In Production: Documentary of Crimes Witnessed

I have to finish the video project. I know I'm only doing it for myself -- no one will help me or care about the victims.

I don't know what the consequences will be. The criminals could come after me and murder me -- again, no one will care.

I may even lose my job as a result of this and get evicted. It's too hard to finish this project if I'm homeless.

Technology keeps failing me.

The project evidence is as complete as it's going to get. All I have to do is put it together. Audio, Video, Photos, Emails and Transcripts are available.

Everyone will know the truth about the sex trafficking, kidnapping, rape and murders I witnessed.

Cops are complicit in these crimes and have assisted the criminals. City officals and departments have also gone along with criminal activity and are responsible for: the murder of Irma Huerta Lopez, the sexual assault of Celeste Guap, and complicit in the murder of Tatiana Sunshine Dugger.

The victims have not been found or identified (yet). I have more evidence awaiting lab results. It's taken too long. I'm not going to wait anymore.

The criminals can't hide.

#rape #kidnapping #crime #sextrafficking #murder #sanfrancisco #chinatown #oakland #montclair

Spirit of the Night

Last night I took the cable car from work.

It was foggy and in the distance Coit Tower was shrouded in mist. I felt the droplets of moisture on my sandaled feet, wondering if I could stand the dreary winter that awaited me in San Francisco.

Finally, loaded with tourists, the cable car started its noisy and rickety travel through the streets, following the Powell/Mason route. Every once in a while the car would stop at an intersection and I made a mental note about how to get off if I needed to.

Two men (always men, never women) ran the car -- one to control the cable car, another acting as conductor and to signal stops and go-aheads. The fare for one-way was $7.00 but I had my Clipper card which was scanned by the conductor.

Foreigners in the cable car from other countries spoke in their own language (I guessed from Europe or maybe Scandinavia somewhere). A couple next to me sat while the man told his girlfriend of all the places that had changed on the route since he last lived around North Beach area.

He pointed to a house guarded by a stone entryway with wooded steps leading up to the lofty residence. "I almost got a cottage there for $2,600." He said to her.

I suppose with the current rent situation that was considered cheap. My friend had a cottage in Cohasset for around $400. More than six times this rent, a similar space in North Beach, San Francisco was available, surrounded by "spectacular views". I don't think I could ever afford such a place and by the time I'm older (if I'm ever retired), it would probably go for $6,000 or more. I've already seen rent that high here.

Taking the cable car is a different experience than the bus or walking. I was sitting out in the open facing the side where one unfortunate slip could gravely injure me. I remember my Grandfather saying how treacherous the cable cars used to be back in his day when he worked in San Francisco.

"A woman was killed..." he said, "... ran over by the car. She didn't survive. Terrible, just terrible." Grandma heard this and shook her head.

On a lighter note, Grandpa told another story, about a friend who had some trouble with the cable car. The conductor told him to sign his name on the card -- and then (to his friend's shock), on the back of the card was a release note -- saying the cable car was not responsible for damages!

San Francisco has always been a shady town, grown up from gambling, prostitution and the false prospect of gold.

I nervously awaited my turn to get off -- what if the cable car didn't stop? But somehow I managed when the car stopped for other passengers to get on.

I walked along the street, seeing the tall skyscrapers covered in fog, obscuring the bright orange lights. Past Joice street I walked then had the urge to go down a deserted alleyway, surrounded by mist and shadows. I looked up into the night sky, watching foggy clouds brush by a full moon.

"So that was it," I thought, "It's the full moon calling out to me in the city shrouded by mist." I couldn't resist the urge to stay out all night. I wanted to, I really did. "Here I am in San Francisco, on this beautiful night, the last full moon of the summer and I'm throwing it away..." But sometimes you can't give in to what you want. I had just gotten over being sick and needed to conserve my energy.

I walked home.

Then suddenly, a black homeless man came out of the alleyway. I couldn't hear all he said as he mumbled a phrase (perhaps in another language?).

"The spirit," I heard him say at last, "It's the spirit..."

What he meant by that I'm not sure. Possibly it was the night, the spirit of the night.

Send in the Lions

Saturday, August 8th, 2015

"Nouvel an chinois 2015 Paris 13 danse du lion" by Myrabella - 
Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_danse_du_lion.jpg#/media/File:Nouvel_an_chinois_2015_Paris_13_danse_du_lion.jpg

Last night construction kept me up for most of the hours. The whole street was affected and I wondered how the bus would stop for its passengers on the street.

There were angry voices yelling in the alleyway. I think they too, the homeless rather, were kept up by the racket of the construction as well.

Then in the late morning, I heard the sound of crashing symbols, drums and firecrackers approaching. The lions were awake.

Every once in a while, lion dancers from various Kung Fu associations will go through the streets in front of businesses in Chinatown to bring good luck and chase out bad luck.

They had plenty of bad luck to chase out with all the terrible construction work that affected the businesses. I heard one Boba Tea place was giving discounts during the construction work to make up for the racket and lack of parking which in San Francisco, is already constricted.

The lions (2 people per costume) would dance, some would go in and then two check marks drawn in chalk would mark the entry way. Sometimes firecrackers would also be lit in front. My guess being those who had donated money to the association would be given this extra perk of extra good luck. Not all businesses opened their doors to the lions and not all had fireworks.

I'm not sure what the reason for this is or why these lion dancers continue to go about chasing away bad luck to bring in good luck but it's good advertising. All the tourists took pictures and were gathered around to watch the lions and see what was going on.

Saturdays are usually the most busy in Chinatown (and the loudest). Besides the lion dancers, there are sometimes Salvation Army marchers complete with uniform trumpet players, drums, flag wavers and much ceremony that closes the street while they parade around. Sometimes the police have to direct traffic around them, so I'm guessing this is planned ahead (hopefully).

Then there are also funeral processions that come out from North Beach/Little Italy through Chinatown and up back Kearny street.

In the Chinatown plaza there is traditional Chinese Opera, songs and skits performed by Chinese associations along with the Falun Gong protestors who quietly do their exercises, under their advertised signs of persecution from the Chinese Government (Chinese Communist Party) and its history of abuse. The Falun Gong practitioners also pass out flyers about the illegal organ harvesting done to Falun Gong prisoners and protestors in China. Illegal organ harvesting is another major concern around the world.

In the evenings at the plaza, line dancers take center stage for an hour or two and it's usually every night they do this. The music is lively and at times poignant and it's fun to watch though I haven't had the chance (or the guts) to take part in it.

There is also the sound of the traditional and folk Chinese music playing from various radios of the elderly and homeless as they sit to play Chinese Chess (象棋 Xiàngqí - Wikipedia). This picture isn't Chinatown San Francisco but was taken from Wikipedia.

By David Maximillian Waterman (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

They also gamble and I've seen (and heard) plenty of mah jong parlors around, especially on Ross and Spofford street. I may have already seen some of the famous Chinatown "members" who run these associations. Risque massage parlors with no price sheet, locked doors and "appointment only" signs still have their place here along with the past reputation of the brothels on Waverly Place in the mid-1800's (Wikipedia).

There are also Chinese Opera and music associations too and I've had the wonderful opportunity of walking past while they practice at night.

I am still looking for Dee's Pet Shop of Horrors in this Chinatown at night and I keep expecting to come across it, maybe on those particular alleyways I haven't walked on, those that look like dead ends but really aren't.

恐怖宠物店 (Pettoshoppu obu Horāzu)

Written by	Matsuri Akino
Published by	Asahi Sonorama

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/images/encyc/A2802-4.jpg

Matsuri Akino

Asahi Sonorama

Life is for the Birds

Instead of writing about myself today I'm going to write about birds, pigeons to be exact.

A Flock of Pigeons, Chinatown Plaza. Photo by Emerald A. Behrens 2015

There are a great number of pigeons in the city and many more in Chinatown, especially in the plaza. People sometimes feed them and I envy the bread birds get to eat (I have Celiac, so no bread for me). I also see bird seed scattered about, even though there are signs (in Chinese too) not to feed the birds.

Once in a great while I'll get a pigeon on my windowsill but I quickly scare them off because they poop everywhere and there are bird mites that come in that I have to kill. 

 

I'm not a great fan of pigeons, though I think they may be distantly related to mourning doves. The pigeons are loud as they flap their wings and coo early in the morning hours and are always roosting up top in their poop covered nests. I'm afraid I'll get pooped on, which is inevitable. 

 

It's a remarkable feat just to walk down the alleyway and not scare the fifty pigeons congregated there, or else it'll be a flurry of wings and flapping coming right toward my face.

Pigeons are also very dirty and since there hasn't been any rain or water, they have no place to bathe, so nearly all the pigeons look very grimy and oil-stained. 

 

Due to the drought, one pigeon I noticed in Japantown was so desperate for water, it was sticking its head into a hose opening and for a moment I thought it was stuck. Other pigeons are forced to drink from filthy puddles left over from people washing the sidewalks with soap and other harmful chemicals. 

 

I wonder how some pigeons can look clean enough to find a mate. Some of the pigeons I've seen are missing toes, which makes me wonder why. A couple of pigeons I saw had one leg merely a stump and could only limp to walk. I wonder that if the pigeons can't bathe, they are getting some debilitating foot/toe fungus. I also wonder about the chemicals they are exposed to that we humans are using.

With such dire conditions it's a wonder that the pigeons can mate at all and yet I see some, fighting against all odds, to mate and have their young.

Male pigeons, some filthy and some clean, pursue the females as they fan out their back tail feathers and puff out their necks. They circle the female, some more aggressively than others, and wait for a response. Usually, as far as I've seen, the females ignore them. They are either not interested or are taken by another male. As far as I know, females and male pigeons are monogamous and mate for life. I saw one male pigeon pursue a female until she flew up into a nest, where another male was roosting (presumably her mate), thus ultimately rejecting the male who went in search of another female.

The Lone Bird. Photo by Emerald A. Behrens 2015

I've only seen a couple of cases where the male and female pigeon get along. They do a courtship ritual where they follow each other, do a big of neck-grooming-nuzzling up and down then circle one another until the female sinks down and allows the male to mount her. Without this ritual, I don't think mating can occur, the male can't force the female to mate. It doesn't last very long though (I didn't time it) and the female flies off, leaving the male behind unless he follows her. I have no clue what happens after.

I assume there are various conditions that may affect how the female accepts the male, cleanliness being one of them. Pigeons have a natural sheen on their necks that is purple-green in color. If they are too dirty, this part becomes grimy. I haven't seen a male pigeon with a grimy neck performing a mating/pursuing ritual with females, it's likely the female would refuse him. 

So maybe the males know this? So they must have a sense of "cleanliness"? Birds are always grooming themselves to keep their feathers clean from dirt and mites. That being said, pigeons build their nests with poop I assume since their nests are covered in it, so they can't be that clean.

How does a female know that she should mate with a male? What factors tell her that he possesses the desirable traits of a life-long mate? Males must find food for the female while she sits on the eggs, so the female must guess if the male can provide for her based on his ability to find food, which means the male must not be scrawny but must be robust and healthy in appearance. 

 

Pigeons are extremely competitive for food. They will fight each other for it and prevent others from getting food. In a group they push together, crowing out those who can't get in. Although, from my observation, it makes those outcasts much more bolder and tolerant of humans in order to get their food. Pigeons as a group frighten easily but the solitary pigeon can weigh the risks more reasonably and not startle so easily. It is possible for the solitary pigeon to survive though it is hard to say what their chances for mating are.

Surviving in these unnatural elements requires the pigeons to be adaptable, so much so that they defy their own nature. It is not normal for pigeons to live with humans but they will tolerate a human enough for them to approach with food, even after being scared by children running after them time and time again.

Pigeons roost in the domain of humans: in buildings, on bridges, ledges and beams.

In the city there are few natural predators. Hawks are few and far between as they need large trees in order to roost and nest. I haven't noticed many feral cats in the city (a blessing!), or loose dogs. The biggest threat to pigeons is their environment: overcrowding, no water or food and disease. There are also power lines, cars, BART electric tracks and the odd window or two, that they break their necks on. I've seen a couple of dead pigeons with no sign of attack. Disease, environmental pollution of chemicals and ruined food, i.e. cigarette butts, garbage, and poison, are common threats. 

 

Yet, even in this harmful and unnatural environment, pigeons continue to live and are motivated enough to still find food, shelter and a mate. Even the rare, good-natured human shows them kindness (usually a homeless person) and for a short moment the different species co-exist against all odds, peacefully.

Though considered a nuisance to some (along with rats, cockroaches and bats), pigeons continue to exist alongside humans through their bird-brained knowledge, single-minded determination and lots of luck. They don't seem to suffer any trauma (unless they've forgotten it) and are remarkable lenient. 

 

I can't say that I would enjoy the life of a pigeon much, as I don't think they have great living conditions or live very long. But I do think I could learn a lot from them, especially how to survive in the city, in a bad environment with lots of overcrowding, without losing my mind.

* * *

Emerald Behrens, currently resides in San Francisco, where she writes about social injustice, homelessness and human frailty in general. She is a freelance writer, poet and author of "My Private Collection". She may be contacted at: emerarudo83 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Contents of blog and article subject to copyright. Not for use or copy without author's permission.

Bank of America Fails Again... How Big Banks Are Losing Touch With Their Customers

Inside Bank of America in Chinatown is an ad for "low car loan rates", the bank has a stand-up, interactive cardboard sign where customers can guess "What Kind of Car Are You?". According to StreetsBlogSF, Chinatown "has the city's lowest rate of car ownership". Too bad Bank of America didn't get the memo.

With only one teller helping over five customers in line, many of whom opt out of the Snap With Your App Check Deposit, frustration with the bank and its ignorance of customer service was high.

As I was standing, waiting to pay off my credit card and get some quarters for laundry, an older man gave a great big sigh behind me.

One bank woman got another woman from in back of the bank to help an elderly gentleman who had some sort of bank problem. Since they were talking in Chinese, I had no idea what the problem was but they were standing there for a good ten minutes or more.

An older woman who came into the bank, spoke in Chinese with the younger man at Bank of America who was greeting everyone at the door. I'm sure she was complaining about the long wait times in line. It turns out, this is an everyday occurrence and at this location (Grant Avenue), it wasn't much of an improvement from the other Bank of America branch just down the street (Stockton Street).

The median age for those living in Chinatown is 52-years-old (Realtor.com). Many of the people here do in-person banking and don't use their phones for banking deposits, online banking or appointments. Bank of America, instead of compensating for this particular demographic at its branches, is instead opting to exclude them.

The result? More frustrated elderly customers who will take their money elsewhere, to the many convenient Chinese banks in Chinatown.

Greeters at the banks encourage customers to use the ATM's to do their banking for deposits, instead of in-person with a teller.

I was told while I was waiting in line that I could deposit my money into an ATM.

"What happens if the ATM shreds my money and checks?" I asked. I had heard of this happening with other people at other locations.

"Oh, that won't happen." The Chinese bank woman assured me but instead I remained in line until five minutes later, I was still waiting in line for a deposit. I ended up leaving and making my deposit into Mechanics Bank instead.

Where Else Can You Go?

Credit Unions are another popular alternative. With the Huffington Post "Move Your Money" Campaign, many Americans moved their money from big conglomerate banks to local credit unions. I'm looking to do the same with SF Fire Credit Union, as they offer similar benefits like Bank of America without all the hassle. They even have a coin deposit machine with Coinstar, where customers get a receipt for deposit instead of dealing with paper rolls and penning in account numbers.

Credit Card Hassle

Suffering from credit card theft or having your credit card information stolen is bad enough but when banks (and employers) use this against you, that's just hitting below the belt. Did you know you have to state who your employer is on your credit card? They always check to make sure you're employed.

When I last checked my credit card information (due to a recent information theft), I was shocked to find BofA still had my old employer on my credit card... from 2010! They had never bothered to update this, even after I went in to tell them I moved, changed employers, student status, etc. There's not much communication between BofA and any of its products.

Have you been offered one of those super-high-interest-rates card with extra points and bonus offers? According to Bank of America's Terms and Conditions of BankAmericard Cash Rewards, you could be paying more APR, "Up to 29.99%, based on your creditworthiness.". Also, if you don't spend a lot of money, you may not get all the benefits. "You will earn base cash rewards of 1% for Net Purchases in excess of $1,500 in each quarter in the Bonus Categories." Forget trying to use your card at discount places, since BofA doesn't want poor people using this card. "... please note superstores, discount stores and warehouse clubs are not included in this list".

Doesn't really encourage you to get their credit card, does it? So basically, the card only rewards rich people who spend a bunch of money at high-end stores and gas-guzzling hummers (are people still driving those?).

Privacy Invasion

Mysterious phone calls are also a part of being a BofA customer, though how they get your phone number from the "Do-Not-Call-List" is another mystery. Even if you Opt-out of those offers Bank of America has, their subsidiaries and other companies can contact you--no matter what.

Bank of America Corporation website (https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/faq/privacy-choices-faq.go), Your Privacy Choices FAQ's, states:

• What is the five-year opt out language?

When you opt out of direct marketing by mail or telephone, your opt out(s) will last for five years, subject to applicable law. After that, you can choose to renew your opt out(s) for another five-year period.

• Does this five-year expiration apply also to opt outs from third party or affiliate sharing?
  

No, this applies only to the direct marketing opt out for mail or phone contacts.

On those pieces of paper they sometimes mail to you, your choices to Opt-out are limited and BofA still shares your information to others: credit bureaus, businesses, corporations, etc. They share your employment information, your social security number, your living address(es), past rental history, overdue bills and all the things you once thought were private. 

Bank of America Corporation, Set your Privacy Choices, states again:

The types of personal information we collect and share depend on the product or service you have with us.

This information can include:

• Social Security number and employment information

• account balances, transaction history and credit information

• assets and investment experience

Time For Change

If you see this happening at your bank, it's a sign of the times. Due to the 2008 financial crisis and loan fraud fiasco, many people are now skeptical of doing business with banks.

People lost their homes while big bank CEO's and financial advisors got billions of dollars in profits--and they're still getting them. After the bank bailout, courtesy of the U.S.A. government, banks are doing everything they can to keep their profits and as a result, customers are suffering.

Staff cuts, over-reliance on technology and the Online/App crap phase has hit its way into everyday transactions and has made both customers and bank workers very unhappy.

More and more, people are going without paper money or checks. You can even pay rent with a credit card now, though you may have to up your limit to several thousand for San Francisco's rent. RadPad boasts that customers can pay with a credit or debit card and RadPad will mail a paper check to the landlord. It also accepts Apple Pay.

Mobile phones are now used in place of check deposits, direct deposits, cash deposits and coin deposits. That's great for the techies but what if you don't use mobile phones for your banking due to: fraud, hacking, old phones, etc. What if something goes wrong with your phone? Do you really want to keep all that information in some information cloud?

Keeping diverse accounts in multiple banks may be a good idea, except when banks get bought over.

I was once with World Savings Bank, which offered great service, great interest rates and great perks. Then World Savings Bank became Wachovia, which then became Wells Fargo, which made me a very unhappy customer. I then moved my account to a local credit union.

How To Make Change

So, in short, there's not much you can do about Bank of America, Wells Fargo or any of its conglomerates who still hold America and its customers by a financial stranglehold. Many people are stuck with them for home, car and student loans. Some have family accounts that if broken may suffer penalties as a result.

What can you do? Make change! Remember all those tedious paper rolls I was talking about earlier? Use those for your pennies and deposit those into the bank instead of money, checks or direct deposit (assuming you have your main accounts at credit unions). Just keep that one BofA account going, for whatever trap they had put you in, and do the "My Two Cents" deposit until they add up.

Here's what I imagine would happen...

Lines of people around the block (this would be an organized protest on big banks), waiting to deposit their coins. "My Two Cents" would show banks that people want in-person service, respect for all their money and to make banks realize that other people, not just the billionaires, do business with them.

Even if the banks get a coin machine, there would only be one (due to banks' penny-pinching habits) and people would still have to line up to make their deposits.

Assuming people have time to do this (which the unemployed do), this can be done.

Just do the underpaid and overworked bank tellers a favor: put the account numbers on the coin rolls and fill out the deposit sheet properly. Oh, and don't wait for payday, better make it Tuesday instead.

* * *

Emerald Behrens, currently resides in San Francisco, where she writes about social injustice, homelessness and human frailty in general. She is a freelance writer, poet and author of "My Private Collection". She may be contacted at: emerarudo83 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Contents of blog and article subject to copyright. Not for use or copy without author's permission.