World Politics

Tibetans Say, "Go A's!" to Protest 2008 Beijing Olympics

Pakistani Bloggers Speak Out on “Emergency Rule”: BetterKnowanSFBlog - Metroblogging

Nuclear Holocaust Short 34 Tons of Plutonium -- Russia, U.S. Deal

Japan: Things Just Got More Awesome.

Oops: Pentagon Accidentally Sent Taiwan Nuclear Material. Again.

Benedictus

Letters to the Editor

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Mexico Burning? Don't believe it.

S.F.'s Global Exchange wins publicity by pushing a vote recount Mexico doesn't need

Student of Concern

Will we be more secure -- or just less competitive -- if the government forces hundreds of thousands of international science students to get export licenses simply to look through a microscope?

Obsessive Pursuit

Years after her brother was murdered in Chile's "dirty war," a diminutive former professor went after the killer

Vote Here

An election enables Secret Ballot to explore social relations in modernizing Iran

Divided Loyalties

Forced to choose between native ties and the American Dream, Filipinos like S.F. court clerk Rene Pascual are fighting for dual citizenship

The Unlikely Environmentalists

International environmentalists claim they stopped a Mexican salt plant that endangered the gray whale. Actually, though, the Mexican government canceled the plant for reasons of its own.

Letters to the Editor

Letters from March 21, 2001

From Russia With Diamonds

In 1995, Golden ADA Inc., a San Francisco diamond-importing firm, collapsed, unveiling an international trail of theft and betrayal that embarrassed San Francisco luminaries involved with the company. Now, newly unsealed court files show that high-level m

Building a Better Bomb

While condemning India for its nuclear testing, the U.S. government quietly funnels billions to research programs aimed at creating an ever-more-virulent nuclear arsenal

The Grid

While condemning India for its nuclear testing, the U.S. government quietly funnels billions to research programs aimed at creating an ever-more-virulent nuclear arsenal

Chronic City: After Further Review, Smoking Pot Doesn't Make You Crazy -- Blimey!

oldies.comWhich came first, the lunatics or the grass? The time-honored notion of reefer madness, given new life recently in the British tabloid press, has taken another hit from reality. Widespread marijuana use by the public has not been followed by a proportional rise in diagnoses of schizophreni ... More >>

No Justice

Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse.

One Day reveals Iran's gridlock and anxiety

Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse.

"One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran"

Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse.

Letter to the Media: Stop Coddling Tea-Party Crazies

But not to stop tea-partiers' batshit lunacy​Those who pick up their news exclusively from such esteemed outlets as The Economist magazine, the Web site Politico, or ABC television could be forgiven these days for having a charitable view of the new American political force known as the Tea Party ... More >>

Distressed Properties

The state's quick budget fix of selling off public buildings is a horrible idea.

Obama 'Even Worse' Than Bush On Secret Wiretapping Case, Says S.F. Lawyer

Is 'Mr. Change' listening?​San Francisco attorney Jon Eisenberg thinks he's learned a thing or two about Barack Obama over the past 15 months. Eisenberg, who won a landmark decision against the government in Northern California's U.S. District Court Wednesday on a wiretapping case, says that when ... More >>

Badlands: From Ground Zero of the Immigration Crisis Along the Mexican Border

Is 'Mr. Change' listening?​San Francisco attorney Jon Eisenberg thinks he's learned a thing or two about Barack Obama over the past 15 months. Eisenberg, who won a landmark decision against the government in Northern California's U.S. District Court Wednesday on a wiretapping case, says that when ... More >>

List: The best democracy money can buy

Is 'Mr. Change' listening?​San Francisco attorney Jon Eisenberg thinks he's learned a thing or two about Barack Obama over the past 15 months. Eisenberg, who won a landmark decision against the government in Northern California's U.S. District Court Wednesday on a wiretapping case, says that when ... More >>

Republicans Following Porn on Twitter (NSFW)

By following @_PrettyAlison, the California GOP studied the body politic...​If you're going to get hit with a sex scandal, you should at least make sure to enjoy the sex. Yet the California Republican Party has been monitoring the online offerings of dozens of porn purveyors in a situation that ga ... More >>

Republicans tastelessly milk cow-shooting controversy

By following @_PrettyAlison, the California GOP studied the body politic...​If you're going to get hit with a sex scandal, you should at least make sure to enjoy the sex. Yet the California Republican Party has been monitoring the online offerings of dozens of porn purveyors in a situation that ga ... More >>

Asylum Denied

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

List: What will President Obama's new political group accomplish in S.F.?

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Grinding Justice: Operation Streamline Costs Millions, Tramples the Constitution, Treats Migrants Like Cattle, and Doesnít Work

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Election Results Show Tea Party Fails to Gain Traction in Western States

Is that Harry Reid in the middle?​Some of you might have found it particularly hard to greet the Red Dawn of Nov. 3. We admit that it's difficult to face the idea of Tea Party-propelled candidates marching off to Washington with plans to combat imagined New World Order conspiracies within the vaul ... More >>

Don't worry, America. San Francisco knows what's best for you

Is that Harry Reid in the middle?​Some of you might have found it particularly hard to greet the Red Dawn of Nov. 3. We admit that it's difficult to face the idea of Tea Party-propelled candidates marching off to Washington with plans to combat imagined New World Order conspiracies within the vaul ... More >>

Fantasy Voter Fraud

Is that Harry Reid in the middle?​Some of you might have found it particularly hard to greet the Red Dawn of Nov. 3. We admit that it's difficult to face the idea of Tea Party-propelled candidates marching off to Washington with plans to combat imagined New World Order conspiracies within the vaul ... More >>

Tom Ammiano Makes It Official: He Won't Be Next Mayor

Count me out, says Tom Ammiano​Assemblyman Tom Ammiano told SF Weekly, in no uncertain terms, he doesn't want to be the next damn mayor. He told his former board colleagues the same. He hasn't yet hired out a pilot to do skywriting -- but his drift is unmissable. Supervisor Chris Daly remains unda ... More >>

Doyle Drive's Goofy Privatization Deal Stalled By Judge

Will Jerry Brown stop the fiscal insanity? ​A judge Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order halting Caltrans from signing a finance deal that would let a foreign consortium take over construction and maintenance of part of the Doyle Drive project in the Presidio.This marks the second time i ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Goes Back On His Word To Avoid Back Room Deals

​After winning the seat for lieutenant governor in November, Mayor Gavin Newsom told reporters, point blank, that there would be no back room deals or political bargaining when selecting an interim mayor to fill the remainder of his term.He's also vowed to steer a clean-cut transition as he assume ... More >>

Diplomacy by the Bay

​After winning the seat for lieutenant governor in November, Mayor Gavin Newsom told reporters, point blank, that there would be no back room deals or political bargaining when selecting an interim mayor to fill the remainder of his term.He's also vowed to steer a clean-cut transition as he assume ... More >>

Hey Rich Assholes: Are You Shorting Your Nanny? Tell It to the Judge

Don't even think about shorting her...​The cost of living for the Meg Whitmans of the world might become much more expensive. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D- San Francisco) announced today that he is introducing legislation to improve the lives of domestic workers in the state.The bill, whi ... More >>

Examiner's Phil Anschutz Dumps Money into California Politics -- Except San Francisco

No money for you, chumps.​San Francisco Examiner owner Phil Anschutz, his companies, and his employees, donated $92,582 to 30 California politicians between 2003 and 2009, according to campaign finance filings compiled by Anschutz's competitor, Bay Area News Group.But the railroad, telecommunicati ... More >>

Gavin Newsom -- You Can Still Watch Him on Demand

Technologically active again​When former Mayor Gavin Newsom left City Hall, his staid YouTube addresses that people had grown accustomed to went right with him. But Newsom's hiatus from YouTube was short-lived. Just barely a month as the state Lieutenant Governor, Newsom sent out his first video a ... More >>

Tea Partier Portrays Obama as Ape in E-Mail to Friends

Courtesy OC WeeklyTea Partier Marilyn Davenport sent this photo to fellow conservatives​Time for some link love to one of the southern garrisons of the Village Voice Media empire. We've written before about the paranoiac, semiliterate reasoning that supports the related belief systems of the Tea P ... More >>

Assemblymember Paul Fong Talks About the Shark's Fin Ban

Assemblymember Paul Fong​On Monday, the California State Assembly voted to pass AB-376, a proposed ban on the sale and import of shark's fin. The ban, which has been publicly condemned by state senator Leland Yee and SF mayor Ed Lee, is intended to prevent the practice of shark finning, which is d ... More >>

Republicans Love Mayor Ed Lee

Ed Lee welcomes support ... from everyone ​In a liberal bastion like San Francisco, what Democratic candidate would want the support of the Republican Party? Turns out, plenty. Supervisors David Chiu and Ross Mirkarimi, and mayoral candidate Michela Alioto-Pier, to name a few. But as far as the ma ... More >>

Miracle Faker: Rick Perry's Texas Teaches America the Wrong Lessons

Ed Lee welcomes support ... from everyone ​In a liberal bastion like San Francisco, what Democratic candidate would want the support of the Republican Party? Turns out, plenty. Supervisors David Chiu and Ross Mirkarimi, and mayoral candidate Michela Alioto-Pier, to name a few. But as far as the ma ... More >>

Governor Jerry Brown Signs Slew of Illegal Immigrant-Friendly Bills

​While the federal government stagnates on any immigration reform, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bevy of illegal immigrant-friendly bills that will make their under-the-radar way of life less of a headache starting January 1, 2012. Opponents have already started filing in. Perhaps th ... More >>

Progressively Worse: The Tumultuous Rise and Acrimonious Fall of the City's Left

​While the federal government stagnates on any immigration reform, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bevy of illegal immigrant-friendly bills that will make their under-the-radar way of life less of a headache starting January 1, 2012. Opponents have already started filing in. Perhaps th ... More >>

Ron Paul Says He Didn't Create Offensive "China Jon" YouTube Video

GOP presidential hopeful has done some crazy shit in his past, as we've noted here before, but his campaign claims he never released this offensive YouTube video about ex-Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman, showing him dressed as the Communist leader Mao Zedong. Paul's campaign filed a lawsuit in San Francisco ... More >>

Mitt Romney Will Win Republicans Over By Teaming Up With Nancy Pelosi

Mitt Romney, looking away at something more interesting than his book.​Mitt Romney is all set to be the Republican nominee for president except for one stubborn hitch: Republican primary voters -- like most people -- don't like him, perhaps because he's actually an actor playing a presidential ... More >>

Nancy Pelosi Investment Allegations Spur Congress to Address Insider Trading

Nancy Pelosi​Members of Congress are taking up legislation this week aimed at dealing with allegations that a form of "insider trading" is taking place among lawmakers whose knowledge of pending bills could give them a leg up in the stock market.The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) ... More >>