Olympics

[guyser]

So, with the wonderful clear skies and excellent air in Beijing, will any outside competitor set a world record?

Or will asthma and bronchitis keep the records unbroken.

I will go out on a limb and say other than the 100M dash, no records in running will be set. Perhaps some throwing events, javalin, discus , but not track events.

Apparently today they looked up in Beijing and saw blue sky.

It freaked them out.

[M.Dancer]

I am boycotting the Olympics. I didn't see the Berlin games and I see no reason to see the Peking ones either...

[Guest American Woman]

So, with the wonderful clear skies and excellent air in Beijing, will any outside competitor set a world record?

Or will asthma and bronchitis keep the records unbroken.

I will go out on a limb and say other than the 100M dash, no records in running will be set. Perhaps some throwing events, javalin, discus , but not track events.

Apparently today they looked up in Beijing and saw blue sky.

It freaked them out.

Have you ever been to Beijing? I found it to be a beautiful city with lots of wonderful people. I have photo albums with beautiful pictures of the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, etc., all complete with clear, blue skies. I hear so much about how polluted it's supposed to be, but frankly, I've found it better than a lot of other cities I've been to. Or at the very least, no worse.

Edited July 30, 2008 by American Woman

[guyser]

Have you ever been to Beijing? I found it to be a beautiful city with lots of wonderful people. I have photo albums with beautiful pictures of the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, etc., all complete with clear, blue skies. I hear so much about how polluted it's supposed to be, but frankly, I've found it better than a lot of other cities I've been to. Or at the very least, no worse.

Nope, never been.

Basing my opinion on pics that are prevalent, reports that are fairly damning of the air pollution, and friend who just returned , who said, and I quote, the air in the airport terminal was so bad we could not go outside to explore since it was worse outside.

I wholeheartedly agree with the beauty of the Palace and Forbidden City, and I would love to go, but only from Oct to early April, and that tip I have from my secretary, who is from Beijing.

I will quote her again, today she said she is " embarassed" about the pollution. Bad very bad.

So...do you think records will be broken considering the state of the air?

[Guest American Woman]

I was there in March, which would be within the time span that your secretary suggested, so that may be why I had clear skies on my visits. I thought the pollution was worse in the winter months though, because I thought so much of it was because of the coal. But after reading your post, I looked into it a bit more and found an interesting article on it -- Beijing Considers New Curbs As Pollution Threatens Games -- and it sounds, and looks, as if it's as bad as you said. I've honestly never seen pictures of it looking that way before and hardly recognize it as the same place.

It does sound as if pollution is going to be a real problem in spite of the strong steps the government has been taking to help curb it. So will records be broken? Doesn't sounds likely, hey? I have to say I agree with your take on it.-- I think it will definitely be a problem for track events and I have to wonder if some of the competitors will suffer because of it.

I have to say, it will be interesting to see how the Olympics play out overall. I have a friend in Beijing who was so excited and proud when Beijing won the Olympic bid, and I was last there as the city was vying for the Games, so I know how important it is to the people there. For that reason, I'm really hoping it all plays out well. But like I said, it sounds as if the pollution is going to create a real problem. If that's what 'the world' sees, I think China is going to be under more pressure to be included in things like Kyoto. In the meantime, I'm guessing some of the competitors may be worrying about how well they will be able to do. The Games may end up being pretty unimpressive performance wise.

Edited July 30, 2008 by American Woman

[guyser]

I was there in March, which would be within the time span that your secretary suggested, so that may be why I had clear skies on my visits. I thought the pollution was worse in the winter months though, because I thought so much of it was because of the coal. But after reading your post, I looked into it a bit more and found an interesting article on it -- Beijing Considers New Curbs As Pollution Threatens Games -- and it sounds, and looks, as if it's as bad as you said. I've honestly never seen pictures of it looking that way before and hardly recognize it as the same place.

Cold winter air will move pollution. Same as here in TO. The north winds blow and the pollution from the Ohio valley along with our own pollution just doesnt make the conditions we see from June to Sept.

It does sound as if pollution is going to be a real problem in spite of the strong steps the government has been taking to help curb it. So will records be broken? Doesn't sounds likely, hey? I have to say I agree with your take on it.-- I think it will definitely be a problem for track events and I have to wonder if some of the competitors will suffer because of it.

Unless, and I suspect they will, they curb all autos and factories it will be a factor. I would not be surprised if they ban cars, and I know that factories will be shut down. Call it the China way.They can and will do something, but it wont be enough.

In the meantime, I'm guessing some of the competitors may be worrying about how well they will be able to do. The Games may end up being pretty unimpressive performance wise.

Im betting we hear a lot of complaints when they get back.

[blueblood]

So, with the wonderful clear skies and excellent air in Beijing, will any outside competitor set a world record?

Or will asthma and bronchitis keep the records unbroken.

I will go out on a limb and say other than the 100M dash, no records in running will be set. Perhaps some throwing events, javalin, discus , but not track events.

Apparently today they looked up in Beijing and saw blue sky.

It freaked them out.

Perhaps the swimming events, the kayaking/canoe/rowing events, shooting, archery, sailing, short distance cycling. Those are maybe's.

I'm pretty sure they can't set world records for javelin as they made the spears non-aerodynamic so as no fans/atheletes get impaled.

[M.Dancer]

I'm looking forward to the reception the black atheletes will get. It may be only a rumour but I hear that many bars in Peking have been advised not to serve blacks.

Bugger them....China no more desrves the olympics than Rhodesia...

[jdobbin]

Our sports reporters are looking to wipe the egg off their faces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/sports/o...ef=slogin\

“We’re being trampled by Mongolians,” sighed Allan Maki, a columnist for The Globe and Mail of Toronto.

On Friday night, the Canadian shot-putter Dylan Armstrong lost third place on the final attempt by a quarter of an inch.

The women’s soccer team missed the medal round by losing to the United States in overtime.

On Thursday, Mike Brown swam furiously in the 200-meter breaststroke but touched the wall nine-hundredths of a second from getting to see the Maple Leaf hoisted up the flagpole.

“Fourth is the new bronze,” lamented Rob Longley, a columnist for The Toronto Sun.

I guess they might think twice before they go weeping to the New York Times reporter.

[Topaz]

Today, on a radio show, that host asked it Canadians should forget about entering the summer Olympics because we don't do that well and its an embarrassment to lose. Well, did the phones ring!!! The main reasons people thought we don't so well in these Olympics is that we don't have the help from the government with the money and that we have to start theses people at an early age and bring back more physical programs into the schools to prepare them like the Chinese do. The host then said, ok would you be willing to pay $100.00 sport tax to support these athletes? Most people who phoned in said yes, IF IT went to the athletics. The only thing that I think why we should attend is the possibility of cheaters and using substances that can't be detected. I just read on the net today that there is another doping and its called"soda-doping" What it is, is the use of baking soda, which is an alkali substance that increases the pH of the blood. It seems to reduce and offset the acidity produced in the muscles during intense, anerobic exercise that produces lactic acid most quickly as for fast running and swimming. This experiment was done at the American College of Sports Medicine.

[Guest American Woman]

I wouldn't pay $100 above and beyond the taxes I already pay in order to help fund Olympic hopefuls. I'm guessing that most of the people who phoned in to the radio show you were listening to are big sports fans/Olympic fans and that's why they would be willing to pay it. I bet if you took a random sampling of Canadians, most wouldn't be willing to pay it.

[Topaz]

I wouldn't pay $100 above and beyond the taxes I already pay in order to help fund Olympic hopefuls. I'm guessing that most of the people who phoned in to the radio show you were listening to are big sports fans/Olympic fans and that's why they would be willing to pay it. I bet if you took a random sampling of Canadians, most wouldn't be willing to pay it.

Yes there were some who said that we pay enough in taxes and the gov't always seem to have surpluses, so they need to give more so these athletics can spend more time on their craft and less worrying about the money. One person who phone in, said she knows of one person over in China that had to ask friends for money to fly there, that is sad.

[capricorn]

One person who phone in, said she knows of one person over in China that had to ask friends for money to fly there, that is sad.

I have also heard of Canadian athletes having to live on a shoestring while training for the Olympics. In many cases, it is the parents who bear the brunt of our athletes' expenses and at great sacrifice. I would like to see budding Olympic athletes receive better treatment, i.e. acceptable housing and healthy food, via more funding from the federal government.

[M.Dancer]

Ah that wonderful Olympic Spirit.....

Iran may face action from the International Olympic Committee if its swimmer deliberately pulled out of the men’s 100m breaststroke heats because an Israeli was also racing, Olympic officials said Sunday.

“Under the spirit of respect and fair play, if it is confirmed that he deliberately pulled out then the IOC would take it seriously,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told Agence France-Presse.

On Saturday, Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei pulled out of the men’s 100m breaststroke minutes before

http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/...mming-incident/

Beijing, China (Sports Network) - An Iranian swimmer withdrew from a race at the Beijing Olympics because of an illness and not due to the presence of an Israeli athlete in the same competition, the International Olympic Committee said Monday.

Iran's Mohammad Alirezaei was scheduled to swim in heat four of the men's 100m breaststroke competition Saturday, but dropped out of the race. The presence of Israel's Tom Beeri in the same heat was originally believed to be the reason for Alirezaei's withdrawal.

However, Giselle Davies, director of communications for the IOC, said that Alirezaei withdrew because of sickness and submitted his case in writing to his Federation.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4170806

Oh he was sick all right...sick of the Zionist Entity!!!

[Wilber]

Great games so far. Really enjoying them. I love High Def.

Canadian highlights for me so far.

Carol Huynh. Saw her interview with Ron Mclean. What delightful young lady. What a family story.

Ian Millar. Nine tries and finally gets a medal at 61. Couldn't be more deserving. Hat's off to him and all the other oldies on that team.

Simon Whitfield. Gold and silver in the triathlon 8 years apart.

[xul]

I have photo albums with beautiful pictures

I'm a fan of photography and also has a lot of photos of the places I have ever been to. It's very sad that this "political" forum doesn't support photo upload. Maybe visual information are more harmful than literal state to "political-correctness" Of course, they are not always harmful. If anyone here slightly knows about photography he may agree with me that people can not distinguish smoke and fog only from a photo. If God gave us the ability to distinguish smoke and fog by eyes, he might not creat us noses.

In any case, being a man with normal olfaction who lives in Beijing now, I can tell you the so-called smoke which some western media such as theStar alleged covering Beijing before the opening ceremony of Olympic Games were mostly fog. Such sweltering foggy days always happen in July and August. I'm kinda surprise that Since the games began the weather has become cool and the bule sky has reappeared after all fog was blow away by breeze so it is good for athletes to do their best. Such weather usualy only happens in later September and October but not often in August. I think maybe a Chinese political joke in internet is truth that God has decided to bless athletes maybe and China, by the way American don't worry for I'm sure he will still continuously bless America as he ever did , for counteracting and balancing the bother and suffering which those political-would-be-correct writers falsely imposed on them.

And your understanding of the cause of the air pollution in Beijing is correct. Though Beijing is the second bigest mega city in China, but its industry limits in pollutionless products such as vehicles, computers, automation and communication facilities, aerospace products. The electricity mainly comes from Shanxi province, 600 km away from Beijing and a main coal producer in China, to cut the cost of coal transit. The most smoke comes from burning fuel or coal to keep its 14 million people's home warm. Another main cause is from the exhaustion pipers of 3 million cars and vehicles. So the pollution in winter is worse than other seasons. The air in winter is dry without fog so people may easily see blue sky but the pollution still exists. The air in Summer are more clear, but the sky is often coverd by fog and clouds. Sping usually is windy and too dry, the autumn, from later september to early november, is the best days for tourism.

Edited August 23, 2008 by xul

[bush_cheney2004]

....I think maybe a Chinese political joke in internet is truth that God has decided to bless athletes maybe and China, by the way American don't worry for I'm sure he will still continuously bless America as he ever did , for counteracting and balancing the bother and suffering which those political-would-be-correct writers falsely imposed on them.

No need for any blessing from God...I think China has done an outstanding job with the Olympics so far, and I say that even though a local businessman and CEO from my area was stabbed to death! The facilities and organization are first class from what I see and the visitors/tourists are having a great time. The only sad thing is that so many tickets were withheld from Chinese citizens because of security...some venues are not even half filled with people.

Based on the Chinese medal count, they have also prepared well for the competition too.

[Guest American Woman]

I'm a fan of photography and also has a lot of photos of the places I have ever been to. It's very sad that this "political" forum doesn't support photo upload. Maybe visual information are more harmful than literal state to "political-correctness" Of course, they are not always harmful. If anyone here slightly knows about photography he may agree with me that people can not distinguish smoke and fog only from a photo. If God gave us the ability to distinguish smoke and fog by eyes, he might not creat us noses.

This is true. I've had many good photo opportunities ruined by haze.

In any case, being a man with normal olfaction who lives in Beijing now, I can tell you the so-called smoke which some western media such as theStar alleged covering Beijing before the opening ceremony of Olympic Games were mostly fog. Such sweltering foggy days always happen in July and August.

Toronto, which came in second for the bid to my recollection, also has sweltering, humid summer days. They also have smog. So does NYC. And LA. I can personally attest to it. I'm sure Beijing does, too. In any city, there is pollution along with the heat.

I'm kinda surprise that Since the games began the weather has become cool and the bule sky has reappeared after all fog was blow away by breeze so it is good for athletes to do their best. Such weather usualy only happens in later September and October but not often in August.

Are you saying that it's not true that the Chinese government closed down factories and took cars off the roads?

I think maybe a Chinese political joke in internet is truth that God has decided to bless athletes maybe and China, by the way American don't worry for I'm sure he will still continuously bless America as he ever did , for counteracting and balancing the bother and suffering which those political-would-be-correct writers falsely imposed on them.

I don't think it's being falsely imposed, just unfairly imposed. Like I said, other big cities have pollution, too, and if they were to have won the Olympic bid nothing much would have been made of it. China has been put under a microscope and has been judged for anything and everything it has done. I know a bit about that as an American as it seems everything the U.S. does is also subjected to world scrutiny even though there are other nations doing the same thing. But yes, I'm sure God blesses China as well as He does the U.S.

And your understanding of the cause of the air pollution in Beijing is correct. Though Beijing is the second bigest mega city in China, but its industry limits in pollutionless products such as vehicles, computers, automation and communication facilities, aerospace products. The electricity mainly comes from Shanxi province, 600 km away from Beijing and a main coal producer in China, to cut the cost of coal transit. The most smoke comes from burning fuel or coal to keep its 14 million people's home warm. Another main cause is from the exhaustion pipers of 3 million cars and vehicles. So the pollution in winter is worse than other seasons. The air in winter is dry without fog so people may easily see blue sky but the pollution still exists. The air in Summer are more clear, but the sky is often coverd by fog and clouds. Sping usually is windy and too dry, the autumn, from later september to early november, is the best days for tourism.

Thank you for that information. It's good to know the best time to visit, too, since I do hope to get back some day.

Edited August 23, 2008 by American Woman

[DogOnPorch]

That closing ceremony was...well...spectacular. As far as the actual games, the most impressive thing other than some of the athletes was the full stands at every event I watched.

-------------------------------

I always thought, it would be neat to make the Olympic team.

---Michael Phelps

[Guest American Woman]

The Chinese sure blew everyone else away with their Gold Medal wins. I'm sure China is seeing its Games as very successful all the way around. It's good to see that it all went off so well, and I'm sure as a nation they are quite pleased and really proud.

I missed the closing ceremony, DoP, but have read that it was indeed spectacular. I'll have to catch it on the net.

[HisSelf]

With respect to the weather, we need to pay attention to the Chinese obsession with superstition and the lucky number 8. Imagine a world power scheduling an event of this type because it start on an auspicious date 08-08-08. The people of Beijing refer to October as the 'Golden month' because the weather is fantastic and the leaves are turning colour. Scheduling the summer Olympics in the dog days of summer is like scheduling the winter olympics in May. I think this is one thing the CHinese screwed up.

As far as the closing ceremonies, I had to wonder why the Brits picked Jimmy Page and not Clapton or McCartney. Maybe they couldn't afford the latter two. Hmmm. Hope they're not cutting corners. I wouldn't put it past them; they've a hard act to follow, and having Sporty Spice prance around is not gonna make a difference.

Bravo for Beckham and that kick though. It was brilliant. If only the Chinese could have bonked a header back to him. That would have taken Spanish cojones maybe.

Edited August 24, 2008 by HisSelf

[From another nation in Canada]

With respect to the weather, we need to pay attention to the Chinese obsession with superstition and the lucky number 8. Imagine a world power scheduling an event of this type because it start on an auspicious date 08-08-08. The people of Beijing refer to October as the 'Golden month' because the weather is fantastic and the leaves are turning colour. Scheduling the summer Olympics in the dog days of summer is like scheduling the winter olympics in May. I think this is one thing the CHinese screwed up.

As far as the closing ceremonies, I had to wonder why the Brits picked Jimmy Page and not Clapton or McCartney. Maybe they couldn't afford the latter two. Hmmm. Hope they're not cutting corners. I wouldn't put it past them; they've a hard act to follow, and having Sporty Spice prance around is not gonna make a difference.

Bravo for Beckham and that kick though. It was brilliant. If only the Chinese could have bonked a header back to him. That would have taken Spanish cojones maybe.

I agree with you on "Scheduling the summer Olympics in the dog days of summer is like scheduling the winter olympics in May".

Unfortunately, IOC does not allow Summer Olympics to be held in October, even in Sydney, which is located in South Hemisphere.

[Riverwind]

The Chinese sure blew everyone else away with their Gold Medal wins. I'm sure China is seeing its Games as very successful all the way around. It's good to see that it all went off so well, and I'm sure as a nation they are quite pleased and really proud.

The majority of those golds were for events which rely on judges and we all know that sport judges are unbaised professionals that would not be swayed by personal interest or potential quid pro quo (not).

There also the matter of the under age gymnasts which the IOC would like to ignore except there are now public records from other competitions where the gymnasts claimed to be younger than they are today. The Chinese should be quite proud of a government that will forge documents in order to maximize their chances of a gold. Of course, the chinese will likely never hear that story because they live in a country where the government rountinely supresses embarrassing news.

Edited August 25, 2008 by Riverwind

[Oleg Bach]

The majority of those golds were for events which rely on judges and we all know that sport judges are unbaised professionals that would not be swayed by personal interest or potential quid pro quo (not).

There also the matter of the under age gymnasts which the IOC would like to ignore except there are now public records from other competitions where the gymnasts claimed to be younger than they are today. The Chinese should be quite proud of a government that will forge documents in order to maximize their chances of a gold. Of course, the chinese will likely never hear that story because they live in a country where the government rountinely supresses embarrassing news.

All these things do not matter in the long run - yes it was interesting and fun to see humanity go for it with great excellence - but - when I hear reports that "we now understand China better and our relatiionship is closer" is a bunch of hype and crap - China mustered it's forces by gathering the sweat and blood of it's billion people - concentrated that power into a spectal call "the games" and suddenly we believe this abusive filth ridden slave state is now part of the civilized world? THEY ARE NOT.

[xul]

With respect to the weather, we need to pay attention to the Chinese obsession with superstition and the lucky number 8.

The original date of the games is July 25th to August 10th , but the meteorological research show thunderstorm often happened historically during these days in Beijing, and it is also too hot. The meteorologists suggeted to defer the games two, three or five weeks. Three or five weeks is better from the meteorologists's point of view for the days are cooler and more rainless, but they conflict with some athletes's time-table of their domestic tournaments. So IOC eventually chose August 8th(2 week later from July 25th) as the day of opening ceremoney. It is just a coincidence.