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  • April 2, 2008 at 5:17 am #5396
    Rob_Hugo@PortNW
    Keymaster

    I'm going to have all my students check out the official Olympics website and type a response:
    http://en.beijing2008.cn/

    Some questions they should address are:

    - The reasons why there would be 5 animated characters associated with the China hosted Olympics
    - What is the tag line of this year's Olympics? and what does it imply?
    - List 5 elements included in the website and describe the reasons for including each.
    - What is an example of propoganda on the website? What is its meaning?

    April 2, 2008 at 5:20 am #32230
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Warning, this is a silly posting:

    There is an article on the Olympics website:
    http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/almaty/news/n214289204.shtml

    Kazakhstan president starts the torch relay in Almaty

    My question is... has Kazakhstan only gotten more press since the Borat movie, or have I just not noticed before because I had no idea where Kazakhstan was?

    April 2, 2008 at 5:24 am #32231
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Another interesting assignment, I think, would be to have students watch the torch lighting ceremony on the Olympics website:
    http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/

    And type a commentary on the visual and audio symbolism of it. Clearly it's evoking the Greko-Roman heritage of the event while tying it to the Chinese (since there are all Chinese women as part of it)... while sounding off a chorus of trumpets proclaiming its importance.

    April 5, 2008 at 10:48 am #32232
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Just read an interesting article about China stepping up bio-terrorism security for the Olympics. Seems their idea is to safeguard their own supply of biological weapons so no one can turn them against the Chinese.

    Here is where I found the article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/17/content_6541167.htm

    April 5, 2008 at 10:52 am #32233
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I am encouraged after reading an article on Shichanhai's Spring Cleaning to hear that residents are getting new housing and extended public transportation as a result of the Olympics. The new housing utilizes electrical heating insted of the antiquated coal heating that was previously being used by residents. Maybe there will be lasting ecological benefits to the Olympics.

    April 6, 2008 at 5:33 am #32234
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I consider the Olympic topic of great interest to me, especially, since I am a physical education teacher. I continually try to relate examples of Olympic events and athletic performances with my students. At school, we are currently in a track and field unit. It is interesting to them when we talk about the upcoming track and field events in the Olympics. The current discussion in the political world is whether or not to boycott the Olympics to any degree due to the situation in Tibet. The president of the Association of National Olympic Committee, Mario Vazquez Rana, quotes that "Any politician who is pushing for a boycott is committing a serious error. For me a total boycott, a partial boycott, is totally out of the question." Let's all hope that the Olympics in Beijing continue to evolve for the athletes and the Olympic observers. I would hate to get into a political discussion with my students instead of focusing on the hardwork and achievement of the athletes.
    Jewell Lee Toombs

    April 6, 2008 at 5:39 am #32235
    Anonymous
    Guest

    The next Olympic concern is whether or not the pollution in Beijing will endanger the health of athletes and if performances will suffer. After visiting China, last spring, we are aware of the pollution. Let's hope that China has made some significant improvements.
    Jewell Lee Toombs

    April 7, 2008 at 10:29 am #32236
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Wow, I hate to see the Olympic Games in Beijing starting off with protests throughout the world. Protests started in London. They continued in Paris where the torch was extinguished three times and the relay was eventually cancelled. San Francisco has also had protests on the Golden Gate Bridge. Hillary Clinton is calling for President Bush to boycott the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Yes, I agree that Human Rights are important. However, China has come a very long way in development. Maybe, we should be boycotting goods made in China instead of the Olympics. Why did the Olympic Committee select China to host the games if Human Rights issues were at stake then? I guess boycotting the Olympics is more noticeable to the general public. Anyone else have opinions to share?
    Jewell Lee Toombs

    April 14, 2008 at 4:24 am #32237
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Jewells, I agree with you on the Olympic question. I applaud a peaceful, non-destructive protest of the Torch and thus China’s human right’s problems with Tibet. However, I feel that the Olympics should not be boycotted. It is the one chance for nations to come together and experience a communal bond. It gives hope to the world that there is a better pattern for global interaction. Also, I feel that the Olympics are all about the athletes who’ve spent years training for this moment. Country medal counts seem silly and very secondary to the individual participants. However, I like the world making it clear as the torch goes around the globe that China is on notice from many countries to clean up its act on human rights. It’s been such an insular country that I think the Chinese officials are shocked at the protests which is good. The Dali Lama has made it clear that he wants any protests to be peaceful and he does not want the world to boycott the Olympics.

    April 16, 2008 at 3:24 am #32238
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Chris, I agree with you that peaceful protests during the torch relay are a welcome voice from the people. I don't agree with the protests in which the protesters try to attack the torch bearer. No matter what someone thinks about the Tibet issue, aggressive protests make the "Free Tibet" position look bad. The protesters are just shooting themselves in the foot when they become aggressive like I read about the Paris protesters approaching and being aggressive toward the woman in a wheelchair carrying the torch. In terms of boycotting the actual Olympics, I think a leader can send a message by doing this. The leader should be ready to follow through with that message and fight for that cause, though.

    April 16, 2008 at 10:40 am #32239
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Olympics Notebook in the Daily Breeze suggests that President Bush has given no indication he will skip the event. Bush stated this past week that he does not consider the Olympics as a political event. He continues to state that he considers it a sporting event. Hadley, Bush's security advisor, says that Bush is going to the Olympics to show support for the American team and all the participating athletes while at the same time he is relying on "his own personal diplomacy" in dealings directly with Chinese officials. "We have a lot of leverage on China. We are using it in a constructive, diplomatic way. And it is a lot greater leverage than just the issue of whether he goes to an opening ceremony or not," Hadley said.
    Jewell Toombs

    April 16, 2008 at 11:10 am #32240
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Since I am a physical education teacher, I find the Olympic topic very interesting to me and my students. Whenever I have a chance in class, we discuss the Olympics. I just came across another article about Beijing's dirty air being under control by the Olympics. This topic was also discussed when we visited China last spring. Construction will halt and heavy industries will close in order to clean up the air. These measures will be in effect for two months. However, I do not recall it being very polluted during our visit to Beijing. I remember a beautiful day at The Great Wall. It would certainly be nice to see what difference it makes as Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau continues its plan to hinder pollution.
    Jewell Toombs

    April 19, 2008 at 10:21 am #32241
    Anonymous
    Guest

    The Olympics is certainly a hot topic. There always seems to be some type of controversy brewing. Now, the controversy stems around a swimming suit by Speedo. Speedo's new LZR Racer is the hottest suit since it seems to have already helped set 22 new world records. It looks like it is designed after a 1920's suit. However, this one is not baggy but very tight covering a large part of the body. Evidently, it doesn't absorb any water. The controversy seems to be that other swimmers already have swimming suit designs and they consider that this suit adds an unfair disadvantage. No doubt, the Olympic committee has certain attire requirements so it will be interesting to see what develops with this situation.

    April 19, 2008 at 10:34 am #32242
    Anonymous
    Guest

    The International Olympic Commettee is going to test athletes for human growth hormone, HGH, before the Olympics. Newly produced HGH testing kits soon will be distributed to accredited doping labs around the globe to screen blood samples. Previous testing has been limited to a period of 48 to 72 hours prior to competition which gave athletes a chance to avoid detection by stopping in time for any traces of performance enhancing hormone to clear their system.

    April 19, 2008 at 10:52 am #32243
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Yes, Cindy, you are right. The Olympic Beijing website, http://en.beijing2008.cn/, is a good source for classroom information about the Olympics. I started using it last year and sharing it with my students. In fact, my computer screen saver at school has one of the Olympic Mascots on it. My students love to see it and it strikes up lots of conversations about the Olympics.

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