On KTVU they are reporting that a runner said that they will be running in pairs, two by two, and the route will be shortened by half to go up to Sansome and Chestnut (pier 29??) and will not go where a lot of protesters are located to the north.
They are basically saying it will go partway up the Embarcadero where they are most securitized by police, and then return along the same route

Yep -0 KTVU said that Dean Karnazes (a famous marathon runner) told them that it's turning around at Sansome and Chestnut (which is slightly north of Market street?) and that they will run in pairs. Three runners have already dropped out now.

On the twitter stream linked in another post, they are saying that a fake torch bus started going down Harrison ? street, and it was surrounded, but this was an empty bus, possibly sent as a fake diversion. The group supposedly is still around it. A different real torch bus was spotted.

Josh Wolf's camera stream is the only one working for me at the Olympictorchsf.com site, but maybe DASW or d7TV will come up soon

This will probably be clear in a second, but the helicopter shot showed the first runner take off at McCovey cove, with only about 5 surrounding bodyguards. They ran into a large warehouse, but haven't emerged for about 4-5 minutes now. It's not clear what they could be doing, but it probably involves briefing the other runners or security or something.

CNN is showing the runner getting on a SF police boat, and it seems like they're going somewhere. The SF Chronicle says it's going to either go to another location, or going to Oakland, or something like this

The other torch runners aren't seen. It seems like reports of other torch runners will be important. There are lots of jet skis around the police boat.

Someone watching on TV said the torch went into a boat to get around street blockades.

looks like its on a police boat now. video feed shows what looks like people on a bridge being asked to move by police.

team tibet twitter reports: torch on police boat in mccovey cove. not moving yet.

sfgate reports: p 1:32 p.m.: Change comes amid clashes along the Embarcadero before the relay, prompting speculation the torch may be moved by boat to the Ferry Building.

Someone on tv is saying it's behind a muni bus and not on the bus.

Vehicles are headed South . . . not clear if torch is with them.

Now it is starting to look like the SF Chronicle was wrong, and that the torch was just put on some buses speeding out the back parking lot. There are dozens of other buses that look similar in the area, but these might be parked buses which brought olympics supporters from Los Angeles

"They're fooling the media at this point" . . .

No one knows anything. Reporters are contradicting each other.

Oh, CNN has been saying that they had intelligence that four unidentified torch runners might be planning to do pro-Tibet gestures, and that this was freaking out the security.

Using a boat for torch?

Reports now that torch on boat or jetski to ride down embarcadero

sfgate.com latest headline: Torch Disappears Into Pier 48 Warehouse

likely confusion not going to happen

starting on bush

twitter reports: 20ft Banner at Embarc and Howard "No Torch in Tibet"

KGO is showing torch runners lined up on VanNess. They will be running in pairs, and there are spectators, but nobody with communist flags or protest signs

sfgate latest headline:

Updated 1:53 p.m.: A convoy of vehicles, including vans and police on motorcycles, pulls out of Pier 48 building.

watching relay runners at Van Ness and Sutter on KGO right now!

or "Bush & Van Ness" the commentator said

torch ay van duys(?) and pine

Torch and runners at Bush and Van Ness!

Confirmed via live video on KGO

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=news&id=6069106

torch is moving now

Torch is headed down a street, near Bush and Pine . . . protestors mia . . . can only see cops on TV. Runners were stopped, now are going forward again . . .

its sounds like they are heading northbound according to the commentators

Inland route instead as per sftorch sms

sftorch: baileysf: it.s at california and van ness

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Barely walking in terms of the pace, not even a jog . . .

KGO commentators mention that it may then turn west on Bay...

Updated 2:02 p.m.: Convoy, including vans and police on motorcycles, pulls out of Pier 48 building, heads down 5th Street, then up Ellis Street to Van Ness.

Torch heading north on Van Ness and Bay. If you can, go to Aquatic Park Nr Gradli Sq to meet torch.

Torch heading north on Van Ness and Bay. If you can, go to Aquatic Park Nr Gradli Sq to meet torch.

Kgo reports torch heading west now

sftorch: joshuaw: KGO says torch will go west, under GG bridge then by boat to Justin Herman Plaza

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Guessing game with only helicptrs knowin

sftorch: joshuaw: KGO say maybe going to aquatic park then down embarcadero

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They took it in a vehicle convoy to around Van Ness and Broadway. Now pairs of runners are taking it down Van Ness heading toward the bay. Each pair is carrying about a block and half or so.

Jim

watching on KGO live

Torch on Broadway and Van Ness, still heading North

Updated 2:14 p.m.: After mass protests, Olympic flame takes a bus from Pier 48 building to Van Ness. Two runners are now carrying it on the street.

almost to Bay and Van Ness now

2:26 PM - Guest — There is a huge crowd of people relocating to Broadway in North Beach

# 2:29 PM - Andrew —

Kindly tell the camera operator on Chopper 5 that his radio chatter is being broadcast on the internet along with his video. Also let him know that belching into the mic is pretty gross.

Thanks!

once it gets to bay, it will turn west on bay

2:30 PM - Guest — Beyond broadway up towards levi's plaza now

watching KGO and some protesters beginning to try to get to torch, confrontations

watching KGO and some protesters beginning to try to get to torch, confrontations

as cops defend another police state

while cops may try to play this as a victory, with their armored divisions protecting torch runners, it's really a victory for protesters that they had to play hide and seek with torch

just turned west on BAY

Pro-china only at justin herman

sftorch: Listenupgirl: Ktvu reports the only people allowed into justin herman plaza handpicked by

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CNN says the route will be: west on bay street under the bridge and then on a shuttle to the final destination

heading west toward golden gate

CNN says: The final destination will still be Justin Herman Plaza, but it will enter in a shuttle, not on foot.

CNN Reports: The yellow vehicle "duck boat" driving in front of the torch is an amphibious vehicle. They speculated that perhaps at some point that could enter the water and be used to shuttle the torch to the Justin Herman Plaza. Again, that is speculation. However the yellow vehicle in front is definitively amphibious.

as reported by KGO

KGO reports that the AP has said the closing ceremonies WON'T be happening at Justin Herman Plaza. They will be held at "a undisclosed location".

just in the closing ceremonies at JHP are cancelled.

AP reports: closing ceremony at Justin Hermon Plaza is cancelled! , it will change to undisclosed location

Now they're saying it's headed to the GGB, and there won't be a cermony.

AP reports: closing ceremony at Justin Hermon Plaza is cancelled. The ceremony will still take place, but at an undisclosed location
source: CNN online

Also on SFChron -- Updated 3:11 p.m.: Surprise route change thwarts protesters after tense confrontations between China and Tibet supporters in the morning. Supervisor Peskin slams mayor's "deceit" in the bait-and-switch.

The convoy is now headed up Doyle Drive toward the Golden Gate Bridge, a route city officials originally said they had discounted because it was too high profile.

Doyle Drive toward the Golden Gate Bridge

torch is currently not moving.
Yellow duck boat has separated from torch group, and the blue security crew from china

cops and blue security crwe are taking a rest and not moving, yellow duck boat has stopped about 20 meters ahead of the group.

Since the ceremony will happen at an "undisclosed location", what kind of ceremony is it? Who is it for? The media? The cops? They'll stick their cameras in there but no non-media and non-cops are allowed?

Ridiculous.

Apparently headed to the airport.. according to a post on a blog

And KGO just showed the torch motorcade has arrived at the airport. It's on its way out.

Not sure how long this record of twitter updates will remain available, but you can get a scattered history of the day at http://twitter.com/sftorch. They did SMS alerts all day long. Some useful. Some not so useful.

Original "sftorch" announcement was made at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/08/18491190.php.