Here's todays news...

After weeks of playing coy, Danny Glover finally addressed the question about running for Mayor and said nyet to the whole idea. In a statement released to the press, Danny said "I have not considered, nor am I entertaining, the idea of running for mayor." That sounds pretty definitive, actually, not the usual kind of wishy-washy statement candidates make when they kind of sort of want to run but don't want to commit just yet. The Examiner's kind of funny but mainly not "San Francisco's Next Mayor?" bit had Glover listed at 450-1 odds anyways. That's slightly better odds than Wolfgang Puck but not nearly as good odds as Clint Eastwood or Larry Ellison. ...

Since this rumor is getting a lot of play these days, it's time to do the Official SFist post on it and that is the Danny Glover for Mayor rumors. The rumors supposedly started on SFJunto and have been picked up by progressives as something doable and even kind of exciting. Hell, somebody has to run against Gavin. The thinking is he'd make perfect candidate because he's a noted lefty (he was so virulently anti-apartheid that he killed a bunch of South Africans diplomats), lives in San Francisco, and is a star, baby, a star. Hell, if Arnie could be governor and Fred Thompson the sudden leading Republican Presidential candidate based on his appearing on "Law and Order" why not Danny? The Examiner has him at 450-1 odds that he's running. ...

-The Governator has a health care plan and the Chron breaks it down. Arnie's actually getting good press from this, except with these guys. Or these guys. ...

We do love our protests here in the Bay Area. We love them so much that we follow protests in other cities like some folks follow football. Except it's always the same two teams: the protesters versus the cops. You can guess who EssEffist is rooting for. Medea Benjamin, founder of Code Pink, led a delegation in the massive march on Sunday that some estimates placed at half a million people. The march was led by local boy made good Danny Glover, among others. He walked arm in arm with Michael Moore, who was invoked to jeers and laughter by John McCain during his address to the delegates yesterday evening. Speaking of delegates, the California delegation, led by Regent Parsky, Chairman of the UC Board of Regents (what on earth did he and Dolores Huerta talk about?), is definitely looking forward to tonights speech by the Governator. Look for the recap in tomorrow's Chron. While we've yet to hear 'The Miami Model' used, protest suppression seems to be running along similar tactics. Police have used mopeds and vespas to bring down bicyclists from Critical Mass and the Bike Bloc. Apparently bicyclists are especially dangerous - some estimates have put the number of confiscated bikes near 1,000, including the hi-tech graffiti bike from Bikes Against Bush. After demonstrating the technology to an MSNBC crew, he was arrested for vandlism, even after demonstrating that a water-soluble chalk was used to officers. Other tacticts have included mass arrests by officers without badges or other ID; protesters penned by riot police and orange plastic netting, and then arrested one by one; protestors being chased down by officers on motorbikes who are snaring them in nets; and reports of beatings by both riot squad and plainclothes police. Another tactic, which we've seen here in SF, is cops videotaping the proceedings as well as the protestors. Protest tactics have involved small demonstrations all over the city in order to spread the police forces. Union, Herald, Times and Madison Square have all seen action today. San Francisco political punk legend Jello Biafra was spotted at "The Man in Black Bloc" demonstration singing along with other protesters to "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue." We know what Wonkette means when she says New Yorkers must feel like they've all been moved to San Francisco. For the latest in reports from the street, check out NYC Indymedia (which the Secret Service has reportedly been harassing), Indybay or listen in to Critical Mass (89.1 FM) or Pacifica Radio (94.1 FM). Boing Boing is on the geek-tech angle, and of course Gothamist is bringing it with the local coverage....