It was terrifically entertaining to watch the hide-and-seek of the Olympic torch as it made its way through San Francisco today. It was on CNN for hours--frantic aerial shots of the city streets and whatnot--and you'd have thought OJ was on the run again. But no, the media were looking for the same thing as all the Tibetan protesters, and for that matter everyone else on the procession route. Where is that blasted torch? There it is, heading into a warehouse! No, wait, that's a decoy torch - the real torch just went into JC Penney.
I pictured a wily Communist Party official, in a windowless room somewhere in China, controlling the entire operation by joystick.
The AP has more on the mayhem, and notes that even the torchbearers couldn't be trusted.
At least one torchbearer decided to show her support for Tibetan independence during her moment in the spotlight. After being passed the Olympic flame, Majora Carter pulled out a small Tibetan flag that she had hidden in her shirt sleeve.
But take note of just what Carter said.
"The Chinese security and cops were on me like white on rice, it was no joke," said Carter, 41, who runs a nonprofit organization in New York. "They pulled me out of the race, and then San Francisco police officers pushed me back into the crowd on the side of the street."
Like white on rice? To describe Chinese security? Progressives and language police, how do you feel about this metaphor?
