Despite efforts to get it removed from the internet, Yahoo!'s 2006 "Law Enforcement Investigators Guide" details the various fees that government and police officers would need to pay in order to obtain information on a user -- like access to someone's email account, which would run them $30-$40 -- and how to go about requesting it. The guide also details what kind of information is kept on users through services like Yahoo! Groups, Chat, and Flickr, and how long such information is retained. more ›

Your weekend just got a little sleepier. Ten locations, including two in San Francisco, were busted today in connection with a methamphetamine distribution setup that went from San Francisco and the Bay Area all the way to Mexico. Federal, state, and local law enforcement. In total 13 people were arrested. According to KGO: more ›

An update on today's story about a UC Santa Cruz faculty member whose home was invaded by, according to local media outlets, members of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty animal rights group: the animal rights group claims zero responsibility for last night's attack. more ›

Less than a week after the fatal tiger mauling at the SF Zoo, much of the news that has (slowly) unraveled from the Christmas Day tiger attacks has been disheartening. From the downplayed info about the too-short tiger pen fence, conflicting evidence that the three boys taunted the Siberian tiger just before the attack, and that emergency protocol wasn't followed by SF Zoo employees, there are more chin-scratching facts to add to the list. Take, for example, the lack of concern the two brothers felt for their dead friend, Carlos. According to a law enforcement source, as the brothers were being transported from the zoo to the hospital, "one brother told the other not to talk to anyone." The source went on to say that "they were more concerned with their car in the parking lot and that it would be okay." (Sure, people have different reactions in time of grief, but still: Ouch.) more ›

God bless the Bay Area Reporter. more ›

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Yuck. A SFPD cop was arrested for soliciting a 14-year-old prostitute in Oakland. The cop's a motorcycle squad supervisor and is a 37-year veteran of the force. The 14-year-old said it was her first time on the streets, the cop was apparently cooperative when the Oakland PD caught the two of them in his car, and told the Oakland officers that he thought the girl was 18. more ›

Courtesy of the Bay Guardian's politics blog, we get the latest word from Chris Daly's second favorite organization, the Police Officer's Association. In an online posting to fellow Police Officers, Union President Gary Delagnes discussed the reasons why it's been difficult these past few years recruiting new cops. He lists a bunch of the usual reasons: the coast of living in SF, the occasional danger involved in the job, unappealing working conditions, but then finds the ultimate culprit for the lack of new recruits: Gen X sucks. more ›

Law enforcement officials have confirmed that James Kim has died. more ›

Finally, the Board of Supervisors are getting behind something we can roundly support-- decriminalizing marijuana! Not that we've ever smoked dope before, of course. more ›

The District 6 supervisor race just keeps heating up! This week's episode: Everybody Hates Diet Coke. more ›

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Following up on our past posts on problems with Ocean Beach bonfires, SFist reader Owen has this to say (we added the links): more ›

We woke up again today with a strange kink in our neck, which we immediately recognized as the curse of our height challenge. Ahhhh . . . . It must be those darned subtitles we were straining to read (so much for several years of French class, eh). So, we are going to share our epiphany for those festgoers who struggle with the same height challenge. Sit on an aisle on the right side of theatre. No, not the right side of the middle section -- the aisle seat in the right section. Voila. Or so we hope. Don't expect "Cops" or "The First 48" if you see “Le Petit Lieutenant.” That’s not because the film doesn't feel realistic. In fact, it feels very realistic. That must be in part because many of the cops in the film by Xavier Beauvois are real cops, in their everyday setting. We learned at the post-film Q&A with cinematographer, Caroline Champetier, who showed up in a long black leather jacket in the spirit of a "cop" film, that Beauvois actually lived among Paris cops for two years, who served as inspiration for the script. Several of them actually had roles in the film. The film differs from the law enforcement reality shows that we would never admit to watching because it focuses on the officers themselves – as people -- showcasing the developing relationship between veteran cops, and the rookie, aka “Le Petit Lieutenant.” However, don’t be fooled. There are plenty of crime scenes, including a trip to the morgue – and the film is not for the squeamish. Tonight's your last chance to see "Le Petit Lieutenant." It shows at the Kabuki at 9:15 p.m. P.S. We also learned that Beauvois plays one of the veteran cops in the film. One clue: Look for the lizard. more ›

The Cali-KC rap war that began started with the murder of local raper Mac Dre in November 2004 escalated with the retaliatory killing of Kansas City rapper Fat Tone this past May. more ›

We just got a tip from Friend of SFist Jason that the jackbooted thugs professional federal law enforcement agents have harshed yet another buzz in The City. They've raided the home of Steve and Catherine Smith, who operate the club HopeNet at 223 9th, according to SF Gate. Reportedly agents are waiting for a warrant to search the club itself, which is next door to the headquarters of the California Marijuana Party. From the 'Gate:

In addition to marijuana plants, agents confiscated growing equipment, bulbs, utility bills, tax documents, financial records and photographs from the Smiths' home, the couple said. Steve Smith said he suspected the agents had taken some patient records as well. more ›

It seems like just yesterday that we were sniggering over Sunset residents' concerns about illegal bonfires, but it was actually a few weeks ago. Since then, we've attended a (legal -- we were between Fulton and Lincoln, so we're in the clear) beach bonfire ourselves, and again noted that the worst criminal acts we observed were those involving alcohol. more ›

In the "it would be funny and surprising if you didn't live here" department, the Mendocino County assistant agricultural commissioner, Tony Linegar, is asking the state to regulate Marijuana cultivation so that the rules can be put in place to regulate medical marijuana crops as organic. "With no products officially developed for marijuana cultivation, some growers have been using chemicals intended for ornamental plants, which could make users sick." more ›

To follow up on our previous story, we're not sure whether the Muni photography ban is the biggest threat to our personal freedom, but we have a feeling that if we don't blow this all a little out of proportion, it will probably be ignored. Civil liberties in our country seem to be dying a death by inches, and what worries us more than simply having a rule banning photography on Muni station platforms is that it is being enforced without having been publicly reviewed or even codified in a legal document. Secret laws selectively enforced is not our idea of Democracy. more ›

A federal retrial began in San Francisco today over police use of pepper spray on nonviolent demonstrators. more ›

Thomas Hawk, local San Francisco photo/blogger, posted an interesting essay on his experiences taking pictures at different private cultural venues around town. EssEffist found the link on Boing Boing, which often covers issues related to freedom of speech, expression, media and fair use. more ›

SFist has fond memories of waking up early on Saturdays to eat oversugared cereals and watch cartoons. SFist also deeply enjoys watching vaguely formulaic cop shows. With these two criteria in mind, plus a geeky fondness of San Francisco geography, SFist has been watching the cartoon more ›