Torch Recap

The flame is on its way to Buenos Aires. The closing ceremony was not televised. Mayor Newsom was just on the local media (KNTV NBC 11) explaining what happened.

When the bus with the Chinese delegation was stopped by the protesters this morning, along with the public walking down the middle of Embarcadero, the city police told the mayor that they couldn't guarantee public safety.

When the torch went into the warehouse and didn't emerge, it was because they were trying to decide if they could change the route our if they should cancel the event.

The mayor felt that protecting the runners was the most important task in making it a successful event. He felt that allowing peaceful demonstrations was also important to allow.

In fact, there were people in support of China as well as people protesting China over Tibet and its human rights violations. All were able to peacefully coexist in the same area with only a few arrests.

What is interesting is that the police never made a move to stop the people walking down the Embarcadero or to remove the protesters laying down in front of the bus. It raised suspicions that the entire thing was planned to not take place along the Embarcadero.

Here are my thoughts.

1. It was successful in that people were allowed to peacefully protest. That showed China that there isn't necessarily something to fear by allowing people to demonstrate. I doubt it will penetrate China's leaders, but they were exposed to peaceful demonstrations that didn't resort to violence. Once again the city has shown it can allow peaceful protests without violence.

2. It was a success for the torch bearers who were allowed to run through the city with the torch.

3. It was a success for the Olympics - the flame didn't go out.

4. It was a failure for San Franciscans. It was San Franciscans who paid for the police and planning to allow the Chinese to bring the torch here. It was San Franciscans who were denied the opportunity to see the torch, the opening and closing ceremonies. Only the truncated opening ceremony was allowed to be televised as planned. From that point on, the Mayor failed his public.

Mayor Newsom failed his task by failing to work with the media to allow us better coverage of the torch run, as well as adequate crowd control so the event could be held safely to allow the public to view the torch.

There are ways to work with the media to allow adequate coverage. You can have a shared camera feed in front of the runners. You can have them sign contracts to not report details until a certain point. All those and more tactics have been used to report in war. Why not use them here where public safety may require changes on the fly? Instead, there was chaotic coverage and no run-along cameras to show the torch runners up close. They have no decent record of their run.

San Francisco's Police Department has problems controlling crowds. Cities like New York can handle crowds without a problem, but San Francisco had to cancel Halloween in the Castro last year because the police couldn't or wouldn't employ adequate crowd control techniques used by others. The city would rather cancel events than learn to handle them.

If the police failure to keep the Embarcadero streets free of people wasn't preplanned, it only demonstrates the department's incompetence when it comes to crowds. It amazes me how we can have large demonstrations without problems, but can't handle crowds in small areas, such as at the closing ceremony.

It was a mixed bag today. Over all, the real losers are the Tibetans and San Franciscans who have to pay the tab for today's largely failed Olympic torch run.

Torch Fizzle Blow-by-blow

This ends this post. I'll provide my thoughts with coverage of the closing ceremony on the next post.

4:00 p.m. The convoy just left the city and entered Daly City.

3:55 p.m. What a traffic mess. They are heading everyone to SFO to hold the closing ceremony on the tarmac to see the Olympic Flame take off for Buenos Aires. That means the entire Peninsula rush hour traffic, which is underway, will be really jammed badly. Thank you China, may we have another?

3:53 p.m. What is interesting is that the torch runners have run or been bused through every part of town. All they need to do now is go back to South Beach to complete the circuit. I guess they didn't make it to the Embarcadero/North Beach area, but you know, most of the city.

3:51 p.m. The convoy is past Golden Gate Park, on 19th Avenue, in the Sunset District. The speculation is that the runners are on their way to meet with Mayor Newsom for an informal thank-you meeting.

3:46 p.m. The Chinese government took over the entire security operation last night with the FBI, State Department and other national level security services. The Chinese chose the route and other security measures. The reporter who ran with the torch is reporting this. The other reporters asked him about it because the level of diversionary tactics used seemed more national in scope than the local police use. The reporter thinks that they have entirely scrapped the closing ceremony.

3:45 p.m. The tour bus that was stopped earlier this morning by the protesters held the Chinese delegation, so the protesters had better intel than anyone thought. That heightened security considerably. That is what drove the dramatic changes that seemed to change by the minute.

3:44 p.m. It looks like they headed onto 101 Southbound heading toward Golden Gate Park and 19th Avenue.

3:43 p.m. Both directions of the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge have been closed to traffic. Now the convoy is coming off Doyle Drive down into the Presidio onto Marine Drive heading back into town, away from the Bridge.

3:33 p.m. Still no movement from the convoy.

3:30 p.m. The Highway Patrol went up to the Bridge. The sidewalks on the Bridge are being closed just in case, but the Bridge Authority doesn't know what is going on either.

3:28 p.m. Are they out of runners? The entire convoy has stopped.

3: 25 p.m. Torch is stopped on Doyle Drive.

3:23 p.m. Lots of California Hiway Patrolmen in the GG Bridge area now. Lots of excitement.

3:20 p.m. People at Justin Herman Plaza are starting to leave, so the word is getting out. Still lots of protesters left.

3:18 p.m. Former Mayor Willie Brown is now getting to run with the torch. The GGB webcam has moved away from the bridge to the visitor area.

3:16 p.m. The closing ceremonies will not be held at Justin Herman Plaza - it is official. They are still partying peacefully, though.

3:15 p.m. The torch is entering the freeway (Doyle Drive) to go toward the Golden Gate Bridge. Pretty smart - no sidewalks for the public.

3:14 p.m. Some sort of scuffle ahead of the runners? A bunch of bicycle cops have someone on the ground. They had to move the bicycles out of the way of the convoy.

3:10 p.m. The reporters are talking about the tourism boost from this route. It's funny because all you can see is the asphalt. You can't even see the houses around the torch.

3:06 p.m. They are almost to the Palace of Fine Arts. A few Chinese supporters with flags have joined the crowds now.

3:04 p.m. The runners are beside the Yacht Club, just before Chrissy Field.

3:00 p.m. A large highway patrolman contingent was at the Bridge, but then all but four left. It sounds like Chrissy Field will be the end point of the route.

2:57 p.m. I checked the GGB webcam - traffic seems very light on the bridge.

2:56 p.m. Increased police presence reported on the S.F. side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

2:55 p.m. Lots of speculation on local channels about whether the route will go over the Golden Gate Bridge.

2:49 p.m. This was part of the original 16 mile route, so it looks like they went back to Plan A. At one point, they planned to go across the Golden Gate Bridge. Some protesters just unfurled a banner along the route. Apparently the protesters had plans to cover the city, which seems to have worked for them.

2:47 p.m. They are passing Fort Mason and passing the Marina Safeway. That puts them on Marina toward the Bridge. Will they shut down the freeway going onto the Bridge or go through the Presidio the back way to the base of the Bridge?

2:45 p.m. The Golden Gate Bridge seems to be the more likely termination point. They are running that direction. That is the opposite direction from Justin Herman Plaza.

2:44 p.m. Reporter is saying that there are so many people at Justin Herman Plaza, that it seems impossible to bring the torch there. The crowd is peaceful, but packed. The new destination seems to be the Golden Gate Bridge.

2:40 p.m. One of the runners is a news reporter talking on his phone to his channel - they are taking the runners to the Marina District - the Marina Green. They may be scrapping the end ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza.

2:39 p.m. CNN is reporting that the torch is nearing its end destination. It is four miles away, at least.

2:34 p.m. Police brutality! One of the officers knocked down a protester, draped in the Tibetan flag.

2:33 p.m. Finally! Some Tibetan protesters finally caught up to the new route. Some sideline scuffles are occurring.

2:32 p.m. A ground cam finally joined the run.

2:30 p.m. The San Francisco Chronicle has great pics of the protesters and other people on its site. It is the source of the one, above.

2:27 p.m. Torch pass-offs getting shorter. Thankfully.

2:24 p.m. A disabled runner in a wheel chair with another female runner are wheeling down the street.

2:22 p.m. New pairs every block or so. Pretty boring. It really is more of a stroll than a run. Most of the protesters are confused. They think the torch is coming by boat. The television stations are practically begging for cell phone photos to help with coverage.

2:16 p.m. New pair running the torch.

2:14 p.m. The reason for the constant stops turns out to be the bus carrying the torch bearers. The bus stops and drops off the new runners just before the phalanx of police officers reach the area.

2:12 p.m. Fourth runner (single) takes the torch.

2:10 p.m. Torch continues down Van Ness. Van Ness is a major N/S route across the city, so this has snarled traffic and cut the city in half. We're on the third pair of runners. There is a problem with the vehicles in front of the runners - they keep stopping the progress of the runners.

2:05 p.m. The torch run has begun. There are lines of police running alongside the runners so you couldn't even see the runners if you were there.

2:03 p.m. Traffic is seriously backed up around Van Ness. You can hear the drivers cursing from here. It looks like they are waiting for the police to come from the Embarcadero to help with security before starting the run. The media was not prepared for this either. The cameras that normally run alongside the runners aren't here, so it is just helicopter shots.

1:57 p.m. The torch is off the bus on Van Ness. It is too far from the Embarcadero for the protesters to reach the route. They will be running two runners at a time. There will be new runners every block and a half.

1:54 p.m. It looks like the convoy is going to do the torch run backwards from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry Building (Justin Herman Plaza is in front of the Ferry Building). Right now the convoy is stopped at Van Ness and Sutter. That wasn't planned, so a lot of traffic is being stopped while they figure out what to do. The route was reportedly changed 10-15 times in the last half hour. I'd say the Tibetan protesters have officially won this round.

1:51 p.m. Two shoppers held up the torch convoy by crossing in front of the buses by the Essex Hotel, to the great annoyance of a police officer. They were nonplussed and continued their casual stroll. Gotta love it.

11:49 p.m. The two protest camps remain boringly placid. They have occasional shouting matches, but no violence.

1:45 p.m. Former Mayor Willie Brown, one of the runners, verified that the torch left in the van. He was invited to go along, but declined as he was warned that it could get hairy. He is taking a boat to the Ferry Building instead to join the torch closing ceremony. It sounds like the torch run has been canceled and will just go to the closing ceremony.

1:42 p.m. A motorcade of police and vans have left the warehouse. The news is reporting that the torch is in one of the shuttle vans.

1:40 p.m. With the excitement and riveting action of a slow car chase on an L.A. Freeway, San Francisco's Olympic torch run is off with a whimper. The torch was lit, run down a sidewalk into a warehouse and hasn't been seen for 20 minutes.

Interestingly, there are about 11,000 pro-Chinese protesters bussed in for the run. There are many more Tibetan protesters.

A bus was surrounded and stopped in its tracks earlier by Tibetan protesters. They thought they saw jogging suits on the people inside the bus. So they laid down in front of the bus for about an hour. It turned out to be a tour bus. The police eventually rescued them.

Carrying a Torch for Tibet

I have to confess that although I don't care for China's occupation of Tibet, the cause just doesn't motivate me to march. I'm not all that excited about the Olympics in China, either. I have that American malaise: So far from me, So far from my mind.

So, it is with almost-bated breath that I will watch the news this afternoon to see how the Olympic torch run goes in San Francisco. I'm kind of rooting for the underdogs - the Tibetan protesters.

I thought about going down to watch the torch run, but in the end, it just doesn't seem worth the hassle of running the gauntlet of protesters that began assembling this morning. I probably won't even bother watching much of the Olympics later this year, either.

After all of the problems China has foisted on us - lead in children's toys, killer heparin, West Coast air pollution, and Mt. Everest-sized hubris about it all, who can be bothered to watch China brag about itself again?

There is such a thing as playing the bad boy successfully. But Mick Jagger, China ain't, and it never will be.

China so wants us to see the Olympics, see it in its glory, respect it. Power is not glory. The world has seen China and shrugged.

China thinks that it is a star. Instead it is a sad Norma Desmond. It plays to "...all those lovely people out there in the dark." But the audience gave it the go-by when Mao took over. Now it is the world's shop girl.

To paraphrase Joe's advice to Norma, there is nothing wrong with being who you are, unless you are trying to be who you are not. If you want to be a brutal ruler over billions, then be a brutal ruler over millions. Accept and glory in the world's scorn and derision. If you want to be the world's low-end manufacturer, then do so. Just don't get pissy when the world catches you killing people with illegal substitutions in the medicine to make more money.

If you are going to be evil, you can't expect love and respect from the world. You have to accept the consequences from the choices that you have made.

If China wants to trade in its rhinestone tiara for one with real diamonds, it needs to get serious about customer service and product quality. If your goods are shoddy and you refuse to satisfy your customer, well then, other third world countries are just ready and waiting to replace you in your customers' hearts. As quickly as the money came, it can go.

If you try to sweep the Himalayas under your store's carpet, eventually customers will trip on Everest. No one wants to shop in a dimly lit, unkempt shop when there are bright, clean shops around the corner.

So China is a world-sized bummer of a country. We should protest or do something about that. And, you know, I'm gonna get going any day now with doing something. No, really. Maybe.