Here To Geneva

Every weekday, having finished work, I catch the bus home. Two stops after I have boarded, an ear-ringed man gets on. He and I travel on the same bus home, every day. Nothing remarkable so far I suppose you’re saying. How about if I tell you we get off at the same stop? Does that make it more interesting? No? Wait, there’s more!

Today, I realised that he may have noticed that I’m always on the same bus as him. I’ve known for quite a while, and I have always let him press the “stop’ button on my behalf as we approach our stop. It’s become so routine for me that I know almost exactly when he’s going to press the button. Today though, he missed his cue. The point in the journey passed and he hadn’t moved. Almost immediately, I figured out that he had realised that I was on the bus and that I was going to be alighting at the next stop. I figured that he was thinking, “that cool-looking character at the back of the bus, where I wish I was cool enough to sit, is getting off at the next stop. I’ll wait for him to press the button.” Well, he could forget that! I’ve been going weeks having not pushed that button, and I’d be damned if I was going to start now. “Game on,” I thought.

So we both sat, me confidently, him wishing he hadn’t challenged me to this game of chicken. The bus approached the last corner before the stop. We were now only less than 20 metres away and no one had hit “stop”. As the bus began to break to turn, he bottled it and hit the button. I leapt from my seat to get in front of him. He’s a slow walker. The bus turned the corner and came to a halt. I’d won this round.

Something I’m currently fascinated by is the Olympic Torch Relay, something I’m sure my Twitter followers will testify. I’ve been enthusiastically posting my observations of the torch relay to Twitter over the course of the last week. Today, I thought I’d create a post summarising those thoughts.

I think the first thing to do is provide some information on what it is I’m referring to. On 8th August 2008, Beijing, China will host the world’s largest and most prestigious sporting event, the Olympic and Paralymic Games. This in itself is a controversial issue, as many believe China hasn’t earned the right to host such an event. China has a long history of human rights issues, and more recently, has provoked criticism from the global community on it tight grasp on Tibet. Back in 1949, China staged an armed invasion of Tibet, despite the Tibetans having declared independence further back in 1911 when China’s internal political structure was in turmoil. Today, international aid agencies and journalists are not allowed in and Tibetans who oppose China’s occupation are reportedly severely punished. As part of the run-up to the games, the Beijing Organising Committee have arranged for one of the most ambitious Olympic Torch relays ever attempted. The original plan saw the torch travelling 137,000 km, through 21 countries, over the course of 130 days. The relay has been dubbed, the “Journey of Harmony”. But harmonious it certainly isn’t. The relay started in Olympia, Greece, where the Olympic flame was lit by the rays of the sun. Despite being carefully choreographed, the ceremony was disrupted. As a Chinese diplomat delivered his speech, a member of Reporters Without Borders managed to run behind him, unfurling a banner which depicted the Olympic rings as handcuffs. The camera quickly panned away, but the damage was done and the world media got their story. The disruption spilled onto the streets as the flame was taken away from the ancient site of Olympia and through Athens. Pro-Tibet and Pro-Human Rights demonstrators made their feelings very clear. While many waved Tibetan flags and unfurled banners from balconies, some tried laying in the path of the procession, before being met by the heavy hand of Greek security teams. Although it was only day one of the relay, many were now anticipating further protests as the flame made its way around the world. After Athens, the flame visited Beijing, where obviously there was no trouble, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Istanbul, Turkey, where there were minor protests and then St. Petersburg, Russia. On 6th April 2008, the torch arrived in London, United Kingdom, where the fun really started.

It took the protesters just five minutes to cause the Police to be concerned about the day ahead. Just as the second torch bearer attempted to board an open-top double-decker bus, a Pro-Tibetan demonstrator broke through the cordon and attempted to board as well. Police quickly bundled the man to the floor and took him away. It was the start of a day of absolute chaos and farce. A little bit further down the route, another man broke through the line of Police and grabbed hold of the torch, causing a violent tussle. Other protesters tried to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher. When the flame reached Whitehall and Downing Street, a very large group of protesters broke through the fences and ran alongside it, forcing the Police entourage to run along the pavement of a road which was busy with traffic. In the melee, an ITV news cameraman was twice pushed to the floor by Police and repeatedly kicked. At St Paul’s Cathedral, Police was so panicked by the number of protesters, the flame was extinguished and the entourage boarded a bus surrounded by riot police and travelled a considerable distance before the crowds decreased and they returned to foot. In the closing stages, 50 police officers and 12 Chinese para-military officers surrounded the flame. The scuffles continued and by the end of the day a total of 35 people were arrested. Anyone lining the route simply to witness the flame passing by would have had serious difficulty in seeing through the high police presence. It was a tense, farcical and frankly ridiculous occasion.

• Angry protests as torch reaches London (CNN)
• Clashes along Olympic torch route (BBC News)
• Amateur Footage of attempted torch snatch and ensuing chaos (YouTube)
• Amateur footage of attempt to extinguish torch with fire extinguisher (YouTube)

The scenes in London spread to Paris two days later. Demonstrators from Reporters Without Borders managed to unfurl a large banner from the Eiffel Tower, similar to the banner unfurled in Olympia. All along the route, the torch was met with protesters, some Pro-China, but mostly Pro-Tibet. Despite 3,000 police officers along the route, riding motorcycles, jogging or on skates, the risk of public unrest was too high and after three unplanned stops, the relay was eventually abandoned. The flame finished it’s journey across the city away from the public gaze on a bus.

• Olympic torch hit by protests during Paris leg (CNN)
• Protests cut short Olympic relay (BBC News)
• In pictures: Paris torch protests (BBC News)
• Amateur footage of Police struggling to maintain control (YouTube)

On 9th April, the flame made it’s only visit to North America. The violence seen in London and Paris was replaced by anger and disappointment as city authorities, faced with thousands of demonstrators on the streets waiting to disrupt the procession, made a series of last minute changes to the plans. A majority of the legitimate spectators who had been standing on the street for hours before the relay was due to start didn’t see anything at all. If anything, the scenes in San Francisco were more farcical than those witnessed in London and Paris. After a 40 minute delay, the torch was lit at a planned event in front of an invited group of local Chinese community members. From there, the torch was carried down a narrow path and into a warehouse. For the next half an hour, news channels around the world broadcast live pictures of the warehouse. What is evident now is that in this time, the organisers were putting together a contingency plan. The plan was to smuggle the flame out of the warehouse in a non-descript bus and conduct the relay several miles away without telling anyone. And that’s what happened. Luckily, the news helicopters were on the ball and managed to capture the start of the relay. The torch bearers, surrounded by a heavy presence of police wielding metre-long batons and on motorbikes, jogged through empty residential streets happily waving at nobody while thousands of Pro-Chinese spectators waited at the waterfront where the flame was due to pass, oblivious to the fact the relay was taking place several miles away and that the closing ceremony had been cancelled. Anti-China supporters used the news helicopters to home in on the relay and there were some scuffles. But it was too late. The only people to have seen the torch pass by were those not intending to go and see it. When the procession of police vehicles reached the Golden Gate bridge, the torch was unceremoniously put out and the entourage filed onto buses. The San Francisco Olympic Torch Relay was over.

• Route changes, scuffles mark Olympic torch relay (CNN)
• ‘Houdini torch’ relay disappoints (BBC News)

I’m currently watching live scenes from Buenos Aires as it makes it only visit to South America. Things appear to be going much more smoothly on this leg. The wall of police and security is just as large as it has been in London, Paris and San Francisco. There have been a few scuffles and two water balloons were thrown at the torch, but at this time, the atmosphere it much more celebratory and not nearly as tense.

I’m not sure where I stand with this whole situation. I’m certainly against China and its human rights records, and I’m against their continued heavy-handed occupation of Tibet so I suppose I’m against China being awarded the games. But I am in favour of the Olympics themselves. I enjoy the spectacle of it and I enjoy watching the multitude of sport. I love that thousands of athletes can achieve their potential and reach their goals. I don’t think the Olympics is a force for good and harmony. It’d be nice if it was, but I’m pretty sure the hearts of the world leaders aren’t going to melt after watching a bit of fencing or skeet. In the history of the games, nothing has happened in terms of political reconciliation as a result of them. The only positive thing to come from them is the individual achievement of the athletes. I’m not fooled by the slogans of hope, unity and peace. As for the Olympic Torch Relay, it’s just a marketing tool and I don’t think it being disrupted is a bad thing at all. If it gets people talking about important issues such as Tibet, then that’s a good thing. The multitude of irony of the way to torch relay is being conducted and the fact it was invented by the Nazis for the Berlin games in 1936 is certainly not lost on me, and I’m sure many others. I wait with anticipation to see what happens next.

• 2008 Summer Olympic Torch Relay (Wikipedia)

Tanya N (Photos 1 & 2), Ollografik (Photo 3) and Steve Rhodes (Photo 4).

Lately, I’ve rediscovered the brilliance of the US version of The Office (named ‘The Office: An American Workplace’ in the UK). I watched it for the first time when the BBC bought the rights to show the first series and put it on at 21h00 weekly. I thought it was excellent. I kind of lost touch with the second series though when ITV bought the rights and shunted it about in the schedules when they didn’t get as many viewers as they would have liked. For some reason, ITV are still paying for the UK rights to show it and are currently airing the third series at 00h30 weekly. A total injustice and unforgivable if you ask me. This show deserves a much better slot.

Having bought the first series on DVD earlier in March, I then bought the second series straight afterwards. This had only just been released in the UK. I’m now ready and raring to see the third series, but since it’s still only half way through being shown on TV, the DVD won’t released any time soon. So I opted instead to import the DVD from the States.

This morning, I received two packages. The first was my Dunder Mifflin Inc T Shirt. I thought I’d parade about town in it and drum up some interest. The second package was my DVD. I think I was smiling as I opened the envelope. I love getting post! My smile didn’t last long though. They’d sent the wrong bloody one!

Despite how good ‘Mariposa and her Butterfly Fairy Friends’ looks, I’m gonna have to send it back. A shame, but necessary if I’m to find out how Jim and Pam get on.