MetaFilter posts tagged with SFGate

A Whole New Meaning to 'Forefathers.'

Lutoslawski — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:58:03 -0800

The Circumcision v. HIV debate rages on. [previously and previously-er and previously-er still] The debate has been rekindled due to new findings. It is expected to be one of the main topics during the CDC's National HIV Prevention Conference this week, as the CDC is considering endorsing routine circumcision. The American Academy of Pediatrics is also considering revising their circumcision policy, thus making it covered under Medicaid. Naturally, there is a lot of criticism of the evidence. In related news, it appears that there is a modicum of the so-called 'Birthers' who believe Obama's citizenship can be proven by his penis.

God Save Us Nelly Queens

expialidocious — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 20:30:08 -0800

Now that we may be renaming the rebuilt eastern span [pdf] of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge after 19th century character (and sometime MeFi topic) Emperor Norton I, the question remains: when the time comes, what shall we name after his devoted widow? [cached last link]

California is literally going to hell in a handbasket.

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 10 Mar 2004 14:52:08 -0800

Libraries? Sports? Music Programs? Guidance Counselors? Not on my bill, buddy! That crap is for nerds and jocks. It's all good here in sunny California.

a savage drunken pinball high on black-tar heroin

badstone — Fri, 05 Mar 2004 11:41:29 -0800

Where is my gay apocalypse?
I have been waiting patiently. I have been staring with great anticipation out the window of my flat here in the heart of San Francisco, sighing heavily, waiting for the riots and the plagues and the screaming monkeys and the blistering rain of inescapable hellfire. I have my camera all ready and everything.

So this passion party vibrates? Not in Texas!

drezdn — Sun, 21 Dec 2003 21:45:44 -0800

A concealed weapon that's not allowed in Texas. Mother of three, Joanna Webb, could be put into jail for a year for holding a Passion Party where she sold a vibrator to undercover narcotics agents. Don't they realize it's just for "therapeutic massage?"

Like Burning Man, but with less drugs and more goats

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 12 Sep 2003 17:26:30 -0800

"She didn't seem to care for the hawker selling goats' heads. But she did stop when a young, well-dressed fellow ambled over to her and said: 'You have captured my liver.'" This and other stories from a very well-detailed article on the three-day dating festival of the Berbers of Morocco.

Goodnight.

Jairus — Sat, 14 Jun 2003 13:26:43 -0800

SFGate is running an article on an internet assisted suicide that's worth reading. Not because of the minutiae, or any implied morality/immorality regarding suicide, but simply because it's a well-researched, well-written story of the culture of those who are about to die.

Can I sue the aliens for my probe trauma? 'Cause I know they did it.

Ignatius J. Reilly — Thu, 08 May 2003 08:53:31 -0800

Judge, citing al-Qaida-Iraq link, awards $104 million to Sept. 11 families A judge ruled yesterday that lack of evidence should be no barrier to suing people who cannot be found. "The judge wrote that lawyers relied heavily on 'classically hearsay' evidence, including reports that a Sept. 11 hijacker met an Iraqi consul to Prague, Secretary of State Colin Powell's remarks to the United Nations about connections between Iraq and terrorism, and defectors' descriptions of the use of an Iraq camp to train terrorists." --This would hardly be the first documented example of a court being overtly political, but the judge himself has no problem commenting on how shoddy the case was. "The judge noted that the experts provided few actual facts that Iraq provided support to the terrorists." --Apparently, the judge had just been waiting for Saddam to cease to be a diplomatically immune head of state before ruling against him. Is the low standard of evidence needed for civil rulings allowing the courts to begin establishing something that the military and intelligence can't? [more inside]

My Lawnmower is Better than Yours!

wondergirl — Fri, 21 Mar 2003 00:43:56 -0800

A man riding his lawnmower across the country started off by going in the wrong direction. Brad Hauter has his own lawnmower buisness, and in order to demonstrate how great his mower is, he's riding it from coast to coast. The problem is, he started on the west coast and headed west. Oops. (Link via Relevant Magazine.)

SF Police Indictments, Civic Duty and Justice

ed — Sat, 01 Mar 2003 10:19:32 -0800

"I'm the commander in chief of this goddam place, and there is no way the command staff of my Police Department is going to step down at this time. It's a matter of public safety."

So responded San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to the indictments of ten SFPD members, which included Police Chief Earl Sanders. The convictions were passed after police officers assaulted two men who wouldn't hand over a bag of steak fajitas. Top brass deliberately delayed handing over records to the DA. Has Brown committed political suicide standing by an old friend? Are his words a realistic portrayal of municipal operations? And what does an indicted command staff still on the job say about justice being served?

Cosmic bolt probed in shuttle disaster

y2karl — Fri, 07 Feb 2003 00:32:00 -0800

Cosmic bolt probed in shuttle disaster - Scientists poring over 'infrasonic' sound waves Federal scientists are looking for evidence that a bolt of electricity in the upper atmosphere might have doomed the space shuttle Columbia as it streaked over California, The Chronicle has learned.

Who Needs a Pie?

acutetype — Thu, 09 Jan 2003 10:49:40 -0800

Dow and Their PR Agency got more than a pie in the face, more like egg all over 'em. Two different activist parody productions exposed their continuing despicable behaviour toward the Union Carbide release in India back in '84 when thousands died and many more continue with serious health problems. Dow and said PR firm tried to get the sites shut down, which just generated a WHOLE BUNCH more negative publicity. The sites were moved, but remain for you viewing pleasure.

Report on layoffs killed

four panels — Sat, 04 Jan 2003 16:41:43 -0800

Shooting the messenger. "The Bush administration, under fire for its handling of the economy, has quietly killed off a Labor Department program that tracked mass layoffs by U.S. companies." (via madamjujujive)

Man arrested after PPT presentation

found missing — Sat, 23 Nov 2002 07:05:57 -0800

Photos of neked boys popping up during your powerpoint presentations at work? Could be a computer virus.

Tiger_Lily — Fri, 18 Oct 2002 14:51:05 -0800

A "spiritual perspective frappé" for the war weary. Some things are perfect, just as they are. Go now and refresh your weary soul with wisdom and a wry smile or two.

dolface — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 15:31:46 -0800

Davis signs $9.95 billion bond bill to boost high-speed rail
"Gov. Gray Davis signed a $9.95 billion bond measure Thursday that would clear the way for a high-speed rail system linking California's major cities."
this may be the first step in getting a decent rail-system going in the states. what do folks think about high-speed rail in general, do you think acela's recent problems are indicative of what we have to look forward to?
do those of you who have direct experience with existing high-speed rail systems have insights about the kind of obstacles this project might run into? will it revolutionize travel in the united states, or turn into a massive boondoggle?

crasspastor — Sun, 15 Sep 2002 23:15:01 -0800

What's our government doing right now? Nobody cares. (via David Cogswell) "There is this gap, you see, this enormous, gaping separation between what the honest and ardent and yet often shockingly misinformed populace believes drives the heart of this great nation, and what actually drives it." Slap a new adhesive flag over the one bleached by the summer sun and let's get to it. This really has to stop.

sillygit — Sat, 29 Jun 2002 22:28:36 -0800

How creepy is this? Man poses as sportswriter for USAToday and/or SI For Kids who wants to interview female collegiate athletes. Some he only gets as far as the phone, one met up with him with her family acting as Scooby Gang. Police say he hasn't done anything to merit charges. Harmless person with mental disorder or person perfecting routine before he escalates?

srboisvert — Wed, 15 May 2002 14:44:19 -0800

Spitballs It's always fun until someone loses an eye and you get charged with battery causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury and mayhem and are found guilty of two of the charges [via ObscureStore].

msippey — Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:51:01 -0800

SFMOMA appoints Neal Benezra as new director. Benezra was formerly the deputy director and curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Art Institute of Chicago, and replaces David Ross, who left the museum in a hurry last August to become chairman of the board of Eyestorm. During his tenure, Ross spent $140 million on acquisitions for the museum; Elaine McKeon, chairwoman of the Museum's board told the NYTimes that "We will still continue purchasing works of art, but we are going to move more slowly." Benezra has ties to Hunk and Moo Anderson, and wrote the catalog essay for the 2000 show of the Anderson collection. Could this mean that the Anderson collection will eventually be gifted to SFMOMA? (sfgate story, nytimes story)

4midori — Fri, 15 Feb 2002 11:08:37 -0800

What fun it must be to be gay and in the military. Seems like the military can't make up its damn mind about whether or not gay people are ok to serve.

Danf — Mon, 07 Jan 2002 15:01:20 -0800

SF Chronicle article about a condition that I have seen but didn't know had a name. . . .Orthorexia Nervosa. . .The obsessive quest for healty food. . .I would suspect that your average computer-active person would NOT experience this condition but perhaps you know someone or perhaps live with someone who could be described in this way. . .

thekorruptor — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 14:55:00 -0800

Religious ferver? Or just fascism in new clothes. Why do we continue call these people religious fundamentalists? Osama is closer to Stalin.

tenseone — Sat, 15 Sep 2001 23:48:30 -0800

I feel represented. I live in the East Bay, and I cannot believe my feelings towards all this have been represented in congress. Does anyone else feel that petitioning their rep's may be a good idea? I understand the need for retribution, but, really, is it worth more innocent death? We have carried out search and destroy missions before with zero civilian casualty. I'm sorry to not understand "death to all", I just think that this is WAY more delicate.

prozaction — Wed, 12 Sep 2001 20:04:52 -0800

Fear of flying? New security measures are being discussed. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says, "These terrorist acts are designed to steal the confidence of Americans. We will restore that confidence."