Summer Olympics: Beijing, China

[myrosiedog]

Veejer, I wish we could get the CBC. I would like to see more coverage than what the network deems we should see. I'm with Lois, I'd like to see ALL the athletes and not just the more famous ones.

[Google]

 

[Critical]

I'm a big Olympic fan. With my work schedule, I'm not sure how much I'll get to see, but I'll definitely be watching on Friday night.

I seriously love Jack Handey. This was in the NY Times Mag this past Sunday and had me laughing out loud.

Tryouts and Errors
BY JACK HANDEY
Published: August 3, 2008

100-METER DASH — Couldn’t finish; too far.

LONG JUMP — Couldn’t reach landing pit; twisted ankle.

SHOT-PUT — Refused to pick up ant-covered shot; disqualified.

ROWING — Whipped teammates with belt to make them row faster; disqualified.

10-METER DIVING — Platform too high.

SWIMMING — Starting block too high.

FENCING — Threw handful of dirt in opponent’s eyes; disqualified.

BADMINTON — Bit off opponent’s ear; disqualified.

400-METER DASH — Joined race for last 10 meters. Spit ear across finish line at last second to win; disqualified.

MARATHON — Got lost.

DISCUS — Not sure what to do with it.

TENNIS — Expelled for so-called skimpy shorts.

BOXING — Knocked out; knocked out; knocked out. Put boxing gloves back up on shelf; they fell off and knocked me out.

HIGH JUMP — Optical illusion made it look like I jumped under the bar.

VICTORY LAP — Apparently no such event.

SOME OTHER RACE — Inadvertently won a different race while doing victory lap; disqualified.

ARCHERY — Unable to string bow.

JAVELIN — O mighty javelin, greatest and most beautiful of spears! Thy sharpèd point saved Thebes and scattered thine enemies like grebes! Hail to thee, O javelin! (Overslept; missed tryout.)

MYSTERY SPORT — Not exactly sure what this sport was, but I was awarded 22 “unprovoked tries,” whatever they are. Or maybe I was penalized 22 unprovoked tries. Not sure.

TABLE TENNIS — Not allowed to wear my protective mask, chest protector or cup; quit in protest.

CYCLING — Not very good at this, so I thought maybe I could make team by coming out on a really small “joke” bicycle. Really, if you saw this thing, how tiny it is, you’d say, “Come on, we gotta put him on the team.” (Never heard back.)

UNEVEN BARS — Not sure how to get onto upper bar.

BALANCE BEAM — I have no idea what this is.

RINGS — No, French fries! (No response from judges.)

WEIGHT LIFTING — This has to be the dumbest sport ever. No one could lift those weights! They’re too heavy! You’d have to be a muscleman or something.

SAILING — Unable to locate ocean.

HURDLES — Isn’t it actually harder to run around the hurdles, weaving in and out, than over them? This is the point I was trying to make.

EQUESTRIAN — Should be made clear, beforehand, that a horse is required for this.

TRYOUT FOR JOB AS OLYMPIC OFFICIAL — Couldn’t figure out how to work timing clock; gave winner in 100 meters a time of 10 “guess” seconds; not hired.

TRYOUT FOR JOB AS COTTON-CANDY MAKER — Cotton candy came out “molten”; not hired.

TRYOUT FOR SPECTATOR — Apparently I have a loud, constant cough that sounds like a starting pistol; barred from stands.

DON-BAITING — Reminded my friend Don how great his ex-wife was; made him cry!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/playmagazine/803HANDEY-t.html?scp=1&sq=jack%20handey&st=cse

[Bunny555]

While I'm more of a fan of the winter games, I'll definitely tune in for the opening ceremony. I look forward to the swimming and the soccer competitions.

[myrosiedog]

Critical, that was too funny. Thanks for the laugh

[jacobson00]

The US did well today. I watched it on nbc.
Japan 0: 1 Usa

Belgium was cheated by the referee!!! Brazil was horrible.
Cote d'ivoire was also cheated by the referee.
you can see that the officiels wanted a brazil and argentine win to keep the audience interested by the championship.

Norway did beat the us women team in the 1st 4mins.

I am not liking much of these olympics and it hasn't even started. I feel many uncalled decisions will be made to favor some.
what do you guys think of the us torch bearer. I actually like his story and good for him, especially since the other us athletes voted him to carry it.

[psycobabe007]

I am a H-U-G-E Olympic fan. Lets just say that my family is definitely one of the ones who always sat down and watched the opening ceremonies together and I have even been to Olympic events. My parents were lucky enough to be able to volunteer for the 1984 Olympics in LA.

I am a huge gymnastics and swimming fan but there are a lot of events that I will follow. I am disappointed that now both Morgan and Paul Hamm are out of the games. At least we will have a shot with the women's gymnastics !

[DeafChulo]

I LOVE watching the opening ceremonies of both summer and winter olympics... why can't the world come together like all of those people in one spot (opening ceremony stadium)?

[jacobson00]

i am a little disappointed with the russian's gymnastic team this year. they don't seem to be a threat (spl) unless previous olympic. misses Khorkina and her antics

[Mantenna]

Air pollution shrouds Beijing on eve of Olympics

By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP)—The wall of gray haze around the National Stadium and across the city cut visibility down to a mile. On the eve of opening ceremonies, Beijing’s polluted air took center stage Thursday as the most visibly pressing problem for Olympic organizers who had promised to clean up the Chinese capital.

Despite China’s enormous attempts to improve the air quality in the run-up to the Summer Games, the stubbornly thick haze that covered the city illustrated how difficult and elusive a target clear skies can be. In the end, it will come down to the wild card of weather: rain and wind.

“I hoped that the measures could have more effect than they had in the last week,” said Zhu Tong, an associate professor at Peking University’s College of Environmental Science and Engineering who has been advising the government on pollution issues.

“Unfortunately, we had meteorological conditions that weren’t good for clearing up the sky. So the stagnant air in Beijing has helped pollutants accumulate. I really hope in the next couple weeks, we’ll have conditions that will help us clear up the sky.”

The forecast for Friday, the official opening ceremony for the games, was overcast skies with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon, China’s meteorological agency said. But relief may come by the weekend, with a prediction of moderate rain that could help wash out pollutants.

On Thursday, Beijing’s air pollution index was recorded at 96, which came close to exceeding the national level for acceptable air. Levels between 51-100 are considered moderate pollution, and anything over 100 is harmful to sensitive groups, including children and the elderly.

The Associated Press has been compiling its own pollution data since mid-July, recording snapshot readings of Beijing’s worst pollutant—tiny dust particles known as particulate matter 10.

The independent spot checks collected from the Olympic Green, the main sports thoroughfare, showed that, even though there are dramatic ups and downs, PM 10 concentrations were often much higher than what the World Health Organization considers healthy. On Friday, AP readings showed a PM 10 concentration of 373 micrograms per cubic meter—far above the WHO guidelines for healthy air of 50 micrograms per cubic meter.

The notoriously dirty air in this megacity of 17 million has been a leading concern since Beijing won the bid for the Olympics in 2001. China has poured 140 billion yuan—$20 billion—into “greening” the city, including doubling the number of subway lines, retrofitting factories with cleaner technology and building urban parks. But environmental efforts have often been outpaced by constant construction and increased traffic.

To help ensure clean air for the Olympics, Beijing officials imposed drastic measures in mid-July, including pulling half the city’s 3.3 million vehicles off the roads, halting most construction and closing dozens of factories.

Environmental officials say the measures are having an impact, noting a 20 percent drop in major pollutants in July, compared with the same time last year. However, it’s clear the sweeping measures have failed to guarantee the crystalline skies China hoped to showcase. Instead, the past three weeks have been marked by extremes—going from pea soup haze to swirling blue skies, often after strong winds or a downpour.

Athletes participating in the Aug. 8-24 games have raised concerns from the start about the impact of the city’s pollution on their health and their performance, with many choosing to train outside of Beijing.

Those concerns were again highlighted when four members of the U.S. cycling team wore face masks as they walked off the airplane when they arrived this week. They later apologized.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge praised China on Thursday for doing everything “feasible and humanly possible” to combat air pollution, and said conditions will be safe for athletes to compete.

Rogge reiterated that outdoor endurance events, such as the marathon, could be postponed or rescheduled if smog levels are too high. The IOC will monitor the air quality on an hourly basis at 21 reporting stations and receive 72-hour weather forecasts. Heat and humidity could also be a factor during the games.

Despite the concerns by athletes, there is little evidence that they or other short-term visitors would suffer long-term health damage because of pollution levels in Beijing, said Hans Troedsson, the head of the World Health Organization in China.

Instead, the group facing the biggest risks from pollution are the city’s residents, he said. Long-term exposure to air pollution means increased chances of developing asthma, respiratory disease and heart disease, he said.

“We have to remember that it’s not short-term exposure that’s of concern, it’s the long-term,” he said. “For us, it’s important to see how these (environmental) efforts are sustained.”

If China remains committed to continuing these measures in the long-run, the result could be “a public health legacy after the Olympics,” he said.

Air pollution shrouds Beijing on eve of Olympics - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports

[Critical]

The polution problems aren't surprising (unfortunate, but not surprising) considering how reliant China still is on coal. We see these pictures of China with this lovely, romatic-looking mist and it's not really mist at all: it's polution from burning all that coal.

I can't say I blame those cyclists for the masks. I'd be worried too.