Elder Abuse?--"-What Are Ya Doing? Ya Old Geezer" & San Francisco Robotaxi Service Expansion Already In Trouble & Killer Arrested And Charged & Saudi Border Guards Kill Hundreds Of Ethiopian Migrants

I Have Been Called Many Names 

When driving a cab, and now Uber, part of the experience is finding yourself treated like public property, many finding permission to say and do anything they want to the inanimate object that so happens to be a living and breathing human being.  Am I ever surprised by such crazed behavior?  Well, this past Saturday night, after finding myself stuck in post-football game traffic game on 1st Avenue South, I realized there was a way out, and while attempting to pierce a line of cars blocking my way to an open driveway, a young female voice rang out, calling me an old geezer.  

Admittedly  I am getting somewhat "long in the tooth" as it's sometimes said, though most never guess I am five months away from my 70th birthday.  Most commonly I am called "you faggot" but this time it was a different moniker.  As I said, abuse is something I'm familiar with.  What if a passenger says they love me?  I wouldn't like that either.  One might say, "with you, no one can win."  And you know, I cannot disagree. 

Kind of Funny

It didn't take long for something bad to occur after GM Cruise and Waymo were given permission to operate their robotaxi services throughout the City of San Francisco minus any time of day limitations. Last Thursday night a Cruise robocab was hit by a fire truck on the way to an emergency call.  The solo passenger was injured and taken to a local hospital, this being one of two collisions happening that night.  And another Cruise car drove into a construction site, suddenly mired in wet cement. 

Due to these incidents, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) intervened, ordering GM Cruise to reduce their operational fleet by half, translating to 50 daylight cars and 150 night vehicles.  Per my prediction made last week, the first fatality will shut down the San Francisco robotaxi experiment permanently.  

Cruise's explanation as to why the fire truck accident occurred wasn't convincing, saying a tall building blocked essential communication to their vehicle.  And they want to operate in a city filled with giant office buildings?   What will be their next excuse?  

Neiana M. Allen-Bailey Charged with First Degree Murder

The 18-year-old woman who murdered Lyft driver Amare Geda, was officially charged and held on $2 million dollar bail.  There is surveillance video of Allen-Bailey fatally shooting Geda.   

Murder and Mayhem on the Saudi Arabian/Yemen Northern border 

The human rights agency, Human Rights Watch, has just released a special report entitled, "They Fired On Us Like Rain," detailing a series of attacks by Saudi troops on unarmed Ethiopian migrants attempting to enter Saudi Arabia from Yemen.  Using machine gun and mortar fire, they have mowed down men, women and children, killing hundreds of defenseless victims.  Saudi Arabian authorities claim to know nothing about the murders.  That is not believable.  

The next time you see an Ethiopian cabbie or TNC driver, know they are here in the USA for real reasons, their country the past three decades experiencing a series of internal and external conflicts.  Currently, nearly 20 million Ethiopians are facing hunger and starvation.  And now this tragedy.  Tip your driver generously.  They could very well be sending money back to family members.  Do what you can.