Not the point, eatsee. Evil is evil, and the people of our fair city will protest it every chance we get. George W. Bush would get hounded out of town by protesters if he had the guts to show his face in SF proper. Between China, Bush, Schwarzennegger, and the other buffoons in the political class, we've got plenty of things to rally against.

China has had one of the worst records on human rights for the past 60 years--about the same length of time it has been occupying Tibet following that country's brief independence after several hundred years of Chinese control.

I certainly think China deserves to be denounced--and it has been the object of very strong criticism in the U.S. and around the world. However, I find it a bit ironic that most of the people now protesting China's recent crackdown in Tibet were rather quiet when the Olympics was awarded to Beijing some years back--China's human rights record was no better back then. Moreover, most of these same people in the U.S. and Europe happily purchase billions of dollars of goods made in China every year. For the most part, I find that only the Tibetan people themselves have credibility when protesting China's human rights abuses.

As for the change of the torch route, it is hardly an abuse of anyone's rights. Individuals have a guaranteed right of freedom of speech; they do not have a guaranteed right to view the Olympic torch. Everyone, pro-China and anti-China had a chance to have their voices heard--the amount of global media attention has been enormous and having the torch run curtailed did not make China look good in the least in the eyes of the world; rather, it made it look like the torch got run out of town. Yes, I am sure China will try to spin it has something positive, but REGARDLESS of what had happened, China's heavily censored media would have spun it positively.

The torch run probably should have been canceled, but if it had to happen, then SF needed to put the safety of its residents first. I am glad they got the torch in and out quickly without anyone getting seriously hurt--even still, some people did get injured and there was great potential for far worse to occur.

As for Aron Peskin's gratuitous criticism of Gavin Newsom, his remarks simply smack of a grandstanding politician who has designs on higher office--we all know he wants to run for Mayor. I certainly have MANY problems with Gavin Newsom, but to accuse him of some vast right-wing conspiracy backed by Communist China (already it sounds like a bad rip-off of the Manchurian Candidate) is something out of Hilary Clinton's playbook, not Nixon's. Also, Peskin's remarks neglect to mention that it was publicly announced numerous times that the torch relay route was subject to change, and even cancellation, at any time, based on safety concerns.

Supervisor Peskin and the rest of the Board of Supervisors AND Mayor Newsom would do well to end their political soap opera theatrics and start focusing on the serious issues facing the city--such as the soaring violent crime rate, the crumbling city infrastructure, the lack of affordable housing, etc. I know these issues may not grab the headlines as do stories about the Olympics and China's human rights record, but these day-to-day concerns are ultimately the most important issues to the residents of San Francisco.

Thank you for protesting on my behalf, Chumps! I long for the days before China took over my precious land. Now I have to work for a living, DAMN CHINA! Free Tibet and Support Slavery!

just for the Tv footage back home, don't be so navie...human right abuses? what about Guantanamo? what about the war in Iraq? why just tibet?

I watched the local tv news stations' coverage of the torch run since I was at home sick yesterday.

Hilarious and disturbing at the same time. While I understand the desire to avoid conflict, having a torch run without the crowds removes the magic of the event. What has happened when the only people who can enjoy the event, other than the 70-odd torch bearers, are the virtual audience members at home watching tv, reading online news reports and photos, and blog readers?

I have a proposal that will save money, enable a conflict free ceremony, and give everyone what they apparently want - a Second Life torch run! We have the technology to host a protest-free, conflict-free, human-free, germ-free pristine ceremony, where we can choose the exact camera angle we want, can have the sysadmin block unsavory participants, can populate the system with bots of our choosing, and never have to worry about the quality of satellite feed.

The torch would be carried through a virtual San Francisco

Forgive these misinformed/misled good-hearted protesters. Most of them haven't been in Tibet or China. They are brain-washed by the master-hand of Tibetan lobbyists and constantly lying Medias like CNN... Yesterday I spoke to couple of American protestors: one has issue with native/aboriginal people being forced to live differently such as Native Indians in this country... not just Tibetans. Another has no career, neither a student nor a worker, just thought the Tibetan flag is pretty... I stood side-by-side with s protestor and we had a pleasant conversation. It was a strange scene... he held a Burmese flag and I held a China flag... We talked and laughed... At the end, he told me that a person who communicates can convert a protestor to a supporter... He then left...

American people are naive; especially people don't have much to be excited in their lives. Every elementary school kid has been taught that their school is the best, their community is best, their country is best, their system is best, they can do everything... The complacency and self-righteous drive them to believe everything their media has been telling them.

China has done a tremendous job in its homeland including Tibet in the past 20 years. It's a very different country than 30 years ago. Some politicians in this country are worried China is catching up too quickly and it makes them unease... But the growth in Asia is inevitable... it contributes to and benefits the whole world... People in this country and the western society in general need to adjust and accept the fact... Constant denial and demonizing China can't work forever...

Tibet is much better now than ruled under that Lama, a real slave owner and a pretentious buddhist.

By the way, Tibetan Buddhism is one branch of Buddhism. China welcome diversities, different religons, variations and branches... just like here in San Francisco...

It was a riot in Tibet couple of weeks ago. Monks turned into mobs, burning shops and killing people. But Liars like CNN said it's an unrest and a non-violent protest... When Chinese government went to restore the order, Liars like CNN said it's a crackdown... No wonder there were so many innocent Americans holding the "Free Tibet" signs...

There were even very young American teenagers among protestors yesterday. One held a sign stating "Free China". I told him China doesn't need to be freed by you... free yourself... He blushed and walked away...