Pic: SF Police Get
Statements from Cliff's Xmas Protesters

When I blogged yesterday about the Christmas Eve protest inside Cliff's Variety Store on Castro Street by pro-Palestinian activists, who want the store to stop selling SodaStream products which are manufactured in Israel, it was unclear if activists made complaints about alleged assaults to the cops.

This photo comes from Rae Abileah's Twitter account where she self-describes as a
"CODEPINK Co-director, Young Jewish Proud & Jewish Voice for Peace member, human rights advocate and creative activista," and shows two members of the San Francisco police force taking statements from two of the protesters.

We now must wait for the police to investigate the allegations and if they believe assaults did occur on the part of Cliff's employees, the matter is turned over to the district attorney who will weigh whether to bring charges.

Brock Keeling over at SFist provides details from the store regarding what took place on Monday:

SFist talked to Cliff's Variety manager Martha Asten on Thursday morning. When asked to give us the store's side of the story, she told us, "This group has been protesting Soda Stream for years now at Cliff's. On Christmas Eve, they came into the store unannounced and uninvited, straggling in and collected near the Soda Stream and announced who they are . . . I had to shout because I could not be heard over them. I asked them to leave and I called the cops. At which point things escalated and they put cameras in my employees' faces," Asten explaining [sic], going on to allege that one of the protesters even tried to sink his teeth into an employee. "The guy with the purple hair [seen in the video] tried to bite my employee," she said.

Given how this story has generated much attention on Bay Area blogs and Facebook pages, including a call from the Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers site to spend money at Cliff's Variety, and a vigil is scheduled in front of the Castro Street store tomorrow, Friday, December 28, from noon till 1 pm, I soon expect this controversy to receive attention from Israeli and Palestinian newspapers and blogs.

Vid: Palestinian Carolers
Assaulted at Cliff's on Xmas Eve



Longtime videographer for many progressive causes and political protests, Peter Menchini, shared this video taken on Christmas Eve at Cliff's Variety Store on Castro Street.

You may recall that nudists and I staged a protest at the store in October over the owner Terry Bennett's heavy-handed refusal, as president of MUMC, to allow for community control of the rainbow flag on public property at Harvey Milk Plaza. We called for a boycott of Cliff's and generated a great story on the Bay News Service wire.

Now, queer supporters of the Palestinians have issues with the variety store carrying products made in Israel. To show their displeasure, a musical protest took place at the store on December 24 and in response to the physical assaults from employees at Cliff's, the protesters are calling for charges to be filed.

So far, no charges have been filed and no arrest warrants issued.

Here is the description of what happened at the store from Peter at his YouTube channel:

On 24 December 2012, Holiday Carolers -- including elderly women -- went into Cliff's Variety Store and began a peaceful protest. Employees -- including managers -- immediately began assaulting the carolers! They grabbed, shoved, pushed and dragged people out of the store. An employee twice grabbed my cell phone from my hand, cutting my hand in the process. Boycott Cliff's!

Merry, Merry From Mike + Mike

Holiday greetings from the House of Mikes in San Francisco, where the weather is wet and chilly making it a perfect time for us to share brotherhood, fine food, goofy jokes, exchange gifts including deep love and mutual pleasures.

It's soon time for apple pie and a game of Scrabble, just the perfect evening activity on this day of celebration for us.

We wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season!

Stop Armor Piercing Ammo Exemption:
Email ATF by 12/31

(B. Todd Jones)

The federal government is considering a dangerous exemption to more regulation and control of bullets that can pierce armor, under the guise of giving people who hunt more rights. According to the Sunlight Foundation, there is no formal rulemaking process yet in place at the ATF on this matter, but that is no reason to not speak out against the proposed exemption.

Public comments are due by December 31, and I've emailed and snail mailed the interim head of the ATF. Please do the same.

This letter was sent to these addys: B.Todd.Jones@usdoj.gov and APAComments@atf.gov.

Feel free to cut and paste my text and use as your own note. Let the ATF know you want more restrictions on guns and ammo.

B. Todd Jones
Acting Director
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
99 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20226

Dear Mr. Jones,

I am responding to your request for public comments regarding ammunitions which may be used in a handgun and which are constructed entirely from one or a combination of tungsten, alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium, copper or depleted uranium.

You are asking whether these bullets pose a threat to public safety and law enforcement, or are, "primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes" and therefore may be exempted from classification as "armor piercing ammunition".

Yes, the bullets are without question a deadly menace and must be tightly controlled. I plead with you to NOT exempt armor piercing bullets from classification as such.

There is no rationale that would justify the BATFE allowing the sale of any handgun ammunition that can pierce body armor and endanger first responders and the general public.

America needs much more stringent regulation of such projectiles and I demand that you and the BATFE reject any effort to exempt such bullets on behalf of hunters. A prompt reply stating you've received this letter is requested.

Rainbow Over San Francisco;
NEMA District Debuts

Last September, while I was at the Little Hollywood laundromat, a rainstorm hit the city and afterward a rainbow was visible over Market Street and inspiring awe in lots of folks.

Today, I was again washing clothes when a downpour occurred and on my way home another rainbow shared its beauty over San Francisco. This image was shot at Duboce and Guerrero Streets and brought me great pleasure.

Here's another shot of those striped rays of color streaking across the sky this afternoon.

The goddess sure is blessing our fabulous city with her gorgeous rainbows this year, for which we should rejoice.

In other news here, I didn't know San Francisco gained a new district recently, until I noticed this sign today on the scaffolding at Market and 10th Streets where condos are under construction.

Click the image to enlarge it and you'll see that NEMA stands for New Market. The condos are being sold as the New Market Apartments.

Sure, Market Street from 5th up to Van Ness is undergoing rapid redevelopment, and the NEMA condos are across from Twitter's headquarters, and in some ways it's accurate to describe the gentrifying area as New Market.

However, given the influx of tech firms in the area and the workers employed by them earning robust salaries, it might be more honest to designate the debuting district as NEMO. That stands for New Money, and you're gonna need lots of it to move into the NEMA apartment or keep your affordable - if you're lucky enough to have it.

Weekend Woof #22:
Boys, Boys and Boys!

As you see, the look and layout of my blog is evolving. Tried previewing some potential changes and accidentially changed the layout. I'm taking it as a sign to revamp things and hope you'll bear with me as I try out a few changes.

Here are the latest cute guys to either pose for or pass before my camera, and please my queer eye. Thanks, fellas. Happy holidays to them and to you!

This young man is a student at the acupuncture drop-in clinic I visited earlier the week. He's very skillful with the needles and finding the right points to hit, bringing forward deep stress reduction.

Introduce yourself Xavier, an adorable sexy young chub who's the assistant manager at a nearby Walgreen's store. Come the new year, Xavier says he'll be shaving off all his hair and that I should stop by again to get a photo of him with his bald look.

I may have to visit Four Barrell Coffee on Valencia Street more often for a fix of java, and a dose of Owen in his crisp-and-tight leather apron with thick straps pressing against his shoulders.

By any measure, the weather in San Francisco on Tuesday morning was downright cold, but that didn't stop these two young slabs of compact beef from strutting up Market Street in tank tops. As far as I could see, neither one of them had goose-bump skin from the chill and wind.

Previous batches of woofy dudes are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Please Pardon the Dust

We're going through design and layout changes around here, so please pardon the experiments and changes.

If you use Google's Blogger and care to make suggestions regarding the layout, installing a Facebook like button without joining Facebook and taking advantage of other social marketing tricks, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

As the look changes, one thing won't. The Weekend Woof series of photos of all kinds of nice looking men and boys, each adorable or sexy in his own way, will keep expanding. The latest update appears tomorrow.

NAPWA's Crises;
Strub's Smart Suggestions

 (People with AIDS at a gay health conference in the early 1980s.)

When the National Association of People With AIDS was first getting established as a nonprofit advocacy group, they hired Stephen Beck as their executive director. Stephen was quite sexy in a stocky wrestler way and he had the right kind of smarts to navigate the needs of PWAs, service organizations and federal agencies to keep the group viable and supported by PWAs.

He once told me that he had to have honest and substantive answers to my questions when I would call him on the telephone, and that I kept sharp and ready to deal with pesky bureaucrats and funders. Stephen never avoided responding to my concerns.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of NAPWA's current leadership. After eight days of not receiving a response to questions emailed to NAPWA's board chairman Tyler TerMeer, I got him on the phone at the Ohio AIDS Coalition where he works. It was painfully obvious Tyler was unprepared to speak with me and provide substantive answers.

He mentioned that the NAWPA board had decided months ago that when questions arose about their many problems from the press or community, that the board as a whole would reply. Oh. Well, why didn't NAPWA get around to telling the PWA community about this policy in writing on their site?

Tyler didn't say, but he said the board is meeting this weekend to address problems and respond to my questions. Nothing more screams "crisis" at a nonprofit than being told the board is meeting over the weekend a few short days before the Christmas holiday.

My original questions last week dealt with any pending investigations by law enforcement agencies or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, why NAPWA does more to get negatives tested for HIV than delivering programs for positives, where is the grassroots membership or support, and could NAPWA become less beholden to Gilead and OraQuick and more active for PWAs.

Here's the response, in full:

As a cost cutting measure in November, NAPWA eliminated the positions of Executive Vice President, Vice President for Development and Vice President for Communications. Any questions regarding any investigation by a law enforcement agency should be directed to the appropriate law enforcement agency. As a matter of policy, NAPWA does not comment on individual personnel matters, and it declines to comment.

If only NAPWA's current leadership would honor and learn from the Stephen Becks who founded the organization, they would not insult me and other PWAs with such a vague reply. Coming on top of months of NAPWA remaining secretive and frightened about its latest crises, the reply signals it may not be possible to rescue and revive the organization.

To get a more moderate perspective on the situation, I turned to my friend Sean Strub who's been living with AIDS for decades, founded POZ magazine and now battles criminalization of PWAs, for his opinion. Sean said:

The situation at NAPWA is unfortunate, sad and unnecessary. People with HIV in the U.S. have suffered for not having a strong, cohesive voice putting their interests first; perhaps the crisis at NAPWA will be a step towards allowing such a voice to emerge.

I don't understand why their board of directors has been so closed and secretive. That does not serve the public interest, the effort to fight HIV or people with HIV. Crises are when non-profit agencies should make an extra effort to be transparent and accountable, especially if they expect to rely upon the goodwill and support of the people they purport to serve.

I've suggested privately to a number of board members that they create a process to work with a blue ribbon commission of people with HIV who are not directly a part of their mess to get outside, objective guidance from community stewards who can help guide them out of the financial hole and crisis of leadership, accountability and transparency in which they find themselves.

The people with AIDS commission idea is something I can embrace, and I'm glad Sean proposes potential solutions. If that commission gets formed, much good can come of it simply by bringing diverse PWAs together and letting us decide our agenda for 2013, especially regarding federal programs.

Proving just how far removed NAPWA is from the affordable housing, uninterrupted access to healthcare and drug cocktails, and debilitating stigma faced by lots of PWAs every day in America, their newsletter published three days ago discloses no details about their troubles or how they're helping PWAs.

However, the lengthy lead story is all about the Prop 8 case and the Supreme Court agreeing to review Defense of Marriage Act legal challenges. Absolutely nothing remotely directly affecting the current daily concerns of people with AIDS.

Advocate Magazine = GLAAD's Lapdog

It's a depressing trend, the co-opting of what remains of the independent gay press.

Back in May, I blogged about the Washington Blade entering into a partnership with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. A gushing release from the paper said:

“As a longtime supporter of the Task Force, I am excited to work with this important organization as a National Corporate Partner,” said Blade publisher Lynne Brown. “The Blade looks forward to furthering our mission of informing the LGBT community while supporting the Task Force’s work for full LGBT equality.” 

Say good-bye to any independent or coverage critical of this Gay Inc group from the Blade with that announcement.

This week, the leech upon the gay body politic known as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced that's made a similarly cozy relationship with the publisher of the Advocate and OUT magazines. Sure, it further diminishes what little creditibility the Advocate has as in impartial journalistic operation but the partnering also is quite apt, given how superficiality and full of empty gloss both the Advocate and GLAAD share.

From the gay kiss-ass organization:

Give the gift of equality this season, and receive a free subscription to Out and Advocate magazines!

As part of a partnership with Here Media, when you donate $50 or more to GLAAD ( and indicate you want to receive the magazines) you get a free subscription to the publications! . . .

We want to be able to provide this rapid response work for 2013 too, but we can't do it without your help! So, donate $50 for the holidays, and get a gift from Here Media! 

So! Many! Exclamation! Points! Why?

Here on the Left Coast, for all practical intents and purposes the Bay Area Reporter is in partnership with the Merchants of Upper Market Castro in several ways. First, the paper's advertiser director is a voting member of MUMC, the organization regularly purchases display ads and so do many businesses that belong to MUMC.

The BAR has never provided timely, accurate or balanced coverage of the many controversies surrounding MUMC on issues ranging from attendance at their meetings where public policy is created to control of the rainbow flag to disrespecting transgender people.

Our LGBT community needs media outlets to serve as watchdogs not lapdogs and it becomes ever more important for bloggers and activists to bring transparency and accountability to the likes of NLGTF, GLAAD and MUMC.

Pink Pistols, Red Blood:
Lesbians With Assault Rifle Poster

Guns are a menace to American civilization and I have previously disclosed that in the past I have donated small amounts of money to be a member of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

That said, I'm quite disgusted today with the silence of the Pink Pistols, the Gay NRA, over the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Their web site, which, granted is quite bare bones on everything, offers no condolences to the families of the victims murdered last week.

Googling for any comments from Pink Pistols' leaders turned up only a passing reference in a column by Rick Rosendall in Metro Weekly.

This offensive image of smiling and intimate young lesbians, with one holding an assault rifle and an obnoxious simplistic equating of gay rights with gun rights, appears on the Pink Pistols page. Frankly, I don't see bullets, like the bracelet made of them, as mere fashion accessories.

Check out this other image from the Pink Pistols site. The sign on the far left reads, "H8TRS [haters] Can Suck My Glock". Nope, I don't want to link cocksucking in any way with using a Glock handgun. And what the hell do these gun-toting gays mean with "Carry Rights" and "Marry Rights" placards?

Finally, this image featuring an assault rifle with parts encased in pink plastic and text stating "Gays wear many hats, but keeping their loved ones safe is Job One", was found at this blog. I'm not sure it was created or endorsed by the Pink Pistols, but its underlying message that guns equal safety for gays nevertheless is a message that I don't agree with.

Whether the pistols are pink or black or another color, all victims of gun violence bleed red blood.