The Torch Rally Leaves With It Tail Beneath It's Legs

ArchBishop Desmond Tu Tu.
In San Fransisco.


By The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - The Olympic flame is on its way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday after a fleeting visit to San Francisco.
Faced with thousands of anti-China protesters, authorities pulled a bait-and-switch routine on the crowds who turned out to see the flame Wednesday on its only North American stop. The torch was relayed along a shortened, alternate route before it was finally taken to the airport and put on a plane without a formal goodbye.
In China, where the summer games are taking place, the state-run Xinhua News Agency is reporting that the San Francisco leg proceeded without major disruptions.
It says the route was changed due to what it describes as "threats by Tibetan separatists and their supporters."
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has been in Beijing for meetings with Chinese officials. He gave the U.S. torch relay a mixed review, saying it was "not the joyous party" they had wished for.