A small protest was held at City Hall yesterday by 400-plus pissed off Tibetan immigrants, honoring the 49th anniversary of Tibet's uprising against China, but also San Francisco's hosting of the Olympic torch. Just a preface of what will happen in the city next month, San Francisco will be the focus of a major protest since it's the only US city hosting the Olympic torch relay in the 2008 Beijing games. According to CBS......

More giveaways! San Francisco's own Kronos Quartet has a new album out, of their acclaimed September 2003 live performance with Tom Waits of four of Waits's songs, for the Concert for Peace and Reconciliation by Richard Gere's Buddhist humanitarian organization Healing The Divide with the Dalai Lama in attendance. There's also performances by Norah Jones's sister Anoushka Shankar, Philip Glass, and the Guyto Tantric Choir. We've got a copy to give away! Even if......

Here's today's news...

Where's Frank Chu these days? Maybe at one of these protests: Over 800 hospital workers walked off the job at Cal Pacific this morning, to protest their lack of input on appropriate patient staffing levels (and pensions and money for continuing education). SEIU had reached an agreement with the hospital's owner, Tenet Health, but Tenet backed out of the deal late last month. Unlike other recent hospital strikes in the area, this is not a one-day walkout and will continue until the outstanding issues are resolved. Cal Pacific says 600 "replacement workers" (cough scab cough) were hired and no medical procedures were rescheduled. At Civic Center on Saturday, "dozens" of Tibetans and Tibetan supporters protested outside the Asian Art Museum, over its cooperation with the Chinese government in presenting the Tibet: On The Roof Of The World exhibition, which ended last weekend. Protestors are particularly upset that the museum refused to display a picture of the Dalai Lama in the show. Picture on left from KGO 7, picture from right from the Times of Tibet....

San Francisco's favorite but least read Q&A columnist, the Essefficist, answers a question about long-term parking for travelers....