Poor Google bus. (Photo: YouTube)

Googlers might follow the company’s mantra of “Do No Evil,” but that good will doesn’t always extend to its neighbors. Nearly 40 people attended an “anti-gentrification block party” in--where else!--San Francisco on Sunday to protest the plush shuttles from various tech companies, like Goog, that stop by the neighborhood to pick up brogrammers and bring them to the Valley. The neighbors allege that the buses are causing rents to skyrocket and the people who use them are dicks.

So, to stick it to those dorks with face computers, a rally formed in San Francisco's Williamsburg (the Mission District), where they smashed piñatas in the shape of Google buses and yelled about things. However, it didn't last long. SFist.com reports that the cops quickly arrived to shut down the open-mic demonstration and it pretty much devolved into people chatting and eating free food. Hmm, sort of sounds like the Google cafeteria during lunch.

Anyway, video of the demonstration, which is just a bunch of bored cops staring as a piñata is aimlessly beaten, was uploaded to (get this!) YouTube:

http://youtu.be/LoZWo10vJzM

Mr. Haag. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Naturally, it's the moment that everyone decamps for SXSW that scandal breaks. Fortune reports that the San Francisco venture firm CMEA Capital and former chief operating partner John Haag have been slapped with allegations of sexual harassment, racial harassment and retaliation by a trio of executive assistants.

Ellen Pao's gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins came as a shock largely because the prestigious firm has long had a good-guy reputation. This lawsuit, on the other hand, is jaw-dropping for its volume of allegations that are just disgusting. It reads like House of Cards meets Van Wilder. If even a handful of these claims are true, it's enough to obliterate all our Lean In-inspired optimism.

The complaint alleges that Mr. Haag regularly said things that were "sexually and racially inappropriate" and that off-color remarks and jokes were "a common and tolerated part of the work environment." The plaintiffs also claim that when they went to management with their complaints, an outside investigation backed them up and Mr. Haag was shown the door. But yet, the accusers say, they've still faced retaliation.

Fortune reports:

The three plaintiffs -- Dawn-Shemain Weeks, Margaret Hines and Shannon Schlagenhauf -- tell of a hostile work environment and detail 35 different alleged examples of inappropriate sexual comments and advances. Some of the examples are shockingly lurid, and far more explicit than what is normally found in a Silicon Valley harassment lawsuit.

If anything, "shockingly lurid" doesn't do it justice. The complaint is filled with allegations of shenanigans that would make Don Draper blush.

Some of the low-lights:

On one occasion Plaintiff Schlagenhauf walked into Defendant Haag's office. Defendant Haag asked her to come around to his side of the desk to help him out with something. Defendant Haag was sitting in the chair with his legs spread open and his crotch thrust out. Defendant Haag maneuvered himself in such a way so as to restrict Plaintiff Schlagenhauf's movement away from him or to his exit his office.

Then there's this tidbit sure to many any woman clutch her laundry basket protectively:

During the drive, Defendant Haag mentioned that he had two female tenants. Defendant Haag then told Plaintiff that the female tenants sometimes leave their underwear in the dryer and that Defendant Haag liked to "sniff it."

There's also this bit of locker room banter:

On one occasion Plaintiff Hines was answering a question by Defendant Haag stating that she had not eaten and needed some protein and commenced to eat a piece of string-cheese. defendant Haag commented, "You don't get enough protein at home?" and then used his tongue and hand to simulate oral-sex.

Just for good measure:

On another occasion, Defendant Haag asked the female Investor Relations employee whether they were aware that porn-stars bleach their anuses in order to make them more attractive.

This goes on for pages and pages, each anecdote more revolting than the last. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to wash our hands.

We've reached out to CMEA Capital and Mr. Haag for comment and will update if we hear anything back.

(Update, 5:48 p.m.) Mr. Haag's attorney responded on his behalf:

John Haag cannot comment on this matter as it is in active litigation other than to say he looks forward to the truth coming out in the course of this lawsuit. He is prepared to defend himself vigorously and trusts the justice system will thoroughly vindicate him.

Ms. Blue. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The amount of furor that can erupt from a single technical conference never ceases to amaze. The latest installment: Sex educator and CNET columnist Violet Blue was supposed to give a talk earlier this week at the security conference B-Sides San Francisco. But it was cancelled at the last minute, after objections from the Ada Initiative, an organization dedicated to supporting women in tech.

That’s all anyone can agree on, besides the fact that everyone is very, very mad.

Ms. Blue was scheduled to deliver "sex +/- drugs: known vulns and exploits," a talk focused on harm reduction in the hacker community that's she's given before. The idea is that there'll always be people who party under the influence, so it's best to educate them on what'll happen.

In Ms. Blue's version of events, shortly before she was supposed to speak she was approached by a conference organizer with a pretty blunt request: "So, I need to ask you: is there any rape in your talk?" He said there'd been a complaint about the talk, explaining, “It’s from someone who is a rape survivor and they said they will be triggered by your talk if there’s any rape in it.” He proceeded to ask her whether she described how to use date-rape drugs, and she admitted she planned to discuss their physiological affects. After some hurried back-and-forth she offered not to give the talk.

The title's a little questionable, sure. But it doesn’t take much googling to learn that famously sex-positive Violet Blue probably isn’t going to be advocating lacing your date’s drink with Rophenol.

But it doesn't end there: "I found out a few hours later that I had been targeted by a feminist organization, The Ada Initiative," Ms. Blue added. And the whole episode has her worried:

I fear that hacker culture risks becoming disconnected from high-risk or controversial information sharing. I fear that hacker culture risks losing the fight to prove wrong the harmful idea that information equals advocacy. I fear that hacker culture risks harm to itself when people are allowed to label things as wrong or bad but not be held accountable to also explain why.

The Ada Initiative, meanwhile, has released its own series of statements. They takes great pains to point out they're not unilaterally against talking about sex at technical conferences, as long as it's relevant and done in a respectful way. But they say organizers asked for their input (there's some dispute over that) and the title was all they had to go on. The argument is it might've been upsetting, alienating and potentially triggering to anyone who wasn't familiar with Ms. Blue's work:

Translated from security jargon, this title can be interpreted as suggesting that the talk will cover having sex while on drugs, including sex without consent (i.e., rape). “Exploits” in security jargon is used almost exclusively in the sense of “to take advantage of (a person, situation, etc.), esp[ecially] unethically or unjustly for one’s own ends.” For a conference-goer unaware of Violet Blue’s work, it would be understandable to wonder if the talk would handle consent issues well.

A lot of this drama is due to the simple fact there was no abstract available for the talk, which can be chalked up to simple poor planning. But the Ada Initiative overreacted, plain and simple.

What's unfortunate is that instead of anyone having a substantive discussion about the atmosphere at tech conferences and in the tech world as a whole, we're stuck dithering over who said what. Meanwhile, comment threads are filling up with "this is why feminists R the wurst." This conversation is about as productive as that bullshit argument we've been having all week about whether Sheryl Sandberg can be relevant as a feminist when she's got approximately a bajillion dollars and can hire a nanny.

This coda to the Ada Initiative's post pretty much says it all:

We apologize for not enabling comments on this post. We have received enough rape and death threats over the past few days that we don’t have the energy to moderate any more of them in comments.

If only there were some way we could talk about sex, gender and technology without the whole business collapsing into a smoldering pile of angry Hacker News comments.

(h/t Daily Dot)

Not pictured: the Cigarette Smoking Man. (Screencap)

Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley: The local CBS affiliate reports that a San Francisco man has captured video of mysterious lights zipping about the night sky. Well, The X Files did warn us that our alien colonizers would arrive on December 22, 2012. Maybe fans should have listened instead of spending our time wondering when Mulder and Scully would finally make out. 

CBS reports:

In the video, a series of lights fly in formation above the city before appearing to take a diamond shape and eventually disappearing.

There's a lot of "what the fuck"s happening in the background throughout.

The news team investigated, speaking to Bing Quock, the assistant planetarium director at the California Academy of Sciences. He ruled out several celestial causes--“It’s not a planet, it’s not a constellation, it’s not meteors, it’s not the moon"--and suggested it might've been "balloons, carrying lights. As for E.T.:

When asked if it could be some alien starship, Quock said, “That would not be my first guess, no.”

The videographer holds a different position: “I am 100 percent sure this was a UFO,” he told CBS. Well, yes, it was, in the sense that it was a flying object he could not identify. Also: “Absolutely, tequila was maybe an influence here."

Click through for video. Just remember, the truth is out there, and it's probably a weather balloon.  (It's always a weather balloon.)

UPDATED: Well, well. No sooner did we hit publish than we noticed this Gothamist report of "strange lights over Vanderbilt Avenue," in Brooklyn. According to a witness:

"There were three orbs glowing like fire and again flying in formation. Each of the three finally stopped at the same point in the sky, hovered, and then disappeared. They made no noise, however, several people in the street did notice and stopped to watch."

There's video:

"That's not no Chinese fucking lantern," a woman's voice says in the background. Indeed it's not. However, it may very well be the Geminids, a meteor shower expected to peak this week. Sorry, conspiracy theorists.

Among the locations: Six subway stations. (Photo: flickr.com/anniemole)

Quick question: What would Microsoft have to offer to get you interested in Windows 8? Would free Wifi perhaps do the trick?

Starting now until the end of the year--i.e., all the way through the holiday shopping season--Microsoft will be sponsoring free Wifi access at several locations around town, via Boingo Wireless. (San Francisco is getting the same treatment.) The program is already up and running in each of Manhattan's six wired subway stations, and it'll be extended to more than 200 unspecified hotspots across the island starting November 1. 

Those of us in the outer boroughs are, as per the usual, Wifi-less.

What's behind such generosity? Well, it's not a sudden desire on Steve Ballmer's part to play Santa. The press release basically admits the free Wifi gambit is a naked attempt to attract developers! developers! developers! to the platform:

“At Microsoft, we know that amazing apps are being built in New York and San Francisco, and we want to give talented developers the chance to launch their businesses through the Windows Store,” said John Richards, Senior Director at Microsoft Corp. “We hope our Boingo Wi-Fi sponsorship will introduce the Windows 8 opportunity to app builders in NYC and San Francisco, while providing folks with Wi-Fi connectivity on-the-go.”

Well, developers? Are you not enticed?

Social web billionaires have resorted to playing poker with dogs for cash. (Photo: Facebook Poker Chip News)

Poor social web billionaires are losing some of their millions. [Forbes]

Read the awkward IM conversation of some guy whose feelings were hurt by Mark Zuckerberg. [Business Insider]

Apple Maps got a makeover on iOS6, but...[Macworld]

...it still sucks. [Anil Dash]

The Philippines has outlawed cybering, which sounds funny at first, but actually it's to protect millions of young women forced into working as cam girls. [BBC]

Moo, a business card startup, has acquired all of the assets of New York-based Flavors.me. [TechCrunch]

The inevitable tech backlash in San Francisco has begun. Hey Bay Area engineers, we hear there are tons of companies in NYC desperate for your skillz. [San Francisco Magazine]

Artist's rendering. (Photo: flickr.com/rossaroni)

What happens when a scruffy bunch of startup scamps move into a posh neighborhood? Why, hijinks ensue, naturally.

See, San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood has something called "Billionaire's Row," where tech elites like Larry Ellison live. However, Businessweek reports that there is one mansion inhabited by an unusual crop of folks: not merely rentors, but entrepreneurs in their 30s, working on startup ideas. Nature took its course:

"'It’s like an incubator,' says Ryan Turri, a resident and aspiring beef jerky magnate. 'You’re up at two in the morning and bouncing ideas off three or four guys who are all smart.'"

Unfortunately for the purposes of entertainment value, it sounds like the proceedings are just a little G-rated:

The neighbors have raised a few grumbles. One party got too raucous, and there was the time some folks from the house put on tuxes and crashed a party at the Gettys.

Still, beats the hell out of another Silicon Valley reality TV show.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

These days, newspapers will seemingly stop at nothing to boost their bottom line. Those Weekender ads are notoriously obnoxious, and we're getting awfully tired of deleting the identification key at the end of a New York Times URL to get around the paywall. But the Wall Street Journal has finally devised a marketing scheme that we can get behind: instituting free wifi throughout our fine city (oh, and in San Francisco).

According to PaidContent, the Journal plans to blanket 70 percent of Manhattan, as well as a chunk of three other boroughs and two neighborhoods in San Francisco, with thousands of free Wifi hotspots. The paper hopes that by providing free Internet to the city's always-on citizens, they'll increase brand recognition and hopefully nab more subscriptions.

PaidContent also notes:

The paper will also garner valuable customer data since non-subscribers must register to access the WiFi. Existing subscribers can simply log-in using their accounts; this too promises to deliver a trove of marketing data about the places that Journal readers frequent.

The Wifi will reportedly be available "through September." Afterwards, you'll probably be stuck fighting for a seat at Starbucks again.

Vayable customers about to meet their charming homeless tour guide (Photo: blog.vayable.com)

If you’ve ever hoped of touring Paris’s sewer system in the dead of night accompanied by a lovely French homeless man, then you and I have a slightly different definitions of the word "vacation." But for more adventurous travelers, Vayable might be able to make your unorthodox dreams come true. The San Francisco-based travel start-up announced a few new features today, including concierge and improved international payment services.

Y Combinator-backed Vayable, which launched in April 2011 and opened an office in New York a few months later, offers over 2,500 unique travel experiences to its users in 600 cities around the world. Some special souls have used the site to spend the night on San Francisco’s former prison island –Alcatraz – while others have gone on tours of the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco guided by a homeless man.

But now you can demand more through company's concierge service, which allows users to request experiences not currently offered through Vayable.com. Think of them as your fairy godmother, except you still have to pay and they won’t turn your carriage into a pumpkin. (Though you could try and request it.)

“We were finding that there were a lot of people who wanted more nuanced and customized experiences,” Jamie Wong, co-founder and CEO of Vayable told Betabeat, noting that the concierge service will allow users “greater flexibility,” especially because they can name their own price. Apparently there are a lot of “nuanced” Vayable users, because Ms. Wong said Vayable has already received hundreds of requests through the service.

The three-member staff also launched an improved international payment method, meaning Vayable can convert users’ payment into over 35 local currencies and can pay guides directly through their local bank. They will also refund you in case, for some reason, your homeless guide bales out on the whole sewage tour thing.

Vayable is currently a member of the summer 2012 Y Combinator class, and Ms. Wong said it's doubling revenue month-over-month since joining the program.

In a few weeks, they are hoping to announce some initiatives related to campaigning and elections, and in August, they will also be hosting a Startup Crawl in San Francisco to allow customers to visit the offices of Airbnb, Dropbox and others. Maybe they can then cart everyone over to Alcatraz and see if any of the techies can figure out how to escape the island, Birdman-style.

Gentrification begins. (flickr.com/oneloneclone)

New York City has devoted a lot of time, effort, and money to fostering the local tech scene. Not one but two tech campuses; all those meetups and happy hours. But once we reach critical mass, it's all gravy, right? Right? Nope. As a smart man once said: Mo' money, mo' problems.

As companies like Twitter start developing San Francisco's downtown, the New York Times reports that their tech boom comes at a cost. One local business owner told the Times her landlord was raising her rent from $8,000 to $12,000 and asked, “Of course, Twitter is good for the city, but how about me?”

Meanwhile, the director of the San Francisco Tenants Union reports the trend has "driven up rents extremely" in the last year, while economist Kenneth Rosen predicted the boom would hurt “poor and middle class” while helping the “upper middle class.”

The end result: 

“If you have a city that is wall to wall with tech workers, that might be really cool from a tech worker’s standpoint,” said Peter Cohen, director of the San Francisco Council of Community Housing Organizations, a private group representing nonprofit housing developers. “But that is not the kind of rich diversity of population that makes San Francisco the place that it is.”

Nataurally, mayor Ed Lee frames things a little differently:

“It’s economic civil rights. You get people a job, you build their economic foundation, and then, if you set the right tone, they will start helping you build communities. We can’t do it with government-funded programs. We have do it with the private sector.”

No, this Betabeat writer isn't worried about the continued affordability of New York on a journalist's salary, why do you ask?