Mendocino County Today: Friday, Sept. 3, 2021

Warming | 36 New Cases | Buddhists Quake | Redbeard Search | Peter Rabbit | Thirsty Desperation | Boonville Produce | Spanish Class | Panther Volleyball | Barn Sale | Elder Volunteers | Tomato Toddler | Cardiac Arrest | Sunbathers | Preposterous Claim | Musical Progression | Acting Auditor | Iceland Sailing | Healthcare Survey | Bouquet | Big Canna | Roadside OK | Loose Cannon | CA Covid | Ed Notes | Needless Death | MCRPD Response | Yesterday's Catch | Standing Sitting | Weaponized Words | Masks Matter | Betting Not | JFK Files | Crazy Times | Ecological Emergency | Confused Algorithm | Wormful | Redistricting Agenda | Lump It | Kamala Abroad | Guv Lunch | Newsom Gripes | Heroes/Patriots

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES are expected across the interior through early next week as ridging builds aloft. A shallow marine layer with periods of stratus and fog will likely continue along the immediate coast through the weekend. (NWS)

36 NEW COVID CASES reported in Mendocino County yesterday evening.

A 3.8 EARTHQUAKE occurred yesterday evening (10:44 pm) a few miles east of Talmage. The depth of the quake was 6 miles. earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc73619336/executive

LARRY SHEEHY REPORTING: 3.7 magnitude earthquake just minutes ago (about 10:30, ed) felt here in Ukiah. Epicenter 12 miles North of Lakeport in Lake County. Quite a jolt. Felt like a car crashed into the back of my mobile.

LAW ENFORCEMENT COMBED THE WOODS OF ALBION RIDGE YESTERDAY Searching For The Redbearded Burglar

Mendocino County law enforcement’s hunt for William Allan Evers, aka the Redbearded Burglar, continued today in the coastal community of Albion just days after a resident found Evers stealing vegetables from a garden and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office deputies captured footage of him fleeing the area after they had arrived.

kymkemp.com/2021/09/03/law-enforcement-combed-the-woods-of-albion-ridge-yesterday-searching-for-the-redbearded-burglar/

FOLLOWED BY THIS...

Albion, CA. Law Enforcement activity in the area of Albion Ridge Road, Navarro Ridge Road, Middle Ridge Road, and the Salmon Creek Drainage has concluded. Thank you for your attention to this situation.

— Mendocino Sheriff (@MendoSheriff) September 3, 2021

‘RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE SCARED’: Mendocino Coast scrambles to keep from going dry

With private wells running dry on the Mendocino Coast and neighboring communities too tapped out to share, Mendocino County officials are racing to organize a giant bucket brigade over the hills from Ukiah.

pressdemocrat.com/article/news/as-surplus-water-sales-evaporate-mendocino-coast-scrambles-to-keep-from-go/

POP UP THIS WEEKEND AT VELMA'S FARM STAND AT FILIGREEN FARM!

Friday: 3pm-7pm

Saturday: 11am-3pm

Sunday: 11am-3pm (no pizza) 

Also at the farm stand this week: pluots, table grapes, pears, watermelons, apples, raspberries, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, chard, kale, cucumbers, summer squash, celery, arugula, beets, fennel, onions, new potatoes, herbs and more. We will also have fresh flower bouquets, dried bouquets and wreaths, olive oil, and dried fruit for sale as well. All items are certified biodynamic and delicious! Follow us on Instagram for updates @filigreenfarm or email Annie at farmstand@filigreenfarm.com with any questions. We accept cash, credit card, check, and EBT/SNAP (Market Match available too!)

AVHS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL GAME

The Panther Girls Volleyball team just had our first home volleyball game (varsity only) against Fort Bragg, so I thought I'd let you know the rundown. This was a preseason game, and both teams played hard. Unfortunately, our girls lost all three matches, giving Fort Bragg the win. The results of each match were as follows: Anderson Valley-20, Fort Bragg - 25; Anderson Valley - 15, Fort Bragg - 25; Anderson Valley - 14, Fort Bragg - 25. I will try to get a team picture at tomorrow's game. We will be hosting Calistoga and both junior varsity and varsity teams will be playing. The game starts at 5:00.

— Arthur Folz, High school English and drama teacher, Anderson Valley Jr./Sr. High School. Athletic Director, Anderson Valley Jr./Sr. High School

THE BARN SALE: This weekend, Saturday, September 4 from 10 am - 3 pm and Sunday, September 5, Noon to 3 pm. Located at 12761 Anderson Valley Way, Boonville. Look for banners and signs on Hwy 128.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to support our local seniors - become an AV Village volunteer today!

The Anderson Valley Village is part of the national Village Movement that emerged in response to a common challenge facing older adults in the US: staying independent, safe, and socially connected while remaining in their homes.

The membership dues make it possible for us to hire a Coordinator to:

respond to the needs of members -

organize social and educational events -

coordinate our team of volunteers -

maintain a list of services for hire

In order for us to support our members we are always looking for more dedicated volunteers (and members as well).

Do you have a little time in your schedule and room in your heart?

Please join our team of much needed volunteers to support our elders as they age in place! Hours are flexible and dependent on your availability; every little bit helps.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities, with our biggest need being rides to medical appointments (usually in Ukiah), tech support, friendly visits or calls, light help around the house and garden. Again you choose what you feel comfortable doing and how often.

There is some paperwork and a short training that can be done on Zoom if need be, but your contribution is much needed and greatly appreciated!

Because we are working with a vulnerable population we do require our volunteers to be vaccinated - thank you again for the support!

Thank you!

Anica Williams

Cell: 707-684-9829

Email: andersonvalleyvillage@gmail.com

FORT BRAGG POLICE CHIEF John Naulty asks public to avoid intruding in police responses.

September 2, 2021 Boatyard Drive, Fort Bragg Medical Assistance 

On September 1, 2021, at approximately 5:04 pm, Officers were alerted of a medical emergency call. Officers will respond to medical emergency calls alongside the paramedics and fire department. 

Fort Bragg Police Captain O'Neal was the first to arrive on the scene and immediately identified the victim was experiencing cardiac arrest. Captain O'Neal took the necessary steps and began CPR. The second unit of officers arrived, Officer Ferris and Beak, and proceeded with CPR until the Mendocino Coast Ambulance arrived on scene. I want to commend Captain O'Neal, Officer Ferris, and Officer Beak for their prompt response and for relying on their training. 

I would also like to acknowledge; an unidentified bystander was recording the response to the medical emergency and generated emotional distress from the victim's family. In addition, the non-consensual recording of the medical emergency forced the medical personnel to take additional time to create a private environment, which increased the severity of the situation. 

Even though the officers and medical personnel exhibited heroic actions, I want to encourage the public to practice prudence when witnessing an emergency call. I understand the impact of recording for accountability; however, Fort Bragg Police Officers have mandatory body cameras capturing every moment of every call. 

Update September 2, 2021 

We have learned this morning that the victim was transferred to an unknown out of area hospital last evening and is still listed in critical condition. 

(Fort Bragg Police Presser)

SUPERVISOR MAUREEN MULHEREN posted the following board agenda item and comment on her website/update page on Wednesday: 

“6d) Discussion and Possible Action Stating the Board’s Intent to Address Government Code Section 29121 through the Budget Process and Mitigate Unnecessary Concern that Impedes a Department Head, Appointed or Elected Official’s Ability to Perform their Duties (Sponsor: Supervisor Mulheren) Recommended Action: Provide direction to Department Heads and Elected Officials that it is not and has not been the policy of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to hold officials personally liable for budget overages that result from duly authorized expenditures, variations between actual and projected revenue, and other issues routinely addressed through quarterly budget adjustments. 

Mulheren Comment: “Unanimous approval. CEO report will include a monthly financial report after the close of this fiscal year.”

SO THE BOARD, with Ms. Mulheren’s prodding, has backed off their empty threat to charge department heads personally, including the Sheriff, for budget overruns. It took three months to “mitigate” this “unnecessary concern,” which never should have come up in the first place and which is still playing out in court. But the Supervisor’s concluding comment that the CEO report will include a monthly financial report “after the close of this fiscal year” means not until after July of 2022! Considering that CEO Angelo plans to retire on or before October of 2022 (probably before since she can take accumulated vacation and any other accumulated time off) this claim is preposterous.

(Mark Scaramella)

A READER WRITES: "The DA’s internal dollars and cents person, whom I know and trust, tells me that the acting auditor is a zealous paperpusher who focuses too much time on inane rules and regulations. A bureaucrat already in the making. She like Weer is coming in via the backdoor because she doesn't have the qualifications the job description requires. What is with the board rehiring Weer as ‘special help’ if in fact his hand-picked successor is qualified? Mendocino has the legislative right to create a Chief Financial Officer, and it should. That is the way to recruit and hire a qualified individual to oversee the people's finances, kind of like a GAO. We don't need one more bureaucrat slowing down the process over nickels and dimes.”

THE SURVEY being conducted by the Mendocino Coast Health Care District will end on Friday, Sept. 10th. Please use the remaining time to tell your elected Board of Directors what you think about the health care in our community. The results of the survey will be used to reinforce what is good and to propose changes where improvement is needed. A report will be published in early October. You can participate in this five-minute survey by using this link: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6463315/New-Survey

With Thanks,

Board of Directors, Mendocino Coast Health Care District

(via Norman de Vall)

SATTIE CLARK: "Remember speculation about the anti-referendum Political Action Committee called Citizens for Sustainable Agriculture? They wouldn't say who was funding them. I found out one of the owners of Henry's Original was listed as Treasurer and speculated that Big Canna was behind it. Some of the people promoting it were furious and tried to deny it. Well the truth is out. It's Big Canna for sure, and not only legal cannabis. Everyone in this county should read and/or listen to this. Big thanks to Sarah Reith for her excellent journalism."

PRO-ORDINANCE GROUP URGES VOTERS TO REJECT QUALIFYING REFERENDUM

kzyx.org/post/pro-ordinance-group-urges-voters-reject-qualifying-referendum

A READER WRITES: The Mendocino Coast Health Care District has one very loose cannon: John Redding. For a man representing the entire coast of the county, Redding doesn't seem to take his position as a representative of healthcare very seriously. 

Redding has made several inflammatory posts on Facebook. On August 23rd, he wrote in a Facebook post, "I don't know what you heard or read, but I hear the Taliban will be going door to door in US at Fauci's direction to give people vaccines."

That might be sickly funny between two sixth graders, but it is an incredibly inappropriate statement for an elected official to make in a public forum, much less someone who is viewed as a representative of our healthcare.

Earlier in August Redding posted on Facebook, in reference to the coast hospital, "I am told by a good source that 120 employees have said they won't get the jab. If you discount that by 2/3, 40 will be leaving. Here's why in my opinion - people don't liked [sic] to be forced to do something that makes no sense to them. Some people, gasp! don't think covid is a death sentence."

Speculating in public about employees of a local hospital is irresponsible on many levels. His speculation about Covid vaccinations or how deadly the disease is does nothing beneficial in a public forum. At best all of this should have been run by the rest of the MCHCD board members in a private closed session setting.

Rumor is that the rest of the healthcare board has tried to curb his rantings, but he continues.

If you want John Redding on a mixture of health issues and politics, look back to a January 22nd Facebook post of his: "Just about a year ago, we learned that referring to covid-19 as the 'China virus' was an unpardonable sin. It was said to stigmatize an entire group of people and would incite violence against them. Seems to me that those scolds are the same ones who today are stigmatizing 74+ million conservatives by calling them white supremacists and insurrectionists because 1,000 people entered the Capitol Building some of whom were left wing agitators."

Redding combines healthcare and politics locally as well, as in this July Facebook post. "I am posting this despite knowing that the statements by the PHO [Public Health Officer] are in need [of] fact checking. lol. But here it is. We all know there will be [a] stampede of people and businesses willing to comply. What will our feckless BOS decide to do?"

Certainly, anyone is entitled to criticize their county supervisors, the public health officer, or express their own opinions. It's called the First Amendment. However, when someone is elected to be one of five representative voices for healthcare for thousands and thousands of people, critiques that involve health and safety need to be backed up by verifiable facts. At best John Redding's posts come across as rant-like musings that cross the line into something akin to yelling, "Fire," in a crowded theater. Under U.S. law, at that point the rant loses the protection of the First Amendment and becomes an act of negative incitement.

Again and again John Redding has proven himself unfit to be a representative voice of the public.

It is likely that when Redding sees this, he will attack the message and the messenger, tell us he was only joking, or some other weak response. Given his egocentric character it is highly unlikely he will respond with something approaching thoughtful remorse. 

It would be a welcome mistake to see this irresponsible blowhard prove that prediction wrong through a dramatic change in his actions.

ED NOTES

POLICE CARS raced through Boonville this morning shortly before noon. "Red Beard sighting," we agreed. Then we got word that a vast area between Albion and Greenwood ridges had received nixle alerts explaining the reason for the heavy police presence in the Albion Nation. Above it, too, in the form of at least once circling helicopter, according to our source. Was the fugitive run to ground? Shot? Shot and killed? Red Beard has been roaming the Navarro watershed since January when he was caught on a home security camera provisioning uninvited at a Cameron Road home.

HE HAS BEEN HUNTED ever since with a number of clever tech devices and, on the Memorial Day weekend, a massive, multi-jurisdictional search. The Beard has eluded all these strategies to snare him and, predictably, has become something of a folk hero in the more estranged neighborhoods in the Albion area. As we wrapped up Thursday night, he was still out there.

NIXLE ALERT PUBLIC AWARENESS MESSAGE:

Situational Awareness for the area of Albion, CA. There is an increased law enforcement presence on Albion Ridge Road, Navarro Ridge Road, Middle Ridge Road and the Salmon Creek Drainage. This activity is related to a Sheriff's Office self initiated search for William Evers (see historical page posts for further information). Additional details to follow as they become available.

---

BRIAN WOOD: “It’s always been my opinion that county salaries and benefits should be on par with what working residents earn at regular jobs in the county. I know that doesn’t happen anywhere but that doesn’t make it right. I suspect a lot of county “work” never gets done anyway.”

MY OPINION, TOO. And at all levels of government, which would make government much more sensitive to the needs of the governed if government had to live like the governed, the wolf at the door or even at the kitchen table all day every day. The Limo People at the loftier levels, and even the public job hacks and hackettes here in Mendo invariably claim, the dumber, less competitive ones anyway, “I could make a lot more money in the private sector.” Such selflessness to deign to pass up all that private money to “serve” us. But I'll bet that young crew of private sector managers at the Ukiah CostCo, given free rein, could have the SS Mendo off the rocks and sailing free, fast and full steam ahead for two thirds the money we pay our public sector managers.

WHO'S AFRAID of the Boonville Fair Board? Everyone in County government, it seems. The Fair is on although almost all the service clubs and usual local exhibitors won't be involved this year out of the very real fear of the ominous spread of the covid virus. Our supervisor, Mr. Williams, and our dual public health doctors, haven't said a public word about the hazard of a crowded event in the teeth of a dangerous epidemic. 

LOOKS LIKE early Fall out there, with the leaves on the thirsty trees turning yellow and light red, all of us praying the weather forecasters are wrong about another dry winter. Easterners say we don't have seasons in California, but we do; not as dramatic as in the East but we can tell when one is becoming the other.

THE POST OFFICE has bumped us another twenty bucks a week, as everything seems to conspire against what's left of paper-papers, including a recent notice from the people we lease our office trailer from who raised our rent forty bucks for "services" they neither specify nor provide. They hauled the thing over here from somewhere over in the Sacramento Valley six years ago and we haven't seen them since, and only hear from them when they want the monthly money. So we're giving up the office as of October 1st fully anticipating false claims from the trailer crooks that their property is not as pristine as when they towed it to Boonville and attempt to extort additional fees out of us for alleged damages. But I swear to you on everything holy — if you can find something to revere — the trailer is as it was received — an empty shell on wheels with two engrimed interior doors.

SO WE'VE BEEN MSA-ing all week, and you can deduce the vulgarity for yourself, and will hold a yard sale beginning tomorrow morning (Friday). Lots of bargains, I promise. I want to get rid of stuff, not haul it out every Labor Day weekend until the end of days, mine or the more globally final one. If I'm not there, take what you want and leave whatever you think it's worth, cash money-wise.

SO WHERE'S YOUR OFFICE? Farther west in the first of the two modulars, making this operation one of the most socially-distanced businesses in Mendocino County. At my old stand on Anderson Valley Way I installed five gates between the street and the inner sanctum, but still the Grassy Knoll and Building 7 people managed to find me, one of them appearing in my kitchen at 9pm one dark and stormy night to startle my poor wife into a scream that propelled me to my gat, which I couldn't immediately find and had to settle for a baseball bat. "Bruce," the nut began, "I really need to correct you about the Farm Labor Movement of 1915." I said, "My wife just went to get my gun, and if you're not outtahere right now I'm going to shoot you and tell my friend, Deputy Squires, I shot an intruder." I flashlighted him out through all five gates, him jabbering about the Farm Labor Movement of 1915 all the way out to his vehicle.

COAST PARKS AND REC RESPONDS TO GRAND JURY

MCRPD Board report response received by the Grand Jury

The Mendocino County Grand Jury has received a timely response from the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Parks District Board of Directors. The entire response may be found at: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/45485

Although The MCRPD Board agreed to implement most of the recommendations contained in the report entitled, ‘MCRDP Lost Almost Three Million Dollars in Grant Funds,’ they had mixed agreement with the report findings.

Among report responses from the MCRPD Board, “The (remainder) of the Board, including the newest members of the MCRPD Board of Directors, are in agreement that all future bids need to behandled differently…”

Agree: An effective mechanism or policy was not in place at the time of the alleged conflicts of interest. MCRPD has since developed relevant policies and training programs to facilitate future compliance in response to the finding (F3. MCRPD BOD does not have an effective mechanism to ensure training and compliance with conflict-of-interest rules)…”

Both staff and Board are currently working on implementing this recommendation moving forward. MCRPD shall have its bylaws updated and amended by November 22, 2021.

MCRPD’s BOD shall retain legal counsel with required attendance at every BOD meeting to avoid actions that may violate Federal State, County, Local, Penal Code, Ethics or Brown Act violations….

The 2020-21 Grand Jury report may be found at: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/43929/637605583873100000.

— Kathy Wylie, Secretary, 2020-21 Mendocino County Grand Jury

CATCH OF THE DAY, September 2, 2021

MICHAEL CARDENAS, Sacramento/Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

KEVIN DUNKLE, Ukiah, Parole violation.

MICHAEL FREEMAN, Covelo. Protective order violation.

ALICIA GALLUPS, Willits. Controlled substance for sale/transportation, conspiracy, probation revocation.

JAMES GAMBLE, Covelo. Brandishing imitation firearm.

TARA HILL, Willits. Controlled substance for sale/transportation, conspiracy, probation revocation.

ADAM PEARSON, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol.

SHAWN POTE, Ukiah. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, disorderly conduct-alcohol, contempt of court. (Frequent flyer.)

OL’ RED JACK HIRSCHMAN: HE WEAPONIZED WORDS by Raymond Nat Turner

“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”

—Percy Bysshe Shelly

Death comes in 3s they say. So maybe 6

months of San Francisco Poet Laureates

Ferlinghetti,

Mirikitani,

Hirschman

checking out counts as three???

I can’t quote Jack—except for, “Can’t speak

for all, that’s the whole first point—Yet, I

can wax into the wee hours on his arms

Embracing me as enemy combatant vs capital

II.

The rat-ta-tat-tat-tat of his typewriter weaponized

words enforcing dialectical laws

"Any means necessary…paintings, poems, collages, translations in Haitian Creole,

Russian, Spanish, German, Hebrew, French, Greek, Italian,

Albanian for foreign fighters daring to don red badges of

Resistance…

The rat-ta-tat-tat-tat of his typewriter weaponized

words ricocheting off Wall Street and Washington

warlords. Words echoing in hearts and minds of

auto and postal worker children—paychecks

away from zoo bellies, no soap-waterless weeks

accompanying cardboard mattresses and tents

Revolutionary Poets Brigade internationalist

commandant, North Beach head dug in at Café

Trieste, his guided missiles questioned lunacy.

Some even struck where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars, carrying confederate sympathizers

belching benzene, coughing COVID droplets on operators

Revolutionary Poets Brigade internationalist

commandant, North Beach head dug in at Café

Trieste; Fishbowl escapee drinking cigarettes/smoking

Jack Daniels, living hand-to-mouth on poet’s minus six

figure salary

No mas. 

Red Jack Hirschman—Presente!!

Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. 

You can Vote for his work at:

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund

ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

So the unvaccinated chuds I see dying in droves in my flyover country icu are a PsyOp of some sort?

Look, I know the testing is flawed. I know the numbers aren’t as high as Fauci says… but believe me when I tell you the scoreboard this winter is going to show a bloodbath has occurred in the blowhard MAGA-clod demographic.

They’ve decided to believe that the risk of the vaccine is greater than that of Covid… and to my eyes they’re being proven wrong one body bag at a time.

In five years when all of us vaccinated are throwing blood clots and succumbing to rheumatological diseases, maybe you’ll be able to have been proven smugly correct.

But I’m betting not.

I READ THE BALLOT, AND....

Editor: 

I am voting no on the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom. We are dealing with COVID, fires, smoke and severe drought. We certainly don’t need a government upheaval too. But these are crazy times, and a recall could succeed, I suppose. So, I Googled every person on the ballot. What a scary assortment of misfits and incompetent candidates. I found one person who, in my opinion, is competent and qualified to lead this state should the recall succeed — Keven Faulconer, a former mayor of San Diego. He gets my vote, just in case.

Kirsten Sullivan

Cloverdale

MEET THE CENSORED: IVERMECTIN CRITIC DAVID FULLER

If Internet algorithms can't tell the difference between criticism and advocacy, what's safe to report? Why one filmmaker believes "YouTube is unfit for the purpose for hosting journalism."

by Matt Taibbi

They fixed the problem, twice. That’s the good news. The first time filmmaker, former BBC and Channel 4 journalist, and Rebel Wisdom co-founder David Fuller put together a video criticizing ivermectin advocates was on August 4th. Called “Ivermectin For and Against,” it was taken down by YouTube, on the grounds that it constituted medical misinformation.

Fuller appealed the decision for a variety of reasons – more on those later – and won. He continued investigating the subject, and taking on the claims of ivermectin advocates, hoping to conclude with a video called “Vaccines and DarkHorse: A Final Word.” This last piece included footage of well-known ivermectin advocates Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying, whose DarkHorse podcast was previously featured on this site after YouTube banned some of their material.

Of course, Fuller was including the DarkHorse clip – not one of the banned ones, incidentally – to criticize it, not endorse it. But the Google/YouTube algorithm appeared confused, and Fuller’s work was not only taken down, he was also given a strike under YouTube’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” program. He appealed again, but this time lost, leaving only one option: the media.

It’s an unfortunate fact, but the human beings at the Google/YouTube press team have repeatedly proven to be the last, best option for fixing errors in some of the more bizarre content moderation cases. In this instance, when I reached out to YouTube to ask if they’d made a mistake, and perhaps confused Fuller with the people he was criticizing, the company quickly fixed the glitch, unstruck the strike, and restored his video, with the statement:

Upon further review, we determined that videos posted by Rebel Wisdom and Peak Prosperity were incorrectly removed. The videos are not violative of our policies and as such they’ve been reinstated.

Problem solved, right?

Not exactly. Not only was Fuller’s case just one in a recent series of deletions and strikes doled out to makers of reports about Covid-19-related issues, but the episode showed how dicey even discussing any of these issues has become for independent media figures. Fuller has done plenty of work for mainstream outlets and could have done so with this topic, but intentionally went the alternative route to take on ivermectin.

“I deliberately chose to tell the story on Rebel Wisdom rather than pitching it to a legacy media outfit,” he says. “I didn’t want to give Bret’s fans the chance to paint it as an ‘MSM smear.’”

In other words, Fuller was making a conscious effort to use an independent editorial approach, as a means of side-stepping the credibility concerns that some audiences have with mainstream outlets.

The problem is, in its zeal to clamp down on “misinformation” about everything from vaccines to perhaps-potential alternative treatments like ivermectin, YouTube and other platforms have had to rely upon algorithmic tools that can’t distinguish between critique and advocacy. The end result is a media landscape where whole subjects may now be off-limits to outlets like Rebel Wisdom, who will continue to be in the dark about where YouTube considers the line between informing and “misinforming” to be, especially with complex subjects like Covid-19.

The ironies of Fuller’s situation in particular are myriad. First, he counts himself as a friend of both Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying. Despite this, he’s taken strong exception to some of their claims about ivermectin, as well as some of the language they’ve employed with regard to criticisms of the safety and efficacy of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.

Fuller, however, is also a critic of the mainstream approach of dealing with such issues, which often involves simply deploying ad hominem insults at anyone with interest in ivermectin or concerns about vaccines. “The assumption that anyone who questions the vaccines is stupid is clearly wrong,” he wrote, in a recent Medium piece.

He adds now that “these topics, especially ivermectin, have become swallowed whole as culture war signifiers.” As a result, “we’re now in a world where the mainstream won’t ‘platform’ alternative claims for fear of ‘false equivalence’ and are trying to keep alive a broken system of gatekeeping.” Fuller believes this is counter-productive, and his idea is to meet issues head on, including as much relevant information as he can, even if he ultimately comes down strongly against ivermectin and in favor of vaccines.

“This is how this is supposed to work, back and forth, ideas tested in the marketplace,” he says. “If they’re not tested, then it’s not a marketplace.”

In videos like “Ivermectin For and Against,” he set up a debate of sorts between a proponent of ivermectin in Dr. Tess Lawrie and people taking the opposite position, like Australian researcher Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz and emergency room doctor Graham Walker. These were, as he describes it, “medical figures who disagreed with [Lawrie’s] read of the evidence.” Rather than just insult people, he used an approach that he calls “balanced and journalistic.”

Nonetheless, that “balanced” approach earned a YouTube ban, which puzzled Fuller. “When I read through their guidance, there was no exception for journalistic treatment of a subject,” he says. “Even though I quizzed the interviewee pretty hard and pushed back, the rules were written in such a way that it didn't matter what the interviewer did. That's pretty screwed, in my view, [that] they're unable to distinguish between a puff piece and a grilling.”

Fuller notes that the guidance does have a section that reads:

We may allow content that violates the misinformation policies noted on this page if that content includes additional context in the video, audio, title, or description. This is not a free pass to promote misinformation. 

But that guidance isn’t terribly specific, and given that he himself received a strike despite adding plenty of “additional context,” it’s not clear if YouTube’s algorithm is capable of enforcing its own terms.

Fuller is the third straight journalist on whose behalf TK has (seemingly successfully) intervened with YouTube/Google, whose press team is courteous and responsive. The first involved Canadian broadcaster Paul Jay, while the second was a bizarre story we ended up not running (I’ll leave the convoluted explanation on that one for another day) involving a well-known investigative site that was not-so-humorously misidentified as adult content. The principals of all three of these outlets are glad their problems were fixed, but they’re also all decidedly unsure if corrective action by Google/YouTube’s press department leaves things better, or worse.

In Fuller’s case, he notes, “the appeal process was done. They only reviewed it because the press team got involved. Most people wouldn’t have levers they can pull in this situation.”

As another reporter caught up in one of these controversies put it, “This is the issue with monopoly companies. If we’re going to let them have monopoly market share, they should be forced to invest in real customer service, so fixing this kind of thing doesn’t depend on knowing someone in the media.”

Though Fuller and I disagree about whether or not things like demonetization of DarkHorse count as censorship, and whether such suppression works or is warranted, both his and Weinstein’s episodes are identical in showing for umpteenth time that algorithms simply cannot be depended upon to sort out the subtleties of public discussion about complex topics.

Moreover, once companies like YouTube get into the business of litigating what is and is not dangerous in a public health debate, they will inevitably make the mistake of deleting true information about drugs like ivermectin or facts about potential dangers (no matter how remote) of vaccines, either out of fear of the aforementioned “false equivalence” or concern that admitting certain truths will seem too much like affirmative advocacy.

Once companies take that step, it tends to have the impact of further convincing people that they’re being lied to by mainstream news and partners in Silicon Valley, which in turn might lead to urging people in the opposite direction of the content moderators’ intent. This Internet version of the Streisand effect is one of the reasons I’ve been against censoring proponents of drugs like ivermectin, but the much bigger reason is that any strategy based on bans inevitably leads to oversimplifications and groupthink that are easily seen through by audiences.

Fuller takes on issues like ivermectin by not succumbing to silly caricatures, and focusing on challenging specific assertions, like that ivermectin is “something like 100% effective as a prophylactic.” Fuller takes serious issue with such claims, but his solution is to try to confront proponents with more information, and show audiences the results of such exchanges.

This, however, is harder to do, when such an approach might earn an outlet like Rebel Wisdom a strike from YouTube. I asked Fuller his thoughts on the episode:

TK: After your first ban, when you looked at YouTube’s rules, you say you found there was “no exception in their guidance for journalistic treatment.” What did you understand that to mean? Did you think it meant you can't criticize people like Weinstein?

Fuller: No, this [latest] film being taken down came totally out of the blue. It was the previous “Ivermectin For and Against” film that was taken down (I assume algorithmically flagged) and put up on appeal that made sense.

Bret had his film with Pierre Kory taken down, and lots of people framed it as that you couldn't ‘discuss’ ivermectin on YouTube. However, I thought that he was blurring the line between discussion, and advocacy of particular treatments, in particular claiming that IVM was “100% effective” as a prophylactic, based on one study from Argentina (Carvallo), which would clearly suggest people should take it in lieu of vaccines. (Incidentally that study has now been shown to be at the very least fundamentally flawed, and may not even have taken place). 

So I made a film that showed both sides and challenged the Ivermectin advocate Tess Lawrie. It also featured two medical figures making the counter argument. It was still taken down, and when I checked the YouTube guidance, it was clear there was no exceptions for challenging questions/journalistic pushback/balanced pieces… From the way the guidance is written, the fact that I challenged her points seemingly doesn't factor in. So they were within their rights to take it down, but they ended up restoring it on appeal, again with no information as to why.

If this current film was taken down because it had the clips from Bret’s film with Steve Kirsch in it, then this would also demonstrate that it's dangerous to feature controversial content/figures even if you are critiquing them. However, I guess we don't know if that was the reason.

TK: They reinstated you on appeal once, and now have done it again after a press query. Does that restore your confidence in this system? 

Fuller: Absolutely not. There is no transparency in the system at all. I still don't know why either of these films was taken down, or reinstated. I’m lucky that I have a level of profile and experience as a journalist that I have more weight when I appeal, or that this gets taken up by other journalists, but as a content creator trying to tackle some of the biggest and most important topics there are, and topics I would argue the mainstream is failing at right now, then you are constantly walking a line that seems to move randomly.

I would argue that I have put together the most detailed investigation into both ivermectin and the vaccine claims that exists at the moment. With ivermectin the mainstream is still dismissively talking about “horse dewormer” and assuming that anyone taking ivermectin is stupid, and has failed to tackle the vaccine claims in any depth. 

I also put out one of the most important news-making interviews on the topic, where former member of Pierre Kory's FLCCC, Eric Osgood MD, spoke out for the first time about his concerns that the case for IVM had been hijacked by anti-vaccine activists.

I deliberately published my work privately through Rebel Wisdom as I wanted to avoid any suggestions that this was an “MSM smear” and reach as many “vaccine hesitant” people as possible. I could have pitched more widely, I have bylines in BBC/Economist/Guardian and more. But YouTube have made it extremely difficult to do genuine journalism on their platform.

TK: Why is it important to show source material? As a filmmaker, what's the difference between showing something and summarizing something? 

Fuller: The viewer needs to see the source material to understand how something was said, and the context. Clips tell the story in a way that summarizing would never do.

TK: What lessons do you take away from this experience? 

Fuller: That YouTube is unfit for the purpose for hosting journalism, and that their moderation system is secretive, random and very disrespectful to creators who have made large amounts of money for the company. I still have no idea why any of these films was taken down or why.

THE REDISTRICTING ADVISORY COMMISSION AGENDA for the Tuesday September 7, 2021, meeting is now available on the County website: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/executive-office/redistricting/redistricting-board-meetings-and-public-workshops

Please contact the Executive Office at (707) 463-4441 if you have any questions regarding this message.

Visit https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/executive-office/redistricting/redistricting-board-meetings-and-public-workshops for more details. 

Thank you,

Mendocino County Executive Office, 501 Low Gap Road, Room 1010, Phone: (707) 463-4441

KAMALA IN VIETNAM

by Yen Pham

The streets of Hanoi would have been empty when Kamala Harris was there last week. The city’s five million people are under lockdown as Vietnam, which has the lowest vaccination rate in Southeast Asia, grapples with the spread of the Delta variant.

Events in Afghanistan increased the scrutiny on Harris, a potential future president with relatively little foreign policy experience. The tour of Singapore and Vietnam was her second foray abroad as VP. When she went to Guatemala and Mexico in June, she was criticized for telling would-be migrants not to attempt the journey to the US, and for deflecting questions about why she hadn’t visited the US-Mexico border by saying she’d “never been to Europe” either.

From Tatler Asia I learn that Harris stayed at the Shangri-La in Singapore; from the New York Times that she wore Altuzarra. In Singapore she discussed supply chain resilience and cyber security, visited US sailors at the Changi Naval Base, ate rojak and idli sambar, offered to host an Asia-Pacific forum on economic co-operation, and accepted a spray of hybrid orchids that had been named after her. In Vietnam she announced USAID funding for Covid-19 and climate change measures, opened a regional office of the Centers for Disease Control, signed the lease for a new $1.2 billion embassy, and declared the need to counter Beijing’s “bullying and excessive maritime claims” in the South China Sea.

Ten years ago, Barack Obama said at a White House press conference with Hu Jintao: “I absolutely believe that China’s peaceful rise is good for the world, and it’s good for America.”

How things have changed. At his first formal news conference as president on 25 March 2021, Joe Biden vowed that China would not succeed in becoming “the most powerful country in the world ... on my watch.” Xi Jinping, with whom Biden spent time when both were vice president, “doesn’t have a democratic – with a small ‘d’ – bone in his body.” “Your children or grandchildren,” Biden told the assembled reporters, “are going to be doing their doctoral thesis on the issue of who succeeded: autocracy or democracy? Because that is what is at stake, not just with China.”

Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described China in 2019 as “the primary challenge to US national security over the next fifty to one hundred years.” Evan Medeiros, the China director at the National Security Council during Obama’s first term, has expressed regret that the US did not identify sooner how different Xi would be as a leader from Hu – more aggressive, more nationalistic, less willing to go along with the US-led international order – and shift its approach accordingly.

Ryan Hass, however, Medeiros’s successor in Obama’s second term, has lamented the way in which China has become ‘the policy equivalent of duct tape’. The spectre of Chinese competition is invoked no matter the problem at hand: domestic hyper-partisanship, shoring up Nato, passing industrial policy in the Senate.

Casting US competition with China in ideological terms, as an existential struggle between autocracy and democracy, is probably a mistake. China hasn’t shown much interest in exporting its political system to other nations. Talk of a ‘new cold war’ undermines America’s ability to form third-country alliances, and contributes to anti-Asian racism at home.

Kaiser Kuo, the presenter of the Sinica podcast, has ‘half joked’ that the US and China “both have their own versions of exceptionalism.” The former holds that American values and institutions are timeless and universal, applicable to all people, in all circumstances; the latter that Chinese values are so deeply rooted in historical experience and distinctive civilisational qualities as not to apply to anyone or anywhere else.

In a recent piece for Foreign Affairs, Thomas Pepinsky and Jessica Chen Weiss argue that China’s influence abroad tends to be “transactional and coercive” rather than ideological: Beijing has ‘found it easier to manage relations with Malaysia and the Philippines, two multiparty noncommunist regimes’, than with Vietnam, despite its ‘single-party authoritarian regime, officially communist in orientation’.

Harris laid flowers at the site where John McCain’s aircraft was shot down by North Vietnamese forces. Meghan McCain, the late senator’s daughter and a conservative media personality, was unmoved. Harris sometimes laughs reflexively in the face of thorny questions, as she did on the tarmac in Singapore when asked about Afghanistan. Republican critics are quick to attack her for it. ‘This may be some kind of real issue (like Joaquin phoenix in the joker),’ McCain tweeted, ‘but she’s the Vice President and she’s hand ample time and resources to media train herself.’

Despite the awkward timing, observers have suggested that the selection of Vietnam and Singapore for Harris’s trip was diplomatic softball, reflecting ‘underlying weaknesses in its approach to Asia’. Both nations were visited by the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, in July. As Susannah Patton and Ashley Townshend point out in Foreign Policy, they are strategically sympathetic to US priorities: ‘Singapore is the only country in Southeast Asia that gives the United States reliable military access ... Vietnam has been the country in the region most willing to overtly defy China.’ Had Harris gone elsewhere, ‘Washington would have had to put much more on the table to secure a warm welcome.’

Indonesia is the largest country in the region, home to 40 per cent of the ASEAN population. An editorial in the Jakarta Post last Tuesday, reflecting on the reasons Harris wouldn’t be visiting, vacillated between wryness – ‘It is impossible that Biden is unfamiliar with Indonesia,’ given that the previous month he had warned of the danger of its sinking into the sea – and grievance: ‘Two successive snubs by Washington’s top officials are truly an embarrassment for Indonesia, unless Biden has something bigger on his mind, which is almost impossible.’

Harris’s flight to Vietnam from Singapore was delayed by several hours because of reports of suspected cases of Havana syndrome at the US embassy in Hanoi. It was enough time for China to send its ambassador to the Vietnamese prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, to announce a donation of two million vaccine doses, casting shade on the million Pfizer shots Harris was on her way to give. ‘Việt Nam consistently pursues the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of ties,’ state media reported after receiving the Chinese envoy. ‘Việt Nam does not ally with one country to fight against another.’ China is the largest trading partner of eight of the ten ASEAN nations. Even for the US, China is third, another limiting factor in any re-emergence of Cold War-style tension.

Sebastian Strangio, the author of In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century, observes that the framing of US-China relations as an ideological struggle has failed to gain traction in the region because Southeast Asian nations do not idealise American power the way Americans do. They remember the cost of establishing the so-called liberal international order in Indochina, and US support for authoritarian governments. If anything they share China’s ‘zeal’ for national sovereignty and principles of non-interference, a taste significantly inculcated by Western imperialism. At times that tendency inclines them towards China and away from the US. At others, the direction is reversed.

RECALL. MENDOCINO CONNECTIONS.

by Michael Koepf

I get these post cards in the mail. Hand-written from people I don’t know. There’s logo of a mule and the Mendocino Democrat Party stamped somewhere on these things. The cards plead in desperation that Gavin Newsom must be retained. Vote NO on the recall they beg. Into the trash they go.

However, I realize the majority of voters in Mendocino County are registered Democrats. Mostly good folks one and all. I was once a Democrat too, before I stepped away from the Kool-Aid line claiming that all white children are born as racists and a biological man can birth a child. It’s not the drink that Franklin Roosevelt or John Kennedy mixed for me.

It’s safe to assume the board of supervisors In Mendocino County are mostly Democrats, too. Unless they’ve jumped the razor-wire fence into the gulag or Marxist thought. Nonetheless, our board is busy everyday ignoring our third-world county roads as they attempt to expand the bounty of cannabis, which, supposedly, will make our county rich. Best of luck with that.

Editor Jim Shields of the Mendocino County Observer recently wrote: “There’s hardly a person in Mendocino County who is not aware of the fact that marijuana cultivation is totally out of control. This county is coming apart at the seams because of the unchecked pot proliferation “

What’s this have do with the recall? Hold that drag on the joint, I’ll tell you down below. But first, let’s re-focus on the gourmet problem at the top. That is, getting rid of Governor Newsom because, while you and yours were locked away for covid waiting for UPS to deliver another case of macaroni and cheese, Governor Newsom was out and about eating Salade Vert and drinking expensive wine. Without a mask, of course. Elbow to elbow with his closest friends. Should hypocrisy get a pass? No? Recall the rascal out.

Editor K.C. Meadows of the Ukiah Daily Journal, apparently believes otherwise. In a recent editorial she pleaded to keep the rascal in. Why? Forget about the guy who seduced his best friend’s wife, it’s Editor Meadows belief that recalls cost too much. Meadows argues dismissivly that expensive recalls can be augmented by a small percentage of the electorate.

True. Especially, if citizens of this state despise a no-count fraud. Editor Meadows postulates that if the recall does succeed, it could be redone over and over again to vote whomever out.

Possibly true again.

However, she imagines it will be a candidate backed by the state majority of Democrats just as soon as Newsom’s voted out. Gavin Newsom’s wife? In other words, one recall leads to another, forgetting, as Editor Meadows writes, that it defeats the reason the lady protests. Namely, that recalls cost too much.

Recalls cost too much? Chump change when it’s time to toss a charlatan out. There are significant issues at play to be laid at Newsom’s toes: California’s increasing rate of crime with murders out of sight. Our tsunami of hapless, homeless bums. Prop.19, a Prop that Newsom backed to raise your property tax. Releasing covid-infected criminals to meet and greet the rest of us. Keeping his kids in toney, private schools while your children struggled at home with zoom in schools that have gone to hell. Thank you, Teacher’s Union, for teaching the Governor what to do.

Then there’s the California exodus of companies large and small, many family owned. They've had enough of needless regulations and taxes that drove them out of the state. Of course, there’s our porous border to the south, which Newsom has allowed.

California is fast becoming a state of the controlling rich and the poorly educated poor. Any similarities here with the country of Mexico?

And, let us not forget that Newsom—unilaterally—abolished the death penalty against a majority of the citizens in our state. (Prop. 62) Do you remember Polly Klass, age 12? Her rapist and murderer, Richard Allen Davis, abandoned her body like trash. Davis was arrested in Mendocino County, but thanks to Gavin Newsom, Davis eats three square meals a day and is reading porno mags, while sweet Polly’s in her grave. Newsom has transformed Death Row into an old folks’ home.

Besides a murdering creep, there’s another significant Mendocino County connection when it comes to voting Newsom down the road. It’s linked to Newsom’s infamous dinner at that restaurant where none of us can afford to eat. It’s about what plagues our county now. Newsom’s French Laundry bill was said to be north of thirty-grand. Chump change for a rich guy like him, if, in fact, he paid the bill. Political donations anyone?

But the Mendocino connection is not about the bill, or the caviar that Gavin slurped. It’s about the man the dinner was for. The dinner was in honor of Jason Kinney. It was Kinney’s birthday bash.

Who’s Kinney? Kinney’s a long time “friend” and advisor to Newsom. Jason Kinney has been both a key Sacramento lobbyist and a key member of Newsom’s governing team. He’s billed as Newsom’s “senior advisor” but, in fact, he’s a leading “capital fixer.” Once upon a time, when dope in Mendocino County was mostly mom and pop and local outlaws in the hills, before we descended into our nouveau cannabis hell, Kinney shared the stage with California state regulators at a big cannabis conference in Las Vegas.

The Vegas event was sponsored by Axion Advisors, a lobbying firm formed by Kinney’s former lobbying partners. Axion had recently launched WeedMaps, a cannabis advertising website represented by Axion. Their goal: turn California weedy, corporate green. That was Kinney’s plan. A drug deal for people at the top in the name of the small-time growers and smokers who did not have clue they were a trojan horse in a bong.

Axion Advisors are not about you. Axion Advisors are not about us. They’re about big money from some place else. That’s the Mendocino connection to Newsom’s arrogant feast. At the French Laundry, Jason Kinney was being celebrated for all the wonderful things he’s done. Including, bringing Big Weed to where we live. Have you received your cut? Perhaps you have, but the majority of people who live in Mendocino County have not. In fact, the majority are getting tired of the one-way street of violence, environmental degradation and greed—mostly by people from somewhere else. Pay attention Board of Supervisors. Forsake your magical joint of cash. The rest of us are getting very tired of what you smoke.

Of course, Jason Kinney is not responsible for the murders in Round Valley or the hidden gravesites in the hills. He’s not responsible for stealing water; home invasions; teenagers perpetually buzzed on pot, or dope-growing damage to our lands. Jason Kinney or Axion or WeedMap are not responsible for anything at all. They merely assist the politicians, and tell them where to get the cash. Corporate Cannabis anyone? On the other hand, Gavin Newsom is responsible for Jason Kinney, when he bought his birthday cake, which the rest of us have to eat, whether we like it or not.

I plead: Dear Democrats, if you have a mind of your own, and postcards don’t think for you, recall the man who ordered the cake.

9/11 COMMEMORATIVE SHOW AT KMUD 

"Heroes and Patriots" returns to KMUD on Thursday, September 2, at 9 am, Pacific Time, with a special 9/11 commemorative show. Our guests are Graeme MacQueen and Catherine Lutz. 

Graeme Macqueen

Author of The 2001 Anthrax Deception: The Case for a Domestic Conspiracy, MacQueen, just wrote an in-depth piece updating his findings for the forthcoming issue of CovertAction Magazine. He is an expert on 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax letter attacks. He has written widely about false flag attacks.

Graeme is retired professor of religious studies at McMaster University, Ontario where he taught from 1974 to 2003. He was also the founder and former Director of the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster. He is a co-editor of the Journal of 9/11 Studies.

Catherine Lutz

Catherine Lutz is the co-founder and co-director of the Costs of War project. Lutz is the author of numerous books on the US military and its bases and personnel. She is a co-founder of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.

She has also conducted research on UN peacekeeping missions She is past president of the American Ethnological Society, the largest organization of cultural anthropologists in the U.S.