As I walked away from Embarcadero streams of people headed towards me. Some of the folks I saw were:
- a Purple-clad ACLU LEGAL OBSERVER with a clipboard and a camera
- middle aged white guy in a green baseball hat & matching T-shirt, (no words, but it's for Darfur, China has been a heavy backer of the Sudanese government and Northern Sudanese Islamic groups carring out the genocide against southern Sudanese who are not Muslims, but who are in the way of Sudan's vast oil reserves)
- ethnic Chinese of unknown nationality in t-shirts commemorating something about the Olympics, but in non-western script, the shirts all matched, and they were wearing nametags on lanyards.
- a latina wearing Got Mercy? on a black hooded sweatshirt, with her girlfriend who is garbed all in black.
There is a very heavy police presence. There were also a lot of black limos over by the Mandarin Oriental hotel. It's also clear, but windy and quite chilly. I can hear the airplanes pulling banners and the chup chup of circling helicopters.
UPDATE: according to the San Francisco Chronicle, the hundreds of Pro-China flag waving, red wearing Chinese people have been bussed in by the Chinese consulate and Pro-China groups. click here for story
Nimble photographers are already getting photos up onto Flickr, here are some links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos
Apparently the torch route is to be shortened because the factions of people are clashing, the torch will be brought by boat to the Ferry Building where thousand of observers await.
2 comments:
heh
Nametags on lanyards.
San Francisco is a lot like London in this respect. Last time I was there I remember emerging from Montgomery Bart to a mass march of protesting Mexicans.
Which is fine. Mexicans protesting for Mexicans.. No problems with that
I think it was something to do with an amnesty for illegals or something. It was a big issue at the time I remember.
But yes, London on almost any given day you will find a protest somewhere in the city and almost once a week a major one in around the city centre. People bellyaching about one cause or another on someone elses behalf.
I'm not saying that all the causes are without merit. But certain cities seem to get a bit more self righteous about them than others. Two of my favourite cities it has to be said,but still. A little too much piety can be nauseating
'The San Francisco Smug Alert' episode of South Park always pops into my head when see things like this
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