Fishing Boat | Cooling | Michael Equine | Bainbridge Park | Clancy Rash | Ukiah Planning | Robert Sutherland | Summer Oaks | Ukiah Football | Grange Repair | Josh Justice | It's Hot | Oktoberfest Returns | 1962 Parade | Dumping Waste | 1908 Token | Yesterday's Catch | She's High | Unjust Policy | As Usual | Hoot Owl | Pickett Fire | Salmon Fishing | Bridge Stunt | Trouble | Ukrainian Day | Fussy Prof | Kawahara Mystery | Salam Egypt | Fir Forest | Hill Afternoon | Most Wanted | Chatbot Mating | Compulsive Exerciser | Whiteman | Ghislaine ‘Splainin’ | Won't Kill | Lead Stories | Firing Fed | Puzzle Page | Gaza Murder | Trumps Brain | Arms Embargo | TMI | Grows Old | Quilted Fabric
YESTERDAY'S HIGHS: Covelo 103°, Laytonville 101°, Ukiah 99°, Yorkville 96°, Boonville 96°, Fort Bragg 68°, Point Arena 57°
MONSOON showers and thunderstorms are expected over the higher terrain across the eastern interior again this afternoon and into early evening, with a shallow marine layer along the coast. Isolated thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday afternoon over the Trinity Horn. Generally cooler and calmer conditions will build for the end of the week with some more sun likely near shore. (NWS)
STEPHEN DUNLAP (Fort Bragg): A warm 55F with foggy skies this Tuesday morning on the coast. Our forecast is for mostly sunny today but there is a lot of fog out there, so we'll see. Otherwise no change in our forecast thru the upcoming holiday weekend.
MICHAEL EQUINE
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my father Michael Equine.
He was suffering from leukemia and pulmonary edema, and has finally been released from this crazy world that underappreciated him. There are so many people that love him on the other side, I'm sure they were there greeting him. I'm not sure if there will be a service, if so it will be announced. He will be cremated.
For those of you that were fans and loved all of his music and his contributions. He really appreciated you!! Drumming for the band Cat Mother was the best part of his life!! He was very grateful always. He never forgot my birthday once. He ALWAYS remembered mother's day, and wrote me the best handmade cards up until recently. SHOWING how much he cared. With him die all of the stories about my mother in her glorious 20's, with green hair, enthralled by all that Greenwich village in the early 60's had to offer.
Without him, I would not have made it to California where I met Claudia and Kirsten. JAIN wouldn't have existed.
His musical genius and multiple talents live on in me (SOOO grateful) and my son Marley, and my grandkids, and in everyone he touched.
Please know that work is being done to honor him by finishing and publishing the book of his life and his experience.
My mother used to call him "Miche"
Rip Miche, your "daughter dear".
DAVID GURNEY: This my "Public Comment," read by me at Monday night's 30-minute tardy start of the scheduled Fort Bragg City Council meeting…
Dear Fort Bragg City Council,
I know you do a lot of good work by keeping this city running. But my job is not to come in here and pat ya’ll on the head. You do enough of that on your own. My job as a local nobody, is to point out when you are making a bad mistake. Bainbridge Park is one of those.
You are in the process of ruining and destroying our once simple and beautiful little park, all in the name of “enhancement.” You are installing not one but TWO toxic, caged, plastic playing fields in our serene little park – virtually the only city maintained open space - a meeting place and a natural human refuge for rest and relaxation. And you are polluting the town’s shallow ground water resource and threatening the health and safety of our kids by allowing them to ingest microplastics and have skin-on-plastic contact, when all they might really want to do is play a game of soccer on the natural earth.
You apparently did this by gaslighting this massive project in a piecemeal, segmented manner instead of addressing the project as a whole and going through the required and legal CEQA process. You violated both the words and intent of Proposition 68 that helped fund this atrocity. This is fraud. And since Bainbridge Park is a public space that does not belong to you, but to the people, you should have put this on the ballot, and let the people decide whether to approve this abomination.
I think the best way to illustrate your fraud and deception is by going to your very own website, and I encourage people to do so.
1) This is the opening page of the City’s website on the so-called “Enhancement Project”
2) This is a blow-up. Notice it doesn’t show two soccer fields, but only one, and not in the place you are actually installing your toxic fields.
3) This is the other image on the opening page of your “Enhancement Project” website. Notice again, not two plastic soccer fields, but one, and that one tiny field hidden up there by the tennis courts.
4) This page on your website says “20-Year-Old Playground Being Replaced – Sneak Preview at the New Look Below” – but the “New Look Below” shows a wood chip surface on the little kids playground, not the recycled poured plastic surface you are actually installing.
5) Here’s another look at your fraudulent “New Look” – that shows the old wood chip playground you are destroying and replacing with plastic.
6) These last two are idealized AI renderings you have posted on the park “enhancement,” that have nothing to do with reality.
The problem is, with this level of misrepresentation on your website, you reveal an underlying lack of integrity and honesty that belies the real nature of what are doing and what you have done. In fact, some would call this so called “Enhancement Project” nothing but out and out criminal fraud.
CLANCY RASH
1949 - 2025
Clarence (Clancy) Eugene Rash, Jr. of Willits, California was surrounded by love when he passed away peacefully July 23rd at his home at the age of 76.
Born on May 22, 1949, in Ephrata, Washington, Clancy touched the lives of many with his sense of humor, kindness, music, and warmth. He grew up in Lakewood, Washington, the mischievous middle child of Dorothy and Clarence Rash, Sr. and was accompanied through life by his older brother Skip and younger sister Kari.
Clancy's family members were central to his heart, along with their spouses, children, grandchildren and life-long friends. Those family and friends remember him as soft-spoken, a strong, kind, gentle man, an excellent listener, gifted musician, and loyal.
Clancy was infinitely proud of and delighted by his daughters Sunrise Williams and Terra Cavolo who along with their husbands and children brought much joy to his life. He passed on his jokes, love of a good prank and gentle kind nature to his grandsons Devin, Kai, Joaquin, Gunnar and Connor. For the past 24 years Clancy fully shared his life, heart, and family with his true love, Helen Falandes. He will be missed by so many, including his dear cat Puzzle.
PROJECTS TO BE DISCUSSED AT NEXT UKIAH PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
by Justine Frederiksen
Three projects recently approved in the city of Ukiah will be discussed at the next Planning Commission meeting Wednesday, including the Habit Burger and Grill proposed for the former Denny’s location on Pomeroy Street.
When asked earlier this month how that project was progressing, Ukiah Senior Planning Manager Jesse Davis said that “building permits for tenant improvements and site enhancements, including landscaping, were submitted in July, (and that) the project is currently in the city’s plan review phase.”
This project, along with the recently approved work at the former Savings Bank of Mendocino building in the Pear Tree Shopping Center on East Perkins Street near Lucky, will be discussed this week as part of “Planning Commission Training,” the agenda for the Aug. 27 meeting states.
According to the staff report prepared for the meeting, the “Planning Commission will receive training that summarizes recently approved discretionary projects and discuss related questions with staff, (who) scheduled this training after hearing questions from Planning Commissioners about how project analysis is approached by staff, and the roles of commissioners and staff during public hearings and reviews of projects.”
The staff report continues by explaining that “the Planning Commission plays a vital role in shaping the physical and functional character of the city through its oversight of major discretionary land use decisions. Commissioners are responsible for interpreting and applying adopted plans, zoning regulations, and policy frameworks to individual projects, ensuring that private development aligns with the broader public interest. This role requires not only an understanding of the rules, but also a recognition of how land-use decisions are shaped by the applicability of regulations, compromise, and community values. The commission must consider how to support economic development and community well-being but within the constraints of existing infrastructure, older building stock, and at times, disjointed or overlapping regulations.”
Therefore, staff explain, “to support the Commission’s understanding of these planning issues pertinent to Ukiah, staff have selected three recently approved discretionary projects to present as case studies. The selected projects highlight the practical application of key tools and the commission’s role in making consistent, equitable, and actionable land use decisions.”
• Project #1 – 414 East Perkins – Redwood Credit Union submitted an application to renovate and reuse the legal nonconforming structure at 414 East Perkins Street. Although the proposed use was functionally identical to the prior use (Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Pear Tree), the project required discretionary review due to its location within the Downtown Zoning Code area, the structure’s nonconforming status, and the applicant’s intent to reactivate the drive-through facility. The project underscored a policy tension in the DZC, which both encourages preservation of existing buildings and discourages auto-centric uses.
• Additional considerations complicated the review. A private deed restriction tied to a former owner prohibited reuse of the building by another financial institution. The applicant’s desire to retain features such as vehicular drop-offs and drive-through service required careful balancing of the DZC with practical reuse of the site, particularly after an unsuccessful attempt to establish a similar facility at 101 South Main Street.
• Project #2 – 105 Pomeroy – Zoning Administrator: UK 105 Investments, LLC, applied to renovate and reuse the existing commercial building at 105 Pomeroy Street (formerly a Denny’s) for continued use with a new tenant, Habit Burger & Grill, and the addition of a drive-through.
• The Zoning Administrator reviewed the application as authorized under the Ukiah City Code to act on specific land use requests that qualify for minor discretionary review. The ZA addressed concerns from stakeholders, including Caltrans related to circulation, visibility, and signage along Pomeroy Street. With Design Review Board input, the project received approval within 45 days.
• This case demonstrated how administrative review can facilitate the efficient reuse of existing commercial buildings while ensuring consistency with adopted standards.
This meeting of the Ukiah Planning Commission is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 27 and be held both in-person at the Council Chambers located at 300 Seminary Ave., and online at: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83128884939
ROBERT SUTHERLAND HAS TAKEN HIS FINAL WALK IN THE WOODS
by Kym Kemp
Robert “Woods” Sutherland, widely known across Southern Humboldt as “the Man Who Walks in the Woods,” died Thursday, August 21 at age 82 following an apparent fall from a ladder at his Briceland home. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported he fell approximately 50 feet into a creek bed while working on his house. The Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue Team conducted the difficult nighttime recovery.
Sutherland first arrived in Humboldt County in 1968 and became a full-time resident in 1973. He brought both a brilliant mind and a fiercely independent spirit to the North Coast, where he immersed himself in environmental and community activism.
In the late 1970s, Sutherland co-founded the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in Garberville. He was the driving force behind dozens of lawsuits against MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber, pushing back against the cutting of old-growth redwoods.
He also authored much of the Forests Forever initiative (Proposition 130) in 1990, which sought to shift California forest policy toward ecosystem-based management, protect ancient forests, create restoration jobs, and strengthen endangered species protections.
As activist Darryl Cherney recalled,
“Woods stood out of course, because he was first and foremost an actual genius…Woods was more than brilliant on matters of forest protection as well as extremely ornery… The Northcoast and California forest practices are forever changed both in practice and perception because of Woods.”
Sutherland was also a founding member of the Humboldt Mendocino Marijuana Advocacy Project (HumMAP), where he fought for small, organic, “mom-and-pop” cultivation and railed against industrial greenrush grows. He testified, wrote policy critiques, and helped bring legal challenges that forced environmental impact reviews, greater protections for wildlife, and stricter oversight of some cannabis operations.
Woods was known for his blunt, unyielding personality that often alienated allies as well as adversaries, yet he remained respected for his passion, intellect, and sheer persistence. Cherney observed that while Sutherland sometimes grew bitter and combative in his later years, he was still deeply loved: “…I could make fun of and get him to laugh at his cantankerousness, and I and many others held him dear to our hearts.”
Woods, who was left-handed, was fiercely opinionated about even seemingly insignificant differences, and once with absolute seriousness quipped his suspicions about Congressman Jared Huffman trustworthiness saying, “Righties are so horribly dominant.”
His poems echoed his voice—angry, unyielding, and rooted in the land. In “This Is Not a Love Poem” he declared:
“I am the guerrilla gardener….maddened by what they have done to our mother, the earth. Fat nouveau-riche loggers, in their tailor-made three-piece arrogance; boasting of their destruction of wilderness….I hate their guts.”
Dominic Corva, Former Director of Cannabis Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt, called Woods a “righteous man.” Corva went on to say that Woods “was a kind friend to me when I first came to Southern Humboldt, although we were at odds in recent years.” Corva mentioned another aspect of Woods–“He grew excellent weed, too, in the redwood shade and in the ground in China Creek. He shared a bread bag full of it with me to take home when I visited him there in 2012.”
Though at times difficult, Robert “Woods” Sutherland profoundly shaped Northern California’s environmental and cultural landscape. From stopping destructive logging practices to reshaping cannabis debates, he left behind a legacy of unyielding principle and determination.
(Redheaded Blackbelt/KymKemp.com)
MARTIN BRADLEY: Black Oaks in Summer
Transpiration draws water up into the leaves and branches of oak trees, causing otherwise healthy branches snap under under the weight.
PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: IMPROVED DEPTH, EXPERIENCE HAVE UKIAH PRIMED FOR BIG YEAR
In total, Ukiah returns eight starters on defense and nine on offense.
by Gus Morris
The Press Democrat is previewing the upcoming high school football season for local teams. Here’s a look at Ukiah.
Last season: 8-4, 2nd in REC-Bay, lost in semifinals of NCS Division 4 playoffs
2025 league: Redwood Empire Conference Bay division
Key losses: WR/DB Omaurie Phillips-Porter, OL/DL Mike Naja, OL/DL Marco Behrens, LB Caleb Webb, LB Tyeson Ramos, RB/LB Jaecee Goeken, OL/DL Jasper Goeken.
Key returners: QB Beau David, Sr.; RB Chris Thompson, Jr.; OL/DL Jordan Schwarm, Sr.; WR/DB Dareon Dorsey, Sr.; WR/DB Ryan Todd, Sr.; WR/DB Zach Martinez, Sr.; OL/DL Sterling Wright, Sr.; WR/DB Malachi Dennington, Jr.; WR/DB Jax Keffler, So.; LB Dante Giacomini, So.
Outlook: The Wildcats have taken steps forward every season since Paul Cronin took the helm, and in year three under one of the winningest coaches in area history, they appear to be in good shape to take another.
While Ukiah graduated one of the top players in the North Bay in Omaurie Phillips-Porter, the REC-Bay Player of the Year last season, they’ll wield something Cronin believes will be even more valuable: depth.
Phillips-Porter did it all for a younger Wildcats team last year, but they’re returning a vast majority of their supporting cast, especially at the skill positions.
Outside of Phillips-Porter, they’re bring back their other four top pass catchers, highlighted by all-league receiver Dareon Dorsey. They also return seniors Zach Martinez and Ryan Todd along with junior running back Chris Thompson, who ran for almost 800 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore. Dorsey, Todd and Martinez have also all been varsity players since they were sophomores.
“You love having guys like Omaurie, but we were not balanced,” Cronin said. “I think that’s where it limits you a little bit, and it’s not the fault of the star player, obviously, but I think now we’re way more balanced.”
Also back is quarterback Beau David for his senior year. An all-league second-team player as a junior, he accounted for over 3,000 total yards and 39 total touchdowns during his first full season as a starter.
Back on the line is senior Jordan Schwarm, last year’s Lineman of the Year in the REC-Bay. Around him will be another three-year varsity player in Sterling Wright.
Cronin also mentioned juniors Colton Gaylord and Trayvon McNeil as upcoming players to watch on the line — as well as junior receiver Malachi Dennington and sophomores Jax Keffler and Dante Giacomini at receiver and linebacker — who were impact players as underclassmen.
In total, Ukiah returns eight starters on defense and nine on offense. The Wildcats made the NCS Division 4 semifinals last year and were upset by Redwood in a rainy and muddy 28-25 season-ending loss. Their nonleague schedule is challenging once again this year, but with the talent they have coming back, they should be in a good position to keep building on their recent progress.
“I’m just excited about the season, and getting the kids an opportunity to play,” Cronin said. “It should be fun for the guys that have been with us from the beginning and they get a chance to hopefully go out on their own terms and have success.”
Schedule: at Rancho Cotate, Aug. 29; vs. Carlmont, Sept. 6; vs. Fortuna, Sept. 13; vs. Chico, Sept. 20; at San Marin, Sept. 26; at Montgomery, Oct. 10; vs. Santa Rosa, Oct. 17; at St. Vincent, Oct. 25; at Maria Carrillo, Oct. 31; vs. Analy*, Nov. 7
(* = indicates league game)
GALINA TREFIL:
So…I have been told repeatedly to just sit back and mourn. Can't do it. I fight. I'm a fighter. All I can do for Josh right now is fight.
No disabled person, no autism parent (or stepparent,) should ever have to worry about being shot and left to die because they got a puppy for their little boy.
Josh would have done anything to protect his family. He was in Humboldt County in an attempt to protect us. He got that puppy to make the kids happy; because he wanted our oldest (who has severe autism) to have an emotional support dog. He literally DIED just trying to be the best stepfather in the world.
Our life together was destroyed. Josh's parents' hearts are broken. For what? Because Deunn Antione Willis and Danielle Roberta Durand decided to rob and shoot him? I keep wondering if they even knew Josh's name when they killed him.
Anyone that could do to Josh what they did will definitely go on to do it again. It was cold-blooded, cruel; absolutely and totally unnecessary. Please help me ensure that they be brought to justice!
FORT BRAGG’S OKTOBERFEST RETURNS: BEER, MUSIC, GAMES & GOOD TIMES AT C.V. STARR CENTER!
Raise your steins! Parents and Friends, Inc., together with the C.V. Starr Community Center, are thrilled to announce the return of Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 4th, 2025, from 12:00–5:00 PM at the C.V. Starr Center.
Returning for its second year, this lively event promises an afternoon filled with festive fun, showcasing the region's finest breweries, wineries, and distilleries. Gather your friends, grab a pint, and enjoy an unforgettable afternoon of craft drinks, live music, and classic Oktoberfest cheer.
Event Highlights:
Enjoy unlimited tastings of beer, wine, and spirits
Live performances from local band The Riptides (featuring Scott West & Sam Ware) and the crowd- favorite Fort Bragg Oompa Band
Free entry to compete in traditional Oktoberfest games and a spirited cornhole tournament
Food trucks and craft vendors serving up delicious bites and unique finds
Silent auction with one-of-a-kind items and experiences.
Oktoberfest is a 21+ event. Tickets are $40, with all proceeds benefiting Parents and Friends, Inc. and the C.V. Starr Community Center—supporting local programs and services that strengthen our community. Don’t miss one of Fort Bragg’s most exciting fall events—where good drinks meet good times for a great cause.
Tickets are on sale now! Secure yours today at: https://visitfortbraggca.com/oktoberfest/
A Weekend of Community Celebrations:
This fall, Fort Bragg is coming alive with a full weekend of events. Kick things off with Kelp Fest on Friday, October 3rd, followed by Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 4th, and wrap up the weekend on Sunday, October 5th, at The Longest Table—an extraordinary community gathering that brings neighbors together in the heart of the city. It’s a weekend to celebrate local flavor, culture, and connection.
FORMER FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR JOE SCARAMELLA, on Fort Bragg’s dumping of waste in the 1950s and 60s:
In the 1960s we had to deal with the fact that you could no longer simply dump trash and sewage into the ocean like Fort Bragg did. They were dumping everything up there at Glass Beach. The whole damn thing. The sewer was running wide open into the ocean at that time. And Fort Bragg was not doing a damn thing about it. I had a smaller version of the problem down on the south coast. The town of Mendocino was dumping right over the bluff. Right over it! All the stuff was going down there.
In one case they were using the storm sewer as sewage drains, they were dumping down there. People are a problem. You get a million people in a square area and hell… I would tell people, "I can go behind a stump and relieve myself, but I can't do it on Fifth Avenue in New York.” Why? Because people are there. That's why you can't do it. So the idea was that these people were coming down here dumping and we had to do something about it.
Point Arena — I got the County to fix it up. We put up a garbage dump so you couldn't just back up and dump it into the ocean. But the lady who owned it, the Stornetta Family, said that we had to quit dumping out there. So we had to find another place. And I was stuck with the responsibility. Well, I willingly assumed it, something had to be done. We had to find some places where people could get rid of their trash. From down here on the South Coast and on up to Fort Bragg. Mendocino was a case in point. Hell, I tried. I looked over heaven and earth. I went all over the Mendocino Coast. Naturally nobody wanted it. Who wants a garbage dump nearby?
I got the Health Department involved, obviously, I got the person there, I can't remember her name. We went out there where the Caspar dump is now. We bought some acreage. I bought it, set the whole thing up. I went down to the Caspar Lumber Company in San Francisco, made two trips down there. They were going to hold me up on the price. I said, “Ok, fellas, we'll pay it, but the assessor will be involved and it will end up costing you more in the long run.” So I got a decent price and I got the 20 acres out there. It was thought to be huge. Naturally Fort Bragg got into it. They had their trash problem. I said, “Well, this ought to be a joint enterprise.” So they created a joint venture and therefore Fort Bragg got into it. But I started the gol-darn thing. Fort Bragg hadn't done a thing. So, yes. That “cultural center” in Fort Bragg was just dumping everything into the ocean.
FROM EBAY, A PIECE OF SEMI-LOCAL HISTORY:
A token from Mendocino City, good for five cents. Token is circa 1908, just before Mendocino City outlawed alcohol sales.
CATCH OF THE DAY, Monday, August 26, 2025
JASMINE BAILEY, 25, Ukiah. Petty theft with two or more priors, probation revocation.
WILLIAM BARNETT, 27, Ukiah. Failure to appear, false ID, probation violation.
ANTONIO CRUZ, 22, Pocatello, Idaho/Ukiah. Failure to appear.
SKYLER EASTERWOOD, 32, Ukiah. Failure to appear, probation revocation.
EVERARDO GRANILLO, 33, Ukiah. County parole violation.
WILLIAM LINCOLN-GARCIA, 19, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol&drugs.
KAYA MCCONNELL, 27, Willits. Child neglect, probation revocation.
VALENTIN MENDOZA-SANCHEZ, 45, Lakeport/Ukiah. DUI.
LACEY POWELL, 33, Ukiah. Assault with deadly weapon not a gun, offenses while on bail.
RYAN ROYDOWNEY, Covelo. Failure to appear.
ANN TAYLOR, 49, Ukiah. Stolen vehicle, controlled substance with two or more priors, paraphernalia.
KIMBERLEE THOMPSON, 41, Fort Bragg. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, probation revocation.
ANTHONY TOLBERT, 37, Ukiah. Disorderly conduct-alcohol, parole violation, resisting.
NICHOLAS TOW, 37, Willits. Child abuse without great bodily injury, DUI-any drug.
LARRY WOLFE JR., 35, Ukiah. Controlled substance with two or more priors, felon with stun gun.
TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH, SAFETY NET LOSSES FOR THE POOR
Editor:
Historically the Democratic Party has aligned itself with the labor movement and has instituted and supported policies that aim to protect and empower workers. They advocate for increases in minimum wage with the goal of providing a “living wage” for all workers. Democrats support trade unions to strengthen bargaining rights and address unfair labor practices.
Today we have an ever-widening wealth gap, and with the recent passage by the GOP of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” that gap is certain to grow. The ultra-wealthy will continue to get government subsidies and huge tax breaks, while the middle class and the poorest and most vulnerable citizens will lose many social safety nets — food stamps, housing help and medical insurance, to name a few.
These unjust policies will result in unequal access to quality education, health care, job opportunities, etc., resulting in mental health decline and social unrest. The present administration has shown that workers are at the bottom of the list of their priorities. No Democrats voted for this bill.
November 2026 will be your opportunity to offer the workers of this country your support at the polls.
Joan McAuliffe
Santa Rosa
THE TRUTH THAT IS NECESSARY TO TAKE TO HEART!
Warmest spiritual greetings, As usual, am sitting here on a public computer at the main library in Washington, D.C., enjoying videos which resonate the Absolute. Meanwhile, am packed up at the shelter and can be outta there in 20 minutes. There is $343.40 in the Chase checking account, $30.99 in the wallet. Health is excellent at age 75. I'm ready. Anybody want to do anything?
Craig Louis Stehr, [email protected]
‘A LOT OF HARD WORK TO BE DONE’: FIRE CREWS DIG IN AS NAPA COUNTY DECLARES EMERGENCY OVER PICKETT FIRE
With smoke advisories extended and evacuation orders still in place, damage inspectors are assessing whether homes or buildings have been lost.
by Madison Smalstig
Napa County officials have declared a local emergency as the Pickett Fire, which erupted Thursday near Calistoga, remains active — growing to 6,803 acres with 13% containment as of Monday — and continues to threaten more than 600 structures.
County CEO and Director of Emergency Services Ryan Alsop signed the proclamation Sunday, citing danger to rural areas including unincorporated parts of Calistoga, Pope Valley, Aetna Springs and Angwin, according to a county news release. The declaration, which still requires approval from Gov. Gavin Newsom, allows the county to tap state and federal resources for emergency response, recovery, damage mitigation and reimbursement for extra costs due to the wildfire. Alsop called it a “proactive step” to help the county respond to community needs.
The county has not yet detailed what resources will arrive, but spokesperson Linda Weinreich said they will remain in place throughout the response and recovery.
By Monday, the fire’s impacts had stretched into daily life across Napa County’s northern reaches. Howell Mountain Elementary in Angwin closed for the day, though officials expect to reopen Tuesday for its roughly 90 students. In nearby Pope Valley, about 30 students returned to class under close watch of air quality monitors, with outdoor activities restricted.
Evacuation orders remained in nine zones across the fire’s footprint, stretching from Calistoga near Silverado Trail and Pickett Road northeast through the Palisades and Swartz canyons to Pope Valley Road. Six nearby zones were still under warning, though the advisory for Angwin was lifted.
On the fire line, more than 2,000 personnel — with 227 engines, 23 water tenders, 10 helicopters, 67 bulldozers and 53 hand crews — pressed into steep terrain to shore up containment. Crews cut fresh paths into hard-to-reach canyons and reinforced old dozer lines carved during the 2020 Glass Fire and later expanded through partnerships with local Firewise groups and the Napa Valley Vintners.
“There’s a lot of hard work to be done,” Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit spokesperson Jason Clay said Monday. “We got a lot of boots on the ground.”
Cal Fire also established a northern landing zone for flying in crews, though it was not clear Monday whether it had been used. Damage inspectors were on scene, but officials had yet to confirm whether any homes or buildings were lost.
Weather offered only modest help. Temperatures dipped slightly into the mid- to upper 80s near Calistoga, though highs on the fire’s east side still climbed toward the upper 90s. Northeasterly winds around 6 mph shifted southwest by afternoon, increasing fire activity slightly.
Clay noted that the Glass Fire burn scar left behind heavy debris and new vegetation ready to ignite, but also reduced the overall fuel load. That mix has shaped how the Pickett Fire has behaved in Palisades Canyon.
In Pope Valley, the threat felt immediate last week as residents watched flames advance through Palisades Canyon. Diana Eakle-Hawkins, co-owner of Pope Valley Winery, recalled standing in one of her vineyards Thursday afternoon as a dark column of smoke rose overhead.
“There was a point when you could see the flames… You could see the fire progressing forward,” she said.
Her winery on Pope Valley Road remains under evacuation order, with the tasting room shuttered and vineyard work on hold. Officials assured her that reinforced dozer lines near the property’s back edge should help hold the flames. By Monday, she said, smoke had thinned and visible fire activity waned.
“We’re not seeing big dark smoke columns,” Eakle-Hawkins said. “I feel like they’ve definitely turned a corner with it and they have a good handle on it.”
For Eakle-Hawkins, a fifth-generation Pope Valley resident, the scene carries echoes of 2020 — but also signs of progress. Her family has since invested in a water truck, a bulldozer and grazing programs to reduce vegetation. She said this year’s firefighting response also feels more robust, perhaps because fewer blazes are burning across the region.
Jeff Parady, owner of the Pope Valley Garage, said he has never seen such a large response to a fire in his area. Fire engines lined his property at the top of Aetna Springs, while dozens more vehicles staged in a field below his house.
“The agency, everybody — the higher ups — knew the importance of stopping this,” he said.
In the 2020 LNU Complex — one of the most destructive wildfires in state history, killing six people and burning more than 360,000 acres across five counties, including Napa — flames swept through his property and destroyed many historic buildings. His house survived only because of the actions of friends, he said.
This time, as the Pickett Fire crept up the ridge on the back side of Palisades Canyon, bulldozers cut a line and aircraft dropped water to cool the area before crews burned away remaining fuels to prevent the fire from spreading.
“It was like a symphony,” Parady said.
Even as crews gained ground, smoke continued to affect the broader region. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District extended an advisory through Wednesday for Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties.
While she worries about the risk of smoke taint on her grapes, Eakle-Hawkins said it is too early to panic.
“The smoke was very regional in the area and … right now we are not pressing the panic button,” she said. “We’re going to leave it in the experts’ hands to evaluate and see where we go from there.
“We’re hopeful and confident that we’ll soon be off to the rest of harvest,” she added.
(pressdemocrat.com)
BIG, BRIGHT KING SALMON HITTING ON THE FEATHER RIVER: A GUIDE TO ALL THE SPLASHING ACTION AROUND OROVILLE
by Dan Bacher
For the first time in three years, anglers have been able to fish sections of the Feather River, American River and Mokelumne River for salmon starting on July 16.
Since the opener the fishing has been productive but by no means hot on the Feather River. But for anglers unable to fish for salmon in all Central Valley streams since 2022, the fishing has drawn many anglers to the rivers to vie for a chance to catch a big, bright Chinook.…
‘ONE OF THE CRAZIEST THINGS’: SKYSURFER RIDES BAY BRIDGE’S SUSPENSION CABLES
by Gregory Thomas
The Bay Bridge is now a destination for “skysurfing.”
In a uniquely wild stunt Sunday morning, a skydiver with a custom-made board strapped to his feet jumped from a helicopter hovering 5,500 feet above the bridge’s western span. Then, maneuvering with a parachute, he landed atop a suspension cable and rode it for several seconds — similar to the way a skateboarder would grind a curb — before floating down and landing on a barge waiting on the water below.
“Once he hit the bridge, you could really hear this scraping sound, then clack, clack, clack, clack as he hit the turnbuckles on his way down,” said Frank Quirarte, safety coordinator for Mavericks Rescue, who oversaw water safety planning for the stunt and was on a boat beneath the bridge at the time.
Quirarte leads a team of Jet Ski rescuers who assist big-wave surfers during heavy days at Mavericks, and he was tapped for the bridge stunt. “I’ve been out in some pretty gigantic waves but seeing that (skysurf performance) was one of the craziest things on the list of crazy things I’ve gotten to see in my life,” he said.
The incredible feat was sponsored and coordinated by energy drink producer Red Bull and approved, the company said, by appropriate authorities in San Francisco, as well as Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard. Westbound traffic on the bridge’s upper deck was stopped for a time to accommodate the performance, which occurred at approximately 8 a.m. Sunday.
Red Bull is calling the stunt a “world-first skysurfing feat.”
“This was probably the most intense, wildest project I’ve ever done,” skysurfer Sean MacCormac said in a statement provided by Red Bull. “I’ve never had that view before, and pretty sure no one else has either.”
MacCormac, a 50-year-old American, has several skysurfing world records to his name and is an X Games medalist, according to Red Bull.
Red Bull said it took “months of planning, safety analysis and coordination with local authorities” as well as MacCormac executing training runs in San Diego on a 180-foot crane built to simulate the Bay Bridge’s cables.
After leaping from the helicopter, MacCormac deployed his parachute and flew for about three minutes to the bridge cables, “carefully adjusting for wind currents to maintain precision,” according to Red Bull. “As his board aligned with the cables, he rode along them, then executed a sharp right turn … then descended the remaining 60 metres (196 feet) to the floating barge below.”
(SFChronicle)
‘WE ARE STILL FIGHTING’: UKRAINIAN DAY IN S.F. TAKES ON NEW MEANING DURING BRUTAL WAR
by Sam Whiting
Anna Bevziuk was 7 and a world away on Aug. 24, 1991, but she remembers going to the polls with her father, then going home to watch TV in her family’s apartment in the city of Oleksandriya. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev came on with a special report.
“I remember the moment, glued to the TV,” she said Sunday. “My father turned to me and said, ‘This means Independence for us.’”
It still did, 34 years later, as Bevziuk, now 40 and a Mountain View resident, stood on the stage at the bandshell in Golden Gate Park, wearing a traditional costume as part of Zoloti Maky, a Ukrainian dance ensemble that was performing as part of Ukrainian Day, a San Francisco celebration in honor of Ukrainian Independence Day.
With backing by the Golden Gate Park Band, the celebration has happened for 26 years, but Sunday was that rare day when it fell on the exact anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. This made it mean more to the approximately 600 audience members, some draped in the light blue and yellow flag and wearing traditional vyshyvanka shirts to complement the performers onstage.
“We want to support our culture and our country,” said Julie K., a Redwood City resident who fled when the war with Russia began, also on the 24th day of the month, in February 2022. As a little girl in a crown of flowers bravely belted out a traditional Ukrainian song to start the show, Julie stood with her husband and their 7-year-old son, both named Vladimir and both wearing vyshyvankas.
“In a couple of minutes,” she said. “I will start to cry.”
The fact that Ukrainian Day in San Francisco fell on Ukrainian Independence Day, combined with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attacks on their homeland, hung as heavy as the fog on the performers, who were determined to show strength and resilience and even joy in the face of it all.
“They said Ukraine wouldn’t stand for two weeks, and here we are still fighting,” Bevziuk said of the 3.5-year-old invasion as she waited to perform. “Every Ukrainian has a lot of emotions and is proud that we’re still standing and putting up a good fight.”
Ukrainian Day was sponsored by the Ukrainian-American Coordinating Council in cooperation with the Ukrainian Heritage Club of Northern California and the Northern California branch of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America. Everyone gathered was in the spirit, including the 30 members of the Golden Gate Park Band, which has been putting on an annual concert for the Ukrainian community since 1964, when Mayor John Shelley introduced it. The brass band supplied backup to the electric and taped music supplied by the performance troupes.
“We are all honorary Ukrainians today,” said Mark Nemoyten, the band’s music director.
The concert ended with the national chant “Slava Ukraini,” which translates to “Glory to Ukraine.”
The Soviet Union was not formally dissolved until Dec. 26, 1991, but Aug. 24, when more than 90% of Ukraine’s citizens voted by referendum to declare it an independent state, is the date that counts.
“It’s like July 4 meaning so much to Americans,” said Melanie McCutchan of the Women’s League. “Given the horrible struggle that Ukraine is going through to defend itself, coming together as a community is deeply meaningful and helps give us strength to maintain hope.”
Oleksandra Bobrychenko, 29, of Mountain View is too young to remember the vote for independence, but she knows what it stood for and that every aspect of Ukrainian life is under attack and at risk. That is why she is the choreographer of the dance troupe Leleka.
“Even during the war when it is hard to celebrate anything, we want people to know who we are and to share our history,” she said before the performance. “The language and the culture are the main reasons we want to save an independent Ukraine. Language and culture and history are more important than territory.”
MYSTERIOUS 'GHOST SHIP' LURKS OFF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. WHAT HAPPENED TO MISSING CAPTAIN?
by Salvador Hernandez
Joel Kawahara's fishing boat, the Karolee, traveled down the coast from Washington toward California waters, keeping a steady course that offered no hint that something had gone terribly wrong.
But when Coast Guard crews boarded the boat this month in Northern California, officials found no one on board. Its captain was nowhere to be seen. Somewhere along the roughly 400-mile journey, the 70-year-old Kawahara was lost.
"It's a strange case," said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Steven Strohmaier. "There were no signs of distress, no signs of debris."
On the Karolee, the fishing gear was set up on the deck. A half-finished cup of coffee was found sitting at the helm, and Kawahara's oatmeal was left unfinished, as if the experienced fisherman suddenly disappeared in the middle of breakfast, said Heather Burns, a longtime friend.
His life jacket, she said, was found hanging in the boat.
Kawahara's friends suspect "a freak occurrence" may have tossed him overboard somewhere out at sea.
Born in Seattle, Kawahara was a professional fisherman who focused on salmon, albacore tuna and halibut. But friends and colleagues said Kawahara was a passionate advocate for fish and conservancy, fighting to maintain safe and healthy habitats for fish.
Burns said Kawahara was a loyal and dependable friend who "would do anything for the people he loved."
As a fisherman and advocate he worked to protect the waters, the fish, and the fishermen that he dedicated so much time to.
"He wasn't there for anybody but the fish," Burns said in regard to his advocacy work. "To him, everything tied back to salmon."
Kawahara was a board member of Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, president of the Coastal Trollers Assn. and member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Ken Kawahara said his brother was always drawn toward fishing and the sea.
Their father owned a boat and a fishing tackle store in Seattle when they were growing up, and would spend some summers going out to do commercial fishing.
Kawahara — one of three sons — seemed to find a calling in fishing, his brother said.
"My dad got the impression that Joel was not going to do anything else," Ken Kawahara said. "He just wanted to bum around and fish."
At one point, he said, their father sold their boat in the hope that Kawahara wouldn't spend all his time fishing.
His brother eventually went to college, earned a degree and began working for Boeing, Ken Kawahara said.
But he said Kawahara didn't like his Boeing job, which dealt with military work that clashed with his personal philosophy. As soon as he was able to save up enough money, he bought a fishing boat. He quit his job. He returned to fishing.
"He just wanted to go back to fishing," Ken Kawahara said.
For years, friends and family said, Kawahara worked doing what he loved, earning the respect of colleagues along the West Coast and fishing grounds up to Alaska. When he went missing this month, members of the commercial fishing community came together, hoping to find answers.
On social media, friends and colleagues looked for information on the Karolee, hoping he was still on board and something had just kept him from answering calls and messages.
The Coast Guard searched for more than 18 hours looking for signs of the missing man, the agency said in a statement, but suspended its search Aug. 13 after finding no trace of Kawahara.
Strohmaier said the Coast Guard would not be the agency to investigate how Kawahara went missing, and there's no indication that another law enforcement agency is looking into the incident.
Friends and members of the fishing community along the West Coast and in Alaska are mourning the loss of Kawahara, whom they described as an experienced, meticulous fisherman.
"He was one of the smartest people I ever met," said Jeremy Brown, a fellow fisherman who knew Kawahara for 35 years. "He's just incredibly open, lively and intellectually curious."
Burns, who was taking care of Kawahara's home and cats in Quilcene, Wash., while he was fishing, said she knew something had gone awry when on Aug. 11 she was unable to get ahold of Kawahara via text or his satellite phone.
The two didn't have an official protocol for when he went fishing alone, she said, but would maintain contact every couple of days.
Aug. 11 marked four days since she had heard from her friend, she said, and when she reached out to mutual acquaintances that weekend, she added, no one had heard from him for days.
That's when she began to worry, Burns said.
Only small clues suggest what might have happened on board the Karolee, friends said.
Kawahara had planned to fish for tuna near Oregon, Brown said, and then planned to fish for salmon.
But according to the Coast Guard, the Karolee had maintained a constant southerly course for several days, keeping at four knots. The boat's automatic identification system, according to the Coast Guard, was functioning and showed no signs that anything was wrong.
Brown said that steady course is what alarmed friends and colleagues.
"Everything was consistent, except that the boat kept going and crossed the salmon grounds," Brown said, indicating he never stopped to fish for salmon. "He didn't call, he didn't radio. When we looked at where his transponder was, he was already down in Oregon. At that point, it was obvious something was badly wrong."
Coast Guard crews made several attempts to contact Kawahara via radio calls to the Karolee and asked other ships and boats in the area to do the same, but no one received an answer, according to the agency.
On Aug. 12, a Coast Guard C-27 fixed-wing plane crew from Sacramento made visual contact with the Karolee, noticing that it had been rigged for fishing, its lights were on and a raft was on its cradle but officials said the crew "did not find any signs of distress."
The boat continued on its course, and the Coast Guard dispatched an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Astoria to search the area west of Grays Harbor, Wash., but made no findings.
Crews searched the boat's path, officials said, with similar results.
On the morning of Aug. 13, the Coast Guard boarded the boat near Northern California and confirmed no one was on board. Its safety equipment, officials noted, was still on board.
The same day, the Karolee was towed to Eureka, then docked in Humboldt Bay, according to the Coast Guard.
"Our crews diligently searched hundreds of miles," said Cmdr. Chelsey Stroud, search-and-rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard's Northwest District. "We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the missing man."
The only clues as to what may have happened, Burns said, are the last messages Kawahara sent to friends the morning of Aug. 8, the day friends believe he may have somehow fallen overboard.
In a text message early that morning, Kawahara told Burns he had awakened to a foggy morning, and he was watching a group of murres, black and white sea birds, fishing near him.
"All of a sudden this whale comes up and boils the water less than 50 yards ahead of me," Kawahara texted Burns just before 7:30 a.m. "I slowed down and turned but boy it was kind of close. The good news is lots to eat for whale and birds."
Half an hour later, he texted another person he knew to be fishing in the same region.
Then nothing.
Something, Brown said, must have tossed Kawahara off his boat.
Fishing alone out at sea is not recommended, but Brown said it's a common practice, especially among experienced fishermen.
"It must have been a really freak occurrence," Brown said.
Friends and family say they will hold memorials to Kawahara in Quilcine and Seattle at some point.
"People dwell on the dangers, and yes, they're there," Brown said, adding that there are risks in a normal, daily car commute. "But compared to commuting on the freeway, I think we get the better part of the deal."
SALAM EGYPT
by Michael Nolan
I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I was very young. I always knew I'd go there sometime in my life but now, at age 60, most of my life had passed and the Muzzies had just blown tourism out of Algeria and after our 9/11 trauma and the unrest in the Arab/Muslim world it looked to me that it was now or never. A friend of a friend had a son teaching at the American University of Cairo and I wrote to him to ask for a suggestion about how to start. Pete Dohrenwend responded that his roommate was away and his room was available in their apartment in the El Maadi district. Thus encouraged, I flew to Cairo.
Pete was teaching in Cairo both as an adventure and as a way of helping our two cultures be happier together. In a just world, guys like Pete — unassuming, idealistic, mid-western good guys are heroes. He told me early in the morning "Here are the keys. Be sure to lock up". And he was gone to work.
I went down to my First Egyptian Street. El Maadi is a pleasant international-feeling neighborhood of restaurants, cell phone salesrooms, clothing stores and the like, which could be anywhere. An excellent and very cheap bakery made my morning. There was a taxi rank on the corner so I started conversations with the cabbies to learn who could best speak "comprehensible-to-me-English". And got very lucky. Ali told me that tomorrow he would take me to the Pyramids, show me the Cairo area for the day and bring me back to this corner. His price was reasonable so I agreed to be at the cab stand at dawn. I was there. And so was he. He asked if I had eaten and I said not yet. He went to a place where lots of other taxi drivers were eating and I got my delicious first Egyptian breakfast of fu'ul (slow cooked fava beans) hard-boiled egg and flatbread. He then drove to the western edge of Cairo where the city ends and the Pyramids are visible in the distance. Already the tour buses were heading that way. Ali (who I have come to believe understood me at some psychic level — we never talked about me or my preferences and yet see what follows…) said to me "Mr. Mike, would you like to visit the Pyramids another way? You could ride a horse there." I said that I had ridden horses and didn't enjoy horseback riding. Ali said, "have you ever ridden a camel, Mr. Mike?"
One mounts a kneeling camel easily and is lofted up much higher than a horse when the beast rises. The ride is wonderfully smooth-the horse bounces you up and down. The camel's walk makes for a pleasant back-and-forth movement. I am accompanied by a youth riding a small donkey and a boy walking, leading the camel at first until I am comfortable with it. The Pyramids are miles away. The day is Sahara Desert hot and dry. There is no wind. The dome of the sky shimmers above us. It is utterly silent. It could be 2,000 years ago — my favorite kind of travel: Time Travel. Heaven.
We circle far out into the desert so as to approach the Pyramids from the back. The only person in sight is an armed camel rider coming out to intercept us as we get close. My guide pays the baksheesh to the guard and we are allowed to ride on to the base of the Great Pyramid. I am in a dreamy high from the dust, the heat, the long camel ride, the endless silent desert, the vast mass of the Great Pyramid towering over us blocking out the world — Michael! This really happened. You got to collect a few chips off the Pyramid without seeing a single tourist. And I have the picture to record it.
Ali suggested that we go south along the Nile to see the Step Pyramid. I was eager since I've followed the development of the pyramid-grave idea as it was being worked out over the centuries and this was an earlier version. Well, I wasn't ready for the incredibly beautiful entrance to the Pyramid or that I would be the only visitor and able to go deep underground by myself into painted chambers endlessly opening around gloomy corners or the terrible fear I experienced down there. I was seized by a horrifying, claustrophobic, far-from-my-world, alone-in-the-wrong-place feeling and I ran for the surface and the bright, hot, life-giving Amon Ra in the sky. Oh, I got Egyptian religion at that moment!
After I calmed down and started to wander around, the uniformed armed guard of the place came along and in sign language offered to show me something interesting. And it was. A maybe 50-foot-deep shaft into a grave near the base of the pyramid, completely unprotected from someone falling to their death in it. We — big smiles — posed for a picture near the edge of the hole. Egypt was even better than I had imagined. The people were the reason.
I told Ali that I wanted to continue south up the Nile to the temples at Luxor and we agreed to meet when I got back to Cairo.
I purchased a ticket for the night sleeper train to Luxor. I like trains and this creaky old train was lovely — a private bedroom with a big window, swaying clackity clack through sleeping villages lit an eerie green by the neon crescent on the top of the minaret, dozing off clunkity clunk over the switches. At Luxor, I was the sole foreigner getting off the train in the pre-dawn grey silence. I see a hotel across the square. In the hotel — sleazy and dim, I woke up the dangerous-looking attendant, paid up, got a key, barricaded myself in the room and slept for 10 hours.
The Giza Pyramids are spectacular but you are on the outside. Those pyramids are simply geometric — their impact is their immense size and their location in an otherwise featureless desert. Here, in southern Egypt, the Temples of Karnak are roofless and open to walk around in and though the scale is also gigantic the experience is entirely different. These temples are on the banks of the Nile in a humid tropical-like atmosphere. They are immense — overwhelming, impossible. And really artful. That's what impressed me so much-that these statues, pylons, lintels and huge walls covered in perfectly carved hieroglyphs could be so artistically executed at this size. How do you carve a statue 60 feet tall with legs the size of tree trunks and have it be just perfect? You look up and see that the undersides of the lintels which span the pylons and have been concealed from the sun are painted with colorful designs still beautiful 3,000 years later.
I was very much in a tripping-trance in this place. The scale is so enormous compared to you that you are actually in an altered state of reality whether you wish to be or not. My Islamic-looking beard, dark tan and local clothing kept me uninteresting to the swarms of tourist predators which inhabit these famous places. I saw no independent travelers. Large groups of tourists — mostly from Spain, Italy or Russia — arriving by bus, were herded through the temples and told the stories and were hustled by guards, guides, guys. I got a ride across the Nile in a small boat to escape the action. I sat under a tree at the edge of a village and marveled at the view of the temples from there. As the day ended and the tourist traffic stopped, I went back across the river and wandered through the huge temples alone and undisturbed in the dusk. Nobody was there to stop me from walking way back beyond the tour route to an area of the temple complex which was closed because it was still under excavation.
This part of the temple complex was never finished — so it reveals how they built it — the stone blocks and the earthen ramps are still in place. I was thrilled. It felt like the construction crew was away for the weekend. Time Travel.
I could have gone over to the Valley of the Kings and seen the tomb of Ramses, Hatshepsut and Tutankhamen just an easy distance west, but I was unwilling to experience any more ancient Egypt. I wanted to snorkel in the Red Sea and to get lost in today Egypt.
I asked a taxi driver who had a bit of English how much he would charge to take me over to the Red Sea — quite a long distance. He gave me a price that I could afford but explained that it was impossible for us to go alone. We were required to make arrangements with the military for an escort across the desert. There had been attacks on tourists and the Egyptian government was anxious to avoid any more. After a couple of hours we were allowed to join a convoy going north to the city of Qena which, a soldier explained, was a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and therefore dangerous for me. From Qena I then had to traverse the desert east to the Sea. I was the only person — and my taxi was proceeded by a personnel carrier with six armed soldiers and followed by a jeep with a machine gun and four soldiers. It felt like I was in an action/adventure movie. At a checkpoint about halfway across we dropped the personnel carrier but retained the jeep crew all the way to Safaga, on the shore of the Red Sea, my destination.
I had no idea of what I was doing — I just went into the first hotel that I came to. It was full of Russians. I had forgotten that Russia has always been on good terms with Egypt so that Egypt was a cheap and easy vacation for Russian people. The price was right and there were no English sounds to break the far-away feeling.
In the morning I asked a dive shop where the best snorkeling was. He pointed to a spit of land sticking out into the Sea which formed the northern edge of the bay — Ras Abu Soma, several miles north of Safaga. I hired a taxi, for what I thought was too much money, to take me out there but it was much farther than it looked and his price was fair. (I was never cheated or bothered by any Egyptian.) The Ras was an empty treeless desert except for the streets of a development which hadn't happened but at the very tip was what looked like a mirage — the Sheraton Soma Bay Resort. I couldn't imagine being able to afford staying in such a place but after a bit of gentle haggling with the front desk I was granted a reasonable rate at this preposterous, incongruous hotel. Right on a lovely beach with a grand stairway flanked by large kitsch sphinxes on each side which led down to a giant swimming pool with many reclining persons attended by every indulgence of food and drink. The beach was completely empty.
I walked out past the deserted dive shop — where I borrowed fins — to an easy-entry reef, put on my mask and snorkel and got wet. It was a very fishy reef with several of the usual suspects and some animals that I had never seen before — like giant blue-lipped clams. I was completely alone — pure pleasure. It just amazed me that with the exotic Red Sea right there and a fine beach and terrific snorkeling that hundreds of people would be clustered on concrete paving around a chlorinated swimming pool. The buffets were cruise-ship lavish, I heard French, German, Italian and Spanish but no English.
The beach was littered with lovely shells for me to discover and bring home. But after a day of Disney-does-Egypt I needed some reality. I got a ride back to town from a hotel van going in to pick up a tour group. Found a minibus going down the coast to El Quseir.
The minibus is a shared taxi — a low-cost way to travel between cities. I watch what the other riders pay and do the same. There is no English spoken, no tourism here in this lonely and undeveloped coast far from the Nile.
When we arrive at El Quseir, a small size fishing port, the minibus goes through residential neighborhoods dropping off passengers at their homes. Finally, it is down to homeless me. I make the universal sign for eating and my own pantomime for fish and the driver smiles and shows me he knows what and where. He takes me to a simple, ramshackle seafood restaurant right on the water. He gets out and takes me inside and explains to the owner/cook that I am from Amrika and that I want his best fish dinner. Happiness all around.
The cook brings out two glistening fresh fishes for me to choose, grills my choice, adds a spicy vegetable stew and bread — no wine in this Muslim nation — I'm savoring that simple perfect meal again as I sit here. This was the Egypt that I was looking for. I walk to the inter-city taxi stand and ask Safaga? Safaga? A middle-class man says, "This is the right line". The first English I have heard — he could tell from my accent that I was an English speaker. The crowd was clearly surprised and pleased that an American was in line waiting for the bus. The most pressing question they asked me was about the threatened invasion of Iraq by Boosh. I assured them that it was only saber-rattling and that America was not stupid enough to actually invade Iraq. No doubt several dozen Egyptians still believe that a CIA misinformation agent was among them that day.
Next morning I headed up the coast to Hurghada, a popular dive destination, to find a way back to Cairo. I got in a shared taxi with five other men and headed off into the desert. Much talking and laughter — all in Arabic, of course — but as we approached a police checkpoint the men got much quieter and were clearly nervous about me being in the car. I hunkered down and looked as local as I could.
Didn't work. The police made me get out of the car and go into the police station. Once again, it was movie time only this wasn't a comedy. It was a nightmare scenario. Hot empty desert. Unpainted cinder-block fort. Barred windows. Very unsmiling police big black mustaches. They take me to a white-washed concrete room, empty except for a desk with a scary-looking official sitting behind it. He says in English, "You are not permitted to be here. You are not permitted to travel in a shared taxi. It is dangerous for you to travel this way. You will wait here until I can send you back to Hurghada."
I say, "I am in a car with five Egyptian men. I feel safe".
He says, "Go with God".
We get the hell out of there, congratulations all around, laughter resumes. Cairo next.
Cairo was not important in ancient Egypt — but it is the central city of the modern Arab world — which is kinda funny — Egyptians aren't really Arabs. They are Muslims and speak Arabic. I wanted to be in the souks, the old quarter, the traditional world that has been there for centuries so I wandered in the Khan-al-Khalili until I was hopelessly lost. I just loved the old mosques, the narrow crookedy streets, the dust, the chaos of sounds, the thousand things clamoring for my attention, the sun streaming down between awnings igniting the brass, the glass — oh, the glass! Thousands of perfume bottles in hundreds of fanciful shapes and colors — perfect gifts for Anne, Kathleen, Laura, Mardi, Teri and Francie. And me.
But what is a splendid perfume bottle without splendid perfume? I'm on a mission now. I see an elegant carved wood and stained glass entry to a perfume shop. It is full of burkas. A good sign. The owner sees my interest from the street and comes out to tell me now isn't a good time but if I come back in the morning he will have plenty of time for me. I arrive at Amber Perfume [still in business, excellent photos online] as he is opening next morning — he asks if I have had breakfast? I say not yet. He orders for us from a vendor who brings breakfast to him and other shop owners in the neighborhood every morning. It is, of course, fu'ul. Fava beans slow-cooked in a deep cylindrical copper pot. Delicious, nutritious, ubiquitous — the basic food. Some flatbread, some fruit, some tea and we're ready to do business. I figure this guy as honest — mainly because his shop was full of local women — so I ask him to show me his best stuff. He says Egyptian Red Musk is the place to start and other elements can be added. He selects several for me. I just pulled the stopper from a bottle and it wafted me right back into that time and place.
Next day is my last day in Egypt so Pete and his girlfriend want to give me a special treat. And was it ever. Late afternoon we went to the Nile River where they knew a man who would take us for a sail.
The boat was a traditional felucca. It was a heavy wooden ship about 10 meters long, beamy, lateen-rigged. An all-purpose cargo carrier in a design thousands of years old. I had a small sailboat long ago and have always found sailboats interesting. So I watched how the captain rigged up very avidly — never having seen lateen rigging except in pictures and curious about this ancient way of sailing. He noticed my interest and once we were underway and out in the middle of the river he gave over the helm to me. Incredibly sensual!
The great cloth sail tugging the heavy ship against the current of the Nile — one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
My flight out was late at night and there weren't going to be any cabs on the corner after 10pm. Ali said he would come and get me if I didn't mind that he brought his wife and son along because he didn't like to leave them alone at night. So they came as promised and we drove through the balmy Egyptian night to the airport. It was 9/11, 2002.
AFTERNOON ON A HILL
by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917)
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.
And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!
GUNTHER BACHMANN was a case hardened German espionage man who had made the weather in his day. In his worn but respectable suit, he was working the room conferring in undertones with a bureaucratic baron, shoulder-slapping old buddies from way back… Ask Bachmann about how his project had been in the making and if he knew you well enough he’d put on his bland smile and say, “25 fucking years,” which was one way or another how long he’d been laboring in the secret vineyards. Which of these men and women with their affable smiles and sideways glances would be his friend for the day, which an enemy? Which staff, or committee, or ministry, or religious persuasion, or political party owns their allegiance? Only a tiny handful to his knowledge had ever heard a bomb explode in anger, but in the long, silent war for the leadership of their service, they were also case-hardened veterans. That was another lecture Bachmann would have dearly loved to give to these swiftly risen managers of the post 911 boom market in intelligence and allied trades. Another Bachmann cantata that he kept on his sleeve for the day when he was invited back to Berlin was to warn them that however many of the latest spies’ wonder toys they had in their cupboard, however many magic codes they they broke and however many hot signals chatter they listened to, the brilliant deductions they pulled out of the ether regarding the enemy’s, organizational structure or lack of them. However many internecine fights they had, however many paid journalists were vying to trade their questionable gems of knowledge for planted tip-offs for something for the back pocket… In the end, it was the spurned imam, the love-crossed secret courier, the venal Pakistani defense scientist, the middle ranking Iranian military officer who’d been passed over for promotion, the lonely sleeper who can sleep alone no longer, who among them provide the hard base of incomplete knowledge without which all the rest is fodder for the truth vendors, ideologues and politipaths who ruin the Earth.
— John Le Carre, ‘A Most Wanted Man’
WORLD GROSSED OUT AS YUPPIE-CHATBOT MATING SURGES
It's a machine, you idiots.
by Matt Taibbi
From Ezra Klein in the New York Times:
“I seem to be having a very different experience with GPT-5, the newest iteration of OpenAI’s flagship model GPT-5 is the first A.I. system that feels like an actual assistant. This is the first A.I. model where I felt I could touch a world in which we have the always-on, always-helpful A.I. companion from the movie ‘Her’.”
Western governments have tried for years to introduce digital information-control concepts, from our own Department of Homeland Security’s “Resilience Framework” to Europe’s dizzying cloud of bureaucracies that now target “information pollution” where they once worried over threats to freedom of expression. These programs have often been met with resistance from poorer demographics, likely because they’re administered almost exclusively by upscale technocrats. In a next move so predictable that one cringes to think of it, a new sales pitch has been cooked up for your mechanized gatekeeping tool: It’s your friend!
Klein, who co-wrote a smash-hit bestseller about repackaging neoliberal politics in Abundance, goes further. He recognizes that A.I. is replacing search engines, which is “good for A.I. companies, but not a significant change to how civilization functions.” But search, he goes on, is just A.I.’s “gateway drug,” which can then lead you to “more complex queries and advice.” The wondrous possibilities:
Unless you’re desperate, insane, or a New York Times columnist, an A.I. absolutely cannot be any of those things. (Particularly not a lover. Eew, that last word shrieks off the page like a sick bat!) Unfortunately, we’re not far off from A.I. coming with skin, hair, and orifices, and Ezra writing, “My Surprising Bedroom Experience With ChatGPT.” This is the new con: “True, you’ve begun to reject tools like Google because their biases have become painfully visible, but what if you could fuck your search engine? Would that change your mind?”
All those Philip K. Dick novels and Pink Floyd albums that warned me as a kid against human-machine incest are paying off, as urban Northeastern intellectuals (my people, the disillusioned writer sighs) have hopped on another crazy hobby horse. After creepy authoritarian crusades against free speech, informed consent, even meat via the search for “sustainable protein,” the new come on in, the water’s warm clarion call tells people to stop worrying and love their machines, in some cases literally…
https://www.racket.news/p/world-grossed-out-as-yuppie-chatbot
ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY
Compulsive exerciser here, spending my retirement trying to stay ahead of Father Time. I started doing pushups when I was about 14 and you had to do them as part of the NYC PSAL tests to get a medal. I never had the frame for weight lifting and this has helped me keep decent upper body musculature and definition. Been doing them ever since and if done right they are the best compound exercise as they work arms, shoulders, back, core, abs, even legs if you hold yourself rigid. 50 every morning, 50 every afternoon, along with squats for legs and glutes and leg lifts for abs. My doctor knows and approves.
GHISLAINE ‘SPLAININ’
by James Kunstler
"Well, I mean, I'm talking about the — the — I had had, there was a…” —Ghislaine Maxwell
Did you happen to bother reading the transcript of Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview? It’s tough sledding at times — both Ms. Maxwell and Deputy AG Todd Blanche tend to speak in choppy, incomplete sentences (as does, you might have noticed, President Trump) — but altogether the confab reveals that just about everything you think you know about the scandal might not be so, and her story is full of shocking surprises, assuming you can believe her.
For instance, Ms. Maxwell had exactly one night of actual sex with Jeffrey Epstein back in the 1990s, a few months after they met, and that was it. He had problems with straight-up sex, she says. At first, he claimed to have a heart condition. She says he had erectile difficulty “…which meant that he didn't have intercourse a lot, which suited me fine, because I actually do have a medical condition, which precludes me having a lot of intercourse,” she added. (We never learn what that condition was, exactly.) Anyway, she never had sex with him again.
Huh? There goes one pillar of the public perception of the scandal: that Ghislaine Maxwell was a sort of nymphomaniac consort of Mr. Epstein, while supposedly acting as chief procurer of his masseuse “victims” and that the whole decades-long saga was a cavalcade of threesomes and orgies. She even claims at one point of being “a prude.”
So, what was her role in JE’s complicated life? Basically, a property manager, she says. You know, all those houses and compounds: the mansion on East 71st Street, the Palm Beach place, the ranch in New Mexico, Little St. James Island, a flat in Paris. It was a lot to manage. She had to hire architects, construction crews, interior decorators, servants. There were horses to care for at the ranch. It was a lot. She didn’t even have a key to JE’s New York City townhouse and was there only twice, she told Mr. Blanche.
During that time, JE had other girlfriends while in the early 2000s, Ms. Maxwell hooked up with the billionaire founder of Gateway Computers, Ted Waitt. He bought a big boat for them to start-up an oceanic research venture. The relationship foundered when, she says, a sketchy lawyer named Scott Rothstein, working for a crooked Florida law firm that was under a RICO investigation at the time, attempted to extract $10-million from Waitt to keep Ms. Maxwell’s name out of lawsuits brought by women claiming to be “victims” of Epstein’s massage shenanigans. Ms. Maxwell claims that Epstein’s masseuses, underage or otherwise, were recruited by the original masseuses, not by her (Ms. Maxwell).
Ms. Maxwell was out of Epstein’s life after 2009, when he got out of jail on state of Florida charges of soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution. This was preceded by a sketchy federal case brought in the Southern District of Florida that ended with a peculiar non-prosecution agreement — when US Attorney Alexander Acosta was told to lay off on account of Epstein being an “intel asset.” Ms. Maxwell states in the new deposition that JE was not associated with any intel agency, claiming it would have been in his nature to brag about it. It would help if FBI chief Kash Patel or CIA head John Ratcliffe could clarify that. They would surely know, one way or the other.
Of course, the heart of all the salacious chatter about Epstein is the claim that he worked for Israel’s Mossad intel agency, and that many eminent global persons were recorded having sex with underage masseuses in order to blackmail them (and, supposedly, allow nefarious hidden parties to control world political affairs.)
Ms. Maxwell maintains that this is not so. She says there were no hidden cameras in bedrooms or elsewhere in the many Epstein properties or airplanes, and that she would know because she hired the electricians who installed everything else in them. There were only the usual security cameras on front entrances and gates… except for the Palm Beach house where local police installed a camera in JE’s office to catch a thief who was stealing cash stashed there. (Turned out to be JE’s butler, who was fired.)
Another thread at the center of the Epstein rumor mill is the notorious Epstein client list — supposedly of notables alleged to have cavorted with Epstein’s masseuses. Ms. Maxwell claims there was no such list, that a fake list was concocted by attorney Brad Edwards who represented women claiming to be Epstein “victims” in the lawsuit connected with the $10-million Ted Waitt blackmail caper. The list was composed from notes supposedly made off a computer by that same Epstein butler, one Alfredo Rodriguez. When interviewed in 2007, Rodriguez failed to produce the so-called “black book.” In 2009, he offered to sell it to attorney Brad Edwards (representing various “victims”) for $50,000. In 2010, Rodriguez was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He died in 2015.
A lot of monkey business in all this, wouldn’t you say? Perhaps the most astounding point is Ms. Maxwell’s assertion that no government attorney (or any other official, including from the FBI) ever interviewed her, or even called her on the telephone, during all the years of legal wrangling that went on. Say, what…? How could that possibly be? Well, apparently it is so.
One has to wonder exactly how the case against Ghislaine Maxwell for “trafficking” girls back in the 1990s was finally brought in the notoriously corrupt Southern District of New York (federal court) on December 29, 2021. The lead prosecutor was Maurene Comey, daughter of you-know-who. Anything janky in this prosecution? You have seen enough jankiness in the New York courts, federal, state, and local, the past several years to destroy your confidence that they are in any way on-the-level. Just sayin’…
You are correct to observe that this hairball is a very complex, sometimes mystifying skein of stories, episodes, rumors, and, certainly, motives. The big takeaway, of course, is Ms. Maxwell’s repeated statements that Donald Trump was not involved in any salacious activity around Jeffrey Epstein, his properties, his airplanes, or anywhere else… and that he “acted like a gentleman” at all times. She even states that she “admires” the president for winning back the White House. Ghislaine Maxwell is rumored to be seeking a pardon from the president. We’ll have to stand by on that. But you also might consider the possibility that, as Mr. Trump has said, in this whole fantastic alleged scandal there is a whole lot less there there than many of us have been led to believe. Except that GM does not believe that JE took his own life. Neither does Mr. Trump. I guess we’ll have to stand by on that, too. In the meantime, read the goshdarn thing yourself. It’s riveting.
REAL QUOTE? or movie quote?
I ain’t draft dodging. I ain’t burning no flag. I ain’t running to Canada. I’m staying right here.
You want to send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5 more, but I ain’t going no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill other poor people.
If I want to die, I’ll die right here, right now, fightin’ you, if I want to die. You my enemy, not no Chinese, no Vietcong, no Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality.
Want me to go somewhere and fight for you? You won’t even stand up for me right here in America, for my rights and my religious beliefs. You won’t even stand up for me right here at home.
— Muhammad Ali
LEAD STORIES, TUESDAY'S NYT
Trump, in a Move With Little Precedent, Says He Is Firing a Fed Governor
20 Killed in Gaza Hospital Strikes. Netanyahu Claims ‘Tragic Mishap’
Abrego Garcia Detained Again After Government Signaled It Would Re-Deport Him
Trump Orders Major Expansion of National Guard’s Role in Law Enforcement
North Korea’s Glossy New Surface: Apps, Beaches and a Fake Starbucks
Kim Novak, 92, Finds a Defiant Life Has Its Own Rewards
I’VE LONG BEEN an advocate for holding Fed officials accountable, but anyone can see that for months now, President Trump has been scrambling for a pretext to intimidate or fire Chair Powell and Members of the Federal Reserve Board while blaming anyone but himself for how his failed economic policies are hurting Americans. The President and his Administration should not weaponize the Federal government to illegally fire independent Fed Board members. With regard to Trump’s desire to pack the Fed to get his way on monetary policy, replacing Cook probably won’t get him the bang for the buck he wants. Cook has another 12 years on her term as an FRB governor. Any replacement has a decade-long term that will survive the Trump presidency, and therefore Trump influence could wane pretty quickly as we move forward toward 2028. Finally, to add insult to injury for the anti-Trumpers, the New York State Appellate Court last week threw out the $515 million (interest added to original penalty) penalty against Trump. Judge Peter Moulton called the size of the penalty “troubling” and questioned if the law James had used to sue Trump had “morphed into something it was not meant to do.”
— Matt Taibbi
20 KILLED IN GAZA HOSPITAL STRIKES. NETANYAHU CITES ‘TRAGIC MISHAP.’
Five journalists, as well as medical workers, were among the dead at Nasser Hospital, where a second strike hit as ambulance crews were arriving. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would investigate.
by Isabel Kershmer, Aaron Boxerman & Ameera Harouda
Twenty people were reported killed in Gaza on Monday, among them medical workers and journalists, when two Israeli strikes hit a hospital in what Israel’s prime minister later described as a “tragic mishap.”
The Gaza health ministry, which provided the death toll, also said that dozens more people had been wounded. The five journalists had worked for media outlets including Reuters, The Associated Press and Al Jazeera, according to their employers.
The Israeli military said it had carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital, without saying what the target was. In a statement, the military said that it regretted “any harm to uninvolved individuals.”
Later in the day, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare statement of contrition about the strike.
“Israel deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza,” he said. “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians. The military authorities are conducting a thorough investigation. Our war is with Hamas terrorists. Our just goals are defeating Hamas and bringing our hostages home.”
The war in Gaza that began nearly two years ago has been one of the deadliest conflicts anywhere for journalists, with at least 192 killed since it began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The Israeli government has barred international journalists from entering Gaza to freely report throughout the war. That has left much of the world relying on Palestinian journalists — reporting amid bombardment and hunger — to understand the situation in Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry and hospital officials said that the first Israeli strike hit the fourth floor of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. It was followed by a second attack as ambulance crews arrived to retrieve the dead and wounded, the ministry said in a statement.
A live video feed from Al-Ghad TV, a pan-Arab broadcaster based in Cairo, captured the aftermath of a blast on the southeastern facade of Nasser hospital. The video, which was verified by The New York Times, showed emergency responders and others moving a white body bag on a staircase. Shortly after, a second strike is captured live on camera, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions as to whether its forces had conducted a “double tap” strike, meaning a double strike at the same location. Rights groups have deplored such attacks, which can put rescue workers and other civilians gathering to help the wounded in danger.
Another video shared by a witness on social media shows about a dozen bodies, covered in dust and blood and apparently lifeless, piled along a staircase between the third and fourth floors of Nasser Hospital. The footage, verified by The Times, also shows men in civilian clothes inspecting the bodies after the second strike.
Gaza’s Civil Defense rescue service said one of its crew had been killed and seven other crew members were injured.
Hamas, the Palestinian group which seized full control of Gaza in 2007, named the five killed journalists as Hussam al-Masri, Mohammed Salama, Mariam Dagga, Moaz Abu Taha and Ahmad Abu Aziz.
The Reuters news agency confirmed that Mr. al-Masri was a contractor for Reuters and said a second contractor, photographer Hatem Khaled, had been injured in the attack.
Reuters added in a statement that Mr. Abu Taha was a freelance journalist whose work had been occasionally published by the agency. Reuters said it was “devastated” to learn of the losses, adding that it was “seeking more information from Israeli authorities about these latest strikes.”
Al Jazeera said that Mr. Salama, a cameraman, was one of its journalists. The Qatari-owned channel, which has frequently clashed with Israel, accused the Israeli military of killing its reporters as part of a “systematic campaign to silence the truth.”
The online outlet Middle East Eye identified Mr. Abu Aziz as a contributor to “dozens of reports” since the Gaza war began in late 2023.
The Israeli military said in its statement that it “does not target journalists as such.”
The Associated Press said that Ms. Dagga, 33, was a visual-media journalist who had freelanced for the agency, as well as other news outlets, throughout the war in Gaza, which was set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The agency said it was “shocked and saddened to learn” of her death, along with several other journalists, and added that her 12-year-old son had been evacuated from Gaza earlier in the war.
The Associated Press added that Ms. Dagga “frequently based herself at Nasser Hospital, most recently reporting on doctors struggling to save children with no prior health issues who were wasting away from starvation.”
The Foreign Press Association in Israel, which represents journalists working for the international media in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, said the strikes hit an exterior staircase of the hospital where journalists frequently stationed themselves with their cameras, and that the strikes came with no warning. The association said in a statement that it was “outraged and in shock.”
Israel has argued in the past that it struck medical facilities and hospital compounds in Gaza because Hamas routinely uses them for military purposes. Hamas has denied these claims.
Mohammad Saqer, a Gaza health official at Nasser Hospital, said the first of the two strikes hit the fourth floor of a hospital building, prompting first-responders and medical workers to rush to the scene. The second strike came several minutes later, killing and wounding some of them, he said.
“We are trying to preserve this hospital,” Mr. Saqer said. He said, “If the Israelis think there’s been any violation here, they should talk to us, and we can solve the problem.”
“Instead, they’re bombing,” he said.
Ayat Al-Haj, the hospital’s public relations coordinator, described a scene of choking smoke and dust. “We couldn’t see anything,” she said in trembling voice, speaking by phone from her office after the strikes. “All we could hear were screams.”
(NY Times)
DNC LEADERS ARE PRETENDING THAT U.S. WEAPONS DON’T ENABLE THE SLAUGHTER IN GAZA
DNC Leaders Move To Block Arms Embargo Resolution As Youth Democrats Demand Action On Gaza.
by Norman Solomon
This week will go down in history as a time when the governing body of the Democratic Party had a chance to oppose the U.S. government’s arming of Israel. But with the first Democratic National Committee meeting in seven months getting underway on Monday, the DNC’s leadership is determined to derail a resolution calling for “an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel.”
Maneuvering to sidetrack that resolution, DNC Chair Ken Martin and all five vice chairs are sponsoring a counter-resolution that does little more than repeat the kind of hollow rhetoric that President Biden and Vice President Harris offered about Israel and Gaza last year.
Martin and the vice chairs “have aimed to blunt the power of the resolution on Gaza by introducing their own, watered-down resolution that stops far short of calling for an end to arms shipments to Israel,” my RootsAction colleague Sam Rosenthal points out. It’s an approach that helped to defeat the Democratic ticket last year, as polling clearly shows. Recycling it now is even more oblivious to the roar of public opinion.
But the half-dozen top DNC officers are eager to scuttle the arms-embargo resolution as fast as possible without having to vote on it themselves. If the Resolutions Committee rejects the resolution on Tuesday, as appears likely, it won’t get to the entire 448-member DNC for a vote.
That seems to explain the response from DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad a few days ago, when I asked whether she would cosponsor the arms-embargo resolution. “I haven’t decided,” she replied. “Will probably see how the [resolutions] committee votes and the discussion, and will make a real time decision.” Waiting to “see how the committee votes” is a way to stall until the resolution is no longer on the table.
A different but no less evasive response came from the most powerful DNC vice chair, Jane Kleeb, who is also the president of the ASDC association of state party chairs (“the only national party organization focused exclusively on the current and future needs of State Democratic Parties”). When I asked Kleeb whether she supported, opposed or was neutral about the arms-embargo resolution, she would only say: “I’ve sponsored a resolution on Gaza with other officers. I hope everyone comes to the table with agreed upon joint language.”
Martin and his allies have already tried – and failed – to drastically weaken the arms-embargo resolution. Its sponsor is a new DNC member, Allison Minnerly, a 26-year-old youth organizer in Central Florida. On her way to Minneapolis for the meeting, Minnerly told me that – while she wasn’t closed to the possibility of accepting amendments to her resolution – it must “keep the core message.”
The resolution’s core message – “an arms embargo and suspension of military aid to Israel” – is exactly what has provoked such strong opposition from the DNC leadership. In sharp contrast, the counter-resolution from party leaders doesn’t even slightly criticize Israel for its methodical large-scale killing of Palestinian people, now in its twenty-third horrendous month.
Just days ago, the Guardian reported that “figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database indicate five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza have been civilians, an extreme rate of slaughter rarely matched in recent decades of warfare.”
The official estimate of the carnage in Gaza – 60,000 direct deaths, including 18,500 children – is very likely a significant undercount. Meanwhile, by providing upwards of 69 percent of Israel’s arms imports, the United States has been making it all possible.
Chair Martin and three of the DNC vice chairs – Pennsylvania state representative Malcolm Kenyatta, attorney Reyna Walters-Morgan in North Carolina, and Nevada-based labor advocate Artie Blanco – did not respond to repeated requests for comment on whether or not they support the arms-embargo resolution.
Along with backing from all the vice chairs, Martin’s resolution got some outside help in the drafting process. “This resolution was crafted with the input of Democratic Majority for Israel, a group whose super PAC worked to oust former Representatives Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush,” The Nation reports. Naturally, DMFI has put out a press release denouncing the arms-embargo resolution.
More than ever, on the subject of Israel and Palestinian people, it’s DNC leadership versus a huge majority of Democrats nationwide. One poll after another this year has found that – in the words of a headline over a Brookings analysis this month – “support for Israel continues to deteriorate, especially among Democrats and young people.”
A Gallup poll in July found that only 8 percent of Democrats said they approved of Israel’s military action in Gaza. That poll lines up with the conclusions from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other (including Israeli) human rights organizations that have reported Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Minnerly’s resolution for suspending military aid has gained notable support from young Democratic leaders.
Midway through last week, the president of the official College Democrats of America organization (who is also a DNC member), Sunjay Muralitharan, tweeted: “As the National President of @CollegeDems I’m proud to co-sponsor the DNC Resolution calling for an arms embargo and explicit recognition of a Palestinian State. Young Americans have made their voices clear. A modern Democratic Party must stand against global injustice.”
On Friday, the leader of the official group High School Democrats of America put out a similar statement. “As National Chair of @hsdems, I represent American youth in the Democratic Party,” Zayed Kadir tweeted. “That’s why I’m proud to co-sponsor a DNC Resolution demanding an Arms Embargo and recognition of Palestine. The youth voice is clear. Our party must stand against injustice – at home and abroad.”
The top of the DNC power structure has exerted pressure on Minnerly to dilute or withdraw her resolution, but she has refused to be intimidated. When we spoke over the weekend, her tone was measured, emphatic and resolute. And in response to follow-up questions about her approach to organizing, she emphasized that “we don’t wait for change: we create it. It isn’t easy, but it’s worth fighting for policies and ideals that represent you.”
Minnerly added: “The reality is that not many folks know that resolutions can relate to policy. This experience has taught me – and many watching from the sidelines – that even within the party structure there is the ability to work towards the future we want as Democrats.”
But the counter-resolution from DNC leaders shows that they are continuing to drift into a sealed-off political galaxy, very far from where Democrats actually are now in the United States. Consider the responses this month when the Economist/YouGov Poll asked Democrats this question: “Do you think that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians?” Here are the results: Yes, 65 percent. No, 8 percent. “Not sure,” 27 percent.
Those numbers show that, on the subject of Israel and Gaza, the DNC’s officers are guilty of political malpractice – and actively complicit with what most Democrats in the nation see as genocide.
At the same time, to put it mildly, the party can hardly afford to further alienate its base.
The New York Times has just published an in-depth analysis of voter registration data, with stunning conclusions: “The Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls. Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections – and often by a lot. That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”
The possibility that the Democratic Party will actually climb out of the “deep political hole” is especially remote because its leaders – not only DNC Chair Martin but also Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries – are functioning as if navigating politics in some bygone era. As apologists for Israel, they’re doing major damage to Democratic prospects for next year’s midterm elections or defeating the Republican ticket in 2028.
Meanwhile, Israel continues with mass killing and genocide made possible by the U.S. government.
(Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, ‘War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine’ https://warmadeinvisible.com/, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.)
WHEN THE YEAR GROWS OLD
by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917)
I cannot but remember
When the year grows old--
October--November--
How she disliked the cold!
She used to watch the swallows
Go down across the sky,
And turn from the window
With a little sharp sigh.
And often when the brown leaves
Were brittle on the ground,
And the wind in the chimney
Made a melancholy sound,
She had a look about her
That I wish I could forget--
The look of a scared thing
Sitting in a net!
Oh, beautiful at nightfall
The soft spitting snow!
And beautiful the bare boughs
Rubbing to and fro!
But the roaring of the fire,
And the warmth of fur,
And the boiling of the kettle
Were beautiful to her!
I cannot but remember
When the year grows old--
October--November--
How she disliked the cold!
The quilt art!! Wow!!
DNC LEADERS ARE PRETENDING THAT U.S. WEAPONS DON’T ENABLE THE SLAUGHTER IN GAZA
Democraps just being what democraps have become…totally useless scum! I gave up on the SOBs over two decades ago, a bunch of lying rats who depend on donations from the “chosen ones” with their bagsful of money and overbearing sense of self-entitlement.
Well. George, if you’ll excuse me it’s time to dress for dinner. But it has been a pleasure having this debate with you and I trust you’ll be up for another round tomorrow; I’m sure there will be some contentious articles in tomorrow”s edition. Good evening. George, I hope you have a fine dinner and sleep well.
Hey Norman, here’s your problem with the vaunted DNC leadership, it’s all in this old movie and the even older book of the same title:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1978 American science fiction psychological horror film directed by Philip Kaufman, written by W. D. Richter, and starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy. It is based on the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. The novel was previously adapted into the 1956 film of the same name. The plot involves a San Francisco health inspector and his colleague who over the course of a few days discover that humans are being replaced by alien duplicates; each is a perfect biological clone of the person replaced, but devoid of empathy and humanity.
You can spot them because they lack empathy and are not susceptible to the contagion of someone else yawning: If they don’t yawn when you yawn at them then they’re not human.
I saw the prepping of the bookstore scene. Nimoy sitting on a chair studying a script outside a bookstore on street corner on Clement. I was across street standing by a rv. Sutherland exited that quickly and bumped into me slightly as he rushed by.
There are two things that we likely need to stop trying to separate: One is Jews and Israel, the other is Hamas and Gaza.
The Jews separated themselves from Israel centuries ago. Some migrated north and west; others south and west. Nobody forced them out. “Palestinians” may well be the population of Jews left behind, the poor ones, farmers.
Two thousand years ago the Romans killed those who didn’t run, and the Babylonians did the same long before that.
The Romans were trying to get rid of the Christians, not Jews per se. I suggest you read The Invention of the Jewish People, by Shlomo Sand. The Bible, particularly its “old testament” (Torah), is almost pure hokum, based on wishful thinking. The creation myth is about as dumb as it gets, describing a situation that would lead to a genetic dead end after the first generation of two people, with two male offspring, becoming one after one of the bros slaughtered his sibling. That’s why the nonsense is referred to as religious BELIEF. It’s wishful thinking, not reality.
There was no Jewish-Roman revolt in Judea, no Roman burning of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, no siege of Masada, no Jews being murdered or enslaved by Rome, and no Jews being exiled? Got it. Where in the Roman record around 70 CE were Christians mentioned as being a significant problem in Judea?
Whether they are Jewish or Israeli or Hamas or Palestinian, is irrelevant; if they lack empathy, they are not human. They’re aliens and ICE would be going after them and deport them in Elon’s Starships to save us if the ICE agents hadn’t already had their bodies snatched by aliens.
“We came here from a dying world. We drift through the universe, from planet to planet, pushed on by the solar winds. We adapt and we survive. The function of life is survival”: – Dr. David Kibner articulates the aliens’ perspective on their mission to spread to new worlds.
In War, empathy goes out the window and is replace with hate.
“A descent from panicked chaos to the hubris of conquest is consistent with themes found throughout Sit Walter Scott’s writing on warfare. He frequently depicted the chaotic reality and psychological toll of battle, contrasting it with the romantic ideal of chivalry. “
This was all Wikiwhatever could say about my search for the direct quote from Quinten Durward where he said (I paraphrase from memory): “First driven mad from fear they then went mad with victory and slaughtered them all, or would have, had not Quinton stopped the massacre…”
I wonder some tech billionaire doesn’t name his AI program Pangloss, from Candide, and provide some scripture chasing apps into the bargain…?
Read the “Art Of War”. References to the power of hate are in there. The Israelis and Palestinians have mutual hate. The Ukrainians hate Putin. We have hated others, and others have hated us. There is no empathy when there is hate. What fundamentally drives war are clashes between different cultures, including faith. Money has little or nothing to do with it, except war is expensive and wealth is needed to conduct war.
Sun Tzu’s American publisher says:,“More businessmen than generals read his book.”
And didn’t Leonard Cohen claim “I’m the little Jew who wrote the Bible.” In his song The Future?
Sun Tzu’s book is a much shorter than Carl von Clausewitz’s, and says much of the somethings. There is much to learn for business, and life from both books. “Know your enemy, know yourself”. “Never take a position that you can not defend”. “Never engage in a war without the support of the sovereign”. “No country ever benefited from a prolonged war”. “Your actions that stimulate the emotions (hate) of your enemy are to your detriment”.
The cause and object of war is real estate, George. Hate is generated by the state and Fourth estate to fire up the forges and beat the plowshares into weapons. Germany didn’t invade Poland and Russian because he hated ‘em—psychopaths like Hitler hate everybody (like Harvey Reading equally) but those who kiss his ass—he wanted the natural resources and the nicer properties, like the current chief realtor.
I think my point was that using fiction, in this case science fiction, would be the only way you could start equating all Palestinians as Hamas and all Jews as Israelis, not that I m suggesting Finney was doing that in his story— but that’s what John Le Carre and Robert Ludlum were doing by calling their stories fiction. Not even Trump could be that open.
“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth”
— Albert Camus.
Le Carre and Ludlum merely changed the proper nouns to write their memoirs. Look how much more profitable that was! Brilliant!
Someone in the know who retired could write a Luclum-like fiction about Biden trading that basketball player in a Russian jail for the release of an notorious international arms dealer (remember Boot) so he could get those snazzy new ultralight hand gliders in to Gaza and get the Hamas shock troops over the wall, and other chapters would dovetail in the plot about a Fifth Column already operating the levers of the American Empire’s military industrial complex and press corps—and I’m not suggesting any of this scenario has any relation to fact—but if it did, he’d have to change the names of all the persons places and organizations, call it fiction and take in millions in royalties and movie rights —or suffer dire consequences.
Mark Twain got around this difficulty by keeping his truthful memoirs secret and unpublished until he’d been dead and buried a century, after which time nobody could get their feelings hurt because they too would have gone to their just reward. He ‘d made enough off his euphemistic autobiography to forgo the profits the honest one generated.
Eyster and Cubbison
What’s the deal with the potential recall of Mendocino District Attorney David Eyster? I’ve read all the stories over the last couple years and think he should be recalled but it’s all sort of a blur and I’d like some answers, to understand what really happened, from people who have paid attention to the details:
Did he break any laws?
What exactly did he say to the Board of Supervisors who then suspended Chemise Cubbison from her elected position?
Did he ask the board to suspend her?
Did the board unanimously go along with what he wanted? Why?
Were they afraid of him? Why?
Because they were all friends? Because he had been there longer than anyone else, had the institutional mojo, and was the top cop?
Is Eyster unequivocally the most powerful elected official, politician, in Mendocino County? If not him then who?
Did County Counsel weigh in on the suspension and what exactly did he say or recommend?
If the recall proceeds who would be named as the replacement District Attorney on the ballot?
Would it be professional suicide to go up against the incumbent DA, who ran unopposed last time? Why?
How much money has this cost the county so far to defend the Board of Supervisors actions suspending Cubbison?
How much more will be spent?
What is the current status of Cubbison’s civil suit against the county?
Is this one of those situations where life is just not fair and DA Eyster will not face any consequences for his actions?
Is this like Trump’s second impeachment where you know you’re not going to get him out but you have to try anyway?
What would be the five or ten talking points to illustrate the case against Eyster, which signature-gathers should understand in order to make potential signers/voters understand?
What could be the basic pitch against Eyster in twenty-five words?
What would be the basic pitch defending him?
Should the Board of Supervisors be the ones recalled? Why?
What has been the consequences of combining Treasurer with other financial offices?
What is Cubbison’s title now?
What other questions should be asked?
(More Eyster questions:
How many deals did he make with cannabis growers when they paid the county not to prosecute, thereby saving the growers and county expenses and complicated court procedures?
How much money was raised and where did it go?
How can anyone find out and does it matter?
How is Eyster doing, happy that he is the all-powerful elected official who can get another elected official suspended from her job, and knows he probably won’t face any consequences, or does he maybe feel bad about what he’s done?)
Reading the AVA I get the picture that Mendocino County government is very dysfunction, on many if not every level. Does that mean when the AVA goes away, government then becomes functional?
(To be fair, what does local government do WELL now?)
Paul,
“Reading the AVA I get the picture that Mendocino County government is very dysfunction, on many if not every level.”
I actually don’t think the AVA depicts County dysfunction at the line level, where direct services to the public occur. I perceive the AVA’s focus as at the BOS, CEO, and other upper management levels. My experience over 18 years at the County in Child Welfare was that staff at the line level worked hard, were really committed and dedicated to their public services, even (especially) while under-staffed. I think most other folks would agree to this view of the situation.
Okay, thanks for the clarification, from afar I lumped it all together, a 44 year Mendo resident though never interacted with the county, except driving 90 round trip miles to vote back in the day before mail-in ballots…
Line workers and most dept heads do a good job. Their criticism of the Supes and CEO’s office are much more withering than anything we’ve written.
Yes, Bruce, that’s the truth, could tell you stories about that. Though, off and on, the Dept. Heads were also the subject of such comments by line staff and unit supes…We had some good ones for sure, also some real duds who were arrogant and just plain mean.
Looking for a term that sums up Donald Trump, I found this definition, attributed to Aaron James.
Guess the word.
“A person, who is almost always male, who considers himself of much greater moral or social importance than everyone else; who allows himself to enjoy special advantages and does so systematically; who does this out of an entrenched sense of entitlement; and who is immunized by his sense of entitlement against the complaints of other people. He feels he is not to be questioned, and he is the one who is chiefly wronged.”
That fits the man well, Jim. My crude guess: “Asshole.”
Yep. It fits so nicely. And those around the big table today applauding the asshole’s ideas one after another.