Yael Chanoff

Dailies dutifully vomit out the city's misleading portrait of OccupySF

10.26.11 - 12:27 pm | Yael Chanoff |

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Both the Examiner and the Chronicle reported this morning that the OccupySF encampment has become a public health hazard, setting the stage for what many believe is an imminent police raid. The newspapers' only source: a notice that the Department of Public Health handed out to protesters, at their camp in Justin Herman Plaza, at 6am today. Read more »

Mixed messages

OccupySF erects a growing tent city — over the mayor's opposition

10.25.11 - 8:04 pm | Steven T. Jones and Yael Chanoff |

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steve@sfbg.com

In San Francisco — the first major city to launch a midnight police raid to break up an Occupy encampment, which it repeated Oct. 16 — city officials are struggling with contradictions between claims of supporting the movement but opposing its tactic of occupation. Protesters have reacted to those mixed messages by erecting a growing tent city in defiance of Mayor Ed Lee's public statements on the issue.Read more »

SFPD allows OccupySF to grow into a tent city

10.21.11 - 11:40 am | Yael Chanoff |

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Photos by Steven T. Jones, who also contributed to this report.

It seems the San Francisco Police Department is laying off the OccupySF encampment, at least for now. After top city officials sent mixed messages to the occupiers during a pair of high-profile hearings in City Hall this week, a full-blown tent city with working kitchen and medical tent has now been erected in Justin Herman Plaza. Read more »

Relax and open up (your mind) for International Fisting Day -- NSFW

10.18.11 - 2:13 pm | Yael Chanoff |

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When queer porn stars Courtney Trouble and Jiz Lee noticed that fisting scenes were being consistently edited out of conventional pornography, they knew something had to be done. Enter International Fisting Day, which will be born with an ecstatic shout this Fri/21. The actor-activists hit upon the idea of the day to expose the joys of fisting and mobilize bloggers, porn lovers, and supporters everywhere to share the good word about a good fist. We recently conducted an interview with Courtney Trouble via email. She was a-tingle awaiting her new holiday, set to coincide with Live Sex Show, the movie she shot at this year's Masturbate-a-thon at the Center for Sex and Culture (yes, it includes fisting galore). She says that sex-positivity is all about celebrating consensual sex that makes people happy. Fisting does just that -- so why do we still consider it obscene?

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SFPD raids OccupySF again, using more force this time (PHOTOS AND VIDEO)

10.17.11 - 10:37 am | Yael Chanoff |

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SFPD raids OccupySF, 10/16. Photo by Diego Glusberg

2:10 pm UPDATE: OccupySF plans to march on City Hall today (Mon/17) starting at 5 pm at Justin Herman Plaza.

Police raided the OccupySF encampment for the second time last night. The events were similar to the Oct. 5 incident, where police stood in riot gear while the protesters’ materials were loaded into Department of Public Works trucks, then protesters sat, lay, and stood on the street around the trucks in an attempt to prevent them from leaving. In both cases, a kitchen and medical tent that had been set up by protesters were dismantled. Read more »

Get on the bus: St. James Infirmary's new sex worker PSAs are

10.13.11 - 10:30 am | Yael Chanoff |

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St. James Infirmary has been providing free, non-judgmental medical and social services for sex workers since 1999. This week, it’ll take the next step. The clinic is putting ads up in Muni buses throughout the city this month meant to educate and inspire Muni riders throughout the city.

But the campaign, entitled “Someone you know is a sex worker,” won’t be seen on a billboard near you. The ads, which feature actual sex workers, were rejected outright by both Clear Channel and CBS Outdoor before transit ad company Titan 360 agreed to the bus campaign. Read more »

News and Education

OccupySF protesters shut down Wells Fargo HQ

10.12.11 - 4:14 pm | Yael Chanoff |

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Author Naomi Klein addresses the crowd. Photo by Brooke Anderson

At 7 a.m. this morning (Wed/12), protesters against corporate greed were poised for one of the most impactful actions since OccupySF began.

About 50 people associated with the Foreclose Wall Street coalition were seated in front of all the entrances to the Wells Fargo corporate headquarters on California and Montgomery streets. Back at the site of the OccupySF camp in front of the Federal Reserve Bank on Market Street, protesters gathered. They held a rally there that included a speech from Sup. John Avalos, the only mayoral candidate to actively support the movement.

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Inside the occupation

With its general assemblies, People's Mic, and chants of 'We are the 99 percent,' OccupySF gains momentum despite a police crackdown

10.11.11 - 5:27 pm | Yael Chanoff |

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Follow the Guardian's complete Occupy SF coverage here.

Thursday morning, in gray seven o'clock fog, about 100 people asleep in front of the Federal Reserve building began to blink their eyes open. The bustling camp that had been there the day before — a small village of tents, tarps and easy-ups, shelves brimming with books, art supplies, and a display of hundreds of signs — was gone. The kitchen and all their food were missing, too.Read more »