Water: the key to our freedom or the chains of our ensvlavement

Our future as a society may not be very rosy. Indicators suggest the United States of America is on the same decline glide path as was the Roman Empire. If that is true, and I think it is, then our future is somewhat predictable.

The Western Civilization once developed an educated and powerful social-political system, the Roman Empire. It was so formidable that it has never been completely erased from the face of the Earth. Rather, it went underground and became a disguised society. Rome moved out of the marble palaces and into the marble basilicas of the Roman Catholic Church.

The strict discipline of the Church helped Roman education and civilization survive through the Dark Ages and through the Medieval period of European history.

The remnants of the Roman Empire, living vicariously through the Roman Catholic Church, eventually became so much a part of the fabric of European society that when a group of aristocratic and wealthy English planters living on the eastern coast of North America in the eighteenth century decided to break away from the crown, they looked to the finest example of Western Civilization as their inspiration: The Roman Civilization.

Recognizing Washington

Dead Citizens of Rome, magically brought back to life, would recognize the United States Senate in Washington and of all that they would see in the twenty-first century, that symbol of civilized authority, the marble-columned Senate, would be absolutely recognizable to them as the Roman Senate reborn. The symbolism throughout the federal government is unmistakable.

There is a debate among some scholars whether the United States of America is the second great Western Civilization or the second blooming of a long dormant original. Some say we are a copy of the original and others say we are an extension of the original. Either way, anyone who has ever read and digested Gibbons' The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, will recognize where this country is when Rome's timeline is superimposed on our own.

So, what do we see when these comparisons are made?

Bad News for the Tea Party

Unfortunately for the conservative people (think: Tea Party) who like to slow progress down and hang on desperately to the past which they find comforting -- unfortunately for them the future is quite bleak. I'm sure there were tuxedo-clad first-class passengers in the Grand Salon of the Titanic who refused to recognize the reality of the iceberg. Unfortunately for them that kind of thinking didn't slow the iceberg one damn bit. The same thing is true today.

Bad News for the Patriots

For those who see this nation enduring like some kind of marble monolith throughout the ages, they too are in for an unpleasant future. There were a lot of sad faces around the grand marble Forum of Rome in the declining years. After all, Rome was the center of absolute power and authority throughout the the Western World for more than a thousand years. Rome! The very name meant power.

And then a time came when the walls of the once-great City/Nation were surrounded by raggedly-dressed, hungry, angry, desperate people. They were people without the benefits of Roman Citizenship. They had been kept as outsiders. They lacked Roman education. They began crossing the borders and they were not going away. Sound familiar?

Good News for Awakened People

But for those who embrace the world and see all the people and children of the world as being part of our own one big family -- for us -- the future is exciting. It will be whatever we make it to be.

So what shall we do?

Military Thinking is Primitive Thinking

First, we must protect our lives, our children and protect the sustainability of this grand interconnected web of life. That does not mean military strength. That is old Roman Empire kind of thinking. Military thinking is all about dividing and controlling people. That basic concept is so wrong and primitive and non-productive that no consideration should be given to developing that concept. Whenever a military concept is envisioned the death of humans is also necessarily envisioned. That makes the thought evil and it must be summarily rejected.

Protection and safety are all we need. Think: Coast Guard, saving lives and guarding against the bad guys of the world, who will always be among us.

Water is the key to future freedom

In the future, for the people of this planet, freedom and the power to remain free means gaining and keeping control of our water. Water is tomorrow's gold. If the people of this planet own and control their water, they will be free. If the people allow water to be sold and owned as a commodity, they will be enslaved.

Water will be the key to our freedom or the chains of our enslavement. The people of the Earth will decide which of these is our future.

- Tom Dunn,

Sam Spade's San Francisco

September 4, 2010

Important abstracts:

Here is an abstract from Markets in tradable water rights: Potential for efficiency gains in developing country water resource allocation by Mark W. Rosegrant and Hans P. Binswanger, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, USA, The World Bank, Washington DC

"Establishment of tradable water rights could play an important role in improving the efficiency, equity, and sustainability of water use in developing countries. Well-defined tradable rights formalize and secure the existing water rights held by water users; economize on transactions costs; induce water users to consider the full opportunity cost of water; and provide incentives for water users to internalize and reduce many of the negative externalities inherent in irrigation. The institutional requirements, potential and feasibility of developing markets in tradable water rights should receive increased attention from researchers and policy makers."

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Here is an abstract from Drinking Water in Developing Countries -- Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, Vol. 23: 253-286 (Volume publication date November 1998), Ashok Gadgil, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720

"Safe drinking water remains inaccessible for about 1.1 billion people in the world, and the hourly toll from biological contamination of drinking water is 400 deaths of children (below age 5). This paper reviews the general guidelines for drinking water quality and the scale of the global problem. It reviews the various water disinfection technologies that may be applicable to achieve the desired quality of drinking water in developing countries. It then summarizes financing problems that deter extending access to safe drinking water to the unserved population and identifies feasible policy positions for enhancing availability of drinking water in these countries."

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Here is an abstract from Water and politics: levels, rational choice and South Indian canal irrigation by Peter P. Mollinga, Irrigation and Water Engineering Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen Agricultural University, Nieuwe Kanaal 11, 6709 PA Wageningen, The Netherlands

"The first part of the paper gives an overview of the “water and politics” literature, by distinguishing three levels: (1) official state and inter-state politics regarding water (or hydropolitics), (2) the politics of water resources policy (policy formulation and implementation as politically contested terrain), and (3) the everyday politics of water use (the day-to-day contestation of water resource use). The paper does not discuss the emerging level of the global politics of water. The second part of the paper discusses the dominance of the “new institutionalism” paradigm in debates on water resources management and politics. The appeal of the paradigm, despite the existence of fundamental critiques is analysed. Limitations of “new institutionalism” are located in limited concepts of human agency, the desire to universalise, absence of the concept of social power, and the problem of commensuration. Its appeal for policy makers lies in its suitability for designing standardised policy prescriptions, and its exclusion, or rephrasing, of the issues of power and politics. In the third part of the paper these considerations are illustrated through the discussion of a case: the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal irrigation system in South India. In the fourth concluding section it is argued that there is not just a multitude of levels and diversity in approaches, but that there is a connection between “politics and method.” Research on water and politics might benefit from more explicit engagement with the question from which political standpoint that research is undertaken, and whether and how that is related to method, approach and policy recommendations. This is all the the more necessary in an era with strong calls for institutional reform, to address the challenges of an increasingly problematic water future."

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Brief bibliography:

When the Rivers Run Dry -- The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century by Fred Pearce, Beacon Press, 2005, 336pp

Our Choice: a plan to solve the climate crisis by Al Gore, Rodale Press, 2009, 416pp

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Website Resources:

UN Water ( a program of the United Nations)

Water for Life (International decade for action, 2005-2015)

UNESCO Water (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

Water for People (Water For People helps people in developing countries improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and hygiene education programs.)

UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Almost fifty per cent of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day, and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more.)

USGS: Water Science Resources for Schools (offers information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.)

Water.org (The water and sanitation problem in the developing world is far too big for charity alone. We are driving the water sector for new solutions, new financing models, greater transparency, and real partnerships to create lasting change. Our vision: the day when everyone in the world can take a safe drink of water.)

Food and Water Watch (works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.)

Elementary grade lesson plan: Earth's Water: a drop in your cup -- by the California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Students will learn that the Earth has a finite amount of fresh water, consider ways to conserve this resource, and brainstorm ideas to increase usage of untapped water resources in their local area.)

Science Today: the Future of our Oceans -- video by the California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Academy researchers and biologists discuss the possible future of the world’s oceans.)

Developing Solutions -- by California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Scientists are always coming up with high-tech ways to develop alternative energies or clean water. But often these solutions are cost prohibitive or impractical for many of us, especially those in developing nations. Scientists from two southern US universities have recently announced low-tech plant-based solutions to modern problems, hoping they’ll translate to the developing world.)

Center for Applied Biodiversity Informatics -- a project of the California Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Human activities are changing the Earth faster than at any other time in the history of our species. Natural history museums play a critical role in understanding these changes. Their scientific collections serve as a record of life on Earth and provide a baseline against which we can measure change. Discovering and documenting life on Earth requires gathering and managing large amounts of information. In the Center for Applied Biodiversity Informatics (CABI) we apply information technology to the full lifecycle of biodiversity information, from gathering data in the field and laboratories, through integration, interpretation, and dissemination. We are also conducting projects that integrate biodiversity data with spatial information about the Earth, such as climate and topography, to understand changing patterns of biodiversity. Our mapping and modeling projects contribute to some of the most exciting conservation initiatives of our time.)

Water for Food -- (More than 300 people from 13 countries participated in the 2010 international Water for Food Conference May 2-5 at the University of Nebraska)

Water and Food Security Country Profiles -- (The Water and Food Security Country Profiles provide focalized information on the state of water resources and food security globally in a country-specific format. The site harvests valuable information from FAO databases and information systems as well as those of its partners, to give users enriched results to enhance decision-making and promote advocacy in these areas.

FAO and its partners are concerned with the sustainable use and conservation of water in agriculture with a particular focus on water policy formulation and the promotion of irrigated agriculture and efficient water use. In addition, food security is a central FAO mandate aimed at helping those living in developing countries to improve their food security through rapid increases in food production and productivity, reducing year-to-year variability in food production on an economically and environmentally sustainable basis and improving people's access to food.

The interdependency of these two areas is evident. By combining them in this multi-stakeholder platform, the Water and Food Security Country Profiles strive to facilitate and catalyze innovative and effective use of the wealth of information currently available.)

Water and Sustainability -- The Pacific Institute (We envision a world where the basic needs of all people are met, where resources are managed sustainably and the natural world protected, and where conflicts over resources are resolved in a peaceful and democratic fashion.The Pacific Institute works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. We conduct interdisciplinary research and partner with stakeholders to produce solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity—in California, nationally, and internationally.)

The Global Water Crisis -- USAID (The world faces an unprecedented crisis in water resources management, with profound implications for global food security, protection of human health, and maintenance of aquatic ecosystems. Water shortages threaten to reduce global food supply, while the world’s population grows by 80 million people each year. With current trends, by 2025, one-third of all humans will face severe and chronic water shortages. Industrialization, irrigated agriculture, massive urbanization, rising standards of living, and, of course, more people are pushing the demand for freshwater to new heights, undermining already fragile water security for many nations.)

San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon. Read the entire book online through Google Books.

San Francisco Patrol Special Police -- renegades from the past

The San Francisco Patrol Special Police met with the San Francisco Police Commission this week. The result is very unfortunate for the Patrol Special.

The old 19th Century Barbary Coast days

The Patrol Special Police is not a police force or police department even though they have official status that has been memorialized in the City Charter back in 1856. At one time they were needed to protect the citizens. In those days we had no radios, no telephones, no motor vehicles and a town full of wild Gold Rush miners, cowboys and assorted crooks. This was a wild city, hence the "Barbary Coast" nickname.

Today the Patrol Special police is a privately-paid security business. Their officers are not certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). They are not employed or paid by the City of San Francisco. They are not public officers or public employees of any description. They are not sworn police officers. They are privately-paid security guards for hire.

Patrol Specials are holdovers from the wild Barbary Coast days of San Francisco. The organization has a weak connection to SFPD and the San Francisco Police Commission, but that connection does not make them San Francisco police officers, no matter how much they wish that were true.

The Police Commission wants change

The Police Commission authorized an extensive professional review of the Patrol Special. Key findings contained in the report include:

• Patrol Specials and their activities are private in nature;

• Patrol Specials have unique benefits not available to other security guards;

• Patrol Specials place a financial burden on the City;

• The similar appearance of Patrol Specials to the SFPD causes confusion;

• The Police Commission has legal oversight over the appointment of Patrol

Specials, but not over their day-to-day operations;

• Patrol Specials routinely violate the regulatory rules and procedures set out by the

Police Commission.

You can read and download the entire report from the San Francisco Controller's Office.

The report makes it clear that the Patrol Special Police need to start cooperating better with the Commission, start obeying the rules and regulations set forth for them, stop wearing SFPD "look alike" uniforms, stop using police band radio and stop pretending they are real police officers.

The Commission made it clear that if the the Patrol Specials really want to be respected as professionals, they should behave the way the real police officers behave and defer to the SFPD chain of command and to the Commission before issuing any public statements.

Patrol Special President Alan Byard

Alan Byard is President of the San Francisco Patrol Special Police. He attended the Commission hearing and he heard the admonitions directed at his group about appropriate professional behavior. So, what does Mr. Byard do?

Less than a week after Mr. Byard heard those words spoken to him, he issued a long, rambling diatribe about what is wrong with the report and spent a lot of time crying about the respect they don't get. Alan Byard just doesn't seem to get it. This guy is a loose cannon and a renegade.

Listen, Mr. Byard: You are not a police officer. You are a private security guard with perks you should not have. You are a citizen. Stop pretending. Grow up!

The Patrol Special's argument and Byard's letter starts here:

In fairness to Mr.Byard and the Patrol Special members I am publishing his entire letter as it was received. Here it is:

Contact:
Alan Byard, President, Patrol Special Police Officers Association
P. O. Box 12133, San Francisco, CA. 94112
Phone: (415) 221-9450 atbyard83@yahoo.com
Member, Special Neighborhood Policing: a support organization of and for Patrol Special Police
Websites: http://sfpatrolspecpolice.com/ www.sfspecialneighborhoodpolicing.org

San Francisco Patrol Special Police Endorse Some Operational Suggestions for Improvement in a Research Report presented to the Police Commission on Wednesday, September 1; Patrol Special President Alan Byard Points to Positive Steps Already Taken

(San Francisco, Thursday, September 2, 2010) – San Francisco’s Patrol Special Police Officer Association President Alan Byard listened intently to the presentation Wednesday evening before the Police Commission, of a research report on the neighborhood policing program he represents.

“The report we have awaited since May of 2009, clearly provides useful information on some operational issues of our program that we can and will improve. The more information the commission and our Chief have to enhance our joint mission to improve policing services and protection of the public, the better,” said Byard. Byard has 30 years of policing experience as Patrol Special Police Officer for the Marina neighborhood.

Byard notes that he has already implemented steps that address some of the research team’s concerns. Since research was completed in March of this year, the team did not know about steps already taken to work collaboratively with the SFPD as well as with clients and community groups.

Immediately after he was elected in late June, Byard personally met with the SFPD program liaison officer to understand and to formalize SFPD requirements for new applicants to the Patrol Special force. He pledged his support to package and review all applications in advance of their submission. The goal is to make the SFPD review process less costly and time consuming. Updated requirements are already posted on one of the Patrol Special’s informative website: http://www.sfspecialneighborhoodpolicing.org/secondarypages/applytopsp.html

“That’s one way we have reduced time and cost to the SFPD to facility their job. With our more active help, the Commission can expeditiously approve more officers to serve the crime prevention needs of our clients and neighborhoods where we work,” Byard said.

More service to the community has also been spearheaded by Byard. Detailed police logs of Patrol Special activities have been launched for the Castro, Noe, Mission, and South Beach/Rincon/South of Market areas. Police logs are planned in the immediate future for the Polk street neighborhoods, with other beats soon to follow.

Byard continued, “We believe these monthly logs comply with regulatory requirements, although some beat owners in the past may not have been timely in submission. However, we don’t expect our entire force to be penalized, since individual discipline is appropriate. Police logs published routinely on our internet website will more fully inform the public about the nature and level of disturbances of quality-of-life crimes in the neighborhoods where we serve. Our logs augment serious crime that the SFPD already reports but not include incidents we handle,”

Byard remains concerned about specific matters in the report as he noted in a three-minute response time allowed by the commission per person during public testimony. He cites a number of inaccuracies and lack of complete information to give the commission and public a full picture. Byard thinks this has led to the team’s flawed recommendation for the city to re move the Patrol Specials from any local oversight. Patrol Special police have a 162-year old legal status in the City Charter with special powers, authority and ability to address and prevent crime at a higher level than is possible by security guard companies.

“I’m frankly concerned. I thought the report might recognize the tremendous value to the city and the SFPD of crime prevention service the Patrol Specials provide,” said Ann Grogan, client of the Specials in Glen Park for the past two years. “Rather, the team showed a slide of the Glen Park deli where a beloved ‘mom and pop’ store owner was nearly murdered two years ago. The team director said that a Patrol Special just standing by in front of the deli would not necessarily stop another attack. To me that is non-sensical and just as easily supports the rather absurd proposition that we should do away with all SFPD officers just because crimes can also be carried out in their presence.” Grogan said.

The Patrol Special Police recognize that cost remains a valid concern in provision of public services. However, the research team included certain costs that have never occurred. “They also inflated the significance of other costs, without considering the concomitant value to the city received from our policing,” Byard said. For example, prior to 2009-2010 either the SFPD failed to implement the required 24 hours of annual continued training, or training was held and the Patrol Specials paid for it themselves.

Liability risks and costs associated with Patrol Special policing services were also a concern in the report. However, Patrol Specials are already required by commission regulation to provide liability insurance to protect their clients and the public in case of a lawsuit for negligence.

Byard notes that the city does not require the off-duty SFPD private policing program to provide such insurance, nor does the city indemnify those officers in case of litigation. “I want to take a more detailed look at this concern and see if there is some validity to it and way we can diminish those costs by some creative change,” Byard said.

Byard pledged to respond to requests from Commissioner Kingsley and Chan for further details on the cost and value of Patrol Special services according to specifics that will be given to Byard in the near future.

“The neighborhood policing services we provide and the issues we take off the plate of the SFPD by handling ordinary disturbances, shoplifting, and prevention, certainly provide a benefit to the public,” Byard said.

Marcy Berry attended and spoke on behalf of the Patrol Specials with a goal to keep them in a quasi-public and regulated position. Afterwards she said, “The good news is that the Commissioners voluntarily acknowledged that the report dealt mainly with the interests of the SFPD, and was not focused on those of the general public. They asked a lot of intelligent questions, and pushed for a subsequent meeting when the Patrol Specials would have a chance to respond for the first time with full details how their services are of benefit to the City.”

About San Francisco Patrol Special Police

San Francisco Patrol Special Police are the only private neighborhood safety service in the city that is legally permitted to patrol San Francisco's streets as well as private locations under the city's Municipal Police Code Sec. 1750 and is on police radio frequencies.

Patrol Special Police officers are screened by background checks conducted by the S.F.P.D. are trained annually at the San Francisco Police Academy and/or other police training organizations, regulated by the Police Commission and supervised by the S.F.P.D.

Throughout more than a century-and-a-half of unique neighborhood policing, Patrol Special Police have supported the City's public safety needs. Since the Gold Rush Days, Special Police, later known as Patrol Special Police,

Special Police were first sworn in by Police Chief Marshal Malachi Fallon in 1851. Five years later the force was written into the City Charter in 1856. Special Police have assisted city authorities with controlling historical criminal gangs, such as the infamous Hounds of San Francisco. Over the years they also maintained public safety during labor strikes, riots, and natural disasters - including the devastating 1906 earthquake.

Today, Patrol Special Police augment the S.F.P.D. by providing neighborhoods with cost-effective and crime prevention services and safety education. Patrol Special Police resolve disturbances at an early stage with a view toward the welfare of all. Their early intervention and visible presence unburden S.F.P.D. officers to address other law enforcement needs.

Patrol Special Police services are financed by private clients who include merchants, professionals, homeowners' associations, individual residents, street fair and special event organizers, government agencies, and other business and private organizations.

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Resources:

San Francisco Police Commission

San Francisco Police Department

San Francisco Patrol Special Police

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)

Police Commission Review of the Patrol Special Police

SF Boaters rescued by Coast Guard's elite Pacific Strike Team-- don't be the next to get in trouble!

The Coast Guard rescued seven boaters who became stranded in a 17-foot boat in the shallow waters near Ryer Island in Suisun Bay last night.

The seven boaters, comprised of three adults and four children, ages 3, 4, 11, and 12, were unharmed in the incident.

Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received the call via cell phone at approximately 10:30 p.m. last night, and a 25-foot response boat from Station Vallejo was launched to provide assistance. However, due to the shallow water and draft of the Coast Guard response boat, the rescue crew was unable to get close enough to assist the boat. The Coast Guard crew remained on scene throughout the night to ensure the safety of those aboard the stranded boat.

Early this morning, a Pacific Strike Team (PST) crew from Novato, Calif., provided assistance with their shallow water boat. The Strike Team arrived on scene at approximately 7 a.m., and was able to transfer all seven boaters from the stranded vessel to the Coast Guard response boat. The response boat crew brought the stranded boaters to Station Vallejo where they arrived safely at approximately 10:00 a.m.. The Strike Team crew took the 17-foot boat in tow and transferred it to Station Vallejo.

The PST is one of 3 Special Teams that make up the National Strike Force. It is a vital national asset comprised of a unique, highly trained cadre of Coast Guard professionals who maintain and rapidly deploy with specialized equipment and incident management skills any time to any place or hazard.

Stay out of trouble!

September is National Boating Safety Month and the Coast Guard urges boaters to prepare for every circumstance before taking to the water. This includes preparing for the weather and sea conditions, and having enough water, food, blankets, and sun protection for the duration of the trip. Every person on the boat should have a properly fitting life jacket on the boat, and all children under the age 13 need to wear the life jacket while on deck. All boaters should have a VHF-radio on board with Channel 16 capabilities in case an emergency arises. Boater should also ensure that all of their safety equipment, such as flares, fire extinguishers, and emergency positioning indicating radio beacons are in good working order. All boaters should also remain aware of significant tidal changes that are common within the Bay Area.

Resources:

Boating Safety Resource Center

Coast Guard emergency phone numbers and contact info for SF Bay

Pacific Strike Team

Coast Guard District 11 Media Port

Exhibitor booths for 2010 Folsom Street Fair going fast -- 400,000 visitors coming in 3 weeks!

The folks at Folsom Street Events, promoters of the 2010 Folsom Street Fair, want me to remind you that they have only 40 booth spaces remaining and, based on past years, those spaces will be snapped-up very quickly as we near the date for the fair, Sunday September 26th.

The Folsom Street Fair is a true San Francisco original. With over 400,000 people in attendance covering 13 city blocks, the Fair is the largest leather/fetish event in the world and the third largest, single-day outdoor event in California. Folsom Street Events will celebrate the 27th Folsom Street Fair with a large number of events and programs over the course of San Francisco Leather Week.

250 plus exhibitors serving 400,000 visitors

The 27th Folsom Street Fair will offer 250+ exhibitors and vendors, hot food and cold drinks, and tons of artistic and cultural entertainment. The event hosts two live stages with 16 live alternative acts, a huge dance areas with internationally renowned DJs, a dedicated area for women ("Venus' Playground") and a newly inaugurated Artists' Area.

Airline and hotel specials

If you have not yet booked a hotel room, you better get your butt in gear. Check out the pre-negotiated Travel Deals section for special rates on airfares and rooms at the host hotels.

Location, map and who gets the money

This year, as always, it will be located in San Francisco's South of Market district on Folsom Street between 7th and 12th Streets. [See Map] Donations at the gates and proceeds from beverage purchases will benefit local charities.

Click here for exhibitor application and detailed information.

Late Night Restaurants and Dining in San Francisco

Here's a fairly good guide to late night dining in San Francisco created by 7x7 Magazine's Bits & Bites blog earlier this year.

The list only deserves a "fairly good" rating because 7x7 Magazine assembled a list that seems to exclude some of San Francisco's better-known late-night gay restaurants in the Castro. The list is good for visitors, people who don't know anything about San Francisco, and straight folks, but it's not adequate for gay visitors or locals.

The list lacks the nuance of local wisdom and experience

The 7x7 list is a "snapshot" kind of collection. It takes a look at restaurants in a frozen moment of time. It fails to include history, background, local popularity and the restaurant's relationship with the people of San Francisco. The list appears to have been prepared by someone who has not really lived in San Francisco very long and hasn't quite yet got the real feel for the City. So, the list only gets a "fairly good" rating from me.

Who am I? Nobody famous. I'm just an old San Franciscan (mid sixties) whose family first came here in 1849, a 161 years ago. I'm not qualified in a lot of areas, but I do know San Francisco as well or better than most of the people who think they know a lot.

A better list, a better choice

San Francisco Menupages is a much better source for San Francisco restaurant information. You can view the actual restaurant's menu online through Menupages in addition to reviews and notes. You can choose to review the City's restaurants sorted by type of cuisine, by menu or by neighborhood. They also have a nice iPhone app available. Give them a try.

Forget Yelp

Yelp is an almost useless service. People who just arrived in San Francisco "yesterday" and who are struggling to find themselves in the City are the same people who rate restaurants on Yelp. Great. We have newbies who don't know the City posting advice for other newbies who know even less. Forget Yelp.

Photo of the San Francisco nightime skyline courtesy of Declan McCullagh

The 7x7 Magazine list

Now that I have knocked the 7x7 list, I want to balance the scales a bit and tell you that I did find the 7x7 list to be useful for people who are not really interested in finding a "San Francisco" experience. There are some really good choices in this list and some of these places are among my own favorites. Many are very San Francisco and some are not at all. A few are clique-ish, which is a NOT the way most San Franciscans live their lives. It's a mixed bag, but the food will likely be good. As for the ambiance? Well, you spin the wheel and you take your chance.

Here they are . . .

Betelnut (Marina)

Eats: lettuce cups, hand-pulled hoisin pork, Happy Buddha dumplings
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Beretta (Mission)
Eats: pizza, eggplant caponatina, meatballs
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Bix (Jackson Square)
Eats: hand-cut steak tartare, deviled eggs, mini lamb burgers
Last call for food: 9:30 pm, Sun–Wed; 10:30 pm, Thurs–Sat; bar menu until midnight, Thurs–Sat

Brazen Head (Marina)
Eats: oysters on the half shell, crab cakes, pepper steak
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Cav (Hayes Valley)
Eats: steamed clams with chorizo, marrow bones, roasted kurobuta pork
Last call for food: 11 pm, Mon–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Delarosa (Marina)
Eats: proscuitto and argula pizza, carpaccio of beets, gnocchi with rock shrimp
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

District (SOMA)
Eats: cambazola cheese fondue, pear and endive salad, lamb meatballs in charmoula
Last call for food: 10:30, dailfull menu until 10:30; late night menu until midnight (closed Sun)

El Farolito (Mission)
Eats: three-ton burritos
Last call for food: 3 am, Sun–Thurs; 4 am, Fri and Sat

El Zocalo (Bernal Heights)
Eats: pupusas, plantains and beans
Last call for food: 4 am, daily

Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack (Bernal Heights)
Eats: caesar salad, spaghetti and meatballs
Last call for food: 10:45 pm, Sun–Thurs; 11:45 pm, Fri and Sat

Gaspare (Outer Richmond)
Eats: old-school thin-crust pizzas; old-school antipasto misto
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Genki Ramen (Richmond)
Eats: kimchi ramen, shrimp tempura, seaweed salad
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; 1 am, Fri and Sat

Globe (Jackson Square)
Eats: tuna tartare, salad lardon, rib-eye with potato gratin
Last call for food: 1 am, Mon–Sat; midnight, Sun

Gitane (Union Square)
Eats: bacon bonbons, Pacific wild swordfish, French lentils
Last call for food: 11 pm, Tues–Wed; midnight, Thurs–Sat

Golden Boy Pizza (North Beach)
Eats: pesto pizza, clam pizza
Last call for food: 11:30 pm, Sun–Thurs; 2:30 am, Fri and Sat

Grubstake (TenderNob)
Eats: linguisa with eggs, French dip sandwich
Last call for food: 4 am, daily

Heaven’s Dog (SOMA)
Eats: soup dumplings, kung pao tofu, chicken curry claypot
Last call for food: 1 am, Mon–Sat

Kasa Indian (Marina)
Eats: turkey kebabs, kati rolls, lamb curry
Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Wed; 2 am, Thurs–Sat

Katana-Ya (Tenderloin)
Eats: kimchee fried rice, chasu ramen, sushi
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

King of Thai Noodle (Union Square)*
* several locations
Eats: wonton noodle soup with greens, yellow chicken curry
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Magnolia Pub + Brewery (Upper Haight)
Eats: house-made jerky, Spanish chorizo, cobb salad
Last call for food: midnight, Mon–Thurs; 1 am, Fri; midnight, Sat

The Monk’s Kettle (Mission)
Eats: house-made veggie burger, giant pretzel, fire-grilled chicken breast
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Namu (Inner Richmond)
Eats: cold soba noodles, shiitake dumplings, crispy vegetable tempura
Last call for food: 10:30 pm, Sun–Tues; 1 am, Wed–Sat

Nombe (Mission)
Eats: ramen, chicken wings with honey and chili, blood orange salad
Last call for food: 11 am, Sun, Mon, Wed, Thurs; 2 am, Fri and Sat

Nopa (NOPA)
Eats: warm chicory salad, Moroccan vegetable tangine, hamburger
Last call for food: 1 am, daily

Oola (SOMA)
Eats: slow-cooked confit of duck, goat cheddar mac and cheese
Last call for food: midnight, Sun–Mon; 1 am, Tues–Sat

Panchitas #2 (Mission)
Eats: pupusas!
Last call for food: 2:30 am, daily

Ryoko’s (Nob Hill)
Eats: sushi, sushi, sushi
Last call for food: 2 am, daily

Starbelly (Castro) Eats: chicken liver terrine, porchetta Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun–Thurs; midnight, Fri and Sat

Tacolicious (Marina) Eats: carnitas tacos, albondigas soup, drunken beans Last call for food: 12 am, daily

Yuet Lee (North Beach) Eats: clams in black bean sauce, salt-and-pepper squid Last call for food: midnight, Thurs–Sun; 3 am, Fri and Sat; closed Tues

Zuni Café (Hayes Valley) Eats: roasted chicken and bread salad, ricotta gnocchi, shoestring potatoes Last call for food: 11 pm, Sun, Tues–Thur; midnight, Fri and Sat; closed Mon.

San Francisco Muni operators, infected with obsessive greed, attack San Franciscans yet again!

This just in from Rescue Muni . . .

You just can't make this stuff up.

The Muni operators' union, TWU Local 250-A, filed a brief with the California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) to block the restoration of 61% of the service cuts that took effect in May. The restoration is supposed to take place Saturday, but if the board grants Muni an injunction, the service cuts will remain in place.

One thing is clear: TWU has given up even the slimmest hope of defeating Proposition G. Having alienated San Franciscans thoroughly by insisting on pay increases during a severe budget crisis, just as other city workers were accepting pay cuts, they've decided to go for broke and litigate their way to cushy jobs for union leadership and less service for Muni riders.

PERB isn't scheduled to meet until October 14, according to its web site. It's hard to say from here whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for Muni riders.

end of the Rescue Muni piece. The rest is mine . . .

The photo of these aggressive out-of-control Muni drivers is courtesy of SF Weekly

TAKE ACTION to stop this nonsense

These greedy Muni drivers have slapped San Franciscans in the face one too many times. It is clear they and their union lack the intelligence necessary to recognize reality. We need to educate them through the power of the ballot box. This November let's send them a message loud and clear: "We, the people of San Francisco are your employers. We are not your hostages."

Learn more about regaining control of our transit system at: FIX MUNI NOW

Follow Fix Muni Now on Twitter at @fixmuninow

And Thank You to San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd for standing up to these gangsters and fighting back on behalf of the citizens of San Francisco. Thank you!

Run with SFPD Chief George Gascón and SAFE in Golden Gate Park

Register now for the 5K event! The deadline for early registration is quickly approaching - make sure you sign up by September 8th to secure your free event t-shirt! The run/walk is planned for Sunday, September 26, 2010.

SAFE is raising awareness of personal and family safety at their 2nd Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk for SAFEty! Join SAFE, the SFPD, Chief George Gascón and us, your fellow San Franciscans, for a fun day in Golden Gate Park. Come out and show your support for SAFE and their important community services.

Register for the 5K Fun Run/Walk for SAFEty as an individual or form a team. Runners, walkers and strollers welcome. It's a great way to get to know more of your neighbors, and partipate in a team event that will highlight your Neighborhood Watch Group. Prizes for the top 3 finishers.

Note: The largest Neighborhood Watch Group team will receive a very nice gift card for their next Block Party.

Where: Sunday, September 26, 2010; Golden Gate Park, Peacock Meadow

When:Check-in & race-day registration begins at 10:00 a.m.; Race at 11:00 a.m.

Participant BBQ & After-Party: 11:30 a.m til 2:30 p.m.

Registration: Fee is $20 per person by 9/20. Children under 10 are free. Get friends and family to pledge or sponsor your run.

For more information go to: 5k Run/walk for Safety

Another Gulf Coast oil rig explosion strikes this morning for Coast Guard Adm Mary Landry and another all-out disaster response

Update: Important resources, contact info and phone numbers listed below. Scroll down.

This is being written a little after 8:30 Pacific Time on Thursday, September 2nd. Word is coming in of another oil rig that exploded an hour or so ago in the Gulf Of Mexico. As Yogi Berra famously said, "it's deja vu all over again".

So far we have heard that Coast Guard assets are on the scene and approximately 7 helicopters and four vessels are in emergency response to the oil rig. More assets are being dispatched.

There is word that 13 workers have been rescued. No word on any other workers and no details yet.

More stress on the Coast Guard

This is the second time in very recent history that the Coast Guard is being called upon to respond to an oil rig disaster. While the Coast Guard has been saving lives and guarding the U.S. coast since 1790, the Gulf oil disaster has likely taxed the Coast Guard as much as or more than any other time in its 220 year history, save World War II.

There are more than 6,500 oil and gas producing wells and 130 mobile offshore drilling units in the Gulf of Mexico that keep the Coast Guard District 8 Marine Safety program busier than just about anybody. Five of the top seven fishing ports in the country are located in the district. They account for nearly 40 percent of the catch of U.S. commercial fishermen.

The Coast Guard's area of responsibility is divided into11 statute service areas. District 8 (D8) includes most of the mid-section of continental United States and all the Gulf Coast states. D8 is headquartered at New Orleans and is under the command of Rear Admiral Mary E. Landry, who is this morning among the busiest people on the planet.

The Admiral in charge: Mary Landry

Rear Admiral Mary E. Landry serves as the Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District and Commander of Task Force 189.8, headquartered in New Orleans. As District Commander, Rear Admiral Landry is responsible for U.S. Coast Guard operations covering 26 states, more than 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways from Florida to Mexico and including the entire navigable lengths of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee River systems.

Rear Admiral Landry arrived in the Eighth District having served for the last two years as the Coast Guard’s Director of Governmental and Public Affairs stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Rear Admiral Landry has served the majority of her career in the Marine Safety field. She has held various assignments on the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast and Hawaii. She was the Executive Officer of Marine Safety Office (MSO) Boston during the 9/11 attacks and during her tour as Commanding Officer of MSO Providence, Rhode Island, she oversaw the federal response to the Buzzard’s Bay oil spill in southeastern Massachusetts.

Rear Admiral Landry completed Officer Candidate School in 1980. A native of Buffalo, New York, Rear Admiral Landry graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978 and worked for the city’s mayor prior to joining the Coast Guard. She also has a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. Rear Admiral Landry is a National Security Fellow, earning this distinction at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2000. She received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York in May 2009.

In 2006, Rear Admiral Landry was honored as the Maritime Person of the Year by the Propeller Club of Narragansett Bay.

Her military decorations include the Legion of Merit (three awards), Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal (three awards), 9-11 Medal, and Achievement Medal.

Photo of the Admiral courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard

Resources:

U.S. Coast Guard District 8

Fast facts about USCG D-8

List of assets available to D-8

USCG D-8 command cadre phone numbers (use ONLY for official business)

USCG D-8 External Affairs Media Port (this is where news is posted)

Also see:

After Katrina, USCG fined-tuned their Critical Incident Stress management program (CISM)