Conga 2008

There was the happy sight and sound of conga dancing around the streets of San Fran today. Over 100 people gathered in Union Square and then some wiggled and jiggled in traffic-stopping merriment to launch the Bay Area National Dance Week with the West Coast's Longest Conga Line.

They were led by Hot Pink Feathers, girls in red plumage and a guy in red and gold costume, accompanied by jazz brass band Blue Bone Express.

From the flat to fleet footed, they left Union Square at midday and circled nearby streets before returning to the square for an hour of entertainment. Some in the conga were in their own dance costumes, especially groups of Scottish and English country dancers.

This is the 10th Anniversary of the dance week, and the third year of the conga.

Afterwards, Everett of Hot Pink Feathers, said: 'It has gone very well. I think for us it's the day being beautiful and all those people out there. This is the day for people to express themselves.

How many days do you get to stop traffic because people are dancing around!'

En route, I met 70-year-old Christine, who nearly stopped traffic by herself as she paused half-way across a road and continued to dance while being filmed and interviewed by a camera-girl.

'My doctor said 'No dancing,' she told me when I caught up with her later in the square. 'But I love it!' she said, and assured me that her health was improving.

I also spoke to Lou and Victor. They had emerged from the Apple store, seen the conga and joined in.

'I love the spontaneity,' said Lou, who describes himself as someone who has lived in San Fran 'for ever!'While Victor enthused: 'I've just read a book called "Dancing in the Streets." This is what should be happening in the world,' he said.

Back in the square, where dancing displays had continued during the conga, we watched Alseny Soumah and Lahydi from Guinea, West Africa, who danced with vitality and acrobatic agility, Funkanometry, a Hip Hop group, a young modern dance troupe from Creative Arts Charter School, and another performance from Hot Pink Feathers who attracted some unexpected show-stealers.

The music, the gaiety, the colour proved too enticing for three-year-old Jules, four-year-old James and two-year-old Andre. With no hint of self-consciousness, they jumped onto the stage to pirouette, twirl and bow to the delighted bemusement of on-lookers.

Does Jules like dancing? I asked her nanny.

'She loves it. She dances all the time,' she said.

While Andre's mum said, 'He saw the girls go up and chased after them. He loves to dance and play with other kids his age.'

Around the square, tables were set up to advertise dance groups and for the handing out of leaflets. Aside from the conga and entertainment, the event is a ten-day showcase for all styles of dance around the Bay Area. Advertised as 'over 300 free events - all dance, all free, all week,' it ends on Sunday, May 4. The festival includes performances, classes, workshops, open rehearsals, festivals and lecture demonstrations. Details can be found on BAYAREANDW.ORG.

The Dancers Group have also published a summer guide to dance performances in the Bay Area up to the end of August, and this can be found on www.dancersgroup.org.

As compere Carla, of Carla Service's Dance-A-Vision Entertainment, said: 'No matter what's going on in the world...still try to find time to dance. Find that space of happiness!'

Click for pics. Click to enlarge.

Tiger Cubs Make Public Appearance

Three new-born tiger cubs at San Francisco zoo are making their first public appearances to the excitement of visitors.

Mum Leanne has started to carry the cubs, all boys, outside.

We took pics and video1 : video2 (click to see) this afternoon of one of the Sumatran tiger cubs exploring his grassy terrain. Already he was quite sure-footed for a cub almost six-weeks-old. But like any watchful mum, Leanne sometimes followed after him, picked him up gently in her mouth and brought him back to the centre of the enclosure. She laid him down and gave him a few motherly licks, but it wasn't long before he was off again! He was even heard practicing a little roar!

The cubs were first spotted outside on Saturday, two days ago.

'They are too little to be able to maneouvre around the exhibit themselves. But with the nice weather she's (Leanne) brought them out for a little sunshine and fresh air,' said Curator Ingrid.

'She is bringing them all out one at a time. She takes one back to the bedroom and brings out another.'

A few journalists were given a photo-opportunity of the three cubs last month but the zoo had no planned date for the cubs' appearances before the general public.

'We move at the animals' comfort level,' Ingrid said.

Three cubs are considered to be a large first litter, the average one being of two cubs, she explained. Also tigers are not usually that good at caring for their offspring first-time round as like any new mums they've never done it before.

But Leanne has surpassed expectations both in size of litter and by being an 'excellent mum.'

'She has surprised us all with three healthy cubs that she has raised perfectly,' Ingrid said.

The cubs have not yet been named and that honour is likely to fall to zoo patrons.

'Did you hear that noise?' Ingrid said suddenly as we stood there chatting. 'It's called a chuff, a tiger greeting.' A sound that tigers make when they are happy.

There is no doubt that Leanne is one chuffed tiger!

Olympic Torch Day 2008

At the end of the day it was a Protest Party showing San Francisco at it's welcoming best : thousands of campaigners given unfettered run of miles of Bay front area to oppose China's human rights abuses on the day that the Olympic Torch came to the city. The sun shone and police ensured safety. And at the end of the day everyone went home if not with a party bag then at least with plenty of photos to remember the occasion with.

Meanwhile, tucked almost completely out of sight from not only protesters but journalists, a little thing called the Olympic Torch bobbed along a few city streets in the hands of 80 Torchbearers who were also ferried briefly near the Golden Gate Bridge and then whisked to an airport terminal under cover for the Closing Ceremony.

And everyone else was left wondering what had happened. One visitor I spoke to felt sorry for people who had spent money and effort travelling to San Francisco specially to see the Torch. Another reflected on it as a 'non-event.' An NBC journalist on the teatime broadcast called it 'a strange day.' In her 15 years of broadcasting, she said, she had never covered something quite like this.

But then never, probably, has such an illusion worthy of a David Copperfield show been pulled over an entire city.

The day began ordinarily enough - for an international protest day. By early morning protesters were streaming to the Bay side along the publicised route: the Opening Ceremony to be held on a stage on the far side of a cove opposite the Giants baseball park south of the city, with the Torchbearing parade to curl around to a narrow road bridge, pass the baseball park and enter the main street to travel north up to Fisherman's Wharf.

There it would return to a plaza at the Embarcadero roughly midway along the route.

With the Opening Ceremony scheduled for 1 pm, by mid-morning about 1,000 people were piling up at the end of the bridge and around the ballpark. The spot was a natural bottleneck, bringing protesters within a couple of strides of the Torch.

I spoke to a guy lifting a large banner high into the air on behalf of the people of Darfur.

He attacked governments for involvement in the Olympic Games yet doing nothing about the genocide of Darfur. 'It's going to be the thing that's remembered in the first half of this century,' he said, balancing the banner and himself on the edge of the pavement. Other protesters fighting for freedom in Tibet from Chinese oppression and waving their national yellow flags were lining up. Opposite, Chinese red flags were filling the air. Coaches filled with Chinese people had been seen driving into the city earlier.

A slanging match started. 'Shame! Shame! China Shame!' taunted one side. The other side booed and jeered back.

Suddenly a young Tibetan was seen handcuffed in the street by police. A cluster of cameramen, both professional and amateur, rushed to capture the event as another young Tibetan ran sobbing across the front of the ballpark.

'The cop has hurt him,' Yonten cried. 'They (the Chinese) are killing Tibetans,' he said in distress. He stood being comforted by Kalsang.

'He's only a high school kid who was peacefully protesting,' Kalsang pleaded. 'The Chinese are standing there spitting at us and calling us liars!'

Whether the lad was formally arrested, I don't know. NBC11 news said later only two demonstrators were arrested over the whole day.

On the plaza in front of the ballpark, Chinese people stood behind a long banner shouting 'No Slavery! '

I went over to try and understand what slavery? The girl I spoke to had halting English and the first part of her answer was incomprehensible. 'They - the human rights demonstrators - are crazy!' she said, finally making linguistic sense.

What about human rights abuses?

'I still say human rights is a right. Sometimes we do things that people don't agree with. Even America does human rights abuses,' she said.

Still puzzled, I turned to a Tibetan lady nearby.

Doma wasn't sure about the 'slavery' but said with passion that if the Chinese thought America was a nation of slavery, they should go back to their own country. 'Please get out of here!' she said. 'They think they are still living in China. They think they can still beat and kill people here. They are liars!'

But then I met Jennifer and David - if indeed they were their names - two charming American Chinese young people in red teeshirts and all became clear!:

'Tibet was under slavery until the 1950s,' explained Jennifer. The Dalai Lama was the biggest slave owner. Most people who flee to other parts of the world were slave owners. Tibet has been part of China for 800 years.'

'As American Chinese we are very unbiased,' she added. Of course.

So what about the abuses? I said.

'China is a large country. We cannot be responsible for everything that happens there. A lot of things can happen there. But then there are improvements to be made in every country.'

Her response was similar to the other pro-China demonstrator. I suspected that whoever I spoke to would give me the same answer: lIttle things could go on in dark corners but it didn't reflect the country as a whole.

'Most people are supporting the Olympics. Twelve million people are learning English just for this event,' continued Jennifer in earnest.

'Please print both sides of the story.' She smiled sweetly and handed me two information sheets, one with photos purporting to show Tibetan monks beating Chinese police with sticks.
A conclusion of which read: 'You have passion and conscience, but please do not be disguised ( they mean deceived!) and misled.'

I moved on, an enormous gap in my education plugged: Twelve million Chinese people are learning English so that makes them a wonderful nation. And the rape, torture, murder and oppression across Tibet, Darfur and Burma, and to their own people who use Falun Gong meditation, is all either miner aberration or fabrication.

As I walked towards the Embarcadero, Chinese people in groups of pink, turquoise and white costumes had lined the route. Some danced for the cameras near inflatable Olympic cartoon characters that wobbled in the wind.

Banners and slogans were being carried past them: '...Olympics are great! Freedom is great too!' 'Free Burma.' 'Free Tibet.' 'China Lies. People Die.' 'Stop Lying to the World.'

Further on I became aware of someone in a tracksuit in Olympic colours perched on a stone giving an interview to a cameraman. I sneaked up behind and listened. It turned out he was Alphonzo Jackson, an Olympic marathon runner who now coaches for the marathon and was a 2002 Torchbearer.

'Everybody has the right to say what they're going to say. But all the people taking part (in the Games) have spent their lives training for this,' he was saying. 'I think it's the wrong venue (for protesting). I don't agree with what China is doing.'

But he made a special plea for people to understand the depth of sacrifice made by athletes and their families.

'The Olympic spirit is a lifestyle...it's something they've trained for all their lives,' he said, concerned that nothing should hinder the athletes.

Should the Games have been awarded to China? asked the cameraman/interviewer.

'No!' was his emphatic answer.

As I neared the Embarcadero, the white awning over the stage where the Torch was supposedly due to be received could be seen shielded by green barriers across the street.

Whether the official route continued up to Fisherman's Wharf or had already been shortened to end there - it was reduced at some point - I'm not sure. I turned and headed back to the ballpark.

All of a sudden pouring down behind me in the middle of the street was a human lava flow of Tibetan supporters with yellow flags tinged with red and blue, and a miscellany of other campaigners. In the throng I met up with the two Free Tibet cyclists I had interviewed in the week. This time, I asked their names! Tashi and Gendin then posed for a photo with two young people visiting San Francisco before moving on.

But within minutes police motorcyclists, sirens blaring, drove down one side and a couple of police cars spread across the street. The protesters halted and gathered around the police out of curiosity. The police did a short nosey around and left, and protesters happily spilled out across the width of the street holding some very long banners in front of them.

Being towed was a mock tank and people dressed in dark red monks' outfits holding pictures of the Dalai Lama. 'Chinese soldiers' beat the monks in a re-enactment of Tibetan scenes.

As they were doing this a large, blue coach with darkened windows powered it's way up from the ballpark and swung in front of the protesters towards a side exit. The protesters leapt into more action, banging on the sides of coach and swarming in sufficient numbers to cause it to stop. Then they lay down in front of it.

With the coach at a standstill and more people continuing to parade downwards, I continued on.

Back past the costumed Chinese brigade where there was a pause for heckling and then overtaking the marchers I headed firmly back to the ballpark as 1 pm was approaching. Throughout the walk and as we waited by the bridge the shouts of slogans and counter-slogans rang out but the protesters were non-violent and peaceful.

My previous blog gives an account of what happened at 1 pm onwards until finally the truth of the Torch's disappearance dawned.

For more pics of the day, click here. Click to enlarge.

Olympic Torch 2008

It was the decoy of the decade. The day the Olympic Torch came to San Francisco - without being seen!

Even the media were fooled. The Opening Ceremony was held and then, under the eyes of thousands including news helicopters, the Torch disappeared! It emerged unseen inside the city having been spirited away either in a motorcade or by boat across the Bay.

The 80 Torchbearers ran along unlined streets inside the city and near the Golden Gate Bridge, driven to the various running spots. Police and Chinese para-militaries, in the blue and white jogger suits seen in London and Paris, ran alongside them. Then the Closing Ceremony was held in a terminal at San Francisco airport miles away on the outskirts of the city.

Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators spent the day lining and filling the official route from the Giants ball park and up to the Embarcadero where the Torch was due to be received. Campaigners opposing China's human rights record waved placards and banners and engaged in a shouting match with pro-China supporters. Busloads of pro-Chinese people were bussed into the city early this morning and a sea of red flags outnumbered the yellow, red and blue Tibetan flags that have become familiar in the city over the last week. Chinese-costumed dancers also were there. An NBC11 report early this evening put the number of imported Chinese at possibly 11,000.

Mayor Gavin Newsom gave a lengthy interview at the end of the afternoon to a reporter who had been one of the Torchbearers. He hailed the day a success on two counts: 'We protected people's safety and we protected people's rights of free expression. These are San Francisco values,' he said. He also praised the 'courage and candour' of the Torchbearers.

Overall, he felt that the city had 'distinguished itself' as against the fiascos of the Torch run in London and Paris.

A city Supervisor, Aaron Peskin, however, is attacking Mayor Newsom for 'secrecy, lies and misinformation.'

So what happened?

After the Opening Ceremony the first Torchbearer left the platform and ran into a nearby warehouse, away from crowds lining the start of the route! As people waited and waited, eventually a motorcade left the warehouse. But whether the Torch was in it or was ferried by boat across the Bay is uncertain in the immediate aftermath.

But police deserve an Oscar! Standing further down the start of the route, by a narrow bridge at the Giants ballpark, we were in the midst of the charade.

A large contingent of police officers had gathered during the morning near where slanging matches between pro-and-anti demonstrators stood facing each other on opposite sides of the road. And as the Opening Ceremony was due, at 1 pm, police formed several lines across one lane and moved us back off the centre of the bridge. Alongside on the water, police zoomed around on jet skis, a fireboat shot a water salute into the air and police boats sailed on the edge of the cove.

Overhead, at one point we counted six choppers and three planes. And on rooftops police could be seen, although on one pics were being taken in secret as we could only catch an intermittent glimpse of a camera lens poking over a parapet.

Then about half an hour after the Torch was due, a police truck turned up and a small group of police jumped out and donned riot gear. This caused a good distraction as the crowd surged around.

With music drifting across from the loudspeakers at the ceremony platform a few hundred yards away, it all looked and sounded as if Something Was Going to Happen!

It took almost three-quarters of an hour before people began to twig that we had been fooled!
As the crowd began to disperse and wander off peacefully, news organizations began to catch up and cell phones rang. Some idea of the Torch having been in the city percolated through but it took a little longer, mostly I suspect from the early evening broadcasts at 5 pm, for the full extent of the ruse to be rumbled.

But if safety and freedom to protest without arrest were priorities, it was a resounding success. There was plenty of protest action all the way along the route up to the Embarcadero, including a re-enactment of the brutality exercised against the Tibetan monks.

Click for pics. Click to enlarge.

For a more detailed report see later blog, and for more pics.

Golden Gate Bridge Protest

The Golden Gate Bridge had extra colour this morning - when protesters hung two banners and two Tibetan flags from one of its towers. The banners proclaimed: One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08.

The report with pics in the San Fran Chronicle says the banners were hung by members of Students for a Free Tibet. Three of them, two men and a woman, climbed up one of the bridge's towers 150 ft over the road and 370 ft above the water. They had concealed their climbing gear from security cameras by smuggling it onto the bridge in a baby buggy.

They were arrested after they climbed down and five other group members were also rounded up by police. Traffic over the bridge is slow and pedestrian access has been stopped.

Protests over China's human rights records are hotting up around the world and the Olympic Torch is due here on Wednesday.

The Tibetan Freedom Torch arrives here tomorrow with events beginning at 11 am in the United Nations Plaza by the Civic Center.

Pic shows a Tibetan flag waved by protesters at the Global Human Rights Rally in Union Square on Saturday

San Francisco Giants

It is one of the best days of the year for thousands of San Franciscans - the much-awaited opening home game of the season for baseball team San Francisco Giants!

In team colours of black and orange, over 40,000 people were there to cheer on their beloved Giants who this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of their presence in the city.

To mark the occasion, there was a flypast of two F18 fighter jets. They swooped in over the Bay and soared over the stadium with impeccable timing as the last strains of the national anthem faded away.

There was also a trip down memory lane with an appearance of some of the original players from 1958. Riding in open-topped cars of the fifties, they did a circuit of the grounds. The Giants, like the LA Dodgers, had begun life in New York but moved to California to bring baseball to the West Coast.

'It's a great day - the best day of the season,' enthused one fan as he walked to the game wearing the signature black and orange sweatshirt and baseball hat. 'Whether we win or lose, I'm rooting for them!'

The team this season is facing a big change, the equivalent of Man United kicking off without Becks for the first time. Their star player for 15 seasons, Barry Bonds, has been dropped.

'It's a powerful loss', said the fan. He shrugged, 'When we lose, we lose, but when we win, it's a great feeling!'

'We're so excited! said a lady who had travelled all the way from Monterey to watch the game with her friend. 'This is my first opening day! We're happy fans!' she said. Her friend, dressed in smart orange 'crops' and black top, agreed.

'I've been a fan since I was born, and my father before me,' she recalled. ' We used to listen to them on the radio in the back yard.'

The stadium is south of the city alongside part of the bay known as McCovey Cove, named after a famous player.

How do you think the Giants will get on this season? I asked a group queuing by the water.

"I'm hoping we'll win at least 50 per cent of the games,' said one man, and then laughed at himself for what was possibly a hopelessly optimistic statement!

How much will you miss Barry Bonds?

'It was time for him to go,' ventured a lady and with an eye on the future added, 'I'm looking forward to seeing the youngsters today.'

In front of them stood a long crocodile of Giants crew people holding yards and yards of a rolled up American flag ready to carry in for the official opening ceremony.

Alongside a ferry boat pulled up with passengers for the game and a flotilla of small boats and kayaks began to fill the cove. They were Giants fans happy to sit on the water and listen to the commentary of the game as it was relayed outside the stadium.

One of the hopes, no doubt, is that a boater might just have an opportunity to catch a ball that flies out of the stadium and heads for the water! Known as 'Splash Hits' - the Giants have only been in this stadium since 2000 - Bonds holds an outstanding record of 35 Splash Hits out of a total team count of 45, as well as the record for home runs.

One of the excellent features of the Giants is that they give fans who perhaps can't afford tickets for every game, a few innings of free viewing per match. There is open fencing beneath the stadium by the cove where fans can stand and watch.

I stood next to a Nicaraguan lady who has lived in San Fran for 50 years, and has been a fan for the same time. Her face glowed with anticipation. 'I love it!' she said.

'I watched Barry Bonds' father play,' she added.

'Barry Bonds' father?' I said.

'Yes, Barry Bonds' father!' she affirmed, amused at my astonished tone.

With Barry Bonds, there is an unresolved legal matter that has stunned fans. Last year he was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice regarding steroid use. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

But even with Bonds the Giants sadly have not been noted for their winning streak in recent years. And this brief season so far is not looking too hopeful. Whilst today is the opening home match for San Franciscans, the official start of the season was last week and the Giants have already lost 5 out of 6 away games.

But that's not what fans were focussing on today. As the opening ceremony ended with the flypast and a burst of coloured smoke, boats in the cove tooted and a fireboat sprayed jets of water high into the air.

For now, the future was what counted!

PS The Giants lost to San Diego Padres, but beat them the following night in a glorious nail-biting finale. After which there was a dazzling firework display that turned the sky into a supercharged sparkle that rivalled many a city's New Year's extravaganza.

Happy New Year, Giants!!!

Click for pics. Click to enlarge.

Global Human RIghts Torch Relay Cont.

Standing in Union Square in the sunshine seemed an incongruous place to be listening to a young Chinese woman give a harrowing account of her torture in a Chinese prison.

But it was the most moving account of all the speeches today at the Global Human Rights Torch rally.

She had been imprisoned and tortured three times for her practice of Falun Gong, a form of spiritual meditation. You could feel the tension in the packed square as she recalled in tears the 'physical, mental and spiritual' torture she had endured. This included electric burns, slave labour of packing chopsticks into paper wrappers and knitting sweaters, and sleep deprivation.

There were more than 100 labour camps, she said.

A young couple listening commented: 'It made you understand. It brings out the seriousness of the situation,' said the girl.

'It's really raw. It really brings it to you,' said the guy.

A Canadian human rights lawyer who has specialised in the organs for transplant horror of Falun Gong spoke. He explained that by 1999 there were more people practicing Falun Gong than were members of the Chinese Communist Party. So the Falun Gong were threatened. If they didn't abandon their beliefs, they were tortured. When that didn't stop them, they disappeared. Their organs were taken while they were still alive in what has become a $1 billion business in harvesting and selling organs for transplant to foreigners.

But whilst it is too late to stop China having the Games, he said, it is 'not too late to make China regret that they ever won the Olympic bid.'

Tatiana, a dialysis patient in a wheelchair, spoke up for the victims of the organ transplants. She spoke directly to China and said that pictures of their atrocities and the acts themselves 'would be remembered for ever.'

A Tibetan man, imprisoned in China for five years, said the killings of Falun Gong were 'homicide.' 'That's more than human rights abuse,' he said. He reiterated that as one of the Tibetan people 'we have nothing against the Chinese people...the athletes...the problem we have is with the Maoist terrorist regime of China.'

He refuted Chinese allegations that the Dalai Lama had organised the March protest by the monks in Tibet. The internet firewall erected by China was so strong that it would be impossible to organize a protest of that magnitude from outside of the country, he said. But if it had happened, 'shame on you China, you fail to protect your people,' he taunted.

He warned that the world needed to stop the Olympic Torch going through Tibet, where a symbolic route to Mount Everest was planned, because China was plotting a crackdown on the Tibetan people. 'It would be a 'disaster,' he said.

Former Olympic winners spoke. The 200 metres Bronze Medallist of 1968, John Carlos, who made history with his 'Black Power' salute on the winners' podium, called for a boycott of the Opening Ceremony.

He said, 'The people of China deserve to have the Olympic Games in their nation. The government of China do not.'

But he thought that to boycott the Games themselves would disenchant young athletes.

Referring to a host nation's prestige, he said the 'biggest part' of the Games was the opening ceremony. He praised the President of France for his intention to boycott the ceremony and hoped more nations would follow his lead.

An Olympic swimmer who won the Silver Medal in '68 and Bronze in '72, whilst supporting the 'dream' of the human rights campaigners, pleaded for understanding of the athletes. 'It is their dream as well' she said.

A freelance journalist working on behalf of the underground Roman Catholic Church spoke of the 'hell' of the arrests, abductions, endless interrogations, imprisonments, slave labour and death camps endured by Christians.

She had a message for 'Mao the Monster' and his representatives, now responsible for the deaths of 77 million Chinese:

'May you rot in hell!'

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, sent her support with a message: 'I believe the IOC made a mistake in awarding the Olympic Games to China.' Other contributors were the President of the Vietnamese Association in San Francisco and Women For Peace who spoke of the sweatshop abuses perpetuated for big companies, singling out Walmart, Nike and Microsoft.

Then, to great jubilation, the Torch arrived in the square to be officially received by Supervisor Chris Daly. Next, led by John Carlos, a large, jubilant group of protesters and 6k walkers and runners set off. They went down through the streets to the Embarcadero, along the Bay front and back to the square where a closing ceremony was held.

I spoke at random to a lady on the pavement as the parade passed.

'I'm not entirely in favour,' she said. 'I think there are better ways to show people what you think.'

However, a young lad across the street of Chinese background, was in favour. He said people 'need more freedom.'

A Vietnamese lady from San Jose who was part of the protests walked back to Union Square with me after following the marchers and runners for a short way. She said she would be back on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Tibetan Freedom Torch and the Olympic Torch. As will everyone else plus more!

Of course the big request of the protesters to San Francisco is that Mayor Gavin Newsom will adopt the Board of Supervisors resolution that he receive the Olympic Torch with 'alarm and protest.'

I walked by the architect of the resolution, Chris Daly, in the parade as he carried 'Daly Junior' happily on his shoulders. 'Will Mayor Newsom receive the Torch with alarm and protest?' I asked.

He guffawed for a few paces.

'He received my resolution with alarm and protest!!!' he said.

Click for pics. Click to enlarge. For earlier report and pics see http://lizinsanfrancisco.blogspot.com/2008/04/global-human-rights-torch-relay.html