Whether or not the United States boycotts the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony to protest China's treatment of Tibet, we sure as heck should have boycotted the stupid torch relay.
Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco for the flame's only U.S. stop. Activists fuelled by anger about Beijing's policies in Tibet and its reaction to deadly rioting in the Himalayan region last month were gathering for demonstrations.Coast Guard boats? Don't they have something better to do, like search for escapees from Alcatraz or enemy submarines?
Several hundred paraded through the city's streets on the eve of the torch procession, many carrying Tibetan flags and signs and chanting "Shame on China."
On Wednesday, some 700 security officers deployed in the West Coast city and airspace restrictions were imposed. Barricades were set up outside the Chinese consulate.
Coast Guard boats were to patrol the waterfront route of the torch. The relay was to start at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT).
I have a solution much more amenable to the San Francisco (not to mention federal) taxpayer. Provide as much protection for the Olympic Torch as they do for military recruiting centers in the Bay area. That torch will be at the bottom of the Bay in no time, and everybody but the Chinese and the Olympic Committee will be happy.
