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...When the U.S.S. Enterprise first blasted off in 1966, only its principal characters — William Shatner’s Capt. James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock and DeForest Kelley’s Dr. Bones McCoy among them — might have expected devoted fans. But as Trekkies observe the show’s 40th anniversary this year, they are celebrating not just the stars but also the background actors who manned the starship’s controls, beamed down to alien planets and, if they played red-shirted security guards, often got torn apart by a monster or dematerialized by a Klingon...

Bit h/t to the Commenters at Just One Minute. We bloggers owe our best work to their diligence and tenacity. The following is a complilation of some what they found so far, of what just may be the key to getting to the bottom of a Democratic conspiracy in the Foley Setup. As I previously posted here, there apparently was a promise of a book deal to pages by a Robin Kasaros. Googling her name brought about useful information such as she hosted “House Parties” back in 2005. No, not where you sell Tupperware, but the kind that like to...

Steve Williams returned to his Golden Gate Park campsite just in time Saturday morning to retrieve all his belongings from the back of a Department of Public Works pickup truck. New to San Francisco, he hadn't heard about the push to clear the park of homeless encampments until someone at the Haight Street McDonald's advised him to check on his stuff. "I only slept there one night," said Williams, 33, who arrived last week in San Francisco from Baltimore by bus. "This wasn't what I was expecting." Within minutes, workers from the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team had made arrangements...

Krissy Keefer's chances of unseating the House Minority Leader are essentially nil, but her quixotic run in San Francisco has tapped into real liberal disillusion -- on Iraq above all.On a recent Sunday in Washington Square Park, in the heart of ultra-liberal San Francisco, Krissy Keefer roamed among the knots of people seated on the grass with the ease of a practiced socialite mingling with old friends. Balancing a to-go coffee cup in one hand, the 60-something dancer with an unruly mane of long, dark, gray-streaked hair would sidle up to elderly couples and young parents, offer them one of...

Abe Lincoln once posited an interesting conundrum: Q. If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? A. Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg! It apears that every few months or so a five-legged dog decides to run amok in our country and kill people - often of Jewish extraction - prompting the media to do its best to withhold certain details which might cause the public to jump to certain wildly unreasonable conclusions. Case in point: yesterday a 29 year old man in San Fransisco was arrested on 14 counts...

Denvention III will be the 66th World Science Fiction Convention. It will be held August 6 - 10, 2008.

The Hugo Awards for best science fiction works in 2005 were presented Saturday, August 26, 2006 at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention, LACon 4, in Anaheim, CA. Best Novel: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Tor) Best Novella: "Inside Job" by Connie Willis (Asimov's January 2005) Best Novelette: "Two Hearts" by Peter S. Beagle (Fantasy & Science Fiction October/November 2005) Best Short Story: "Tk'tk'tk" by David D. Levine (Asimov's March 2005) Best Related Book: Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop by Kate Wilhelm (Small Beer Press) Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Serenity Written...

In a city outgunned by criminals on the street, the San Francisco police department may have missed its chance to upgrade its arsenal. ... ABC7 reported Wednesday that San Francisco police are finding more and more assault weapons on the streets. The officers say they're outgunned and they want equal firepower, specifically the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. A lot of police departments already have them. Among them -- Berkeley, San Jose, Walnut Creek and even the CHP -- all because of a bank robbery shootout nine years ago. ... Three years ago, the military donated 100 M-16's to the SFPD to...

It's in Anaheim, California this year and it starts tomorrow. Is anyone here attending?

There have been several science fiction threads floating around in the near past - and I thought it would be good to hash out the books. Here are my thoughts: Almost anything by Larry Niven is worth it - especially stuff from the Known Space series. Jerry Pournelle is also good, but under-rated. His Janissaries books were a good read, along with Starswarm. RAH - most of his books are very enjoyable. His later stuff (which some consider his classics) I didn't like at all, especially that one about a guy getting his brain transplanted in a womans body. I...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Police arrested a demonstrator today in a melee that started when a woman tried to burn an Israeli flag at a rally in downtown San Francisco over Israel's military actions against Lebanon and Palestinian territories. After thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown at midday, police used batons to subdue the brief skirmish at the Civic Center. Tensions flared between the demonstrators and counter protesters, who were on opposite sides of Polk Street, separated by metal barricades and dozens of polices officers. The two groups exchanged insults and gestures periodically throughout the rallies. When a woman started to...

LOS ANGELES Several thousand protesters marched through California's two largest cities Saturday to condemn U.S. policy in the Middle East and appeal for an end to the bloodshed in Israel's war with Islamic militants in Lebanon. "I hope that we will stop the aggression against Lebanon, the killing of innocent civilians," said Dina Tawamsy, 32, an engineer who was among over 1,000 people marching in downtown Los Angeles. "I don't believe the kidnapping of two soldiers should lead to the destruction of the infrastructure of a whole country," she said, alluding to the fighting that began in Lebanon July 12...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Army News Service, Aug. 10, 2006) – Thirty-one Soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) were decorated with honors to include three Silver Star Medals for valorous actions in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in a ceremony here, Aug. 8. The three Silver Star Medal recipients were Master Sgt. Keith Logsdon, Sgt. 1st Class Bruce Holmes and Staff Sgt. Matthew Keefe. The Silver Star Medal, the Army’s third highest award for combat valor is awarded to Soldiers for distinguished gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States during military operations. Maj. Gen. Thomas R....

RALEIGH, N.C. - Federal prosecutors won their battle Monday to keep former CIA Director George Tenet and several other agency employees from having to testify at the trial of a one-time CIA contractor accused of beating an Afghan detainee. But U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle said he would allow defense attorneys for David Passaro to subpoena six witnesses whose identities are classified, and promised to rule on later on four others. The judge heard the dispute behind closed doors before a jury was selected and opening statements began. Passaro, a 40-year-old former Special Forces medic from Lillington, N.C., is the...

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2006--Clear Channel (NYSE:CCU) Clear Channel Radio today announced that "Wake Up With Whoopi" is set to reach multiple formats in national syndication, beginning August 14, 2006. The show debuted earlier this morning in New York City on WKTU-FM (Rhythmic CHR). Some of the stations set to air the show on Monday, August 14th include: -- WLIT-FM, Chicago (Soft Adult Contemporary) -- KKSF-FM, San Francisco (Smooth Jazz) -- WVMX-FM, Cincinnati (Adult Contemporary/MIX) "The response from radio stations across the country has been phenomenal," said Kraig Kitchin, president/COO Premiere Radio Networks. "This program is rewriting the rules of...

International ANSWER along with the Saudi Funded Wahhabist support group Council on American Islamic Relations CAIR will be holding a demonstration in San Francisco. This will essentially be an anti-American, anti-Jewish fifth column Muslim operation. Our side NEEDS to show up, it is far past time when the right did something about this crap. I am personally willing to help in coordinating and organizing this and can be reached at: news@pipelinenews.org I am located in the San Fran East Bay. Let's roll brothers and sisters! fwiw I couldn't post this without linking to some site so I linked to the...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined thousands of Israel supporters in the withering heat Sunday to rally behind Israel's recent attacks in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Loudly condemning the "relentless rocket attacks of Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel," Villaraigosa drew a cheer when he said: "We're here to defend (Israel's) unassailable right to defend itself." Schwarzenegger also affirmed Israel's right to self-defense and offered prayers for peace in Lebanon. "I hope they can recover their country and live without violence or strife," he said. -Snip-In a separate pro-Israel rally in San Francisco Sunday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,...

You have to go to the link to check out the photos: http://www.zombietime.com/israeli_consulate_protest_july_13_2006/ I was there. Huge pro-Israel counter-protest. And anyone walking by would know immediately who the enemy is. Let's put it this way, there were only American flags on one side (can you guess which one?). And the pro-Palis chanting slogans in favor of Hamas and Hezbollah didn't help. Not to mention the keffiyeh-clad terrorist wannabees and the headscarf brigage. The crusty old lefties chanted dutifully along and the "Jewish Voice for Peace" morons did their suicidal best to cheer for their own demise. The usual suspects... Too...

San Francisco -- Dozens of protesters carrying banners and Lebanese flags rallied at City Hall on Saturday, condemning Israel's attacks on targets in Lebanon as barbaric and illegal. "We're trying to raise some awareness with the American public about what's going on," said Mohamad Charafeddine, a Stanford University doctoral student who organized the protest. "It's unacceptable." About 50 people, mostly members of the Bay Area's Lebanese community, took part in the demonstration. The protest came as Israel intensified its air assault on Lebanon, striking Hezbollah strongholds and bombing central Beirut for the first time.

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that if Democratic leaders do not quickly rally around Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides, he will lose to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November. Newsom suggested that Democrats who hope to run in 2010 were undermining Angelides out of their own personal ambitions. Whoever runs four years from now will face better odds if there is no Democratic incumbent.