Olympics

[Anonymous]

Today there was a great article on the torch making it home.

After passing through Hong Kong, yesterday the symbolic Olympic torch arrived in Sanya, in the southern-China island province of Hainan. Its headline-making, controversy-provoking, international relay trip began in Greece at the end of March. The state-controlled China Daily reports that, in Sanya, "[m]ovie stars, sporting icons and a beauty queen added glitz and glamour to the first day of the Olympic torch relay," and that "[t]hunderous applause greeted the torch as kung fu [movie] star Jackie Chan and a woman of the local Li ethnic group" carried the flame baton. It had arrived from Macao on Saturday night, marking "an end to a month-long, five-continent overseas odyssey" and the beginning of a relay route on the mainland that is scheduled to cover "113 cities in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions until the Games" start in Beijing on August 8. In Sanya, Yang Yang, a speed skater who is also China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold-medal winner, ran 200 meters with the torch before handing it over to that other distinguished athlete, Li Lihui, the current president of the Bank of China. (The bank is the corporate sponsor of the torch-relay activities.) Yang offered a gracious comment to reporters, saying: "I believe that people who have cheered me will cheer with the same passion for athletes from around the world."
Enjoy

[Anonymous]

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics. This site focuses on the Ancient Olympics. The following categories are available for research:

As a history teacher i will pass on the sight information to the 6th grade staff, the 6th graders at PVIS have just started looking at Rome, what a great tie in. Thank You, and what a great lesson idea

[Anonymous]

Julie after our visit to China a lot has changed. The pollution is getting better, construction except on the Olympic buildings is down the construction dust is being tarped and 1/2 the cars will soon be off the road.

[Anonymous]

Yesterday, when I received my Fresno State Alumni magazine, I was excited to see that Robin Mackin, the star pitcher of the 2007 Fresno State softball team, is taking time off but she's staying in touch with Bulldog fans via http://WWW.gobulldogs.com as a member of the Canadian National Team preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Way to go Robin! [Edit by="jtoombs on May 7, 1:16:11 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

News: China Expands Effort to Make Olympics Smoke-Free by Anthony Kuhn
Anthony Kuhn said that China government promised that they will make effort to make Beijing become a tobacco-free. However, it was very difficult because China was the largest tobacco consumer and producer in the world. I think that it is difficulty but China is improving their environment in orders to meet the needs of Olympics 2008.

[Anonymous]

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/sports/olympics/2008/05/08/155554/Mountaineers%2Dtake.htm
This is a Chinese-English News Website. The title of the news is Mountaineers take Olympic torch to the top of Everest on Thursday, May 8, 2008 by Anita Chang. The climbers were so proud to reach the top of the world. However, they were criticized from the beginning because China had harsh on Tibetans in March.

[Anonymous]

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national%20news/2008/05/08/155407/China%2Dorders.htm
The title of the news is China orders reporting all cases of viral illness. This is not Olympic news. However, this health news may cause people not to go to China for Olympics because the viral diseases. Therefore, China government orders all health care providers to report all cases of viral illness. There are 28 children who died and thousands of people were sick from this viral disease. I think this time China is doing right because the government wants to prevent the problem before the viral disease spreads to a big area. China did not want same things happened like SARS in 2003.
[Edit by="ganderson on May 7, 10:48:16 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Olympic torch reaches Mount Everest summit
Live TV footage shows Chinese mountaineering team at peak
updated 10:28 p.m. ET May 7, 2008

BEIJING - An Olympic flame reached the top of the world Thursday.
Live television footage showed a Chinese mountaineering team holding up a specially designed torch — separate from the main Olympic flame — along with Chinese and Olympic flags on the peak of Mount Everest.
"One World, One Dream," one of the climbers said on the approach to the peak, repeating the slogan for the Olympics. "We have lit the torch on top of the world," another climber said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24501387/%5BEdit by="liliwang on May 8, 12:49:22 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Yes, organizers of the Beijing Olympics hope the image of the torch atop Everest will counter some of the damaging publicity from the uprising and protests during the torch relay around the world. Interestingly, the Everest leg of the Olympic torch - a separate flame from the main torch crossing the regions of China now - has largely unfolded in secrecy to deter protesters who have criticized the China's dominance over Tibet. The assent team captain is a Tibetan, and the rest of the 19 member group is comprised of both ethnic Han Chinese and Tibetan members. The organizers hope the climb up Everest will underscore China's ambitions for the August's games. What is that ambition? The Olympic slogan is "One World, One Dream" -- My question is this...What is the ambition and what is the dream? Tibetans must wonder the same.

[Anonymous]

I don't know "One World and One Dream means. It is a good question. I am thinking maybe China has a dream to become the leader of One World government. Maybe this is China's ambition.

[Anonymous]

Tibetan woman carries Olympic torch to the top of Everest

From The Times May 9, 2008
Jane Macartney in Beijing

A young Tibetan woman has carried the Olympic torch to the top of the world. Panting in the thin air at the top of Mount Everest, Tsering Wangmo was the last of five mountaineers battling high winds and freezing temperatures in a slow-moving mini-relay on the summit of the world’s highest peak — a trek that ended with jubilant shouts of “Beijing welcomes you!”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article3892047.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093

[Anonymous]

http://www.gamesbids.com/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?category=1&id=1210345640

This is update news about Olympic in Beijing. The news said that Beijing strives to reach the “Green Olympic” in many ways such as the use of solar power, hybrid electric vehicles, trees planting, food safety, no-smoking ban, etc. However, the news said, “Technology Minister Wan Gang told a news conference he refuses to guarantee China will lift the veil of state-run Internet censorship for the Games.” I think people will be disappointed about this internet thing.

[Anonymous]

From The TimesMay 12, 2008
Ashling O'Connor, Olympics Correspondent

It might be all about higher, faster and stronger on the track – but hotter, wetter, smoggier, will be the motto for an unofficial event at the Beijing Games: weather forecasting.

Teams of experts from seven countries will be competing to be the Olympic forecasting champion. Every three hours scientists from Japan, the US, Australia, Canada, Austria, France and China will be analysing observational data and atmospheric pressure to predict the temperature, humidity and precipitation for the Beijing area for up to 36 hours ahead. Their forecasts will be submitted to the China Meteorological Administration, which will judge them against the weather.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3912922.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093

[Anonymous]

What does the Olympic flame represent?

The sacred flame burns throughout the celebration of the Olympics in the central stadium. It’s a symbol of light, solidarity, freindship, peace and justice.

The Olympic flame has its origin in Greek mythology. Prometheus, the benefactor of mankind, incurred the wrath of Zeus to give man the gift of fire. The fire couldn’t be retrieved. Zeus ordered that a ceremony must be held before lighting of the sacred fire. To honor Zeus, a grand lighting ceremony was held before opening of the ancient Games. On the altar of Zeus in Olympia stood a priest bearing a sacred torch. The first three contestants to finish the race, take the torch from the priest, and light the sacred flame would be honored above all others. The sacred torch would then be carried to all over the country. Holding high the torch, the bearer cried out to the city-states to cease hostilities and join the Olympics.

De Coubertin proposed the lighting of sacred flame for the modern Games in 1912. The flame was introduced in 1928. The first torch relay of the modern Games happened in 1936 from Olympia the hometown of the Games to Berlin the host city. The Olympic Torch Relay ends on the day of the opening ceremony in the central stadium of the Games. Over the years, it has become a tradition to let famous athletes or former athletes be the lighter of the flame. After being lit, the flame continues to burn throughout the celebration of the Olympics and is extinguished at end of the closing ceremony of the Games.

The Olympic flame was introduced into Winter Games in 1952.

[Anonymous]

The Olympic question has everyone debating. Should the west use the threat of an opening boycott as leverage to move the Chinese towards a more democratic society? Or will humiliating China with an opening boycott achieve a negative outcome?

I asked this question to a friend, the aforementioned CHinese American businessman with corporate headquarters in both Shanghai and southern California. Here is his interesting response:

Humiliation only angers, and if it causes change it is only temporary. How does a democratic society help the Chinese? And how does it help the US? I don't think this is something that is achievable or desirable for either party.

[Author]

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