Morning View - Chinese Consulate

Protests continue daily at the Chinese Consulate on the West Side Highway at 42th Street, where at night the Free Tibet crowd has been projecting a giant Tibetan flag and other images onto the bare face of the building. After the protesters posted a video of their projection of the Olympic rings turning into handcuffs, the International Olympic Committee lodged a protest to YouTube and the video was pulled. You can still see the clip on Vimeo. I don't know where the law stands on projecting unwanted images onto somebody's building, but I imagine it's not kosher.

I took this pic from Pier 84, where tonight their Sunset Thursdays event continues. I haven't been yet, but they bill it as an "Ibiza-style" party with DJs playing Balearic-ish trance music. Bottles of Grey Goose are only $150, which is totally, like, 75% off Meatpacking District prices! Free to get in and Free Tibet.

Olympics Protest In Union Square

Yesterday afternoon, after a nice brunch down in the Bowery with Little David and visiting Chicago blogger Jake and his humpy fiancé, we wandered up to Union Square and ran into an anti-Olympics protest. I walked around to take pictures of the protesters with their signs, but aside from the woman below (I think she's a nun), most didn't want to be photographed by me and held their posters in front of their face.I've run into that before at various anti-war protests. I guess they see a middle-aged white guy with a military-ish haircut taking pictures and think "Homeland Security!" or whatever. There's more a than a little paranoia at some of these things, but probably deservedly so. And I suppose if I were a Chinese national protesting human rights abuses at home, I might be wary of being photographed too. I also noticed that the wretched Falun Gong had infiltrated the event, swapping the anti-Olympics signs for gory photos of Falun Gong followers who are allegedly suffering live organ harvesting for China's sick elite.

McCain: I'd Boycott The Olympics

On today's episode of The View, John McCain said that if he were president today, he'd boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. McCain: "I would say right now it depends on Chinese behavior. Unless there is some progress with the Dalai Lama, including conversations with him, including stopping this brutal crackdown that we're seeing in Tibet, then I would make the decision not to go." However, McCain did not call on President Bush to not attend, as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have done.

Peter Tatchell Disrupts London'sOlympic Torch Relay

As part of a large protest against Chinese human rights abuses, activist Peter Tatchell was detained by London police today after he attempted to interrupt the relay of the Olympic torch through the streets of London.

As the torch continued westwards through London, pro-Tibet supporters waved banners and placards calling for Gordon Brown to boycott the opening ceremony, for an end to killing in Tibet and for China to have talks with the Dalai Lama. Hundreds lined Bayswater Road, many wearing Tibetan flags and carrying signs which read "Stop the killing in Tibet", "No Olympic torch in Tibet" and "China talk to Dalai Lama".

Helping to lead the chants was Buddhist monk Ngawang Khyentse, who said: "We can't just remain silent. We have no other choice than to protest because there is no other voice for Tibetans inside Tibet, so we have to speak out for human rights. "At the very least the British government has to speak out and condemn the crackdown in Tibet. They must not keep silent."

When the bus travelled along Oxford Street, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell stopped it in its tracks by jumping into the road holding a sign saying "Free Tibet, Free Hu Jia". "The arrest last week of human rights activist Hu Jia shows that China is not fulfilling its human rights commitments which were part of the deal for them to get the Olympics," Mr Tatchell said. "At the very least, world leaders should boycott the opening ceremony and athletes should wear Tibetan flags when they go on the podium to receive their medals." Mr Tatchell said he was detained by police but released with a warning.

Tatchell has made many similar high-profile protests, perhaps most famously in 1999 and 2001 when he attempted to make a citizen's arrest of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe for crimes against homosexuals. The 2001 arrest attempt in Brussels resulted in Tatchell being beaten unconscious by Mugabe's bodyguards, leaving him with permanent damage to his right eye.