It was probably just a matter of time before anti-Western protests materialized.  Such is the intensity of Chinese resentment -- over perceived "bias" in Western media coverage of Tibet, over humiliating protest scenes during the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris, even over age-old grievances such as the Opium Wars -- that many expatriates have been bracing for the possibility of anti-Western demonstrations.

    Over the weekend Chinese Netizens began responding to an online call to boycott supermarket chain Carrefours -- and to rally outside its branches on May 1 -- because of the chain's alleged support of the exiled Dalai Lama. In the past, nationalistic youth bent on "punishing" foreign targets trashed Western and Japanese diplomatic facilities and commercial establishments. It's not clear how many people will join the boycott; the overwhelming Chinese crowds in Carrefours branches on weekends are proof of the retail chain's local appeal. And if authorities really wanted to head off protests, they could put out the word to webmasters and Internet police that such talk is not "appropriate".

    On a tangential note: over the weekend I happened to be driving past the spacious and well-manicured Police Academy north of Beijing. By chance, just as I passed the entrance gate two gigantic brand-new black Hummers with prominent police markings pulled out. Now, these are vehicles so wide they won't fit down many Beijing alleys, or hutongs.

   What is it the police know that the rest of us don't?  Lots, I presume. Or maybe they've just been watching too many episodes of "CSI Miami"....