Here Come the Men in Blue - Olympic Torch Run “Flame Protection Squad” in S.F., CA
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Well here they come, the paramilitary Flame Protection Squad, direct from the People’s Republic of China. They’re a little secretive and they’re partial to the color blue, so it’s like the Men in Black meets Blue Man Group.
These Chinese flame guards have sparked controversy all over the world. Why? Let’s hear from torchbearer and international mega-babe Connie Huq when she ran with them a few days back in merrie olde England:
“They were very robotic, very full on, and actually I noticed them having skirmishes with our own police and the Olympic authorities before our leg of the relay, which was confusing. They were barking orders at me, like ‘Run! Stop!’, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, who are these people? They kept pushing my hand up higher when I was holding the torch, so they were … interesting.”
Wujing in the hiz-ouse:
diamond geezer on the Flickr
Just who are these “burly henchmen,” labelled “thugs” by Lord Coe during an unguarded moment? They’re just the People’s Armed Police Force (PAP) and probably they are the best of the best, so that means some of them could be from Beijing S.W.A.T. or the Snow Wolf Commando Unit. Groove on their sweet arm patch. Nice doggy:
Even if they aren’t snow wolves,each one of them could probably kick all of your asses, so don’t mess with them tomorrow. Rumours of them being all at least 190 cm. in height (6′ 3″) might be a bit of an exaggeration, but they’re like an army of Jack Bauers without the cowboy attitude.
Elements of the lower ranked levels of the San Francisco Police Department are already speculating on whether this unit of the People’s Armed Police is actually armed when on American soil. Good question. Regardless, they’ll do what can to protect the Olympic flame tomorrow. It should be interesting.