In southern Brazil last week, around 100 cycling activists were mowed down by an angry driver. Associated Press reports: "Cyclists in the Critical Mass ride tell the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that the man argued with some riders, who had taken over all lanes of the street on Friday."
Driver Runs Over Cyclists Protesting In Brazil (VIDEO)
Barcelona and S.F. Sign Sister-City Agreement
San Francisco gave a proper shout-out to the inarguably wonderful Catalan people today (full disclosure: your editor's family hails from the area) after signing a sisters-cities pact with Barcelona, Spain. Spearheaded by Sister Cities International, a nonprofit "designed to strengthen partnerships between U.S. communities and those abroad," Mayor Gavin Newsom made it official on Monday. Sister Cities International strives to "build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development."
Broadband Access Is A Human Right, Says Finland
Finland has got it going on. In addition to a truly awesome language, Finns, according to a law that will go into effect next July, will have the right to free broadband. YLE reports that Finland "will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications." This makes Sweden's neighbor "the world's first country to create laws guaranteeing broadband access." What's more, Finland will guarantee 100 Mb broadband a legal right by late 2015. [via snackfight]
Twitter DoS Attack: Republic of Georgia Separatist?
Yesterday's Twitter outage, it seems, was the result of one blogger, a separatist in the Republic of Georgia. According to CNET:
Twitter for Sh-tters
Hey, don't blame us for the feces-related headline. If it were up to us, we would've stuck in another "i." See, Twitter for Sh-tters is this: a "grassroots" Twitter campaign to get people to pay attention to the serious lack of proper poopers in other countries. Wherever The Need (WTN) "aims to alleviate poverty and ill health through the implementation of environmentally-sound sanitation and water solutions that empower individuals and communities without undermining traditions and cultures." Targeting such regions as India, Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, WTN wants to "provide sanitation solutions by building specialized eco-sanitation (eco-san) toilets, and to facilitate the conversion of human waste for local agriculture usage." Cool, but how does this involve Twitter, you ask? Well, the idea is that Twitter users can follow TFS and invite their followers to donate to WTN or just raise awareness while grossing them out. Also, if you decide to join WTN, "you pledge to spend a day tweeting about shit (literally, or not, up to you) to raise money for Wherever the Need." Which could be fun. Or, possibly reduce your number of followers. For more information, visit www.twitterforsh-tters.com, or follow the them on Twitter. Because fecal matter matters.
Husbands of Laura Ling and Euna Lee Speak Out
Last night. before a vigil for Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who are currently serving a 12-year jail sentence in North Korea for illegally crossing the border, the inmates' husbands spoke out about their conditions. The news was disheartening.
Australians, Hong Kong-ians Panic About Incoming Swine Flu From San Francisco
The insane worldwide panic preceding a potential (though unlikely?) worldwide pandemic of swine flu reached new heights today, with Australian flights from California being screened before deplaning and a woman in Hong Kong hospitalized after visiting (gasp!) San Francisco.
Images of Today's Torch Rally at Embarcadero/Protest at Golden Gate Bridge
Some images of today's torch relay/protest/insanity/Newsomness as the torch run turned into, well, complete chaos. Whew, what a day.
Olympic Torch Switcharoo
Pretty sneaky, Gavin.
Olympic Torch Relay Live Cam -- At Last!
Care of Justin.tv. Also, for more live blog coverage, visit studentsforafreetibet.
Torch Route
Although, according to fine Mayor Gavin Newsom, the torch route change at a moment's notice, the path is currently starting at AT&T Park (where confrontations are reportedly already taking place), running along the Embarcadero Park (where confrontations are reportedly already taking place), and ending at Justin Herman Plaza (where confrontations are reportedly already taking place). If you get any shots of the flame or hot-headed behavior, be sure to tag them with "sfist" in your Flickr stream for everyone to see.
Images From Yesterday's Tibet Rally and Peace March
Before today's Olympic torch run, check out some images from yesterday's
Olympic Torch Route to Go Through Berry Street?
While we can say for sure where the torch route will go tomorrow--KTVU confusedly announced the "official map route" during today's noon broadcast and KPIX interviewed a fake Bono, so we can't be sure of anything anymore--we can take a stab at it, yes? Yes.
Watch Today's Tibet/Olympic Torch Protest/Rally/Star Sighting/Melee Live
Can't make it to today's Tibet rally? Well then, check out the live feed above, or head over to justin.tv to catch to watch/chat about it. Be sure to visit OlympicTorchSF for additional coverage, as well as their Twitter updates, which we highly recommend for culling up-to-the-second torch route specifics.
Olympic Flame Arrives With Cool Insouciance
The divisive Olympic flame arrived in SF today all the way from Paris (how chic!) under a shroud of security normally "reserved for head-of-state visits." It touched down at SFO with no protesters in sight (it arrived at 3:40 a.m.)
Breaking News: Tibet Protesters Scale Golden Gate Bridge
Currently three protesters are climbing the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge, attempting to hang up a sign on the bridge in protest over the Olympic torch run through San Francisco, which is scheduled to make its only U.S. run in San Francisco on Wednesday. Check out KPIX's live cam for what's going down right now.
Sunday's Protest Against Kosovo's Independence
A small but vocal amount of the local Serbian community held a minor protest about the United States' recognition of Kosovo as a separate state, going up Market Street on Sunday afternoon; the republic declared itself to be independent earlier this month. According to Associated Press, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says the U.S. should "annul their recognition of Kosovo." AP goes on to say:
Fortysomething Dies While Street Racing
A grown man died during a street race in Oakland last night at around 9:30 p.m.. The unidentified 42-year-old -- that's right, 42-year-old -- was racing his 2005 Nissan "west on the 7100 block of Doolittle Drive, near Oakland International Airport" before losing control of his vehicle. He then slammed head-on into a non-compete Hyundai, which sent the 57-year-old driver of the former car to the hospital with serious injuries.
SFist Photo: Ten Commandments of Strybing Arboretum
Photo of a funny sign in Golden Gate park
SFist Photo: Bests in Show at the S.F. Car Show
Photos from the San Francisco International Auto Show
SFist Tonight
-- Unspeakable (2007): Documentary about the life of Satanic Priest Steven Johnson Leyba, "ordained by Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, is known in the underground art world as the 'Father of Sexpressionism.'" (Chortle) Screens tonight at 7:45 p.m., 9:05 at the Roxie New College Film Center; $6.
Top Drawers: SF International Animation Festival Ticket Giveaway
The International Animation Festival starts tonight, kids. And speaking of them, don't bring yours to tomorrow night's wonderfully smut-filled orgy of animated shorts, Top Drawers.
San Francisco International Animation Festival
In a city littered with film festivals, few of them stand out. This is one of them.

