[Livingston]

good point

[starbase Britain]

I always watch the opening ceremony and get choked with emotion when Team Great Britain come out carrying the Union Flag. Gets me everytime. It was a great occasion today and I hope now that the sport can be the focus and not the politics.

Hey and remember guys, its coming to London in 2012!!

starbase Britain

[Botany Bay]

Just have watched parts of the opening ceremony and man, do I love opening ceremonies. They allways look as if they are performed by toy figures. Its just sooo cute and sooo silly to see millions of people getting emotionally touched by something completely mechanical, unspontanious and unemotional as a strictly choreographed ceremony.

And I know, yes, it may be the little evil racist in me, but seeing something as that performed by chinese people... its just this clishee that makes me lough. I know, its not PC. But who says humour is?

[TheTrekkie]

Considering the China is banning atheletes who have political ties to helping Darfur, and they complained when out bicyclists showed up wearing pollution filter masks... no, I can't see watching this travesty of human rights. This is going to be the worst Olympiad since 1938....

After the western world has closed down his concentration camps for terrorists, stopped the last tortures, the last death sentences and stopped making wars ever 5 years we are allowed to point our finger at other countries. At least China isn't interested in expansionism.
Of course China still has a long, long way to go. In many aspects they are still a developing nation and it still is a dictatorship, like unfortunatelly a lot of countries in our world. But not only the Chinese are victims of propaganda. Only a few decades ago China was one of the most isolated countries .. and where are they now. China will make his way, they can't continue their old way for a long time anymore, not since they have opened their country for western investors, coz western standards will come with them. I believe there will be progress in future, also beyond economic prosperity, but we have to be patient, you can't overcome your past from one day to the other.
At least I want to hope there can be a bright future and hope that after wealth reached the Chinese population through their economic growth the population will look to western countries and their kind of living and will demand to have more...


I am not such a big fan of olympia. I like football (soccer) at the first place, in olympia I am only interested in a few sports. Like Judo or fencing.
All sports that have to do with stamnia will be ignored, I don't believe in the strong doping controls they tell us would exist.

[medusapartner]

Originally Posted by TheTrekkie

After the western world has closed down his last concentration camps for terrorists and stopped making wars ever 5 years we are allowed to point our finger at other countries. At least China isn't interested in one thing, expansionism.
Of course China still has a long, long way to go. In many aspects they are still a developing nation.But not only the Chinese are victims of propaganda. Only a few decades ago China was one of the most isolated countries .. and where are they now. China will make his way, they can't continue their old way for a long time anymore, not since they have opened their country for western investors, coz western standards will come with them. I believe there will be progress in future, also beyond economic prosperity, but we have to be patient, you can't overcome your past from one day to the other.
At least I want to hope there can be a bright future and hope that after wealth reached the Chinese population through their economic growth the population will look to western countries and their kind of living and will demand to have more...


I am not such a big fan of olympia. I like football (soccer) at the first place, in olympia I am only interested in a few sports. Like Judo or fencing.
All sports that have to do with stamnia will be ignored, I don't believe in the strong doping controls they tell us would exist.

opening China to Western capital has been very good for the Chinese leadership. But, China has a long way to go before they achieve full transparency in their markets and gain the full confidence of most investors.

I think that it is way past time to permanently locate the Olympic games in a site in Greece. I am tired of all the "political" games that we have seen every four years in the Olympics. If we wish to focus on the sports, then just get the games back to Greece.

[TheTrekkie]

But, China has a long way to go before they achieve full transparency in their markets and gain the full confidence of most investors.

Yes it is, but it is the only way to change something in China.
Many good educated Chinese e.g. go to western companies first, or go studying in Europe/USA. Coz they pay higher wages and have higher standards. After a while these people go to Chinese companies and insert what they have learned, complain about the bad conditions, that must be changed, or build up their own companies on the basis of these conditions they saw in western countries and so one step after the other western conditions will find its way to China. Of course western countries have to be a good example, some rather abuse the bad conditions in China for their profits instead of inserting their own ideals into the system.

Atm China is still developing, but anytime in future they finally have developed and have to stand on their own feet, and then they have to improve a lot of things if they want to keep clever Chinese people from moving to western countries. They have to improve the conditions, higher the wages and make the system more transparent, if they want to be more than just cheap producers in future times, if they want to have the well educated too and not just the normal workers.

[Elizadolots]

My understanding is the only "banned" athlete was one who is not competing at the games. He is an American speed skater who wanted to attend the Olympics but has a history of vocal protests against the Chinese Government so he was denied entry.

LINK

[tomcatjosh]

What About the Russians attacking The Georgians Or Something?

[Botany Bay]

Originally Posted by tomcatjosh

What About the Russians attacking The Georgians Or Something?

Heard about it today and honestly have no clue about the origins of that conflict. Seems to be a complicated issue. North-ossetia, south-ossetia, independance, armed ossetian troups attacking a city, georgian troops striking back, russian troops getting involved, seems to be a mixture between struggle for independance, civil war, military intervention... will read about it now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetia

"In the first hours of August 8, 2008, following the massed incursion of Georgian troops and armor to a South-Ossetian-controlled territory and repeated shelling of Tskhinvali[27], AFP, quoting a spokesman of the Georgian Interior Ministry, stated that three Russian Sukhoi Su-24 aircrafts intruded into Georgian airspace attacking some targets in the Tskhinvali region. The Russian Prime-Minister Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Government "condemns the aggressive actions by Georgian troops in South Ossetia" and that Russia would be compelled to retaliate.[28][29] On messages of russian peacekeepers they was under fire by Georgian Army. Heavy fighting was reported in Tskhinvali for most of August 8, with Georgian forces slowly attempting to push Ossetians from the city. [30] In the meanwhile, Russian tanks rolled across the border to aid South Ossetia, and are reported to patrol throughout Tskhinvali. Several Russian peacekeepers have been killed. On persent time - 12 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and nearly 150 - injuried.[31]. Reported victims from civilian population killed by heavy weapon Georgian strike - about 1400."

[tomcatjosh]

Dang. As Much As I Support The War In Iraq, I Hope We ( US) Don't Get Involved In This.