IN RE THE SKRIPAL CASE

A short, sweet primer for those of you just learning the importance of journalism and minding your civic duties (that is, knowing what the government is up to), or maybe just renewing your earnest concern after a spell of jadedness and cynicism (#TrumpLoeil, anyone?): Whenever you hear talk or read news (usually the latter) about diplomats being "expelled from the U.S." (almost always, a sitting president makes the announcement), it means that agencies such as the CIA (the "ma'ams" and "sirs" in suits as far as active duty personnel for example do jibber-jabber) have already flagged in a particular way key embassy personnel or persons of interest (foreign nationals, of course) associated with a given consulate, and want those people (seldom if ever mentioned by name, but mentioned as existing in the news - there are solid security reasons for this - trust and believe) removed from the U.S. ENTIRELY for their own physical safety*; these persons are often extremely valuable to the national security apparatus, among other more base concerns, and are often friends of the operatives whose day-to-day jobs include, let's face it, honestly making the world a better place.

So, the people being expelled aren't exactly being punished, nor is some pajandrum-lite, scolding statement being made by the POTUS. And for those of us used to how messy the ways our quotidian civilian existences run themselves, this is often a fine set-up for the men and women involved, most of whom believe in and strive for great things in this world, such as comity, fairness, and harmonious coexistence among the U.S. and other countries of the world!

(I do, above, put a high gloss on an actual world that is truly fraught sometimes, and there are bad hombres who can be rounded up and so "expelled" for our sake rather than theirs, but come on... Right? These are all pretty intelligent, professional, non-fruity people I'm writing about, so forget that  horrible LETHAL WEAPON II dude from the S. African embassy in Los Angeles... It's not that sort of Hollywood vibe, dig?)

*Yeah, I know, technically an embassy is foreign soil and these people have diplomatic immunity, but also (heh, Madamoiselle Thomas, when it comes to sad phrasing in colloquial English, but I digress...) the "better safe than sorry" rule so often employed by government doubtless will apply in these expulsion cases... Please bear with those who know us as their charges to keep on this tip, as they typically know their jobs and can be trusted, at the very least to be of the agencies employing them!

PS Yo, Leah, you're so fucking lame, you'd think it was called The Square, not THE PENTAGON! LOSER! (Whee! I could have picked on you in junior high! Think about all the trauma and process and therapy!)

Whom I Call By The Name "Arthur"

In 2009, I was in dire straights - homeless, and being mistreated by the unlikeliest (in terms of likelihood of existence) group of people. I was having a hard time at building 80 in General Hospital one appointment, and just then, I had a vision of one little man with a handheld machine that looked like a bullhorn; he was cavorting or tumbling, and then became three of himself...

In late Spring, early Summer last year, I saw the same man. I was looking out my kitchen window, and almost always, something catches my eye. Or somebody - drivers passing by, government-looking types raiding for boxes of paperwork, the lovely V. doing her weekly inspection, et alia. This was in May or June, perhaps, and I saw the juvenile delinquent/altar girl/Infanta Concepcion-get-a-mantilla-I-hear-voices-worse-than-Laura Branigan's Gloria... I remember, clear as day, she had a sullen little attitude and was driving their golf cart around; on the passenger side sat the little man: Caucasian (perhaps luso-brasiliano or Portuguese American by his aspect?), dark haired, afflicted with achondroplasia dwarfism... He seemed to be panicking, gesturing wildly. And surely, the ride looked perilous for him...

I don't know why I mention it. For years I've been treated less than understandably often times when I hear voices, react to people who aren't there, et cetera... I've faced hostility, anger, judgement, cruelty, intimidation from those who more or less would protest they themselves ARE there... But anyway...

I've always wanted to find this little man, because no matter how much of a scalliwag some might think him, I know I'd just want to eat him up like he was a candy bar, EL-OH-EL, as it were...

Whatever, I'm funny in lots of ways: the Sal Mineo/my-house-is-backwards-on-bottoms-land-and-I-wear-hankies-out-my-left-back-pocket funny, as well as odd...

RIP Edwin Mah Lee

...Formerly of Seattle's Beacon Hill, lately "Interim" Mayor of San Francisco. Passed at age 60 (even his bff Rose Pak left the earthly plane at 68 - Lee is too young!) [ed: correction: Mayor Lee was 65.] No matter what differences I and many of my friends had with the man, I am jarred and saddened by his death, and I offer my condolences to his family and intimates...

(It goes without saying that Lee's demise leaves a tempting vacuum in which, for many of the new San Francisco economy, yet another "statement" to the rest of us ought to be made...)

pop*pop***Firecrackers!***pop*pop

What Seems To Be The Problem

Ward 86 (HIV) clinic
(Mark Zuckerberg, San Francisco General Hospital...)

Also, lots of examples of people pranking, doing me and my family and loved ones wrong...

Who would have the power to do this?

What evidence to I have? (Duh...)

Why would there be a conspiracy to do me this magnitude of wrong?

I'm stably housed...

My history of activism...

I'm pretty and talented...

My values are at odds with the system's...

Kamala Harris said "...investigate gang-stalking in California..."

++++++++

Begging for assistance with housing... Especially because we're over the County line -- a trip with the Glenn programs that offer assistance; also, much of the ask going to demolition and removal costs...

Sites Reservoir Project

Well, I haven't really talked to any of my old school chums about it (many of whom, of course, are probably finding their lives HUGELY about the project -- and some of those may even welcome the distraction from their quotidian, mundane dramas, LOL!), but as it is, through January 2018, according to one schedule, engineering feasibility will continue to be the main thrust of any conversations about the Sites Reservoir and the niceties and conceivable horrors of the undertaking, engineering-wise....

Well, I too am del Norte (mainly), and though much of my online time is spent all around the world, I'm living (for now) solidly 4.5 miles from the Glenn/Colusa County line (and may end up back in San Francisco in a few months....) Not only are there going to be perennial environmental roadblocks (as there should be -- naysayers along the lines of John Muir, as such), but Sites is an historical area -- there was enough of a hassle, Laughing Lady Thalia, when the briefly re-opened quarry (origin IIRC of the stone from which San Francisco's Ferry Building was cobbled together) had to shut down as a consequence of destroying significantly historical stone building that had once been a stop on the Pony Express, just outside of Sites... But this paragraph was meant mainly as a selfish, off-the-cuff, 3AM digression...

Anyway, here is a list of Web sites one needs to familiarize oneself with before going all Monorail Salesman at the Springfield we call Maxwell, California, during a meeting at the old Well's Fargo near Caldwell's gas station and mini-mart (Highway 99, and railroad tracks -- can't miss it! Only a minute off I-5):

- https://www.sitesproject.org/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sites_Reservoir
- http://www.kcra.com/article/5-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-sites-reservoir/8593792
- www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article143202309.html
(To assist those who are gimlet eyed vis-a-vis the press: KCRA is now a Hearst affair, and no longer Kelly broadcasting, but maintains that old Sacramento conservatism; The Bee remains in the McClatchy stable, and browses in familiar pastures ever so conventionally...)
- www.norcalwater.org/efficient-water-management/surface-storage/
- http://www.water.ca.gov/storage/docs/NODOS%20Project%20Docs/Project%20Map&Features.pdf
(Nuts-and-bolts, and no hurtful brass tacks: It is clear just driving from Maxwell to Lodoga, through Sites, that several dams would be required to establish any proposed reservoir... I had some pics on my Amazon cloud but can not at the moment retrieve them -- what matters such in this day of Google Street View?)

ALTERNATE SEARCH TERM: North of the Delta Off Stream Storage

IN THE INTERESTS OF ETHICAL BLOGGING: I personally am in favor of the project, and know that this reservoir is necessary to the continued stability and viability, ultimately, of the world economy itself, to put it flatly -- I can support my thesis well enough in a rumble and/or bar fight. I do qualify my support of going ahead past the feasibility stage with an express desire to see some road -- the highway bridge through the Florida Keys comes to mind -- maintained from that I-5 exit to the Grade...

IN CASE YOU THINK I'M FLIGHTILY PERPETRATING IN AVOIDING IMPORTANT-TO-YOU STUFF: I shall make time to find out about this affidavit I must sign at the SF superior court -- my fellow San Franciscan's sworn testimony is most definitely mine, as well, I'm sure, but the law works the way it does, and I AM poverty-stricken, at that (HELLO, RIGHT? All those long faces at St. Anthony's dining hall earlier this Spring... GRR!) And of course, the awful diamond pendant I sold to Maxferd's (a harrowing story or several, I'm sure)... I will be following up!

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Whither Then, Twitterer? To Tweet - TOOT SWEET!

Summer's No Bummer, You Lana Del Rey Creeps!

[PREFACE: Subtle reminder that East Park is currently in the bailiwick of local government.] The station at Stonyford: for more than just maps, firewood permits, ogling at -- SEXY!!! AHHH!!! --good-looking dudes in the Summer, and helping you get to Lett's Lake: (530) 963-3128 (I have no idea why the Indian Valley entrance to Mendocino and Upper Lake are with the USDA... Perhaps helpful forestry personnel can answer that, as well...) I myself am curious about the state of that certain, tiny native orchid one can find in the deep shadows of Snow Mountain -- doubtless its ups and downs have some correlation to climate change on Earth...

And anyone else remember the quake from last year, here in 95979? Just a jolt to me, originally from Richmond and a decades-long resident of San Francisco as I myself am, but many up here have never lived in the Bay Area -- must have been a new experience; if you're curious, check out the USGS Web site.

********

Wouldn't It Be Great If One Could Just Shut Me Down With Accusations of Meth-induced Paranoia?

Weird stuff still going on: AT&T cell calling 911 answered by who? Federal law enforcement?

...

Mom's been fucking with the freezers, ruined all of her ice cream last week; cubed chuck gone and replaced by OLD top sirloin from a store we've never been to (but I turned it into a nice meal anyway...); somebody still eating up my cell minutes; I think my brother and others are spying on the car via Onstar; somebody still stealing mail; Walmart has yet to compensate me adequately for bad meat...

...

I don't know who's giving lil ol' me grief: NSA? CIA? FBI?

...

Weirdness still going on at SF Zuckerberg General's Ward 86 (HIV) clinic; I go back on the 23rd for psychiatry. Must rejigger my medication regimen...

...

Matt Damon on The New World Order

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ACTION: #KillTheBill

Medicaid Country: Dawn In Rural America

Call 866-246-9371 and urge your Senator to REJECT the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which unfairly affects HIV-positive Medicaid recipients, and weakens consumer protections....

Of Approximately 4,100 I Once Was One

Unfortunately, TNDC saw fit after an expedited and highly dubious process to evict me October 22, 2014. My rent was always paid, there were no complaints, no inspections by City or County workers, and in fact, on the day I was to be exited, the Sheriff's department was nowhere to be seen -- instead, five Tenderloin Station uniformed sergeants were there to scream at me and keep their distance...

I'm not sure what is due me, but something must be. TNDC and Donald Falk broke every law known to man in the City and County of San Francisco regarding tenants and recipients of HUD low-income housing.

Most recently, I've discovered that there is an affidavit at the Grove St. courthouse that demands I sign it. Not sure what to do there...

********

Sorry about the big freak outs lately in regards to both Walmart and Zuckerberg General (where I have a psych appointment on the 5th; basically, using MySFHealth.org to check my labs is a joke -- and that's after the mere five-panel draw on April 20th by Jill-of-all-trades Ms. Kayleigh Bender and her 911 dispatch-pretend, Catch-Me-If-You-Can  Rebel Alliance-self: I have no idea if the Atripla has been working lately, although Dr. Havlir says my viral load is undetectable... But this is the same City where I was intentionally shot up with a huge batch of syphilis out of frustration on the part of those who did it, just because I was celibate at the time and couldn't have been a vector in some odd little plots and schemes... Anyway, feet flat, palms on thighs, back erect, mindful breathing...)

Here are some beautiful pics from the yard...

Blue trumpet-shaped flowers, native to Indian Valley

The last of the golden poppies

Pink oleander

Once again, the Doris Day, hybrid of the Tippi Hedrun and the Julie Newmar

********

More Shots of San Francisco From Last Week

A few snaps by yours truly and his trusty Kindle Fire...

City Hall

Fox Plaza

(Just a few years ago, a woman fell from the 17th floor and lived! True story! She was probably inebriated and there was an updraft... So goes the most agreeable theory.)

Saint Ignatius

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Father Young: "Aren't you a bit concerned that some might be put off by the frank nature of your renovation fundraising campaign?"

Six Pence None The Richer: "Did Charlemagne shit in the Black Forest?"

Trump L'oeil

Over a month in, and though I feel for the man himself, knowing he is not commensurate with the position, I can't help but wonder what's in that cheap-looking suit that doesn't turn around when boarding Air Force One, and is twelve times more expensive to transport than the former President Obama...

URGENT House Renovation Campaign - Gofundme...

...Or donations can be mailed to:  WILLIAM R WAY PO BOX 206 STONYFORD CA 95979

More Gay Bareback Breeding Tomorrow...

Why do people march on D.C.?
URGENT House Renovation Campaign - Venmo...

...Or donations can be mailed to:  WILLIAM R WAY PO BOX 206 STONYFORD CA 95979

Patriotism and Paranoia Sunday

January 15, 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

The United States Department of War (the Department of Defense after 1948) had long been headquartered in the Old Exeuctive Office Building east of the White House. During World War I, two 18-wing temporary office buildings ("tempos") were built on the north edge of the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The War Department occupied these buildings, as well as more than a dozen others throughout the D.C. area. In 1939, construction started on a new office building in Foggy Bottom. But as war in Europe loomed, the War Department felt it was too small. So the building was assigned to the Department of State.

As war approached in 1940, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson became deeply alarmed at how inefficient the situation was. In May 1941, he told President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the war could actually be lost if something wasn't done. Roosevelt pushed Democrats in Congress to act, and they did: In July congressional hearings, Democrats pushed the War Department for an "overall solution" to the department's space problem.

General Brehon Somervell, head of the War Department's construction office, was told to come up with a plan in five days. Somervell decided to keep costs low by seeking land close to the city but relatively undeveloped. This limited the site search to Arlington County, Virginia. To keep the use of steel low, the building could be no more than four stories tall, which meant it had to sprawl over a large area. This limited the possible sites two just two: the Department of Agriculture's Experimental Farm (now the eastern half of Arlington National Cemetery) and Washington-Hoover Airport (the newly-abandoned city airport just south of the Experimental Farm).

The Experimental Farm was chosed for the site. Since it had a roughly pentagonal shape, the War Department building was planned as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building would obstruct the view of Washington from Arlington Cemetery, President Roosevelt ordered that the building be built on the Washington-Hoover Airport site instead. The building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign would have been too costly.

On July 28, 1941, Congress authorized funding for the new building. An additional 287 acres of land (including the notorious Hell's Bottom neighborhood) around Washington-Hoover were acquired to fill out the site. Additional land was created by dredging a lagoon north of the site, and using the dredged material to create the new land. Contracts totaling $31.1 million ($506.4 million in 2017 inflation-adjusted dollars) were issued on September 11, and ground broken the same day.
Because the Pentagon was built on an uneven floodplain and newly-created (and unsettled) reclaimed land, its foundations had to be remarkably strong and extensive.. Two retaining walls were built and dredged material used to even out the site. 41,492 pressure-injected concrete footings 165 feet down were surmounted by stainless steel rebar cages. These pilings helped stabilize the ground and kept the building from sinking.

Architectural and structural design work for the Pentagon proceeded simultaneously with construction, which proved immensely costly but dramatically cut down construction time. Initial drawings were ready by early October 1941, and nearly all the design work complete by June 1942. Because racial segregation was the law in Virginia, the Pentagon had to have separate eating and bathroom facilities. Thus, there are dining rooms in the basement and top floors, and twice the number of toilets for a building its size. (President Roosevelt ordered racial segregation in the military ended in June 1941. Roosevelt discovered that it lasted in the Pentagon building, and ordered it ended there in February 1943.)

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Somervell demanded that at least one wing of the Pentagon be available for occupancy by April 1, 1942.

Construction was completed January 15, 1943. It had taken just 16 months, but cost a whopping $83 million (nearly triple the original estimate).
URGENT House Renovation Campaign - Venmo...

...Or donations can be mailed to:  WILLIAM R WAY PO BOX 206 STONYFORD CA 95979

Save Us, President von Munchausen!

I'm pretty sure that nothing can save (as it wants to be saved) today's military-industrial complex, which by the way has become the very abomination Eisenhower warned us about -- many of the up-and-coming young turks of "The Community" are keenly aware of this, even as old-guard factions grasp at straws or are in denial...  (And of course, the latter -- poor saps, how my heart kind of goes out to them, though I stand for so much that they typically hate -- would expect much from a presidency that basically jack-knifed coming out of the gate.)

"Forest and Contrail," November 2016

Sorrow

MAKE AMERICA DO IT AGAIN!

* WHO * DARKO *

2016

Shabu Madness II: Thrillah in Manila

I know I risk sounding like some Cebu Sally on her bomb-bearing moped, but...

Dear Philippines:  I have this hunch -- yes, just a hunch -- that instituting pogrom against people who use drugs (and let's face it:  isn't it always just against 'certain' people who use drugs?  But I digress...) is not going to turn out well for anybody.  Moreover, the least you could have done was run this policy proposal by, say, any archbishop.  Or fuck, even a nun...

(Also, could somebody please remind Duterte that Hitler was one of the most massive tweakers in history, slamming five times a day.  And in point of fact, his evil life did end due to Allies bombing his bunker -- no, smart-asses, not because his high was too good...)

Mr. President, you have no alibi!

BREAKING (My Political Hymen)

LEWINSKY REFUSES TO ENDORSE CLINTON

Monica Lewinsky released the following statement on Hillary Clinton's run for President:

"I will not vote for Hillary Clinton.  The last Clinton Presidency left a bad taste in my mouth.  As we get closer to November of this election year, citizens must remember that they cannot trust Hillary Clinton on jobs.  The last time she had a meaningful job, she outsourced it to me, and I blew it."