The Olympic Torch Schwerpunkt
Today’s NYTimes:
This is the third protest I’ve counted (1st was at the Acropolis, 2nd was in London) in seven stops. The open schedule of the torch’s movement could serve as a schwerpunkt for an open source insurgency.The tour could prove jarring for Beijing. What organizers had billed as an occasion to celebrate the Olympics’ sporting ideals of peace and harmony is turning into a contest between China’s supporters and critics.
Robb argues that the movement won’t be able to take off unless it finds a way to:
The torch’s planned passage through countries that will not employ draconian measure to crack down on protests provides an incubation environment for potential focos. The cost of failure is low and the potential number of canditates is large, raising the probability that one of them will successfully state a clear high level goal and a globally recognized demonstration of effective action.
If the torch relay does not serve as the focusing agent for an open source insurgency, then it will serve as a useful counterexample for studying the dynamics of open source insurgencies.
Both sides are clearly paying close attention to this competition. The Chinese responded quickly to the Paris protests with a hasty press conference. Responses by Chinese spokespeople include:
“A few Tibetan separatists attempted to sabotage the torch relay in London, and we strongly denounce their disgusting behavior,” said Sun.
Also:
For the protesters part, while the protests are growing in intensity, I don’t have any good sources yet for the evolving goals and methods of the various protest movements.
