The IOC has raised the question of possibly cancelling the remainder of the international portion of the Olympic torch relay.
In Beijing, the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, said his executive committee would discuss the matter on Friday, when the flame will still have a dozen cities on its route, starting with Buenos Aires and arriving in Beijing early next month.
Did you get that? Friday, April 11. Publicly announcing that they have set the meeting after the San Francisco leg of the relay shows how inept these folks really are. What they have essentially done has set the bar higher for demonstrators in “the city by the bay.” They now have even a more focused mission: to bring this thing, once and for all, to its knees. I can only imagine how Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, and Heather Fong, police chief, felt when they found out that their city has been set up like a duck pin by the Olympic folks who continue to exhibit their moth-like predilection for flying towards the light, seemingly ignorant of the fact that sometimes the light is actually a real fire.
As this once-imagined feel-good event spins out of control and closer towards the edge where farce becomes tragedy, we look for some voice of reason to step forward to keep it from plunging headlong into chaos. The IOC has proven once again that they are not that voice. Unfortunately, they’re the only voice that can make any difference, though all they seem able to really do is to continue to mumble.
If anyone in San Francisco – spectator, demonstrator or security person – is seriously hurt, the IOC ought to pack it in and just go home. I’ll even buy Jacques Rogge a ticket.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Bill // Apr 9, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Isn’t that April 11 date is a challenge and a call for action ?
2 jg // Apr 10, 2008 at 2:28 am
I believe the call to action has been there the whole time. I think the IOC’s ineptness has lack of foresight has set this one up as the place where it can possibly end, spurring on the possibility of even more violent demonstration so they can claim that they ended this relay after the sixth leg. The IOC has, in fact, indirectly put out a call to further response that will become even more dangerous than Paris and London legs of the journey. They have not been known for their political awareness or ability to project likely outcomes. In fact, quite the opposite. Somehow they miss one opportunity after another, always showing up late with their “solutions” which, are in fact not solutions at all. Just reactions. Like playing poker with someone who can never remember their hole card, no matter how many times they check.
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