freediver
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At my desk.
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from the official Beijing 2008 website:
The sacred flame has so far passed through Almaty in Kazakhstan, Istanbul in Turkey, St. Petersburg in Russia and London in Britain. People along the Torch Relay route have extended the flame a warm welcome and the relay is proceeding successfully as planned ... all Torch Relay cities have given strong support for the event. At each stop of the Olympic Torch Relay, the city's local government has held a grand welcoming ceremony and various celebrations.
Will the Flame Go Out for Olympic Sponsors?
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/04/07/will-the-flame-go-out-for-olympic-sponsors
In Paris today, here's what you would have seen: an untold number of Parisian police officers, hundreds of gendarme cars and vans, buses carrying smiling and waving people all wearing official torch relay outfits, runners in blue and red outfits trotting alongside of the buses, a police bus speckled with red paint and carrying several protestors who banged on the bus's windows, a percussion band riding a Lenovo float, rhythmic gymnasts on a float for Samsung, and protest signs held aloft on the sidelines hammering China for its stance toward Tibet.
Here's what you probably wouldn't have seen: the Olympic torch.
French officials took the torch from the streets after protestors succeeded in putting out the flame three times after the relay began at the Eiffel Tower. The torch was placed inside a bus, which was greeted with a chorus of boos as it passed thousands of onlookers lined up on its path through downtown Paris. Several protestors were arrested along the way, some for laying in the street in an attempt to halt the relay.
Australian sprinters to carry Olympic flame in Canberra
http://monkeybiznessblog.com/2008/04/07/australian-sprinters-to-carry-olympic-flame-in-canberra/
High profile sprinter Jon Steffensen said he was excited by the prospect of carrying the torch for his country, even if only for the 43 seconds it takes him to run 400 metres.
“I think the prospect of being chased by angry pro-Tibet protesters will bring a real edge to my performance,” he said. “It’s the sort of experience you normally can’t replicate outside of competition.”
5000 metre runner Craig Mottram said that protecting the torch should take precedence over providing a pleasing spectacle.
“It won’t be much fun for spectators who line up for the procession,” he said. “When those sprinting lads come past, it’s like being at the formula one racing. But let’s face it, watching someone run ten-deep in police isn’t a great sight either.”
However, there is concern in some circles that Australia’s finest runners may not be fine enough.
“I heard America’s 137th fastest 100 metre sprinter was sympathetic to Tibetan independence. If the protesters recruit him, no Australian runner will be able to hold him off,” said one police insider.
Torch to be guarded by Australians only
http://news.smh.com.au/torch-to-be-guarded-by-australians-only/20080408-24hu.html
The federal government has ruled out any Chinese involvement in security operations when the Olympic torch arrives in Australia - including the tracksuit-wearing Games officials seen protecting the flame in London and Paris.
Rudd raises Tibet rights issues in China
http://news.smh.com.au/rudd-raises-tibet-rights-issues-in-china/20080409-24s9.html
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has delivered a blunt message to China in a speech in Beijing, saying there are significant human rights problems in Tibet.
"Australia, like most other countries, recognises China sovereignty over Tibet but we also believe it is necessary to recognise there are significant human rights problems in Tibet," Mr Rudd told students at Peking University on the first day of his visit to China.
"The current situation in Tibet is of concern to Australians.
"We recognise the need for all parties to avoid silence and find a solution through dialogue," he said in the speech, delivered in Mandarin.
The Chinese government is already upset with comments Mr Rudd made in the US last week, in which he condemned human rights abuses in Tibet and called on China to talk to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Mr Rudd has emphasised the need for Australia to speak frankly with China on issues such as Tibet.
"As a longstanding friend of China I intend to have a straightforward discussion with China's leaders on this," he told an audience of about 600 students.
"We wish to see the year 2008 as one of harmony and celebration - not one of conflict and contention."
Repression 2.0
http://www.newsweek.com/id/130635
Totalitarian states are learning to control citizens by creating the impression of ubiquitous surveillance.
In the latest twist on Internet repression, governments don't just censor, they scare. Last week, for example, the Chinese government broadcast a text message to cell-phone users in Lhasa, Tibet, where Beijing has cracked down on protests in recent weeks. The message demanded that users "obey the law" and "follow the rules," and no protester could have mistaken the meaning, or the messenger. If the government also managed to terrify even quiet, apolitical citizens, Chinese and Tibetan—well, so be it. Repression 2.0 is not a precise technology.
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