It's going to be a long 122 days

This isn't going very well, is it?
Not even police on rollerblades could prevent the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay being disrupted by protesters today.
Despite a huge police presence, the torch had to be extinguished three times for safety reasons, and at one point was put on a bus to protect it from a crowd of demonstrators.
On top of that, Reporters Without Borders were promising something 'spectacular' to mark the protest, the socialist Mayor of Paris was to unfurl a banner in support of human rights and two national newspapers in France lashed out at what they dubbed the 'flame of discord'.
Is that how it's going to be for the next 122 days until the Games begin?
And then what? Another two weeks of intense protests?
It seems certain that the San Francisco leg of the relay and, surely, the Tibetan part of the route will be met with similar disruption.
From a Chinese perspective, providing their opponents with a stage to rally support and gather momentum is unwise.
The protests will have reached fever pitch by August if this pattern continues. The only way to defuse tensions is to revise the route and make conciliatory noises about dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Meanwhile, the protests will continue.
Next up: The Battle of Buenos Aires on Friday.