are aghast and shocked. Long time San Franciscans are pretty ho-hum about the story.

To put things into perspective, consider these words written by the San Francisco Grand Jury in 1909: "The history of municipal wickedness in San Francisco dates back to the days of the discovery of gold and its population by gold seekers and adventurers from all parts of the world. The story of the Vigilance Committee of 1856, with its violent and extra legal efforts to suppress the demoralizing reign of crime then controlling the city, and is well known; and the struggle against corruption by public officials had been continuously active, in one form or another, from that time to this."

Our history is full of bribery, corruption, embezzlement and graft at City Hall. From time to time there were violent eruptions of crime amidst our mayors and board of supervisors. in 1908 the home of Supervisor James Gallagher was blown-up by a stick of dynamite.

Then there was Abe Ruef, a completely crooked San Francisco political boss who ran his underling, Eugene Schmitz for mayor. Schmitz won the election and was so criminal that he was eventually arrested and convicted.

There was Justin Herman who was director of the Redevelopment Agency. In 1963 Justin Herman announced an ambitious new redevelopment plan for the Western Addition called Phase A-2. The plan targeted some 60 square blocks and forced more than 13,000 Fillmore residents out of their homes. The following year the Civil Rights Act is passed and in 1965 the Watts Riots broke out in Los Angeles, but it was too late for the people who had been bulldozed out of the Fillmore.

1n 1966 racial tensions were so high in San Francisco that Mayor Shelley called in the National Guard to restore order.

In 1968 the Chicago Barber Shop, opened by Reggie Pettus' uncle in 1952 at Fillmore and Ellis, was forced to move out of their space by the Redevelopment Agency. The Agency created a "Certificate of Preference" and began to issue them to displaced businesses such as the barber shop. The Certificates, signed by Justin Herman, gave business owners the first chance to return to Western Addition after it is rebuilt. Unfortunately it took the Redevelopment Agency almost 20 years to rebuild the storefronts and as late as 1999, only 4% of the certificates had been used.

Then there was Mayor John Geary (pronounced: Geer-ee) after whom Geary Boulevard is named. He was a Union general during the Civil War, one-time Governor of the Kansas Territory, Governor of Pennsylvania and eventually, Mayor of San Francisco. During Geary's term the city went into massive debt and violent crime became an epidemic in the city. While a new city charter allowed the city to issue bonds to pay off the debt, the crime rate skyrocketed to such a point that the citizens began forming squads called Committees of Vigilance.

Committees of Vigilance were formed in 1851 and again in 1856. These militias lynched 12 people, kidnapped hundreds of citizens and government militia members and forced several elected officials to resign. Each Committee of Vigilance formally relinquished power after it decided the city had been "cleaned up," but the anti-immigrant aspects of its mob activity continued, later focusing on Chinese citizens of San Francisco. There were dozens of race riots in the period that produced the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which excluded Chinese from immigrating to the United States for an entire decade.

Fast-forward to 2007 and a news story that our current mayor had an affair with his campaign manager's wife. So what. Big deal.

Gavin Newsom is one of the best and most effective mayors this City has yet had. He's a good mayor and one good term definitely deserves another.

Anyway, folks, this is San Francisco. Relax.

Friday Night TV Heads-Up Notice!

Tonight on KQED Channel 9 (PBS)
8:30 - 9:00 PM
CALIFORNIA CONNECTED

1) Port Security and Terrorists in California

There was a great hue and cry when a company from the Middle-Eastern country (note: a reader has challenged my use of the word "country". John Chilton was kind enough to correct me. Dubai is not an independent country, but a member of the 7-state United Arab Emirates) of Dubai was set to provide security for major American ports. National outrage was so strong that the deal quickly went down in flames.

But the noise generated by that controversy masked a more dangerous reality: whatever our policy is on port security, all of our ports are vulnerable to terrorist attack.

This is nowhere more true than at the nation’s largest, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Together these two ports comprise the busiest port complex in the United States and the fifth busiest in the world. Just a single attack on this port complex could cripple the nation’s infrastructure for weeks and send our economy into a tailspin.

2) Army recruiters in San Francisco

There are currently more than 250,000 American troops deployed in almost 130 countries. It’s an impressive figure. But the number that has raised eyebrows in the military community is much smaller — and it’s somewhere between 73 and 90.

Those are the percentages at which recruitment and enlistment goals have been met for the Army National Guard and Army, respectively, this past year. Significantly, they’re both below 100 percent.

California Connected takes a firsthand look at the challenges facing today’s Army recruiters. Some argue that today’s recruiters are working in the most difficult environment since the advent of the all-volunteer Army.

We visit recruiters in Sonora, a rural town where the Army regularly meets its quota, and tag along with an Army recruiter in San Francisco, where the political climate is decidedly different.

Story tools:

KQED, Channel 9 (PBS)

California Connected

Port of San Francisco

Army Recruiting

Coast Guard, 11th District, San Francisco Bay

The photo on the right is of the Tenacious, the sailboat that is lost at sea along with Jim Gray.

Following is a news release issued by the Coast Guard this morning:

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The U.S. Coast Guard will conduct one more massive search effort for Dr. Jim Gray before considering case suspension this evening.

Based on excellent search conditions, unit availability, and no indications of Dr. Gray's vessel within previously searched areas, the Coast Guard has decided to search an expanded area today. The expanded search area will be out to 300 miles west of the California Coast and as far south as the Channel Islands. Probability calculations do not place the 'Tenacious' within these expanded areas; however, the areas are being searched based on the possibility that he could have sailed farther than originally planned.

The Coast Guard will use numerous search and rescue units from all along the California Coast in today's extended search effort. Units will include two C-130 fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Sacramento; HH-65 Dolphin helicopters from Air Station Humboldt Bay, Air Station San Francisco, and Air Station Los Angeles Long Beach; three 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boats from Monterey, Bodega Bay, and Crescent City; 47-foot motor life boats from Stations Noyo River, Bodega Bay, Golden Gate, and Monterey.

If no leads develop during todays searches, the Coast Guard plans to suspend the case this evening.