Tibetans and supporters hold up flags at a rally in protest of China's Olympic torch at the U.N. Plaza in San Francisco as the torch arrived there Tuesday. (Chiu/AP)
Posted on 04/09/2008 7:14:58 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Olympic Games torch rushed into hiding
Daily News[Wednesday, April 09, 2008 15:03]
Tibetans and supporters hold up flags at a rally in protest of China's Olympic torch at the U.N. Plaza in San Francisco as the torch arrived there Tuesday. (Chiu/AP) |
San Francisco officials were playing hide-and-seek with the Olympic torch on Tuesday to keep it safe from protesters for Wednesday's 6-mile trek through the city's hilly streets.
The torch arrived in the San Francisco Bay area in the morning and was whisked off to a secret location as demonstrators vowed to douse the clarion call of the Summer Games in Beijing.
"We treated it like a head of state visit," said Mike McCarron, spokesman for San Francisco International Airport, where the torch arrived amid tight security.
The flame, commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, will be paraded through city streets today by a contingent of people, including three New Yorkers.
Retired NYPD cop James Dolan, 64, retired FDNY Firefighter Richard Doran, 57, and South Bronx environmental activist Majora Carter, 41, are to participate in Wednesday's torch relay. They say they are not deterred by the demonstrations that greeted the torch in London and Paris.
"Understand what will be in my heart when I run," Carter told the Daily News last night. "The torch symbolizes freedom and justice, and when one of us stands up for truth and justice, we all stand up for truth and justice.
Protesters, angered by Communist China's crackdown on dissidents in Tibet, have tackled torchbearers and fought with police. The chaotic clashes have embarrassed Chinese officials. About 2,000 people staged a peaceful rally in San Francisco yesterday to protest China's human rights record in Tibet. Actor Richard Gere read a message from the Dalai Lama urging nonviolence.
Earlier, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press, "We are very sad for all the athletes and the people who expected so much from the run and have been spoiled of their joy."
Sure, but soon it will become anoter OJ in a Bronco chase.
In the background, we hear a music, "Bad boys, bad boys, what're you gonna do?...":-)
Ping!
I just received an email from my brother-in-law. He’s going to the protest for a boycott in support of Tibet.
Hey, whatever gets you through the day, Majora.
I am sure the people who ran with Hitler's torch in the lead up to the Berlin Olympics said they were ushering in a new era of peace and brotherhood for Europe.
I don’t support a boycott, but I do support giving China he11. Let’s see how well they hold up to the light shining on them.
I hope someone snuffs that $hit out and bumrushes the big chinese blue man group.
Jacques Rogge can go (*Expletive Deleted*) himself.
The IOC are morons, too.
They gave the games to the worthless Chicoms.
Has anybody checked ebay?
Only a boycott, (and a big one), will send the proper message to Hu and his henchmen in cheap suits.
Throw ‘em off the bridge into the bay.
"I've got a cigarette that'll re-light it..."
I don’t see why the Chinese are continuing this farce. Obviously, everywhere the torch goes will be protests against China. Isn’t the purpose of the torch run for the world to feel proud of the torch going by? Well that isn’t going to happen. Might as well fly that torch back to Beijing and blame the boorish West, or they will continue to suffer loss of face on world TV wherever it goes.
If China is forced to back down, it will cost heads of some really high-ranking Chinese officials.
I dont think they will stop the relay because they would lose face if they do. This really is a blessing in diguise. Better than a boycott even (which just hurts the athletes).
They cant stop the relay but they cant continue the relay without their transgressions (i.e Human Rights, Iron Boot Politics) being in the front page every day.
I just hope that these activists keep it peaceful. Nobody needs to die over an overgrown match.
Any idea when the relay is supposed to start. Maybe we can change this to a live thread for that. It could be interesting.
Maybe. Maybe not. We’re using carrot & stick here. This is a PR nightmare for China and it’s the reason the Olympic Committee chose China. Tibet is taking advantage and so is everyone else who can. We’ve even had televised reports about their toilets and water and warnings that rooms might have surveillance cameras and bugs. How China reacts to this negative publicity will determine actual boycotts. By the time the international community gets done with China, China may wish they’d never been chosen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
