Nonsense Flame: Now we play hide and seek?

Isn´t it a nonsense to keep on with the "Olympic Flame Tour"?

In every city there are going to be the same problems: people that are against the "one world one dream" lie.
I just don´t get it. It is like the big bucks and the Chinese controll what we HAVE to do and what we have to think.
It irritates me to see how the police, the british, american or the blue men of China, beat and push the people that peacefuly protest. It is like saying "how do you dare to insult the Olympic Games (institution)"?

I mean isn´t it ours? or is it that now the Olympic Spirit belong to adidas, VW, and Cocacola?

Personally I won´t see the Olympic Games.

I believe that sports have nothing to do with politics. BUT I do not agree that the world should witness sports while there are people in jail because of what the think or who they are, while there were people beaten and killed, while there are people with out rights to have a worthy pay, or worthy job conditions, while tibetan monks are beaten, jailed and not allowed to have their land or to practice their religion, and very long etc.

I really feel that the Olympic Games are being IMPOSED on us.




April 10, 2008
Olympic Torch Route Changed in San Francisco
By JESSE McKINLEY
SAN FRANCISCO — The nation’s only chance to see the Olympic flame up close became an elaborate game of hide-and-seek here on Wednesday, as city officials secretly rerouted the planned torch relay, swarmed its runners with blankets of security and then whisked the torch to the airport in a heavily guarded motorcade.

The closing ceremony to mark the flame’s only North American stop was also effectively canceled in the face of thousands of protesters and supporters, who waited for hours in vain along the flame’s announced route.

Instead, officials decided that the flame would leapfrog protesters and travel on a central avenue about two miles away.

There, surrounded by uniformed officers and police on motorcycles, it was run in stop-and-start fashion toward the Golden Gate Bridge, chased by a throng of surprised residents and members of the news media.

“It was like the slowest car chase ever,” said Annie Ingamells, 42, a Briton who caught a glimpse of the flame with her daughter Ruby. “I guess that tactic worked.”

About four miles into the route, the torch was placed on a bus and taken to San Francisco’s airport, where it will fly to Buenos Aires, the next stop on the flame’s beleaguered international tour.

San Francisco went to elaborate lengths to avoid the messy chaos of the flame’s recent trips to London and Paris, employing hundreds of law enforcement officials, miles of barricades and, in the end, subterfuge.

Just before the flame’s planned debut, the police along the announced route put on riot gear, seemingly in expectation of the flame’s arrival.

Mayor Gavin Newsom said the decision to change the route was made shortly after the torch was lighted outside AT&T Park, when it was briefly held aloft by Chinese Olympic officials and then promptly taken into a waterfront warehouse. There, Mr. Newsom said, police officials said they could not assure that growing crowds along the route could be contained.

“It was a simple decision,” Mr. Newsom said. “Do we cancel the event or do we change the event to assure the safety and security of the torchbearers?”

All week, the city had tried to walk the fine line between demonstrators who planned to use the torch’s visit to protest the Chinese government’s human rights record and recent crackdown in Tibet and the area’s Chinese residents, which largely favored the torch relay.

In the end, however, both groups were caught off guard.

“They tricked us,” said Hao Shi, an engineer from Mountain View, Calif., who skipped work to support the relay.

Lhadon Tethong, the executive director of Students for Free Tibet, said the city had engaged in deception tactics that reminded her of those regularly used by Chinese authorities.

“I think it’s a shame for the mayor and the city,” Ms. Tethong said. “The people in this free and democratic country were not allowed to see the torch.”

Sun Weide, deputy director for communications for the Beijing Organizing Committee, said there were no plans to cancel the rest of the relay and called the San Francisco leg a success.

“I think the operation of the torch relay has been very smooth and very safe," Mr. Sun said.

Giselle Davies, director of communications for the International Olympic Committee, said that the topic of the relay would probably come up in meetings this week with national organizing committees but that “there are no plans for the route to change."

Relays earlier this week had devolved into scrums, with the torch nearly being grabbed by protesters in London and the flame having to be extinguished and evacuated via bus in Paris. The San Francisco Police Department called in state and federal agencies and officers from nearby cities to help patrol the relay route. More than 200 officers from the California Highway Patrol were in place to protect state property.

Along the Embarcadero, the waterfront boulevard where the torch was to have been run, protesters and supporters began arriving before dawn, creating a rainbow of colors and causes. Some linked China to the genocide in Darfur, and wore green T-shirts and held green balloons. Those in support of the Games, which begin in Beijing in August, gathered outside AT&T Park, the planned starting point of the relay, waving pink Olympic banners and Red Chinese flags.

As is often the way with protests in San Francisco, the relay also brought out a variety of activists.

“We thought this was a great opportunity for exposure,” said Caroline Nasella, 24, whose organization was In Defense of Animals. She stood holding a big banner that read “China: Stop Your Bloody Fur Trade!”

Some of the pro-China demonstrators had been brought from miles away.

Hai Ming, 37, a Chinese student of civil engineering at University of California, Davis, about 70 miles east, had come to the torch ceremony on a bus chartered by the Chinese consulate.

Mr. Hai said he disagreed with Tibetan protesters who have flooded San Francisco this week. “I think they are crazy,” he said. “The Chinese people are very peaceful. They wouldn’t do what they are accused of.”

As the start of the relay approached, thousands were lining the route, and several scuffles broke out between pro- and anti-China forces. Near Justin Herman Plaza, where the closing ceremony was to have been held, protesters broke through barricades. Outside the stadium, pro-Chinese groups surrounded and taunted a small group of people holding a Tibetan flag, ripping the banner from their hands and chanting “Liar, liar, liar.”

All of which apparently helped convince city officials that a peaceful march along the water was not going to be possible. Shortly after the flame’s lighting, it was taken into a waterfront warehouse, and the game of cat-and-mouse began.

After its abbreviated public appearance, the flame was taken to the airport, where a small closing ceremony was to be held.

Mr. Newsom defended his and his police department’s decision, but said he expected to be criticized for it anyway. “There were no major arrests, no international incidents,” he said. “Just a lot of hurt feelings..”

Matt Richtel, Neil MacFarquhar, Katie Thomas and Carolyn Marshall contributed reporting.


CHINA: ACTIVIST’S JAILING SPOTLIGHTS OLYMPICS’ NEGATIVE
EFFECT ON RIGHTS
Governments, IOC Must Press for Hu Jia’s Release
(Washington, DC, April 3, 2008) – The jailing of
China’s leading human rights activist, Hu Jia, reflects a further
hardening of Beijing’s stance towards dissent in the
lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Human Rights Watch
said today.
Read more:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/03/china18420.htm

UK: OLYMPIC TORCH ILLUMINATES LACK OF CHINA RIGHTS POLICY
“No Strategy” to Address Tibet, Olympic-Related Rights
Crises
(London, April 4, 2008) – In welcoming the Beijing
Olympic Torch Relay outside 10 Downing Street, British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown is sending the Chinese government exactly
the wrong message on its ongoing crackdown in Tibet and on
human rights advocates in China, Human Rights Watch said
today.
Read more:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/04/china18427.htm

FRANCE: TORCH RELAY SHOULD NOT MASK OLYMPIC RIGHTS ABUSES French President and Paris Mayor Should Highlight Rights Violations in China(Paris, April 7, 2008) – President Nicolas Sarkozy and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë should use the occasion of the Olympic Torch’s passage through Paris on Monday, April 7, to highlight ongoing abuses in China linked to the Beijing Games, Human Rights Watch said today.Read more: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/07/france18445.htm

US: TORCH ARRIVAL ILLUMINATES OLYMPIC RIGHTS ABUSES
San Francisco Mayor Should Deplore Rights Crackdown in
China
(San Francisco, April 8, 2008) – San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom should use the Olympic torch’s passage through
San Francisco on Wednesday, April 9 to defend the freedom of
expression and assembly and to highlight ongoing abuses in
China linked to the Beijing Games, Human Rights Watch said
today.
Read more:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/08/china18469.htm


ARD
Tausende warten vergeblich auf Fackelträger
Absurdes Schauspiel in San Francisco
Überraschung beim olympischen Fackellauf in San Francisco: Mit einem Katz-und-Maus-Spiel haben die Veranstalter auf die Gefahr von Ausschreitungen entlang der ursprünglich geplanten Route reagiert. Tausende Schaulustige und Demonstranten, die über Stunden hinweg an der Hafenpromenade auf die Läufer gewartet hatten, wurden enttäuscht.
Der erste Läufer nahm die Fackel auf einer Bühne in Empfang und rannte dann in eine Lagerhalle. Anschließend fuhr eine Motorrad-Eskorte los, der Fackelträger war jedoch nicht mehr zu sehen. Rund eine Stunde später tauchte er plötzlich in einem anderen Stadtteil - weit entfernt von der eigentlich geplanten Strecke - wieder auf. Laut Medienberichten war der Sportler mit einem Bus dorthin gefahren worden. Dort wurde der Fackellauf unter starkem Polizeischutz ohne große Zwischenfälle in weitgehend leeren Straßen fortgeführt. Der Lauf ging dann so glanzlos zu Ende, wie er begonnen hatte: Auch die geplante Abschlussfeier auf dem Justin-Herman-Platz strichen die Veranstalter kurzfristig.
"Maßnahme zum Schutz der Läufer"
David Perry, Sprecher der Fackellauf-Organisatoren, verteidigte die Programm-Änderungen. Die "außergewöhnliche Maßnahme" sei zum Schutz der Läufer getroffen worden, sagte er dem Lokalsender KTVU. Zahlreiche Fackelträger hätten sich vor gewalttätigen Ausschreitungen gefürchtet. Trotz der Streckenänderung seien drei Läufer abgesprungen, sagte Perry.
[Bildunterschrift: Meinungsverschiedenheit am Rand der Fackel-Strecke ]Schon vor Beginn des Fackellaufs hatten mehrere hundert Menschen friedlich auf der Golden-Gate-Brücke gegen die chinesische Tibet-Politik und Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Birma protestiert. Entlang der ursprünglich geplanten Route kam es anschließend zu Rangeleien zwischen Demonstranten und Unterstützern der chinesischen Regierung.
IOC-Mitglieder erleichtert
Führende Mitglieder des Internationalen Olympischen Komitees (IOC) reagierten erleichtert. IOC-Präsident Jacques Rogge sagte, "die Situation in San Francisco war besser, aber es war nicht die freudige Party, die wir uns erhofft haben". Der deutsche IOC-Vizepräsident Thomas Bach nahm "mit großer Freude zur Kenntnis, dass in San Francisco nichts passiert ist." Auch der norwegische IOC-Marketing-Chef Gerhard Heiberg war "sehr zufrieden, weil es keine Verletzten gab".
In Paris war die Flamme gelöscht worden
In London und Paris waren am Sonntag und Montag anti-chinesische Proteste am Rande der Laufstrecke gewaltsam eskaliert. In Paris musste die Flamme vorübergehend sogar gelöscht werden. Zu ihrem Zielort wurde sie dort schließlich im Bus gebracht.
San Francisco war die sechste Station der Fackel auf ihrer internationalen Reise nach Peking und die einzige auf nordamerikanischem Boden. Nun soll die Olympische Fackel noch nach Buenos Aires in Argentinien und dann in ein Dutzend weiterer Länder reisen, bevor sie am 4. Mai nach China kommt. Seit dem 24. März, als der Fackellauf im antiken Olympia begann, kam es immer wieder zu Protesten.
Der Ursprung des Fackellaufs:
Die Olympischen Spiele des Altertums kannten noch keinen Fackellauf. Erst 1936 wurde zu den XI. Olympischen Spielen in Nazideutschland der erste Fackellauf veranstaltet. Die Idee soll vom damaligen Generalsekretär des Nationalen Olympischen Komitees, Carl Diem, stammen. Die Fackel wurde nach hellenistischem Vorbild im antiken Olympia durch einen Brennspiegel entzündet. Das Olympische Feuer wurde dann rund 3100 Kilometer nach Berlin getragen.Die Nazis stellten diesen ersten Fackellauf als völkerverbindendes Symbol dar, das den "Friedenswillen" des Dritten Reiches verkünden sollte.

Mehr Infos und Videos der Tageschau: hier



Provoca confusión pasó de Flama en SF

El recorrido de la Antorcha sufrió modificaciones para evitar que los activistas que piden la liberación del Tíbet trataran de apagar el fuego.
Lo que los organizadores de los Juegos calificaron de una "Jornada de Armonía" se convirtió rápidamente en el misterio de la llama desaparecida
Reuters
San Francisco, Estados Unidos (9 abril 2008).- La confusión rodeó el miércoles el paso de la antorcha olímpica por San Francisco, mientras los organizadores cambiaron su recorrido a último minuto y miles de simpatizantes chinos junto a manifestantes contra el gobierno del país asiático convergieron en la ruta del símbolo de los Juegos de Beijing.

Tras una breve ceremonia, el primer corredor recibió la antorcha y comenzó el recorrido rodeado por agentes de seguridad chinos.

Pero el grupo desapareció de forma repentina en un cambio de último momento a la ruta planificada originalmente en un intento por evitar un caos mayor.

Lo que los organizadores de los Juegos calificaron de una "Jornada de Armonía" se convirtió rápidamente en el misterio de la llama desaparecida, en la única escala de la antorcha en Estados Unidos en su camino hacia Beijing.

Después de que la antorcha desapareció de la vista, lanchas y motos de agua de la policía que aparecieron en la zona parecieron ser una señal de que la llama estaría recorriendo la ciudad por vía acuática.

Pero tras un retraso de una hora, apareció en una importante calle a más de tres kilómetros del lugar.

Los espectadores estaban anonadados.
"Creo que es una cobardía. Si no pueden hacer viajar la antorcha por la ciudad significa que nadie respalda los Juegos", dijo Matt Helmenstine, una docente de 30 años que llevaba una bandera tibetana.

Horas antes, la ciudad había desplegado cientos de efectivos de seguridad, incluidos agentes del FBI, para evitar problemas tras el caótico paso de la llama en las escalas anteriores de su recorrido en Europa.

San Francisco también había impuesto restricciones aéreas y dispuso barricadas en las afueras del consulado chino en la ciudad.

El caótico paso de la Llama por Londres y París puso a San Francisco en el centro de la escena. En la capital francesa, las demostraciones de los activistas llevaron a que la antorcha se apagara brevemente en algunas oportunidades.

Beijing había condenado enérgicamente lo ocurrido en Europa.

Activistas animados por el malestar por las políticas de Beijing en el Tíbet y su reacción a los disturbios letales en la región del Himalaya el mes pasado se habían reunido desde temprano para protestar en la ciudad estadounidense.

Reina la tensión Al menos un manifestante a favor del Tíbet fue detenido antes del inicio del trayecto de la antorcha.

Las autoridades de San Francisco redoblaron las medidas de seguridad en puntos importantes de la ciudad, como el puente Golden Gate. Allí, tres manifestantes colgaron carteles el lunes pidiendo por la liberación del Tíbet.

Los Juegos de China tendrán lugar del 8 al 24 de agosto.

Miles de espectadores que respaldan a China se reunieron en lo que iba a ser el trayecto original de la antorcha, muchos de ellos portando la bandera del estado de Gobierno comunista junto con estandartes de Estados Unidos y de los Juegos.

"En 5 mil años de historia olímpica, los chinos finalmente tienen la posibilidad de ser sede de los Juegos. Eso significa que China finalmente se está convirtiendo en una potencia mundial", dijo Don Zheng, un chino que emigró a Estados Unidos en 1988.

El alcalde de San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, dijo que el trayecto de la antorcha tuvo que ser cambiado de forma radical a último minuto ya que, en caso contrario, el evento debería haber sido cancelado para dar seguridad al público.

"No parecía factible con las multitudes", dijo Newsom en una entrevista telefónica con Reuters desde la ruta de la antorcha por la ciudad, la única escala del símbolo de los Juegos de Beijing en Estados Unidos.

"Evaluamos la situación y sentimos que no podíamos asegurar la antorcha y proteger a los manifestantes de la forma que hubiéramos querido, y como consecuencia nos comprometimos con un plan de contingencia que sentíamos podía mantener segura a la gente", agregó.


Rechazan Comités Olímpicos boicot
Vázquez Raña anunció la postura tras la reunión de comités.
Anuncia Vázquez Raña que no hay porque dar la espalda a los Juegos Olímpicos de BeijingAFP
Beijing, China (9 abril 2008).- Los representantes de los Comités Olímpicos Nacionales rechazaron las llamadas a un boicot a los Juegos Olímpicos de Beijing, indicó este miércoles su presidente al término de una reunión de tres días en la capital china. "La consulta a los 205 Comités Olímpicos presentes o representados no dio ninguna indicación para no apoyar los Juegos", declaró a la prensa el presidente de la Asociación de Comités Olímpicos Nacionales, el mexicano Mario Vázquez Rana.
"Así que podemos decir que existe una única filosofía: es bueno para China y también para los chinos", añadió.