This is a map of the torch route and the sorts of protests, crowds, and events that took place along the way – as well as alterations to the route.

I was getting updates on my cell phone from the SMS feed going out on Twitter; this succeeded in conveying the true chaotic nature of the chess match between protesters and the relay organizers. I haven’t seen pictures yet, but there were at least two banner hangs done along the route. The torch was hidden on buses and vans, it was put on a boat and floated away from demonstrators, and the torch relay was eventually cut short and the closing ceremony canceled.

Additionally one torch bearer, Majora Carter, pulled out a Tibetan flag and was promptly roughed up by Chinese security forces – the infamous People’s Armed Police.

“The Chinese security and cops were on me like white on rice, it was no joke,” Majora Carter told the AP. “They pulled me out of the race, and then San Francisco police officers pushed me back into the crowd on the side of the street.”

There were other reports of PAP physically harassing protesters, an offense to American sensibilities and sovereignty, courtesy of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. But what would have happened to Carter and other protesters if this had been part of the Olympic torch relay in Tibet? They’d be beaten or killed, according to the TAR’s governor.

In China, government officials warned against disruption of the relay as the torch reaches Tibet. “If someone dares to sabotage the torch relay in Tibet and its scaling of Mount Everest, we will seriously punish him and will not be soft handed,” said Qiangba Puncog, governor of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

It’s hard to imagine a more disgusting response to peaceful protest. But the message is clear, China will murder Tibetans who mar their torch relay with dissent. While they weren’t allowed to do it San Francisco, there will be no restrictions back in Tibet.