San Francisco police study foreign protests to prepare for hosting the
Olympic flame relay.

By John M. Glionna and Geraldine Baum, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 8, 2008
San Francisco police expressed mounting concern about their ability to
provide safe passage for the Olympic torch relay after swarms of
activists protesting China's human rights record shut down the event
in Paris on Monday, forcing officials to repeatedly snuff out the
iconic flame.

Traditionally a celebratory show that whets the appetite for the
Olympics, the torch relay this year has turned into a rolling -- and
intensifying -- confrontation over the Chinese government's religious
and political persecution. The superpower's recent actions in Tibet
have been a particular focus.

Authorities in San Francisco, which on Wednesday will host the only
North American leg of the relay, said they had closely watched events
in London on Sunday and in Paris.