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OAKLAND / Suit alleges police did strip searches in public

San Francisco Chronicle
OAKLAND
Suit alleges police did strip searches in public

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, March 30, 2007

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In the latest of several suits over strip searches, seven men have filed a $5 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Oakland, saying officers conducted invasive and illegal strip searches of them in public.

In the suit filed Wednesdayin U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the plaintiffs said police officers pulled down their pants and exposed their genitalia or buttocks on the street during incidents from 2005 to 2007.

The searches allegedly occurred in public throughout the city, including along West MacArthur Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Way -- both major thoroughfares in West Oakland -- and near the intersections of 89th Avenue and Plymouth Street and of International Boulevard and 50th Avenue, according to the suit.

"Plaintiffs suffered severe and extreme emotional distress, fear, terror, anxiety, humiliation and loss of their sense of security, dignity and pride as United States citizens," the suit says. "Plaintiffs were illegally strip-searched by the defendant officers noted herein without any just provocation or probable cause."

Erica Harrold, spokeswoman for Oakland City Attorney John Russo, said the allegations "are very serious" and reserved further comment until city officials had a chance to review the complaint.

The suit was filed by Oakland civil rights attorneys John Burris and Michael Haddad, who have filed five other similar suits on behalf of eight other men.

"Oakland is the only police department of which we, and the OPD, are aware that has a written policy allowing officers to conduct strip searches on the street," Haddad said Thursday. "We contend that such searches are clearly unconstitutional."

"These humiliating searches are made worse" by the apparent singling out by police of African Americans that are searched, Haddad said. All but one of the plaintiffs in this suit are African American.

Burris said the practice "undermines the relationship" between police and the community. The suit was filed the same day that another suit was filed accusing Alameda County of illegally strip-searching youths at Juvenile Hall in San Leandro.

E-mail Henry Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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Don't Matter by Akon on Rhapsody: "Don't Matter




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Welcome to Rhapsody Online! To launch this music, click the button below:

Play Music "

I do Love me some Alec Baldwin, and a good laugh too...

NBC.com - 30 Rock



Welcome to a website of NBC Universal. (the "COMPANY").



Use this free service to send your friends, family and collegues personalized talking messages in the voice of ALEC BALDWIN.

Operation Hope Center, Fruitvale District Oakland, CA

OperationHope.org

HOPE Center, Oakland

3062 East 9th Street

Oakland, California 94601

Telephone: 510 535 6700

Facsimile: 510 535 6704

email: oakland@operationhope.org

Monday through Friday 9am - 7pm


Saturday 10am - 2pm


Sunday - Closed

Audio and Video Clips

		 
 	February 27, 2007 - CNN People You Should Know  January 19, 2007 - YGL Presentation of 'Dignity' Entropy Films is proud to present a two minute excerpt of their upcoming feature length documentary, "One," directed by Peter Bisanz. This two minute segment entitled "Dignity" was featured at the closing ceremony of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of DAVOS in 2007. The film is scheduled for release in late 2007, for more information please visit either of our websites at: www.onethedocumentary.com or www.entropyfilms.org. October 3, 2006 - Silver Rights Tour, Atlanta - Welcome by Ambassador Andrew Young May 10, 2006 - John Hope Bryant on BBC's Five Live May 3, 2006 - Anacostia Economic Summit - KidzOnline Interview with John Bryant May 3, 2006 - Anacostia Economic Summit General Sessions May 3, 2006 - Press Conference: Mayor Anthony Williams at the Anacostia Economic Summit March 24, 2006 - John Hope Bryant on CNN Headline News February 26, 2006 - Breaking the Chains of Financial Slavery February 3, 2006 - President William J. Clinton’s Public Service Announcements February 3, 2006 - Operation HOPE and the Clinton Foundation announce EITC partnership January 14, 2006 - John Bryant Honored at Suburban Human Relations Commission’s 38th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dinner December 22, 2005 - No More Katrinas November 27, 2005 - BET Television Network Presents: John Hope Bryant November 18, 2005 - Operation HOPE partners with Louisiana Governor October 4, 2005 - Operation HOPE & FEMA Announce “Project Restore HOPE” National Economic Recovery Initiative for Hurricane Victims October 4, 2005 - John Bryant on CNN American Morning September 14, 2005 - Statewide Conference on Housing and Economic Development April 12, 2005 - A Day of HOPE with Andrew Young March 14, 2004 - ICBA National Convention HOPE Center, Oakland 3062 East 9th Street Oakland, California 94601 Telephone: 510 535 6700 Facsimile: 510 535 6704 email: oakland@operationhope.org Monday through Friday 9am - 7pm Saturday 10am - 2pm Sunday - Closed

Home...

And now...I am home. Hmmm, mmm, mmm...

If home is truly where the heart is, I guess it does not matter much where we park our bodies from month to month. Just as long as it adds to our joy, we will be just fine.

Here are a few housing resources:

http://www.cceb.org/

http://www.edenir.org/housing_frameset.html

ECHO Housing
MCFH is now a program of ECHO Housing, providing fair housing counseling and investigation, and ECHO has begun a Rental Assistance Program, which is housed ...
www.echofairhousing.org/

Alameda Housing Authority
Welcome to the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda web site. Our goal is to provide you with information about the Housing Authority that will inform ...
www.alamedahsg.org/

Housing Authority of the County of Alameda
Mission View Units. Housing Authority of the County of Alameda. 22941 Atherton St., Hayward, CA 94541-6633. Main # (510) 538-8876 Fax # (510) 886-1964 ...
www.haca.net/

California Housing Finance Agency
For 30 years, California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) has supported the needs of renters and first-time homebuyers by providing financing and programs ...
www.calhfa.ca.gov/

AHA - affordable housing associates
Increasing the supply of low-income housing by upgrading existing homes and building new ones. Information on featured housing and also those in development ...
www.ahainc.org/

Northern California Housing Portal | Affordable Housing Entrance Page
Affordable Housing for first time, senior, work force, and rental housing.
www.forhousing.com/

Eden Housing Home Page
About Eden · Real Estate Development · Property Management · Resident Services ... Eden Housing has many properties available. This is an example. ...
www.edenhousing.org/

Berk. Affordable Housing Listing
Crossroads Village Mutual Housing Assoc. 1970 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA 94703 (510) 849-2836. Eden Housing Management 22941 Atherton St., Ste. D ...
www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/housing/AffordableHousingResources/

Affordable Housing Design Advisor
Eden Housing Management Inc. 510-5821460, Hayward, California, Stoney Creek. Evans Property Management, 510-837-6756, Alamo, California, 201 Turk Street ...
www.designadvisor.org/gallery/contact_management.html

Housing Assistance
Eden Housing Management, Inc. maintains a Housing Information Line at (510)247-8141 on Mondays through Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to ...
www.ci.livermore.ca.us/housing_assistance/housing-emg.html

Sheltered housing for older people in Eden
Managed by Eden Housing Association. Resident management staff (24 hours) and community alarm service. Lounge, dining room, laundry, garden, lift. ...
www.housingcare.org/sheltered-housing/area-2-eden.aspx

Great Housing Contacts
http://www.ahma-ncn.org/mmbrship/members.php

Oakland Housing Authority Section 8
Security Deposit Loans & Rental Assistance; More Affordable Housing Programs ... Bay Area Legal Aid 405 14th Street, 11th floor Oakland, CA 94612 ...
www.oakha.org/section8lh/tenant_hr.shtml

[PDF]
SAN RAMON LIVERMORE DUBLIN DANVILLE EASANTON PLE
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Alameda/Contra Costa. Tri-Valley Area. Affordable Rental Housing. Directory ... Senior. Housing. Disabled. Housing. Public. Housing. Accepts. Section 8 ...
www.ci.san-ramon.ca.us/housing/images/rental.pdf

San José Department of Housing - Links
Whom can you contact for assistance If you think you might have been illegally discriminated against in housing? Bay Area Legal Aid - Bay Area Legal Aid ...
www.sjhousing.org/program/fair.html


Peace, Love, and Blessings

Wil

Vandalism is a serious hate crime. Oakland is a Hate-Free Zone.

j. - Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes

Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes



ALEZA GOLDSMITH

Bulletin Staff



A rash of vandalism in Piedmont that may have targeted minorities is currently under investigation by both the Piedmont district attorney and the FBI.



Homes and property owned by Jews, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans, as well as others, were hit during the May 28 attack. At least 10 cars and garage doors and a retaining wall were sprayed with blue paint. In addition, vandals broke several windows in some homes.



The word "Nigga" was painted on two cars, one of which belonged to an African-American family, and the phrase "187 Piedmont" was painted on a garage door on the Oakland-Piedmont border. Neighbors said 187 is known from rap music as the criminal code for "murder."



One Jewish family believes the scrawling on their car may have included a J for Jew, but Piedmont police argue that it is probably just a squiggle.



The main suspect, a 17-year-old female from Oakland, reportedly admitted the crime to both the Piedmont district attorney and the police, but she denied that her actions were racially or ethnically motivated. She was allegedly joined by two 17-year-old females from Manteca, but only the Oakland teen remains in jail. All three were charged with vandalism.



Detective Steve Dewarns of the Piedmont Police Department said the suspect claims the vandalism was aimed at one female, a pediatrician living on the Piedmont-Oakland border, who had tried to sever ties when the suspect became too fixated on her. The other acts of destruction were random, he said.



"This is a clear-cut case of stalking ," said Dewarns. "The vandalism occurred sporadically throughout the city and she had no idea who lived in what house. [The suspect] felt she was abandoned and that the doctor thought she was better than her. She decided that anyone with a holier-than-thou attitude would pay a price. Since Piedmont is a wealthy community, she believed Piedmont must have the same attitude.



"At this point, the DA is looking at it, but I don't believe it will be prosecuted as a hate crime," he added.



Some Piedmont residents, however, believe a sporadic attack on the homes of so many ethnic minorities is too much of a coincidence; especially in Piedmont.



"Piedmont may be getting more diverse, but the chances of that happening randomly is about as good as winning the lottery," said Ronnie Caplane, a member of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Trustees.



Joan Tanzer and Gerald Frank, who own the car allegedly painted with a J agreed.



"It's really hard for me to believe it's random," said Tanzer, "especially considering the number of minorities and the level of accuracy."



The initial police investigation was publicly decried at a June 1 meeting of Piedmont's Community Relations Advisory Committee. Victims claimed that it was only through the prompting of resident David Oppenheimer, a civil rights attorney and professor of law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, that fingerprints and paint samples were taken at the crime scenes.



Tanzer said the insufficient pursuit of evidence was disconcerting.



"There seems to be a lack of sensitivity and sophistication with regard to something like this happening in our community," said Tanzer.



Caplane, who was not a victim of the attack, added : "I don't think Piedmont is in danger of turning into a Nazi state, but I do think that constant vigilance is necessary. Police officers have to be vigilant and use something like this as an opportunity for themselves and the community to start looking at their attitude."

THE CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND / Fund delivers for woman hurt in bus stop attack / Business owner still feeling effects

THE CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND
Fund delivers for woman hurt in bus stop attack
Business owner still feeling effects

Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 30, 2005

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Eltyna McCree, who owns a travel agency in Oakland, is st...
Season of Sharing

Season of Sharing 2006-07: The annual Chronicle fund for the needy

Season of Sharing stories

Contribute: By mail | Online | Stock

Questions and Answers

Contributors

Eltyna McCree, a businesswoman since the age of 4 when she sold popcorn to her kindergarten classmates, was full of excited anticipation as she sat at an Oakland bus stop on the morning of Oct. 17.

The owner of a travel agency had scored a job coordinating airplane tickets for 65 people to a church conference in Tennessee, and she was also planning festivities to mark the 10th anniversary of the upscale clothing boutique she started on the side.

But all that changed in a flash as she heard the scream of another woman waiting for the same bus at 11th Street and Broadway.

"She was literally staggering past me saying, 'Why did you hit me in the back of my head?' I jumped up, and there was this man glaring at me, just glaring at me!" she recalled Thursday. "I was paralyzed in fear -- I could not move."

The man then punched McCree in her right eye, causing her to fall to the ground. The man kept punching her until bystanders intervened.

"I just kept screaming, 'Jesus! Jesus!' That's what I know to do," said McCree, who also works as a minister at Bible Faith Ministries in East Oakland. She spent several hours at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center before being released.

More than two months later, her right eye remains swollen shut, she walks with a cane, pain shoots through her head, she has trouble sleeping and she cannot work as many hours as she used to.

She doesn't have health insurance, and she has lost some business and needs help covering two months rent on the downtown building that houses her travel agency, A Travel Moment, and boutique, Underground Treasures. The Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund is helping to provide assistance.

The alleged attacker, Chad Angle, 31, of Alameda, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and battery with the enhancement of a hate crime, according to Alameda County deputy district attorney Casey Bates. The suspect was being held in Santa Rita County Jail, but criminal proceedings have been halted until psychological evaluations are completed, Bates said.

McCree tries to keep her spirits high, but it's hard. She hates having to ask for help from others. She is sometimes scared when she's out and about. She is especially fearful that the muscles in her right eye will never fully repair and that her eye may be permanently shut.

"The thing that I have always had going for me since I was a little girl was my eyes. People always talked about my big pretty eyes," she said, crying and pausing for several moments.

It's a huge blow when such a violent crime hits a member of the family, said her son, Anton Dixon.

"It's more of a shock when it hits you directly and personally," he said. "I definitely was very outraged about it. This is your mom, an innocent person getting attacked like that."

Mostly, though, McCree tries to focus on the positive and rattles off projects she hopes to undertake once she's recovered.

"I'm just so grateful to God that it was not worse -- it could have been worse," she said. "I'm just trying to make it back."

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Beat 4 Merchant victim of violent crime.

j. - Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes

Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes



ALEZA GOLDSMITH

Bulletin Staff



A rash of vandalism in Piedmont that may have targeted minorities is currently under investigation by both the Piedmont district attorney and the FBI.



Homes and property owned by Jews, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans, as well as others, were hit during the May 28 attack. At least 10 cars and garage doors and a retaining wall were sprayed with blue paint. In addition, vandals broke several windows in some homes.



The word "Nigga" was painted on two cars, one of which belonged to an African-American family, and the phrase "187 Piedmont" was painted on a garage door on the Oakland-Piedmont border. Neighbors said 187 is known from rap music as the criminal code for "murder."



One Jewish family believes the scrawling on their car may have included a J for Jew, but Piedmont police argue that it is probably just a squiggle.



The main suspect, a 17-year-old female from Oakland, reportedly admitted the crime to both the Piedmont district attorney and the police, but she denied that her actions were racially or ethnically motivated. She was allegedly joined by two 17-year-old females from Manteca, but only the Oakland teen remains in jail. All three were charged with vandalism.



Detective Steve Dewarns of the Piedmont Police Department said the suspect claims the vandalism was aimed at one female, a pediatrician living on the Piedmont-Oakland border, who had tried to sever ties when the suspect became too fixated on her. The other acts of destruction were random, he said.



"This is a clear-cut case of stalking ," said Dewarns. "The vandalism occurred sporadically throughout the city and she had no idea who lived in what house. [The suspect] felt she was abandoned and that the doctor thought she was better than her. She decided that anyone with a holier-than-thou attitude would pay a price. Since Piedmont is a wealthy community, she believed Piedmont must have the same attitude.



"At this point, the DA is looking at it, but I don't believe it will be prosecuted as a hate crime," he added.



Some Piedmont residents, however, believe a sporadic attack on the homes of so many ethnic minorities is too much of a coincidence; especially in Piedmont.



"Piedmont may be getting more diverse, but the chances of that happening randomly is about as good as winning the lottery," said Ronnie Caplane, a member of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Trustees.



Joan Tanzer and Gerald Frank, who own the car allegedly painted with a J agreed.



"It's really hard for me to believe it's random," said Tanzer, "especially considering the number of minorities and the level of accuracy."



The initial police investigation was publicly decried at a June 1 meeting of Piedmont's Community Relations Advisory Committee. Victims claimed that it was only through the prompting of resident David Oppenheimer, a civil rights attorney and professor of law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, that fingerprints and paint samples were taken at the crime scenes.



Tanzer said the insufficient pursuit of evidence was disconcerting.



"There seems to be a lack of sensitivity and sophistication with regard to something like this happening in our community," said Tanzer.



Caplane, who was not a victim of the attack, added : "I don't think Piedmont is in danger of turning into a Nazi state, but I do think that constant vigilance is necessary. Police officers have to be vigilant and use something like this as an opportunity for themselves and the community to start looking at their attitude."

THE CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND / Fund delivers for woman hurt in bus stop attack / Business owner still feeling effects

THE CHRONICLE SEASON OF SHARING FUND
Fund delivers for woman hurt in bus stop attack
Business owner still feeling effects

Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 30, 2005

* Printable Version
* Email This Article

delicious del.icio.us
digg Digg
technorati Technorati
reddit Reddit slashdot Slashdot
fark Fark
newsvine Newsvine
google Google Bookmarks
Georgia (default)
Verdana
Times New Roman
Arial
New!
Eltyna McCree, who owns a travel agency in Oakland, is st...
Season of Sharing

Season of Sharing 2006-07: The annual Chronicle fund for the needy

Season of Sharing stories

Contribute: By mail | Online | Stock

Questions and Answers

Contributors

Eltyna McCree, a businesswoman since the age of 4 when she sold popcorn to her kindergarten classmates, was full of excited anticipation as she sat at an Oakland bus stop on the morning of Oct. 17.

The owner of a travel agency had scored a job coordinating airplane tickets for 65 people to a church conference in Tennessee, and she was also planning festivities to mark the 10th anniversary of the upscale clothing boutique she started on the side.

But all that changed in a flash as she heard the scream of another woman waiting for the same bus at 11th Street and Broadway.

"She was literally staggering past me saying, 'Why did you hit me in the back of my head?' I jumped up, and there was this man glaring at me, just glaring at me!" she recalled Thursday. "I was paralyzed in fear -- I could not move."

The man then punched McCree in her right eye, causing her to fall to the ground. The man kept punching her until bystanders intervened.

"I just kept screaming, 'Jesus! Jesus!' That's what I know to do," said McCree, who also works as a minister at Bible Faith Ministries in East Oakland. She spent several hours at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center before being released.

More than two months later, her right eye remains swollen shut, she walks with a cane, pain shoots through her head, she has trouble sleeping and she cannot work as many hours as she used to.

She doesn't have health insurance, and she has lost some business and needs help covering two months rent on the downtown building that houses her travel agency, A Travel Moment, and boutique, Underground Treasures. The Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund is helping to provide assistance.

The alleged attacker, Chad Angle, 31, of Alameda, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and battery with the enhancement of a hate crime, according to Alameda County deputy district attorney Casey Bates. The suspect was being held in Santa Rita County Jail, but criminal proceedings have been halted until psychological evaluations are completed, Bates said.

McCree tries to keep her spirits high, but it's hard. She hates having to ask for help from others. She is sometimes scared when she's out and about. She is especially fearful that the muscles in her right eye will never fully repair and that her eye may be permanently shut.

"The thing that I have always had going for me since I was a little girl was my eyes. People always talked about my big pretty eyes," she said, crying and pausing for several moments.

It's a huge blow when such a violent crime hits a member of the family, said her son, Anton Dixon.

"It's more of a shock when it hits you directly and personally," he said. "I definitely was very outraged about it. This is your mom, an innocent person getting attacked like that."

Mostly, though, McCree tries to focus on the positive and rattles off projects she hopes to undertake once she's recovered.

"I'm just so grateful to God that it was not worse -- it could have been worse," she said. "I'm just trying to make it back."

E-mail Heather Knight at hknight@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

California Hate Crime Law... chapter and verse...Here's your "Big tent"

FindLaw for Legal Professionals - Case Law, Federal and State Resources, Forms, and Code

* California Codes
o California Penal Code
+ PENAL CODE SECTION 13872


13872. The crimes that shall be the focus of this chapter shall
include a wide variety of incidents, which reflect obvious racial,
ethnic, or religious motivations, ranging from vandalizing a place of
worship to assaults between members of gangs, including, but not
limited to, incidents that occur on school grounds and between gang
members and any other incidents that law enforcement officers on a
case-by-case basis identify as having a racial, ethnic or religious
motivation. They shall not include incidents of discrimination in
employment.

Crime and Punishment

Oakland City Attorney: News

Using California civil law to punish hate crimes allows the City of Oakland more flexibility in pursuing perpetrators, as the burden of proof requires demonstrating a "preponderance of evidence" rather than proving "beyond a reasonable doubt," as required in a criminal case under the authority of the District Attorney.

Ripping down postings is a crime...a Hate Crime! punishable under California State & Federal Law

AB 1785 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis

Defines "hate crime" as an act or attempted act against the person or property of another person or institution which in any way manifests evidence of hostility toward the victim because of his or her actual or perceived race, religion, disability, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation, and includes threatening telephone calls, hate mail, physical assault, vandalism, cross burnings, destruction of religious symbols, or fire bombings.

Nurturing Mind Body & Spirit

DailyOM - Your Last Breath

April 4, 2007
Redefining Your Priorities
Your Last Breath

Procrastination is an almost universal human habit and one that infiltrates nearly every aspect of our lives. Modern existence is so complex, and much of what we long to do is left to wait by the side. We know what is important but tend to let the weight of worldly pressures lead us astray. To get back on track, however, we need only take a moment to consider where our thoughts will be as we take our last breath on this earth. More likely than not, at that instant, disagreements, bills, petty annoyances, and other frustrating elements of our lives will no longer seem as significant as they once did. Thoughts of loved ones and the positive impact we had on the world would no doubt occupy our remaining thoughts. Whatever we imagine ourselves musing upon during our last breath will almost always be representative of what truly matters to us.

This simple exercise introduces us to a new way of thinking. While our attention is drawn momentarily to the end of life, our contemplations serve to point out that we are masters of our own perspective and, consequently, our own existence. There is nothing preventing us from shifting our focus right now as we imagine we will in our final moments. We can choose to spend more of our time and energy on what gives our lives meaning. We can spend more time with loved ones and do more of what we enjoy. Doing so may not always prove easy, and there will inevitably be times when circumstances interfere with our resolution, yet we do not have to regard this as an indication that our priorities are not in alignment with who we really are.

Sometimes the only way we can see the beauty of life is to remind ourselves that it is finite. Gandhi said, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow." His words are a potent reminder that living life more fully is not about pushing ourselves harder or shouldering more burdens, but about experiencing all the wonderful richness life has to offer.

Vandalism is a serious hate crime. Oakland is a Hate-Free Zone.

j. - Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes

Piedmont residents fear vandalism may be hate crimes

ALEZA GOLDSMITH
Bulletin Staff

A rash of vandalism in Piedmont that may have targeted minorities is currently under investigation by both the Piedmont district attorney and the FBI.

Homes and property owned by Jews, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans, as well as others, were hit during the May 28 attack. At least 10 cars and garage doors and a retaining wall were sprayed with blue paint. In addition, vandals broke several windows in some homes.

The word "Nigga" was painted on two cars, one of which belonged to an African-American family, and the phrase "187 Piedmont" was painted on a garage door on the Oakland-Piedmont border. Neighbors said 187 is known from rap music as the criminal code for "murder."

One Jewish family believes the scrawling on their car may have included a J for Jew, but Piedmont police argue that it is probably just a squiggle.

The main suspect, a 17-year-old female from Oakland, reportedly admitted the crime to both the Piedmont district attorney and the police, but she denied that her actions were racially or ethnically motivated. She was allegedly joined by two 17-year-old females from Manteca, but only the Oakland teen remains in jail. All three were charged with vandalism.

Detective Steve Dewarns of the Piedmont Police Department said the suspect claims the vandalism was aimed at one female, a pediatrician living on the Piedmont-Oakland border, who had tried to sever ties when the suspect became too fixated on her. The other acts of destruction were random, he said.

"This is a clear-cut case of stalking ," said Dewarns. "The vandalism occurred sporadically throughout the city and she had no idea who lived in what house. [The suspect] felt she was abandoned and that the doctor thought she was better than her. She decided that anyone with a holier-than-thou attitude would pay a price. Since Piedmont is a wealthy community, she believed Piedmont must have the same attitude.

"At this point, the DA is looking at it, but I don't believe it will be prosecuted as a hate crime," he added.

Some Piedmont residents, however, believe a sporadic attack on the homes of so many ethnic minorities is too much of a coincidence; especially in Piedmont.

"Piedmont may be getting more diverse, but the chances of that happening randomly is about as good as winning the lottery," said Ronnie Caplane, a member of the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Joan Tanzer and Gerald Frank, who own the car allegedly painted with a J agreed.

"It's really hard for me to believe it's random," said Tanzer, "especially considering the number of minorities and the level of accuracy."

The initial police investigation was publicly decried at a June 1 meeting of Piedmont's Community Relations Advisory Committee. Victims claimed that it was only through the prompting of resident David Oppenheimer, a civil rights attorney and professor of law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, that fingerprints and paint samples were taken at the crime scenes.

Tanzer said the insufficient pursuit of evidence was disconcerting.

"There seems to be a lack of sensitivity and sophistication with regard to something like this happening in our community," said Tanzer.

Caplane, who was not a victim of the attack, added : "I don't think Piedmont is in danger of turning into a Nazi state, but I do think that constant vigilance is necessary. Police officers have to be vigilant and use something like this as an opportunity for themselves and the community to start looking at their attitude."

THE TRUTH (About the Down Low) Chris and AJ define

Friends: A Love Story Pt. 2

Waiting To Exhale - Bernie's Plight

T Mc and the "Fag" are at it again

Terry McMillan Sues Her "Little Fag" Ex - March 22, 2007

The Smoking Gun News

From: editor@thesmokinggun.com
To: "tsgnews"
Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:21:43 -0400
Subject: News from The Smoking Gun

Dear Friends:


Further proving that high school principals don't have a sense of humor, a Pennsylvania educator is suing four ex-students for posting phony MySpace profiles describing him as a raunchy, booze-swilling swinger. It won't be long before shooting spitballs is a federal offense. To view the bogus MySpace pages, go here:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0406071myspace1.html


It's only April, but we may have already found the odds-on favorite for the 2007 Mug Shot of the Year award. Here it is:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0404071paintface1.html


Never has an arrestee been subjected to as rigorous a photo session as the one recently endured by the Ohio guy who made the mistake of being arrested in a bikini. And pink Speedo flip-flops. Oh, the humanity:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0405071drag1.html


As if wearing a hair hat isn't bad enough, follicly-challenged gents now must worry about be photographed by private eyes working for the Hair Club for Men. Damn you, Sy Sperling:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0402071hairclub1.html


New prize contest starts today, so enter now for a shot at four James Bond DVDs and other fine merch. Right this way, please:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/contest/contest.html


Regards,

Your pals at TSG

Wow... Ann coulter really did call John Edwards a "Faggot" How low we do go.

C-SPAN.org: Search Results

PLAY



Ann Coulter Speaks at CPAC
Political Commentator Ann Coulter speaks at the Annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
3/2/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 22 min.: C-SPAN

Where are your rights?

Where are your rights? - Ron Paul for President 2008

Who has the real control? - Ron Paul for President 2008

Ron Paul on the issues

Real Time - C.Ferguson,M.Steele,C.Fiorina - Part 5 of 6

100% Safer Sex (b2bs2s.org)

CIA Contributes To The Creation Of The Crack Epidemic

30 years late...