Here we go again. And yes, I accidentially clicked the button before editing so you got an unedited version. Dang. Anyway here we go, I don't know how much more I can say past the criticism part but let's roll with it.
According to the source article, "A Chinese man stabbed the in-laws of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball coach, killing one and injuring the other while they visited a Beijing tourist site near the main venue where Olympic competitions began Saturday.
The victims were Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minn., parents of former Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, who is married to men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon, according to the U.S. Olympic Committee. Bachman's father was killed.
The assailant also stabbed and injured a Chinese tour guide with the Americans. He then committed suicide by leaping from a 130-foot-high balcony of the ancient landmark the Americans were visiting, the 13th-century Drum Tower, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xinhua said the injured tour guide was also a woman, it said."
Well, there's yet another fine mess China's citizens has gotten their country into!
According to the article "The volleyball teams is "deeply saddened and shocked," said Darryl Seibel, a USOC spokesman.
He said the two victims "were not wearing apparel or anything that would have specifically identified them as being members of our delegation" or as Americans."
So that sorta counts out the theory that the person was targeting Americans, if we were running with that theory to begin with and this isn't a plot to embarass the host government by causing incidents that make them look bad without any specific target or goal apparent at first glance.
Of course this might as well be the end of it as it seems the U.S. Embassy said in the article "it believed the attack was an isolated act and not directed at Americans or foreigners, given that the Chinese tour guide was also hurt.
"We don't believe this was targeted at American citizens, and we don't believe this has anything to do with the Olympics," embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said."
As it turns out the killing was apparently a rare instance of violent crime against foreigners in tight as a drum overly controlled China, which has ramped up security measures even more for the Olympics. (Yes, no protestors were harmed in all those detainings recently, they were just... you know... detained. But why bother about that now that China set up areas for protestors to hang out and protest to their heart's content).
According to the article "The attack shortly after noon at the busy tourist site darkened the mood at the games the day after a spectacular opening ceremony had set an ebullient tone after years of nervous buildup."
(Though you couldn't tell that from the coverage on TV as it only gets minor mention between sporting events.)
The article goes on to say that "Beijing's communist leaders are hypersensitive to anything that could take the shine off the games, insisting issues such as China's human rights record, harsh rule in Tibet and ties with Sudan should not be raised at the sports event."
(And they're also probably pissed people insist on killing each other in the region of Georgia over on Russia's side of the world when there's supposed to be no hostilities during the Olympics and all that.)
Oh, by the way China's Foreign Ministry? No immediate comment on the attack... maybe they took the weekend off.
Xinhua (the media source I can never draw info from as they're always red flagged for spyware or something -- oh, right, they're a Chinese media source so of course they have spyware issues, my bad) identified the attacker as one Tang Yongming, age 47, from the eastern city of Hangzhou. According to Xinhua they said that Tang attacked the two Americans and their Chinese tour guide on the second level of the ancient tower, then leapt to his death immediately afterward (which makes sense since it would have been hard to leap to one's death if he did the job at ground floor level).
According to the article "Seibel said it was "too early to say" whether security would be stepped up for the U.S. team. But some athletes were already thinking about it.
Jennie Finch, a member of the U.S. softball team, said her heart skipped a beat when she heard about the attack, but she was undaunted.
"I'm here with my husband and son, so it's not easy but we're living our dreams and we're not going to live in fear," she said. "We're going to go out there every day and enjoy every day and celebrate it."
U.S. Ambassador Clark T. Randt visited the victims at a hospital in Beijing to convey the condolences of President Bush, who is in Beijing for the first days of the games.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Bush told reporters. "And the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs."
"It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour," said USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth. "Our delegation comes to the games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them.""
The police collected samples from the tower and street below (no doubt working out the exact details of the crime through crime scene investigation). Also there seems to be abit of investigating needed as they are presetly keeping some details of the incident under their hats (motive, weapon used, etc) as it seems these details were not immediately clear (motive being the most unclear at present I'd take it).
Apparently attacks on foreigners in China are extremely rare (and don't get reported much as these incidents all seem rather new to me).
For instance did you hear about the Canadian model who was murdered last month in Shanghai? The police said she had stumbled onto a burglary! Did you hear?
Or how about back in March, when a screaming bomb-strapped hostage-taker commandereed a bus with 10 Australians aboard in the popular tourist city of Xi'an, and was promptly shot to death by a police sniper! You must have heard about that one, right?
Well Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign cities of their size... unless the government hates you or your some sort of human rights protestor, then I suppose your hosed. According to the article "Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier than for crimes against Chinese, and citizens are not allowed to own guns."
Still, the article goes on to say "Even so, the U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities."
And what about the place where the incident took place?
The article says "The Drum Tower is one of few ancient structures still in fast-developing Beijing. Drummers pounded their massive instruments on the hour to let people in the imperial city know the time."
Hmm... interesting. How much do you think people earn an hour to be human time keepers?
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
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Olympic Medal Count Report
Yeah, some of us are still watching the Opening Ceremony and already there's medal news. While I won't tell you for what I can tell you the top three at this point...
Third Place - Russian Federation (I think that's what they call themselves now, lord knows if I get it wrong I'll have to come back quickly and edit this.)
1 Silver Medal
First Place (tied) - China and the Czech Republic
1 Gold apiece
Yeah, that means at least two events have been medaled and we're not even counting the bronze medal winners yet. Hmm... well, no more on this (you'll have to check out the first events yourself to see what got won where).
The image of the day is coming in awhile, so stay tuned. In the meantime I'm going to try and avoid looking up news unless I have no choice... but just so you know the situation over in Georgia isn't looking any better since last report, and now I heard there's been an overthrow of a Democratically elected government over in Africa. (Right now China wishes it could bitchslap the world and make it behave!)
Oh, I just heard that Brunneai... Brunai... darn, how do I spell that country? Anyway they got scratched from the Olympics and nobody is saying why.
Darn. Why can't I watch a damn Olympics without something coming up that needs to be reported on! Darn!
Tune in in a few hours to see the image of the day. And, yes, if there are any new reports to bring up I'll do so.
Third Place - Russian Federation (I think that's what they call themselves now, lord knows if I get it wrong I'll have to come back quickly and edit this.)
1 Silver Medal
First Place (tied) - China and the Czech Republic
1 Gold apiece
Yeah, that means at least two events have been medaled and we're not even counting the bronze medal winners yet. Hmm... well, no more on this (you'll have to check out the first events yourself to see what got won where).
The image of the day is coming in awhile, so stay tuned. In the meantime I'm going to try and avoid looking up news unless I have no choice... but just so you know the situation over in Georgia isn't looking any better since last report, and now I heard there's been an overthrow of a Democratically elected government over in Africa. (Right now China wishes it could bitchslap the world and make it behave!)
Oh, I just heard that Brunneai... Brunai... darn, how do I spell that country? Anyway they got scratched from the Olympics and nobody is saying why.
Darn. Why can't I watch a damn Olympics without something coming up that needs to be reported on! Darn!
Tune in in a few hours to see the image of the day. And, yes, if there are any new reports to bring up I'll do so.
Daily Olympics Update : Opening Ceremony Now Over (Olympics Has Begun)
As of 7:30AM or so this morning Hawaii time the 2008 Beijing Olympics began when the Opening Ceremony ended. Which means by tonight when network TV actually gets around to showing the Olympics the actual Olympics will be underway with the first day of events. That should mean that they should be starting 24 hour coverage right off the bat after the opening ceremony since the Olympics would already be in progress once it's done... you think they're going to do that or make you wait until Saturday morning? Hmm... I wonder...
Anyway anyone think the Chinese got about to adding me to their restricted list of sites they don't want anyone to see... nah, I'm the least of their worries. As it turns out the rest of the world is China's greatest PR nightmare as somebody forgot to tell the people over in Georgia (as in Russian Georgia and not USA Georgia) that they're supposed to stop fighting and be all peaceful like during the Olympics (they're still going at it even now with much innocent blood spilled because of the conflict). Hopefully some attempt at resolution brings about a end to violence soon.
Well it's going to be about 10 or so hours before TV shows what is already done with so I'll be back about them to post the pic of the day (for Saturday) and check the news for the day on the Olympics. See you then.
Anyway anyone think the Chinese got about to adding me to their restricted list of sites they don't want anyone to see... nah, I'm the least of their worries. As it turns out the rest of the world is China's greatest PR nightmare as somebody forgot to tell the people over in Georgia (as in Russian Georgia and not USA Georgia) that they're supposed to stop fighting and be all peaceful like during the Olympics (they're still going at it even now with much innocent blood spilled because of the conflict). Hopefully some attempt at resolution brings about a end to violence soon.
Well it's going to be about 10 or so hours before TV shows what is already done with so I'll be back about them to post the pic of the day (for Saturday) and check the news for the day on the Olympics. See you then.
Yet Another Olympics Update : China's Big Squeeze Play
Don't cry for China, people, they seem to be the source of their own ills of late. As I stated earlier it's already Friday in China (and while we sleep most likely the Opening Ceremony will already be underway if not when we wake up and go to work in the morning). Today? Countless Chinese will be home... though not exactly by choice. But then again it does have a double edged reason for it.
On one end the lockdown of Chinese in their homes ensures dissidents and protestors do not distract from the big Opening Ceremony with their protests.
On the other end the lockdown makes it easier to protect them from threats of islamic terrorist strikes against the Olympics keeping them safe.
So damned if you do, damned if you don't... or just plain damned both ways.
Across Olympics ground zero city Beijing, dissidents are their families are being held in what the article I got this from (wow, for once it's Reuters instead of Telegraph) calls house arrest. Others have fled to distant provinces or been taken on enforced "holidays" by state security minders... state security minders?!?
Well... China sucks.
According to the article, one Yu Jie (dissident-writer speaking for the article via telephone) said "I can go outside, but I have to ride in the police car with my guards wherever I go. It's absurd, because I have no interest in the Olympics, not even in watching them on television, and this is just giving me more subject-matter for critical essays."
So... this is the target of the wrath of an islamic terrorist group, neh? Sure, go poke the large antisocial over paranoia dragon country... see what happens next, oh retarded terrorists. I am pretty certain it won't be pretty.
According to the article "Human Rights in China, a New York-based group, issued a list of 24 protesters, critics of Communist Party control and their family members detained or closely guarded in recent days. "In order to ensure a 'Safe Olympics', the Chinese authorities have put society under a virtual lockdown," said Sharon Hom, executive director of the group, in an email."
So... what was the IOC' intent on giving China the Olympics again? To get the chuckles watching them do everything wrong throughout the whole Olympics? Was that it? Sure wasn't for any expectations of China changing their ways and becoming a better country that's for sure.
But still, with terrorist threatening violence it's not all about the dissidents... even if China's leaders need to get whacked a few times upside the head with the stupid stick to remind them of that (terrorists bad, dissidents good by comparison -- your cops and military would rather face passive peaceful protestors than kill crazed psycho terrorists, I assure you).
According to the article "Petitioners who have come to the capital to present complaints to officials have often been detained, many said. "We're always on the run now," said Wang Haizhen, a middle-aged woman from Hebei province next to Beijing."
In the end the Chinese are going to have to focus more on protecting against the terrorist threat. In the end they're the greater threat, and something they can't ignore. In the meantime I'd like to say we still have time and wait until you find out what is going to happen tomorrow... but we're right at the doorstep of the opening ceremonies. It's showtime, China. Stop screwing around and get your good neighbor face on already dammit!
On one end the lockdown of Chinese in their homes ensures dissidents and protestors do not distract from the big Opening Ceremony with their protests.
On the other end the lockdown makes it easier to protect them from threats of islamic terrorist strikes against the Olympics keeping them safe.
So damned if you do, damned if you don't... or just plain damned both ways.
Across Olympics ground zero city Beijing, dissidents are their families are being held in what the article I got this from (wow, for once it's Reuters instead of Telegraph) calls house arrest. Others have fled to distant provinces or been taken on enforced "holidays" by state security minders... state security minders?!?
Well... China sucks.
According to the article, one Yu Jie (dissident-writer speaking for the article via telephone) said "I can go outside, but I have to ride in the police car with my guards wherever I go. It's absurd, because I have no interest in the Olympics, not even in watching them on television, and this is just giving me more subject-matter for critical essays."
So... this is the target of the wrath of an islamic terrorist group, neh? Sure, go poke the large antisocial over paranoia dragon country... see what happens next, oh retarded terrorists. I am pretty certain it won't be pretty.
According to the article "Human Rights in China, a New York-based group, issued a list of 24 protesters, critics of Communist Party control and their family members detained or closely guarded in recent days. "In order to ensure a 'Safe Olympics', the Chinese authorities have put society under a virtual lockdown," said Sharon Hom, executive director of the group, in an email."
So... what was the IOC' intent on giving China the Olympics again? To get the chuckles watching them do everything wrong throughout the whole Olympics? Was that it? Sure wasn't for any expectations of China changing their ways and becoming a better country that's for sure.
But still, with terrorist threatening violence it's not all about the dissidents... even if China's leaders need to get whacked a few times upside the head with the stupid stick to remind them of that (terrorists bad, dissidents good by comparison -- your cops and military would rather face passive peaceful protestors than kill crazed psycho terrorists, I assure you).
According to the article "Petitioners who have come to the capital to present complaints to officials have often been detained, many said. "We're always on the run now," said Wang Haizhen, a middle-aged woman from Hebei province next to Beijing."
In the end the Chinese are going to have to focus more on protecting against the terrorist threat. In the end they're the greater threat, and something they can't ignore. In the meantime I'd like to say we still have time and wait until you find out what is going to happen tomorrow... but we're right at the doorstep of the opening ceremonies. It's showtime, China. Stop screwing around and get your good neighbor face on already dammit!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
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Today's Special Olympics Report : Islamic Group Threatens Violence On Opening Day
It seems we're still reporting on the Olympics. Weird, huh?
For days we've been covering news once a day... now it seems we're just crawling into Friday (it's already Friday in China and hours away from the Opening Ceremonies... which means we'll all be sleeping when the real Opening Ceremonies take place, and when we're watching it on TV they'll already be going through the first day of events (which explains why we can go through 24 hours a day of Olympics as we'll be behind already once the Olympics start, though we'll still be watching it when it's all over a few weeks from now).
OK. This report is not one of those happy reports (like that female swimmer who posed nude against furs only to get China freaked out at her).
It seems a US group that keeps an eye on militant organizations says there's an Islamic group that has gone and threatened, and to that end they have released a new video warning warning that Muslims should avoid flying on planes, taking of trains, and riding the buses used by Chinese... hmm... that'd make it hard for them to get out of Dodge then, so to speak.
Too bad this isn't as new as the report. Remember a few days ago when we had that little report of the internet warning by that group who is supposed to be linked to attacking and killing those 16 cops back some days back? Well two days ago they allegedly put out a video making these threats (as purportedly a part of their plans to seek independence for China's western Xinjiang region, where the killings took place some days ago) (the group that brought this out is called "SITE"... SITE, what a name for a watchdog group.
The video is supposed to have it's speaker grasp a rifle, warning muslims not to take trains, planes and buses or stay in "the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are". (the speaker in question is allegedly identified by the "Washington-based IntelCenter" as one Abdullah Mansour (from the group's religious education department).
Hmm... let me guess, today's lesson is "fear". Right?
The article I got this info from says he speaks in the "Turkic language of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority with a population of about eight million in Xinjiang."
They already have taken responsibility for bombing buses in China in recent months.
The article also says the latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier (a burning Olympics logo and an explosion imposed over an apparent Olympic venue (which may or may not be one of the venues whose constructions allegedly led to something like one and a half million allegedly evicted to build Olympics venues according to what I heard on the topic)).
Anyway the latest video claims the communist regime's alleged mistreatments of Muslims justifies holy war... oops, won't this suddenly make China the good guys and everyone is going to rally behind them, while forgetting all past ruffled feathers to team up against the terroist threat? Self defeating, aren't the terrorists.
As if to prove that they're out to defeat themselves, the Chinese cranks up the security around the host city and other co-host cities to more than one hundred thousand strong consisting of mixed military and police (of course should China swallow some pride and push the panic button I am sure they can also tap off thousands of troops from visiting Olympic countries to further defend the Olympics, further making it impossible for the terrorists to pierce the Olympics and disrupt it).
Security is high. Security officials and sniffer dogs are hard at work, metal detectors and remote inspection devices ae being used to search through the slightest area that can be used to hide dangerous things (like flower beds, lawns, and other public spaces near the Olympic venues -- after all, if the Atlanta Olympics taught us anything is that you have to expect the unexpected).
According to the article "Elsewhere in the capital, a convoy of trucks carried security officers past Tiananmen Square, while a police vehicle could be seen patrolling the square." (guess chasing down religious rights and anti-abortion protestors are no longer a high priority now that a real threat has surfaced).
Even now world leaders are still arriving for the opening ceremonies, now mere hours away as I finish writing this up. President George W. Bush is already there, accompanied by his wife Laura and daughter Barbara (wait, isn't his mom also named Barbara? Weird.)
Wow. I didn't know this but President Bush happens to be the first US President to attend the Olympics on foreign soil (I didn't know that). He'll join around a hundred other world leaders and senior government reps at the opening ceremony in a few short hours (as we sleep it'll all be happening).
So good night... or welcome to your long marathon session of late night computer watching as I guess they might have live feed on the net of the Opening Ceremony... right? Maybe. If somebody knows please click comments and leave us some notation about watching the opening ceremony on the web. Thanks.
Bush is the first US President to attend the Olympics on foreign soil. He'll join around a hundred other world leaders and senior government representatives at the opening ceremony.
For days we've been covering news once a day... now it seems we're just crawling into Friday (it's already Friday in China and hours away from the Opening Ceremonies... which means we'll all be sleeping when the real Opening Ceremonies take place, and when we're watching it on TV they'll already be going through the first day of events (which explains why we can go through 24 hours a day of Olympics as we'll be behind already once the Olympics start, though we'll still be watching it when it's all over a few weeks from now).
OK. This report is not one of those happy reports (like that female swimmer who posed nude against furs only to get China freaked out at her).
It seems a US group that keeps an eye on militant organizations says there's an Islamic group that has gone and threatened, and to that end they have released a new video warning warning that Muslims should avoid flying on planes, taking of trains, and riding the buses used by Chinese... hmm... that'd make it hard for them to get out of Dodge then, so to speak.
Too bad this isn't as new as the report. Remember a few days ago when we had that little report of the internet warning by that group who is supposed to be linked to attacking and killing those 16 cops back some days back? Well two days ago they allegedly put out a video making these threats (as purportedly a part of their plans to seek independence for China's western Xinjiang region, where the killings took place some days ago) (the group that brought this out is called "SITE"... SITE, what a name for a watchdog group.
The video is supposed to have it's speaker grasp a rifle, warning muslims not to take trains, planes and buses or stay in "the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are". (the speaker in question is allegedly identified by the "Washington-based IntelCenter" as one Abdullah Mansour (from the group's religious education department).
Hmm... let me guess, today's lesson is "fear". Right?
The article I got this info from says he speaks in the "Turkic language of the Uighurs, a Muslim minority with a population of about eight million in Xinjiang."
They already have taken responsibility for bombing buses in China in recent months.
The article also says the latest video features graphics similar to ones used earlier (a burning Olympics logo and an explosion imposed over an apparent Olympic venue (which may or may not be one of the venues whose constructions allegedly led to something like one and a half million allegedly evicted to build Olympics venues according to what I heard on the topic)).
Anyway the latest video claims the communist regime's alleged mistreatments of Muslims justifies holy war... oops, won't this suddenly make China the good guys and everyone is going to rally behind them, while forgetting all past ruffled feathers to team up against the terroist threat? Self defeating, aren't the terrorists.
As if to prove that they're out to defeat themselves, the Chinese cranks up the security around the host city and other co-host cities to more than one hundred thousand strong consisting of mixed military and police (of course should China swallow some pride and push the panic button I am sure they can also tap off thousands of troops from visiting Olympic countries to further defend the Olympics, further making it impossible for the terrorists to pierce the Olympics and disrupt it).
Security is high. Security officials and sniffer dogs are hard at work, metal detectors and remote inspection devices ae being used to search through the slightest area that can be used to hide dangerous things (like flower beds, lawns, and other public spaces near the Olympic venues -- after all, if the Atlanta Olympics taught us anything is that you have to expect the unexpected).
According to the article "Elsewhere in the capital, a convoy of trucks carried security officers past Tiananmen Square, while a police vehicle could be seen patrolling the square." (guess chasing down religious rights and anti-abortion protestors are no longer a high priority now that a real threat has surfaced).
Even now world leaders are still arriving for the opening ceremonies, now mere hours away as I finish writing this up. President George W. Bush is already there, accompanied by his wife Laura and daughter Barbara (wait, isn't his mom also named Barbara? Weird.)
Wow. I didn't know this but President Bush happens to be the first US President to attend the Olympics on foreign soil (I didn't know that). He'll join around a hundred other world leaders and senior government reps at the opening ceremony in a few short hours (as we sleep it'll all be happening).
So good night... or welcome to your long marathon session of late night computer watching as I guess they might have live feed on the net of the Opening Ceremony... right? Maybe. If somebody knows please click comments and leave us some notation about watching the opening ceremony on the web. Thanks.
Bush is the first US President to attend the Olympics on foreign soil. He'll join around a hundred other world leaders and senior government representatives at the opening ceremony.
Swimmer Amanda Beard (did I spell it right, let alone get the name right? Sorry.) Tries To Show Off Anti Fur PETA Nude Poster, Chinese shriek
Apparently her press conference about her new nude PETA anti-fur ad would have caused a "security concern"... hmm... let's see, naked woman (tasefully done) on ad poster doesn't seem like a rallying point for either Tibet, religious freedom or anti abortion so where was the security threat again?
So I guess the Chinese don't like me for having nude images on my site all Olympics long (since they weren't too happy with her tastefully nude image)... too bad. I'd love to show your PETA ad here, Amanda! Please send it here (preferably as a JPG or GIF image).
The Chinese can get their own Facebook page and bitch at me if they wish. Not like I (or the Chinese) care. We are blissfully indifferent about each other's exsistence.
So I guess the Chinese don't like me for having nude images on my site all Olympics long (since they weren't too happy with her tastefully nude image)... too bad. I'd love to show your PETA ad here, Amanda! Please send it here (preferably as a JPG or GIF image).
The Chinese can get their own Facebook page and bitch at me if they wish. Not like I (or the Chinese) care. We are blissfully indifferent about each other's exsistence.
Today's Olympics Report : China Sings The "Stop Nagging Me" Tune, Nobody Listens.
According to the Telegraph's opening words on today's china related article, "China is determined to use the Olympics to show off a country that is increasingly prosperous and open to the world. It demands that world leaders do not "mix sport and politics" by pressuring it over issues ranging from freedom of speech to Tibet and Darfur."
In other words it's all take take take and stop trying to make us not be jerks.
Yeah, not happening.
Speaking of people who don't like other people telling him what to do, Presdient Bush (on his last Asia trip before his leaving the White House to probably go back to his other White House... or whatever color his large house is painted in now...) according to the Telegraph "laid out in clear terms the progress he expected from China, in the knowledge that his successors will have to compete with it for influence in a major ideological battle of the 21st Century."
(In other words here's China, McBush the 3rd or Obamarama, you deal with it.)
(President GW Bush) "Change in China will arrive on its own terms and in keeping with its own history and its own traditions," ("he said in Bangkok, before leaving for Beijing to watch the Games' opening ceremony." according to the Telegraph)" "Yet change will arrive."
(Telegraph article) "He said that he did not want to impose American beliefs on China, but that it was time "to allow the Chinese people to express theirs"."
(President GW Bush) "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists. The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings."
As you probably guessed, he was NOT in China when he actually said all that... he was, for the record, in Bangkok (source of many poor humor jokes from my old English class back in my youth in High School... yeah, I get it, it's called "Bangkok". Whatever.)
If this was the best chance ever for China to take the moral high ground and vow to change for the better (or at least pretend to consider it) China promptly lived up to the planet's lowered expectations and whined (again). If you thought that the Chinese would do anything but reject the latest call for them to stop being pin heads then you don't know China. Still, as if at least trying to rock the boat (or shock people) they did it "less stridently than usual".
Sorta like O'Reilly being 25% less snitty on his daily self loving whorefest he calls his daily show. It's a change of pace but not much else.
On the plus side they, according to the Telegraph, "remain grateful for the moral and political boost represented by Mr Bush's early decision to attend the Games and his repeated refusal to consider a boycott since."
Of course President Bush wasn't the only one with criticism of China.
(Telegraph) "In Beijing, Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, was more circumspect in her criticism of her hosts in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
She said that while she hoped Beijing would "learn not to be afraid of protest", westerners who staged demonstrations like the two Britons detained for unveiling Free Tibet posters on Wednesday should understand that China had a different political system.
"My experience of negotiating with China over years is that going for banner headlines and siren diplomacy is not the best way of achieving change," she said.
The two protesters, Lucy Fairbrother, 23, and Ian Thom, 24, who along with two Americans dropped huge banners saying "One World One Dream Free Tibet" from light-poles near the new National Stadium, arrived home after being deported.
Dozens of family, friends and representatives from the Tibetan community turned out to welcome them.
"Banners and slogans capture people's imaginations in a much more effective way than meetings behind closed doors," said Miss Fairbrother.
"We were treated very even-handedly. The police were very kind to us. We were treated fine. But if any Chinese tried to protest they would be treated much more harshly.""
Oh, add to the Olympic Prisoner Count (let's see if China can stand to win more medals than new Olympics related prisoners this Olympics) three new acquisitions. This time out it's three American Christian activists who staged a protest over in Tianamen Square (occasionally host for the running of the large heavy armored tanks) calling for religious freedom... which is odd since they frequently oppress gays and lesbians oppressing their freedom to marry and adopt while screaming for their own freedom in turn. Yeah. They nice.
Now we're just about to the Olympics, think we can get through tomorrow's opening ceremonies without MORE pissing between... oh, wait, we CAN'T!!
(Telegraph) "In another political gesture likely to offend the Chinese authorities, the United States Olympic Committee chose as its flag-bearer for the opening ceremony a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes who have signed up to criticism of China over its support for the Sudanese government.
The choice of Lopez Lomong, a runner in the 1,500 metres, is all the more pointed because he is originally from Darfur. He fled Sudan as a six-year-old and grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States and taking American citizenship last year."
To protest China should have the entire stadium run of the torch run by the all female league of Chinese nudists (in the nude)... because as you know American shriek and scream in terror at the slightest image of nudity on TV (at least according to the FCC' endless quest to destroy human nudity from television)... yeah, not going to happen. Oh well.
Now according to the Telegraph "Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said the Games would "help the world to understand China, and it will also help China to understand the world.""
...I don't think a lack of understanding is the problem between us, but whatever...
(Jacques Rogge) "China is a nation in transition, with a great future, tremendous potential and some challenges. I believe history will view the 2008 Olympics as a significant milestone in China's remarkable transformation."
Funny. Unless the entire country rips free of the planet and turns into a giant robot I really don't see China's government moving towards any transformation of any kind (in fact they seem about a relunctant to transform as a kid is in seeing the dentist... in fact exactly like a kid seeing the dentist for the first time China seems to be kicking and screaming it's way towards the chair of transformation, grabbing everything it can on it's way shrieking horribly as it's dragged towards change... sheesh, such a fuss!
And that's the day before the Olympics, dare you dread the knowledge you'll gain... TOMORROW!!
Oh, this Olympics promises to be non stop 24 hour a day coverage on TV and on the web... think you have the ability to digest that much Olymmpics? I don't know if I can... I better stock up on a supply of Olympic Bismo... or just keep you on your regular daily dose of erotic Olympics images.
See you tomorrow!
In other words it's all take take take and stop trying to make us not be jerks.
Yeah, not happening.
Speaking of people who don't like other people telling him what to do, Presdient Bush (on his last Asia trip before his leaving the White House to probably go back to his other White House... or whatever color his large house is painted in now...) according to the Telegraph "laid out in clear terms the progress he expected from China, in the knowledge that his successors will have to compete with it for influence in a major ideological battle of the 21st Century."
(In other words here's China, McBush the 3rd or Obamarama, you deal with it.)
(President GW Bush) "Change in China will arrive on its own terms and in keeping with its own history and its own traditions," ("he said in Bangkok, before leaving for Beijing to watch the Games' opening ceremony." according to the Telegraph)" "Yet change will arrive."
(Telegraph article) "He said that he did not want to impose American beliefs on China, but that it was time "to allow the Chinese people to express theirs"."
(President GW Bush) "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists. The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings."
As you probably guessed, he was NOT in China when he actually said all that... he was, for the record, in Bangkok (source of many poor humor jokes from my old English class back in my youth in High School... yeah, I get it, it's called "Bangkok". Whatever.)
If this was the best chance ever for China to take the moral high ground and vow to change for the better (or at least pretend to consider it) China promptly lived up to the planet's lowered expectations and whined (again). If you thought that the Chinese would do anything but reject the latest call for them to stop being pin heads then you don't know China. Still, as if at least trying to rock the boat (or shock people) they did it "less stridently than usual".
Sorta like O'Reilly being 25% less snitty on his daily self loving whorefest he calls his daily show. It's a change of pace but not much else.
On the plus side they, according to the Telegraph, "remain grateful for the moral and political boost represented by Mr Bush's early decision to attend the Games and his repeated refusal to consider a boycott since."
Of course President Bush wasn't the only one with criticism of China.
(Telegraph) "In Beijing, Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, was more circumspect in her criticism of her hosts in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
She said that while she hoped Beijing would "learn not to be afraid of protest", westerners who staged demonstrations like the two Britons detained for unveiling Free Tibet posters on Wednesday should understand that China had a different political system.
"My experience of negotiating with China over years is that going for banner headlines and siren diplomacy is not the best way of achieving change," she said.
The two protesters, Lucy Fairbrother, 23, and Ian Thom, 24, who along with two Americans dropped huge banners saying "One World One Dream Free Tibet" from light-poles near the new National Stadium, arrived home after being deported.
Dozens of family, friends and representatives from the Tibetan community turned out to welcome them.
"Banners and slogans capture people's imaginations in a much more effective way than meetings behind closed doors," said Miss Fairbrother.
"We were treated very even-handedly. The police were very kind to us. We were treated fine. But if any Chinese tried to protest they would be treated much more harshly.""
Oh, add to the Olympic Prisoner Count (let's see if China can stand to win more medals than new Olympics related prisoners this Olympics) three new acquisitions. This time out it's three American Christian activists who staged a protest over in Tianamen Square (occasionally host for the running of the large heavy armored tanks) calling for religious freedom... which is odd since they frequently oppress gays and lesbians oppressing their freedom to marry and adopt while screaming for their own freedom in turn. Yeah. They nice.
Now we're just about to the Olympics, think we can get through tomorrow's opening ceremonies without MORE pissing between... oh, wait, we CAN'T!!
(Telegraph) "In another political gesture likely to offend the Chinese authorities, the United States Olympic Committee chose as its flag-bearer for the opening ceremony a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes who have signed up to criticism of China over its support for the Sudanese government.
The choice of Lopez Lomong, a runner in the 1,500 metres, is all the more pointed because he is originally from Darfur. He fled Sudan as a six-year-old and grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States and taking American citizenship last year."
To protest China should have the entire stadium run of the torch run by the all female league of Chinese nudists (in the nude)... because as you know American shriek and scream in terror at the slightest image of nudity on TV (at least according to the FCC' endless quest to destroy human nudity from television)... yeah, not going to happen. Oh well.
Now according to the Telegraph "Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, said the Games would "help the world to understand China, and it will also help China to understand the world.""
...I don't think a lack of understanding is the problem between us, but whatever...
(Jacques Rogge) "China is a nation in transition, with a great future, tremendous potential and some challenges. I believe history will view the 2008 Olympics as a significant milestone in China's remarkable transformation."
Funny. Unless the entire country rips free of the planet and turns into a giant robot I really don't see China's government moving towards any transformation of any kind (in fact they seem about a relunctant to transform as a kid is in seeing the dentist... in fact exactly like a kid seeing the dentist for the first time China seems to be kicking and screaming it's way towards the chair of transformation, grabbing everything it can on it's way shrieking horribly as it's dragged towards change... sheesh, such a fuss!
And that's the day before the Olympics, dare you dread the knowledge you'll gain... TOMORROW!!
Oh, this Olympics promises to be non stop 24 hour a day coverage on TV and on the web... think you have the ability to digest that much Olymmpics? I don't know if I can... I better stock up on a supply of Olympic Bismo... or just keep you on your regular daily dose of erotic Olympics images.
See you tomorrow!
Image of the Day : Olympic Opening Ceremonies Tomorrow
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Let's hope the news from China coming up later today isn't more of the same.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Today's Olympics Report : American/British Protestors Arrested, Assuring Hell Will Not Freeze Over After All
Well that feel good moment when the Chinese didn't arrest protestors didn't last long did it, but on the bright side it looks like it won't become a winter wonderland in the abyss anytime soon as China is well on it's way to not shocking the world with it's ability to tolerate differing opinions.
A mix of Tibet, religious freedom and anti-abortion activists slipped through the Olympics security (who I am so now going to totally refer to as the Image Police from now on) to launch so called "guerrilla raids" against key policies of the Chinese Communist Party (aka stuff about Tibet, religious freedom and abortion seeing how those groups were all involved).
Of course it didn't hurt that the timing was set to make the Chinese look bad on the day the Olympic Torch was ran about Beijing. They seemingly passed almost unnoticed by the locals (yeah, like they don't know all about it already) but was big stuff around the world through journalists and others which the article I picked up on this said was sent "by a series of covert emails, phone calls and text messages."
Unless you happen to check out the news networks in America like MSNBC, CNN or FIXED NOISE... I mean FOX NEWS... then it is only getting spotty news reports (you have to watch your favorite network non stop just to get bits and pieces of reports between all the other news, so much for this being big stuff all over eh?)
These two seem to get the most focus, as even I've seen a few images of them from different news networks (and very little info on what they did).
But in case you missed the small bits from the news networks? American Phill Bartell and Briton Iain Thom (34 and 24 respectively) climbed lighting posts near the large central jewel of the Olympics (the "Bird's Nest" stadium -- mmm -- tasty?) at around 5:30AM in the morning, unfurling banners saying "One World One Dream Free Tibet", a so-called parody of the official Beijing Olympics slogan "One World One Dream" (three steps above the official Beijing Olympics video game slogan "Ha ha! Our Mario/Sonic video game runs laps around your sucky Olympics games!")
Another banner said "Free Tibet" in Chinese.
Mr Thom did manage to speak to reporters (as such a display couldn't be missed by even the most attention deficit reporter in the city) from the top of the pole via telephone (cell phone I take it since I don't think they hook up landlines on lighting posts... or do they...). Anyway he said he was a long-term activist on the Tibet issue.
Mr. Thom "This is a really critical time for Tibet. The Olympic Games are being used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese government to whitewash their human rights record."
No. Really. And whose fault is that again... oh, right, the IOC. So sue them for being Polyanna-ish in their belief that they can change the world with their Olympic dreams! (Or maybe it was just fairness since China didn't get an Olympics since... since... say, did they ever have the Olympics before now?)
Anyway this time out it wasn't members of a local communist group leading the people away like last time I spoke of this (which seems to be yesterday or so if memory serves) as the article from the telegraph (a British news site I seem to use alot for information) notes "Police "rushed to the scene" according to state media, although Students for a Free Tibet, which organised the climb, said the banners remained up for at least an hour. All four were detained, with the other two demonstrators being named as Lucy Fairbrother, 23, a Bristol University graduate from Cambridge now living in London, and Tirian Mink, 32, from Oregon."
I'd hate to have lost that long bout of jan-ken-po to decide who is unfortunate enough to climb up and bring the banners down.
A British embassy spokesman said consular officials were trying to get access to those held. District police in Beijing said they had no comment.
Now according to the article "Standard procedure would be immediate deportation to Hong Kong, but the Chinese authorities have already warned that foreigners who protest illegally risk being given "administrative punishments" - fines or jail terms without trial."
Because lord knows who wants a clean fun Olympics when the entire thing can become a long quagmire of political bitching and shrieking and threatening as China butches up and the world gets pissed off. On the upside the networks running the Olympics are going to get alot of viewership as people watch the three ring circus of political clowns mar the Olympics with their sideshow antics.
Just deport the damn people back home and give up while your behind, China!
As if they can't add 2 plus 2 together, it seems the Beijing Olympic Committee criticised the protest (quick, somebody play "here comes the clowns"), which happened just prior to the Torch (which of late seems to be it's own source of hatred as people have tried more than once to douse it in it's recent past and present) was paraded from the Forbidden City, through Tiananmen Square and around the city as a triumphal climax to its circumnavigation of the globe. (Or not so triumphant as it arrived in a city of big children with too much power and quick to throw hissy fits when they don't get things done their way).
Still somebody managed to enjoy themselves here and remembered that you're suppose to be having fun watching the Olympics torch as it was cheered all the way by crowds of Chinese waving the national flag (hopefully through genuine joy and not under threat of imprisonment).
Meanwhile in a case of China vs. Home Movies journalists were summoned to a hotel near the Workers' Stadium (Workers' Stadium? How communist of them to name it that) where two "westerners" were waiting to show off a film taped by two Tibetans, who travelled 'round their homeland recording views on the Games. As you probably expected the hotel officials demanded access to the event and requested those present leave immediately... hmm... wonder why. This time out nobody seemed to attempt to detain anyone but plain clothes security seemed to be watching the hotel (because as it turns out subtlety may not be one of the strong points of plain clothes security across the world).
According to the article... ""I have invited you to see a movie that a friend asked me to show to you," one of the two, both unnamed, said. He said he regretted he was unable to do so, and added that he had a "weird feeling" about whether he would be arrested or not later on."
Never heard of secretly passing it person to person off the radar, huh? I feel sorry for the people who made the film as I am sure it is now "missing" (destroyed).
Anyway don't expect peace and love this Olympics as a spokesman for Students for a Free Tibet warned that there would be more demonstrations as the Games unfolded.
Great. Just what we needed... though I am curious to see if the head of the IOC is going to be dumb enough to declare this the best Olympics ever if there's nonstop pissing matches between the Government and protest groups throughout the whole event.
In what the Telegraph called "The most complex stunt" (what I call the most morbid event of the protests) it was said the "stunt" "was arranged by anonymous religious freedom protesters. Visitors to specific rooms in two four-star hotels in the centre of the city were greeted by the sight of life-size dolls splattered with red paint to represent blood."
"Red slogans were also painted on the wall, saying: "Speak out for those who have no voice", "One World One Nightmare" and "Sign the ICCPR". The ICCPR is the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which the Chinese have in fact signed but not ratified.
There was also a list of imprisoned pastors from China's underground "house churches", which refuse to register with the state-backed protestant church, and other prisoners of conscience."
I don't know though. If it wasn't for the list of imprisoned pastors I'd probably have jumped to conclusions if I saw that and thought the Chinese Government pissed of satanists or something.
On the web it seems a password-protected website connected to the protest conains articles on the "persecution of a number of religious groups, including the Christian churches but also Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist sect fiercely repressed by Beijing. Eventually the hotel rooms were shut down to outsiders." (again from article by the Telegraph)
Now what about the abortion protest? According to the Telegraph "More briefly, three anti-abortion activists were briefly questioned and then released in Tiananmen Square after shouting slogans attacking China's one-child policy.
"End the brutality," they yelled. "To those who are forced to go through forced abortions and have no voice, we are your voice.""
All in all this was the least troubling protest of the day for the Chinese police to handle. The guys sent to handle it will never hear the end of it from their co-workers who ended up at the harder protests (especially the guy who maybe lost jan-ken-po to bring down the protest banners off the top of the tall lighting tower).
(Ok, technically they could have just shot down the banners but I'm just fixated on some poor guy getting stuck with the job of climbing up and taking them down by hand).
China wasn't the only source of protests, for instance the Telegraph mentioned that "Two of the Beijing protesters’ fellow campaigners scaled Tower Bridge in London." while the cable news networks drop mention of other protests though no specifics.
According to the Telegraph about the British protest, "James Murray and Jenny Raynor, who also belong to Students for a Free Tibet, climbed suspension cables to reach a height of 100ft above the River Thames.
The pair unfurled Tibetan national flags and a 37 sq ft banner reading: “Beijing 2008: Make Olympic History: Free Tibet.”
The action by Mr Murray, 23, of Edinburgh University and Ms Raynor, 26, of Cambridge University, was one of a series of demonstrations carried out by Tibetans and their supporters around the world, SFT said.
Mr Murray said: “The Chinese government is using the Beijing Olympics in an attempt to legitimise its brutal occupation of Tibet and cover up its human rights record.
“We are here in solidarity with Tibetans to support their cries for human rights and freedom.
“At this critical moment, we hope to shine the Olympic spotlight on China’s occupation of Tibet.
“The Chinese leadership must take immediate steps towards a peaceful end to its occupation of Tibet.”
SFT spokesman Tenzin Jigdal, 25, a Tibetan studying at London Metropolitan University, said: “Thousands of my fellow Tibetans remain detained or missing in China’s violent and ongoing crackdown.
“Many Tibetans have described the repression as the wrst they have experienced since the darkest days of the Cultural Revolution.”"
Wow, that was a long according to piece!
In anycase it's now 2 days to the Opening Ceremonies, imagine what new hijinx is going to unfurl (like a protest banner above Beijing) tomorrow!
A mix of Tibet, religious freedom and anti-abortion activists slipped through the Olympics security (who I am so now going to totally refer to as the Image Police from now on) to launch so called "guerrilla raids" against key policies of the Chinese Communist Party (aka stuff about Tibet, religious freedom and abortion seeing how those groups were all involved).
Of course it didn't hurt that the timing was set to make the Chinese look bad on the day the Olympic Torch was ran about Beijing. They seemingly passed almost unnoticed by the locals (yeah, like they don't know all about it already) but was big stuff around the world through journalists and others which the article I picked up on this said was sent "by a series of covert emails, phone calls and text messages."
Unless you happen to check out the news networks in America like MSNBC, CNN or FIXED NOISE... I mean FOX NEWS... then it is only getting spotty news reports (you have to watch your favorite network non stop just to get bits and pieces of reports between all the other news, so much for this being big stuff all over eh?)
These two seem to get the most focus, as even I've seen a few images of them from different news networks (and very little info on what they did).
But in case you missed the small bits from the news networks? American Phill Bartell and Briton Iain Thom (34 and 24 respectively) climbed lighting posts near the large central jewel of the Olympics (the "Bird's Nest" stadium -- mmm -- tasty?) at around 5:30AM in the morning, unfurling banners saying "One World One Dream Free Tibet", a so-called parody of the official Beijing Olympics slogan "One World One Dream" (three steps above the official Beijing Olympics video game slogan "Ha ha! Our Mario/Sonic video game runs laps around your sucky Olympics games!")
Another banner said "Free Tibet" in Chinese.
Mr Thom did manage to speak to reporters (as such a display couldn't be missed by even the most attention deficit reporter in the city) from the top of the pole via telephone (cell phone I take it since I don't think they hook up landlines on lighting posts... or do they...). Anyway he said he was a long-term activist on the Tibet issue.
Mr. Thom "This is a really critical time for Tibet. The Olympic Games are being used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese government to whitewash their human rights record."
No. Really. And whose fault is that again... oh, right, the IOC. So sue them for being Polyanna-ish in their belief that they can change the world with their Olympic dreams! (Or maybe it was just fairness since China didn't get an Olympics since... since... say, did they ever have the Olympics before now?)
Anyway this time out it wasn't members of a local communist group leading the people away like last time I spoke of this (which seems to be yesterday or so if memory serves) as the article from the telegraph (a British news site I seem to use alot for information) notes "Police "rushed to the scene" according to state media, although Students for a Free Tibet, which organised the climb, said the banners remained up for at least an hour. All four were detained, with the other two demonstrators being named as Lucy Fairbrother, 23, a Bristol University graduate from Cambridge now living in London, and Tirian Mink, 32, from Oregon."
I'd hate to have lost that long bout of jan-ken-po to decide who is unfortunate enough to climb up and bring the banners down.
A British embassy spokesman said consular officials were trying to get access to those held. District police in Beijing said they had no comment.
Now according to the article "Standard procedure would be immediate deportation to Hong Kong, but the Chinese authorities have already warned that foreigners who protest illegally risk being given "administrative punishments" - fines or jail terms without trial."
Because lord knows who wants a clean fun Olympics when the entire thing can become a long quagmire of political bitching and shrieking and threatening as China butches up and the world gets pissed off. On the upside the networks running the Olympics are going to get alot of viewership as people watch the three ring circus of political clowns mar the Olympics with their sideshow antics.
Just deport the damn people back home and give up while your behind, China!
As if they can't add 2 plus 2 together, it seems the Beijing Olympic Committee criticised the protest (quick, somebody play "here comes the clowns"), which happened just prior to the Torch (which of late seems to be it's own source of hatred as people have tried more than once to douse it in it's recent past and present) was paraded from the Forbidden City, through Tiananmen Square and around the city as a triumphal climax to its circumnavigation of the globe. (Or not so triumphant as it arrived in a city of big children with too much power and quick to throw hissy fits when they don't get things done their way).
Still somebody managed to enjoy themselves here and remembered that you're suppose to be having fun watching the Olympics torch as it was cheered all the way by crowds of Chinese waving the national flag (hopefully through genuine joy and not under threat of imprisonment).
Meanwhile in a case of China vs. Home Movies journalists were summoned to a hotel near the Workers' Stadium (Workers' Stadium? How communist of them to name it that) where two "westerners" were waiting to show off a film taped by two Tibetans, who travelled 'round their homeland recording views on the Games. As you probably expected the hotel officials demanded access to the event and requested those present leave immediately... hmm... wonder why. This time out nobody seemed to attempt to detain anyone but plain clothes security seemed to be watching the hotel (because as it turns out subtlety may not be one of the strong points of plain clothes security across the world).
According to the article... ""I have invited you to see a movie that a friend asked me to show to you," one of the two, both unnamed, said. He said he regretted he was unable to do so, and added that he had a "weird feeling" about whether he would be arrested or not later on."
Never heard of secretly passing it person to person off the radar, huh? I feel sorry for the people who made the film as I am sure it is now "missing" (destroyed).
Anyway don't expect peace and love this Olympics as a spokesman for Students for a Free Tibet warned that there would be more demonstrations as the Games unfolded.
Great. Just what we needed... though I am curious to see if the head of the IOC is going to be dumb enough to declare this the best Olympics ever if there's nonstop pissing matches between the Government and protest groups throughout the whole event.
In what the Telegraph called "The most complex stunt" (what I call the most morbid event of the protests) it was said the "stunt" "was arranged by anonymous religious freedom protesters. Visitors to specific rooms in two four-star hotels in the centre of the city were greeted by the sight of life-size dolls splattered with red paint to represent blood."
"Red slogans were also painted on the wall, saying: "Speak out for those who have no voice", "One World One Nightmare" and "Sign the ICCPR". The ICCPR is the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which the Chinese have in fact signed but not ratified.
There was also a list of imprisoned pastors from China's underground "house churches", which refuse to register with the state-backed protestant church, and other prisoners of conscience."
I don't know though. If it wasn't for the list of imprisoned pastors I'd probably have jumped to conclusions if I saw that and thought the Chinese Government pissed of satanists or something.
On the web it seems a password-protected website connected to the protest conains articles on the "persecution of a number of religious groups, including the Christian churches but also Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist sect fiercely repressed by Beijing. Eventually the hotel rooms were shut down to outsiders." (again from article by the Telegraph)
Now what about the abortion protest? According to the Telegraph "More briefly, three anti-abortion activists were briefly questioned and then released in Tiananmen Square after shouting slogans attacking China's one-child policy.
"End the brutality," they yelled. "To those who are forced to go through forced abortions and have no voice, we are your voice.""
All in all this was the least troubling protest of the day for the Chinese police to handle. The guys sent to handle it will never hear the end of it from their co-workers who ended up at the harder protests (especially the guy who maybe lost jan-ken-po to bring down the protest banners off the top of the tall lighting tower).
(Ok, technically they could have just shot down the banners but I'm just fixated on some poor guy getting stuck with the job of climbing up and taking them down by hand).
China wasn't the only source of protests, for instance the Telegraph mentioned that "Two of the Beijing protesters’ fellow campaigners scaled Tower Bridge in London." while the cable news networks drop mention of other protests though no specifics.
According to the Telegraph about the British protest, "James Murray and Jenny Raynor, who also belong to Students for a Free Tibet, climbed suspension cables to reach a height of 100ft above the River Thames.
The pair unfurled Tibetan national flags and a 37 sq ft banner reading: “Beijing 2008: Make Olympic History: Free Tibet.”
The action by Mr Murray, 23, of Edinburgh University and Ms Raynor, 26, of Cambridge University, was one of a series of demonstrations carried out by Tibetans and their supporters around the world, SFT said.
Mr Murray said: “The Chinese government is using the Beijing Olympics in an attempt to legitimise its brutal occupation of Tibet and cover up its human rights record.
“We are here in solidarity with Tibetans to support their cries for human rights and freedom.
“At this critical moment, we hope to shine the Olympic spotlight on China’s occupation of Tibet.
“The Chinese leadership must take immediate steps towards a peaceful end to its occupation of Tibet.”
SFT spokesman Tenzin Jigdal, 25, a Tibetan studying at London Metropolitan University, said: “Thousands of my fellow Tibetans remain detained or missing in China’s violent and ongoing crackdown.
“Many Tibetans have described the repression as the wrst they have experienced since the darkest days of the Cultural Revolution.”"
Wow, that was a long according to piece!
In anycase it's now 2 days to the Opening Ceremonies, imagine what new hijinx is going to unfurl (like a protest banner above Beijing) tomorrow!
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Today's Olynpics Report : Torch Reaches China
Yeah, it's there at long last. The torch people have been trying to extinguish for awhile now (and the torch which caused the shutdown of a certain famous section of tall mountains much to the protest of present climbers) finally makes it to China.
After so much protest it's finally on China's home turf for the final days of running it about before the games... strange, though, for awhile you heard lots of news about this torch and then for a time it just seemed to drop off the media's radar for awhile... only to return now just 3 days prior to the games opening. Weird.
Anyway are you ready to stay up late... or just never go to bed... because some channels are showing "live" coverage of the games at 2, 2, that's TWO AM in the morning... guess you can sleep during the hours when nothing good is showing and watch the stuff your interested in all night and morning long... or just Tivo the whole thing and watch it at your convenience. Whatever.
I don't know if I plan to stay up until 2AM in the morning to watch the Oly-- wait, who am I kidding, no way. I plan to be asleep at 2AM in the morning, unless they developed something worth staying up for... I don't know... something I know will never happen but would sound totally worth staying up all hours of the night and morning to watch. Oh well.
It's only a few days left before the Opening Ceremonies... imagine what strange new news you may learn tomorrow (2 days to go before opening ceremonies).
After so much protest it's finally on China's home turf for the final days of running it about before the games... strange, though, for awhile you heard lots of news about this torch and then for a time it just seemed to drop off the media's radar for awhile... only to return now just 3 days prior to the games opening. Weird.
Anyway are you ready to stay up late... or just never go to bed... because some channels are showing "live" coverage of the games at 2, 2, that's TWO AM in the morning... guess you can sleep during the hours when nothing good is showing and watch the stuff your interested in all night and morning long... or just Tivo the whole thing and watch it at your convenience. Whatever.
I don't know if I plan to stay up until 2AM in the morning to watch the Oly-- wait, who am I kidding, no way. I plan to be asleep at 2AM in the morning, unless they developed something worth staying up for... I don't know... something I know will never happen but would sound totally worth staying up all hours of the night and morning to watch. Oh well.
It's only a few days left before the Opening Ceremonies... imagine what strange new news you may learn tomorrow (2 days to go before opening ceremonies).
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Monday, August 4, 2008
Daily Olympics Report : Security Heightened After Terrorist Attack Kills 16
As you might expect officials moved immediately to reassure competitors and visitors to Beijing they would be safe when the Games get under way on Friday.
The spokeman for the Beijing Ogranizing Committe, one Sun Weide, said "We have strengthened security work in all Olympic venues and in the Olympic village. We are well-prepared in security for the upcoming Games,"
Considering it must have been in the thoughts of the IOC for years on end, ever since the start of the war on terror you'd think that the possibility of such a thing wouldn't be far from the thoughts of Olympics organizers, right? Yet this attack, which turned out to be a rather stunning embarrassment to the authorities (especially since they seemed to have intelligence that apparently warned of possible attacks this week), took place in Kashgar, a remote outpost of Chinese rule in the west of Xinjiang province not far from the border with Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (If you heard of this place before now then you are far more worldly than I am.)
Of course it's not to say that there wasn't already a possibility of such an incident, as it seems the Xinjiang's Muslim (ethnic Uighur) population already has past rep for clashing with the authorities. However it hasn't been since the 90's that there had been any major confirmed terrorist incidents.
So what is to be made of this? According to the report from the telegraph I got this info from "The authorities have repeatedly warned of the risk of attacks on the Olympics by Islamic and "separatist" groups based in the region, though they also insisted that security in the region was under control. "
So... what? Too many times crying wolf, or not enough times emphasising the dangers?
According to the article from the telegraph, "Chinese state media said that two men drove a dump-truck at a group of policemen out for early morning exercise, crashed to a halt and threw grenades or home-made explosive devices. They then began slashing at survivors with knives before being overwhelmed and arrested.
Fourteen policemen died at the scene, two more died on the way to hospital, and 16 others were injured. Debris from five explosive devices was also recovered, the reports added."
Maybe it'd be safer if they just skipped morning exercise altogether and got all their police gym memberships.
At present the only frontrunner for "Worst People In The World" seems to allegedly be with a group calling itself the "Turkestan Islamic Party" (TIP). Why? Well it concerns a video put out on a website 10 days ago by said group, and a little bit of history as apparently the region tried to break away from China in the 40's and briefly called themselves "East Turkestan" before being retaken by then Chairman Mao's People's Liberation Army... who seemingly wasn't doing so much liberating as conquering... eh.
In this online video... which is odd since they all seem to hate Western technology and then smother themselves in Western technology to do their terrorizing... go figure. Anyway in the video one "Commander Seyfullah" claimed responsibility for a number of small lethal little bus bombings in China in recent months, and then went on to claim he's gunning for the Olympics and "critical points" of said Olympics. China, of course, denied the group claims and said there was still not evidence yesterday's attack had an Olympics connection.
Sorta true, the area is known for clashes, but considering the long length between bombings it has to be put on the table that there is some sort of viable connection.
The IOC is reported to have said it has confidence in Beijing's security prep for the games... because it's too late to pack up and go somewhere else it seems, so they better be damned confident in them because it's Beijing or bust (as it were).
Some, however, think the incident is being exaggerated (and thus manufacturing a terrorist threat to justify indiscrimiate arrests and repression in the region). Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, and is present only an allegation.
Additionally, a charge has been levelled against China that they provoked a response of such magnitude themselves through their own actions. Again, though, an allegation until proven one way or another.
However it seems as though the situation in the area is on it's way to a total breakdown in civility if China continues to oppress the Uighur people... Hmm... why did China get the Olympics again? Apparently it wasn't for some alturistic goal of making China a better and more honorable country (allegedly).
Another Uighur terrorist group, known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), (which may or may not be the same as the TIP), is accused by both the United States and China of links to al-Qaeda. Presently ETIM group numbers are unknown, and at one point it was thought put out of business after it's leader got the whammy while in Pakistan back in 2003... apparently not though as they've been brought up again.
Now while I like good news, let's hope this doesn't give people inflated heads. Apparently analysts say "no Uighur group is thought to be sophisticated enough to penetrate the ring of steel which the Chinese authorities have thrown around Beijing for the Games, deploying more than 100,000 security personnel". That's nice, but for the sake of all please don't lessen your watch on the games oh Chinese security!
Speaking of incidents, it seems a less violent incident recently took place over in Beijing itself as a small group of protesters clashed with police near Tiananmen Square. These turned out to be local residents who had been evicted from their homes just south of the Square to make way for a new shopping district... hmm... I wonder if this counts as part of the alleged 1 and a half million thrown out of their homes to build up the area for the Olympics? Hmmm...
On a plus note despite warnings that they wouldn't take protests lying down, the protesters were surrounded but not arrested by police, who are deeply sensitive about any form of demonstration on the Square (if you have your superiors yell at you everyday babout quelling demonstrations or else, mostly because their superiors and yelling at them and in turn their superiors are yelling at them, well then you'd be "deeply sensitive" too). Oh, and it helps that there's a ton of media hovering over everything though I can't remember hearing anything about this on the news or seeing any major coverage of this on any of the news networks.
Eventually they were led away by members of the local neighbourhood committee, the lowest reaches of the Communist Party.
And that, once again, is today's news spinning about the worldwide web... imagine what you will probably learn tomorrow.
The spokeman for the Beijing Ogranizing Committe, one Sun Weide, said "We have strengthened security work in all Olympic venues and in the Olympic village. We are well-prepared in security for the upcoming Games,"
Considering it must have been in the thoughts of the IOC for years on end, ever since the start of the war on terror you'd think that the possibility of such a thing wouldn't be far from the thoughts of Olympics organizers, right? Yet this attack, which turned out to be a rather stunning embarrassment to the authorities (especially since they seemed to have intelligence that apparently warned of possible attacks this week), took place in Kashgar, a remote outpost of Chinese rule in the west of Xinjiang province not far from the border with Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (If you heard of this place before now then you are far more worldly than I am.)
Of course it's not to say that there wasn't already a possibility of such an incident, as it seems the Xinjiang's Muslim (ethnic Uighur) population already has past rep for clashing with the authorities. However it hasn't been since the 90's that there had been any major confirmed terrorist incidents.
So what is to be made of this? According to the report from the telegraph I got this info from "The authorities have repeatedly warned of the risk of attacks on the Olympics by Islamic and "separatist" groups based in the region, though they also insisted that security in the region was under control. "
So... what? Too many times crying wolf, or not enough times emphasising the dangers?
According to the article from the telegraph, "Chinese state media said that two men drove a dump-truck at a group of policemen out for early morning exercise, crashed to a halt and threw grenades or home-made explosive devices. They then began slashing at survivors with knives before being overwhelmed and arrested.
Fourteen policemen died at the scene, two more died on the way to hospital, and 16 others were injured. Debris from five explosive devices was also recovered, the reports added."
Maybe it'd be safer if they just skipped morning exercise altogether and got all their police gym memberships.
At present the only frontrunner for "Worst People In The World" seems to allegedly be with a group calling itself the "Turkestan Islamic Party" (TIP). Why? Well it concerns a video put out on a website 10 days ago by said group, and a little bit of history as apparently the region tried to break away from China in the 40's and briefly called themselves "East Turkestan" before being retaken by then Chairman Mao's People's Liberation Army... who seemingly wasn't doing so much liberating as conquering... eh.
In this online video... which is odd since they all seem to hate Western technology and then smother themselves in Western technology to do their terrorizing... go figure. Anyway in the video one "Commander Seyfullah" claimed responsibility for a number of small lethal little bus bombings in China in recent months, and then went on to claim he's gunning for the Olympics and "critical points" of said Olympics. China, of course, denied the group claims and said there was still not evidence yesterday's attack had an Olympics connection.
Sorta true, the area is known for clashes, but considering the long length between bombings it has to be put on the table that there is some sort of viable connection.
The IOC is reported to have said it has confidence in Beijing's security prep for the games... because it's too late to pack up and go somewhere else it seems, so they better be damned confident in them because it's Beijing or bust (as it were).
Some, however, think the incident is being exaggerated (and thus manufacturing a terrorist threat to justify indiscrimiate arrests and repression in the region). Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, and is present only an allegation.
Additionally, a charge has been levelled against China that they provoked a response of such magnitude themselves through their own actions. Again, though, an allegation until proven one way or another.
However it seems as though the situation in the area is on it's way to a total breakdown in civility if China continues to oppress the Uighur people... Hmm... why did China get the Olympics again? Apparently it wasn't for some alturistic goal of making China a better and more honorable country (allegedly).
Another Uighur terrorist group, known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), (which may or may not be the same as the TIP), is accused by both the United States and China of links to al-Qaeda. Presently ETIM group numbers are unknown, and at one point it was thought put out of business after it's leader got the whammy while in Pakistan back in 2003... apparently not though as they've been brought up again.
Now while I like good news, let's hope this doesn't give people inflated heads. Apparently analysts say "no Uighur group is thought to be sophisticated enough to penetrate the ring of steel which the Chinese authorities have thrown around Beijing for the Games, deploying more than 100,000 security personnel". That's nice, but for the sake of all please don't lessen your watch on the games oh Chinese security!
Speaking of incidents, it seems a less violent incident recently took place over in Beijing itself as a small group of protesters clashed with police near Tiananmen Square. These turned out to be local residents who had been evicted from their homes just south of the Square to make way for a new shopping district... hmm... I wonder if this counts as part of the alleged 1 and a half million thrown out of their homes to build up the area for the Olympics? Hmmm...
On a plus note despite warnings that they wouldn't take protests lying down, the protesters were surrounded but not arrested by police, who are deeply sensitive about any form of demonstration on the Square (if you have your superiors yell at you everyday babout quelling demonstrations or else, mostly because their superiors and yelling at them and in turn their superiors are yelling at them, well then you'd be "deeply sensitive" too). Oh, and it helps that there's a ton of media hovering over everything though I can't remember hearing anything about this on the news or seeing any major coverage of this on any of the news networks.
Eventually they were led away by members of the local neighbourhood committee, the lowest reaches of the Communist Party.
And that, once again, is today's news spinning about the worldwide web... imagine what you will probably learn tomorrow.
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Sunday, August 3, 2008
Olympics Error Corrected
Yeah, I know, Atlanta was 1996 or so, not 2000...
That means the 2000 game of... of... ? Well whatever in Australia was an instantly forgettable game... which is kinda sad if you think about it (but not unexpected since a majority of Olympics video games seems to come in at 1 out of 5 forgettable gaming experiences).
That means the 2000 game of... of... ? Well whatever in Australia was an instantly forgettable game... which is kinda sad if you think about it (but not unexpected since a majority of Olympics video games seems to come in at 1 out of 5 forgettable gaming experiences).
Image of the Day : Erotic OIympics -5
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The opening ceremonies are coming! Prepare -- especially you, China, as it seems a report on prep from a day or so ago seems to point at the Opening Ceremonies rehersals going into phase two (or just still in the rehersal stage). You'd think they'd have gotten the opening ceremonies act down pat by now... right?
Oh well, enjoy the image!
Olympics Review : Torino 2006 (Winter Olympics)
Sure, sure, sure, techically it's the Summer Olympics on right now so why am I not reviewing either or both the Atlanta 2000 or Athens 2004 Olympics games? Well... I couldn't find them, and there's only so far I should be expected to go reviewing these substandard Olympics fare games.
Anyway technically speaking the last Olympics game out other than the most recent Mario/Sonic at the Olympics is this game, he video game based on the last Winter Olympics set in Torino Italy… or is it Turin?
Apparently before we can begin to speak of the shortcomings of the game (which there are a few), we need to talk about the shortcomings of the name of the Olympics…. Mainly why it’s called the 2006 TORINO games when they‘re located in TURIN, Italy!
Of course by now people are more concerned over the human rights record of the Chinese than whether or not the last Olympics was set in Turin or Torino... well, thankfully however nobody in NBC got mixed up this year and called this year's Olympics the "2008 Bojingo Olympics"... so there's that at least.
Unfortunately this game would wish it had something as attention distracting to keep people's minds off of this video game as this game should be considered an insult to your intelligence. And... well yes... once again Bejing can give itself a hardy pat on it's back and thank Japan again for it's Olympics game (unofficial Sonic Mario Beijing 2008 Olympics game) makes both this and Salt Lake City 2002 look bad in comparison. Of course it doesn't mean Beijing 2008's Official Game won't fare better than this, but that's a discussion for another time (not now). So now get ready to start thrashing downhills, running the routes and slapping your blades on because it's time to review! Let’s start with the first and easiest complaint… in that the game comes off rather generic.
You’d never ever think that the Olympics of Winter and Summer came but once every four years the way 2KSports handled the duty of presenting it. For a sport that comes but once a leap year in terms of timing it seems the people at 2K was OK with half(bleep)ing out a underwhelming game instead of making it worth the once every four year wait you have to do between Winter Olympics…. Or the two year wait between this and the alternate Summer games from Beijing, China (whose only saving grace in gaming was again that whole lovely Sonic/Mario game which proved to be the biggest innovation ever seen in Olympics video gaming to date).
Additionally it seems that the people over at 2KSports just couldn’t have waited the x amount of days for the Olympics to end before slapping out a game, making sure (by taking the time to wait) to make it a quirky true to the Olympics experience by waiting to program the “human“ and “mother nature” factor into the game (which they didn‘t). And if you think the Bejing Olympics is going to be different I have already seen cover art of the games and I'm pretty sure it'll be out when the games hit and thus not wait for the actual games to play their course before releasing said tie in game to next gen consoles (for starters).
If they did manage to wait it out and put in all the human quirks of the real Olympics into the games, mind you, they could have filled the game with the many quirks and strangenesses that happened during the games which made the games abit more watchable (though somehow some of the "quirks" of the coming Olympics I am betting would be stuff that the Chinese don't want anyone seeing... most likely).
As for the incidential quirks of this game? That'd all be covered by the sudden snowstorms that screwed up certain events (sometimes mid event), the doping incidents (and the incident of the runaway banned coach), Michelle Kwan’s groin problems, that certain speed skaters embrace of the “I” in “team” theology and his refusal to do team sprint, and the failure of Bode (he who had his own webpage) to score (for starters). Basically all the quirks that make the games “human” and then some. Sure, they could wait and put that all in the present Beijing games... but at least the last host of the Winter Olympics wouldn't have minded the addition of "quirks" into their game, which I am sure isn't going to happen with the present iteration of the game and it's "host". Yeah... right.
Because of this please don’t expect to see any “human”-izing elements in the PS2 games of the Winter Olympic Games because (apparently) speed of release was more important than making the game actually “human”, or interesting, thereby worth playing (or worth owning for that matter). And if this holds true then you can expect to see this same lack of humanizing elements in the 2008 Beijing video game Olympics. Sucks, but nothing we can do about it.
Oh, you'd like to know how'd that could posisbly be. Well, let me tell you, you see because the game was rushed out prior to the Olympics the game is nice and it does it’s job (no question about it), but that is just about it. It’s passable, but lacks life and unexpected quirks of real human competition. The game has nice visuals and it looks good, but it lacks any real energy to get you hyped about the games well after the games are done and done (and the sameness of the arenas and so forth will eventually numb you to even the look of the Torino competition locales). That and the whole thing just sits there with little emotion.
Instead of starting you out on the Opening Ceremonies and giving you a 16 day march through the trials and tribulations of the games your given some choppy game modes that really don’t do much to instill a sense of excitement or energy in the game. Really, was 2KSports in such a hurry that they had to bang out a half(bleep) Olympics game as fast as they did? Because of their “need for speed” to rush out a game prior to the Olympics the game suffers, lacking any of the quirks that happened during the Olympics that challenged the will and determination of all the athletes. Of course I'd like to think that all these problems were fixed in Beijing 2008 (the game developers only had 2 years to fix all the bugs of Torino 2006 after all) but somehow I bet none of these problems were fixed. Damn.
There will be no sudden snowstorms during competition to hinder your efforts, athletes won’t be quitters and cripple your medal hopes so they can “rest up”, others won’t have groin problems (which wouldn’t have happened anyway with the notable sport cut out of this game)… basically what I said above and then some.
Heck, the game even lacks any personality when it comes to who is announcing the game!
I did like that there are several announcer pairs (English and European) doing the commentary, but for the English commentators I found a total lack of interest in the announcing they were doing! The two English announcers sound like they’re completely bored with their job no matter what your doing, even when your splaying yourself over a mountainside or something like that, you don’t seem to get much in the way of actual spirit or energy out of their commentary. Sure there is lots of interesting Olympics factoids in their commentary, sure, but since it’s delivered with all the energy of a Senate Subcommittee hearing (and by that I mean a boring Senate Subcommittee hearing) the factoids just come out as a poor attempt to dress up the lacking emotion of the commentary with some body and soul.
Also it bears to note that no matter how many times one of the commentators quotes Homer Simpson from time to time, belting out “D’oh” here and there whenever you screw up? That does nothing to instill anything remotely resembling “spirit” into this game.
Next up is the competitions left out of Torino 2006.
We have downhill skiing, ski jumping (but no aerials competition), the bobsled, the luge (no skeleton), biathlon (ski and shoot), nordic combined, speed skating and crosscountry. Also there is supposed to be snowboarding but if you look at the 15 events you don’t see snowboarding at all… what gives! Oh, and then there’s the obvious omission. Yeah, you might have noticed that something is missing here… noticed it yet? You have most certainly noticed a primary Winter Olympics genre missing!
And by that I don’t mean “curling”. You know, curling, the sport where guys shove gigantic stone “pucks” down the ice while they use the power of their brooms and yelling to make it go… lots and lots of yelling! People hollering like nobody‘s business yelling. I mean the omission of … no, not Hockey, there is more than enough hockey themed video games out there (ditto with soccer, basketball and baseball which I think was removed from the Summer Olympics)… I mean figure skating/ice dancing.
No pairs, no males, no females, no ice dancing with the ability to dress your female partners up in oh so cute little outfits… none of that. Now, you might ask, is that such a bad thing -- other than the fact it’d jack up the age rating to T for Teen since little boys shouldn’t be making cute girls skate… I think.
That, by the way, was such a major mistake I can’t tell you how much of a mistake it was! Whether you are a fan of figure skating or not you can’t dismiss it’s audience drawing power. It is, after all, one of the major target audience sells during the Winter Olympics that bring the crowds back again and again. Sure, you and I might not be the biggest fanatics of the sport of figure skating, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one of the big cash cows of the Winter Olympics, which it is.
Along with speed skating, hockey and a few other sports? Figure skating is one of the major draws of the Olympics of Winter, which means an omission of a Figure Skating mode in Torino 2006 was no doubt a severe tactical error that’ll haunt 2KSports, especially since it means 2KSports has effectively ignored a vital “target” audience that might have overlooked most of this game’s flaws in order to play the figure skating venue, but can‘t because it doesn‘t exist. Bad move, people, bad move.
Then there’s the lack of major interest in snowboarding. The game talks about it, and I’m sure it’s in there, but it’s not a prominent thing that‘s for sure which is another fatal flaw of the Torino 2006 games. It should have had a major spot on the lineup, complete with it’s own category… so what gives!
Also the game fails to take advantage of the 2006 Olympics’ newest event despite the fact that the Torino (Turin?) games premiered Snowboarding Cross! That is yet another reason why 2KSports should have kept their tights on and waited for the Olympics to play out so they could have added more snowboarding events including Snowboarding Cross! Definitely another bad dismount by the people at 2KSports!
Of course I bet there are other events not put in here, like short track and skeleton for instance, not to mention no figure skating slash ice dancing (d’oh, to paraphrase the bored sleepy announcers). No spirit, no soul, no… nothing. The games couldn’t be more of a turnoff even if it tried! If given the choice? I’d rather recommend the only seen in Japan PS2 game known as “Party Game“, the Japanese Olympics for Super Deformed animorphic athletes who do the Summer thing (with curling from the Winter Olympics added in) as well as sports not usually associated with the Olympics… but who cares! It looks like it’s way more fun than Torino 2006 and at least I’d rather you play that than this snoozer!
Yeah, the Olympics may come but once every four years but it seems as if the people at 2KSports doesn’t see it that way since they went out of their way to make a half (bleep) attempt at a game!
Then there’s the fact that the game promises to be easy to pick up, and easy to learn, which it is only half true. While, yes, you can pick the game up with little muss or fuss (‘cause it’s only a few ounces in weight) learning to play it fast is another matter entirely. Promises to make the gameplay easy to learn apparently is a lie, especially since you have to first read the “instructions” on each while practicing in a singles mode which is more “trial by error” learning than an actual tutorial that’ll teach you how to play this game! I don’t know what 2KSports concept of “easy to learn” is, but this isn’t it.
Higher, Faster, Stronger eh?
Thanks to 2KSports and the inattentive people at the IOC (who seem to miss a great deal, including how half(bleep) the recent hellspawn of Winter Olympics games is it should be changed. I like to call the Torino 2006 games Lamer, Clunkier, Sleepier… d’oh! Of course I heard the Summer stock of games do fare a little better than the Winter ones in terms of game content, but I suppose that is something only a real full out review of last Olympics Athems 2004 and this Beijing Olympics 2008 can answer... maybe... but for now this game gets it's athletes one dishonorable mention out of 5. Bad game! BAd! Bad game!
Anyway technically speaking the last Olympics game out other than the most recent Mario/Sonic at the Olympics is this game, he video game based on the last Winter Olympics set in Torino Italy… or is it Turin?
Apparently before we can begin to speak of the shortcomings of the game (which there are a few), we need to talk about the shortcomings of the name of the Olympics…. Mainly why it’s called the 2006 TORINO games when they‘re located in TURIN, Italy!
Of course by now people are more concerned over the human rights record of the Chinese than whether or not the last Olympics was set in Turin or Torino... well, thankfully however nobody in NBC got mixed up this year and called this year's Olympics the "2008 Bojingo Olympics"... so there's that at least.
Unfortunately this game would wish it had something as attention distracting to keep people's minds off of this video game as this game should be considered an insult to your intelligence. And... well yes... once again Bejing can give itself a hardy pat on it's back and thank Japan again for it's Olympics game (unofficial Sonic Mario Beijing 2008 Olympics game) makes both this and Salt Lake City 2002 look bad in comparison. Of course it doesn't mean Beijing 2008's Official Game won't fare better than this, but that's a discussion for another time (not now). So now get ready to start thrashing downhills, running the routes and slapping your blades on because it's time to review! Let’s start with the first and easiest complaint… in that the game comes off rather generic.
You’d never ever think that the Olympics of Winter and Summer came but once every four years the way 2KSports handled the duty of presenting it. For a sport that comes but once a leap year in terms of timing it seems the people at 2K was OK with half(bleep)ing out a underwhelming game instead of making it worth the once every four year wait you have to do between Winter Olympics…. Or the two year wait between this and the alternate Summer games from Beijing, China (whose only saving grace in gaming was again that whole lovely Sonic/Mario game which proved to be the biggest innovation ever seen in Olympics video gaming to date).
Additionally it seems that the people over at 2KSports just couldn’t have waited the x amount of days for the Olympics to end before slapping out a game, making sure (by taking the time to wait) to make it a quirky true to the Olympics experience by waiting to program the “human“ and “mother nature” factor into the game (which they didn‘t). And if you think the Bejing Olympics is going to be different I have already seen cover art of the games and I'm pretty sure it'll be out when the games hit and thus not wait for the actual games to play their course before releasing said tie in game to next gen consoles (for starters).
If they did manage to wait it out and put in all the human quirks of the real Olympics into the games, mind you, they could have filled the game with the many quirks and strangenesses that happened during the games which made the games abit more watchable (though somehow some of the "quirks" of the coming Olympics I am betting would be stuff that the Chinese don't want anyone seeing... most likely).
As for the incidential quirks of this game? That'd all be covered by the sudden snowstorms that screwed up certain events (sometimes mid event), the doping incidents (and the incident of the runaway banned coach), Michelle Kwan’s groin problems, that certain speed skaters embrace of the “I” in “team” theology and his refusal to do team sprint, and the failure of Bode (he who had his own webpage) to score (for starters). Basically all the quirks that make the games “human” and then some. Sure, they could wait and put that all in the present Beijing games... but at least the last host of the Winter Olympics wouldn't have minded the addition of "quirks" into their game, which I am sure isn't going to happen with the present iteration of the game and it's "host". Yeah... right.
Because of this please don’t expect to see any “human”-izing elements in the PS2 games of the Winter Olympic Games because (apparently) speed of release was more important than making the game actually “human”, or interesting, thereby worth playing (or worth owning for that matter). And if this holds true then you can expect to see this same lack of humanizing elements in the 2008 Beijing video game Olympics. Sucks, but nothing we can do about it.
Oh, you'd like to know how'd that could posisbly be. Well, let me tell you, you see because the game was rushed out prior to the Olympics the game is nice and it does it’s job (no question about it), but that is just about it. It’s passable, but lacks life and unexpected quirks of real human competition. The game has nice visuals and it looks good, but it lacks any real energy to get you hyped about the games well after the games are done and done (and the sameness of the arenas and so forth will eventually numb you to even the look of the Torino competition locales). That and the whole thing just sits there with little emotion.
Instead of starting you out on the Opening Ceremonies and giving you a 16 day march through the trials and tribulations of the games your given some choppy game modes that really don’t do much to instill a sense of excitement or energy in the game. Really, was 2KSports in such a hurry that they had to bang out a half(bleep) Olympics game as fast as they did? Because of their “need for speed” to rush out a game prior to the Olympics the game suffers, lacking any of the quirks that happened during the Olympics that challenged the will and determination of all the athletes. Of course I'd like to think that all these problems were fixed in Beijing 2008 (the game developers only had 2 years to fix all the bugs of Torino 2006 after all) but somehow I bet none of these problems were fixed. Damn.
There will be no sudden snowstorms during competition to hinder your efforts, athletes won’t be quitters and cripple your medal hopes so they can “rest up”, others won’t have groin problems (which wouldn’t have happened anyway with the notable sport cut out of this game)… basically what I said above and then some.
Heck, the game even lacks any personality when it comes to who is announcing the game!
I did like that there are several announcer pairs (English and European) doing the commentary, but for the English commentators I found a total lack of interest in the announcing they were doing! The two English announcers sound like they’re completely bored with their job no matter what your doing, even when your splaying yourself over a mountainside or something like that, you don’t seem to get much in the way of actual spirit or energy out of their commentary. Sure there is lots of interesting Olympics factoids in their commentary, sure, but since it’s delivered with all the energy of a Senate Subcommittee hearing (and by that I mean a boring Senate Subcommittee hearing) the factoids just come out as a poor attempt to dress up the lacking emotion of the commentary with some body and soul.
Also it bears to note that no matter how many times one of the commentators quotes Homer Simpson from time to time, belting out “D’oh” here and there whenever you screw up? That does nothing to instill anything remotely resembling “spirit” into this game.
Next up is the competitions left out of Torino 2006.
We have downhill skiing, ski jumping (but no aerials competition), the bobsled, the luge (no skeleton), biathlon (ski and shoot), nordic combined, speed skating and crosscountry. Also there is supposed to be snowboarding but if you look at the 15 events you don’t see snowboarding at all… what gives! Oh, and then there’s the obvious omission. Yeah, you might have noticed that something is missing here… noticed it yet? You have most certainly noticed a primary Winter Olympics genre missing!
And by that I don’t mean “curling”. You know, curling, the sport where guys shove gigantic stone “pucks” down the ice while they use the power of their brooms and yelling to make it go… lots and lots of yelling! People hollering like nobody‘s business yelling. I mean the omission of … no, not Hockey, there is more than enough hockey themed video games out there (ditto with soccer, basketball and baseball which I think was removed from the Summer Olympics)… I mean figure skating/ice dancing.
No pairs, no males, no females, no ice dancing with the ability to dress your female partners up in oh so cute little outfits… none of that. Now, you might ask, is that such a bad thing -- other than the fact it’d jack up the age rating to T for Teen since little boys shouldn’t be making cute girls skate… I think.
That, by the way, was such a major mistake I can’t tell you how much of a mistake it was! Whether you are a fan of figure skating or not you can’t dismiss it’s audience drawing power. It is, after all, one of the major target audience sells during the Winter Olympics that bring the crowds back again and again. Sure, you and I might not be the biggest fanatics of the sport of figure skating, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one of the big cash cows of the Winter Olympics, which it is.
Along with speed skating, hockey and a few other sports? Figure skating is one of the major draws of the Olympics of Winter, which means an omission of a Figure Skating mode in Torino 2006 was no doubt a severe tactical error that’ll haunt 2KSports, especially since it means 2KSports has effectively ignored a vital “target” audience that might have overlooked most of this game’s flaws in order to play the figure skating venue, but can‘t because it doesn‘t exist. Bad move, people, bad move.
Then there’s the lack of major interest in snowboarding. The game talks about it, and I’m sure it’s in there, but it’s not a prominent thing that‘s for sure which is another fatal flaw of the Torino 2006 games. It should have had a major spot on the lineup, complete with it’s own category… so what gives!
Also the game fails to take advantage of the 2006 Olympics’ newest event despite the fact that the Torino (Turin?) games premiered Snowboarding Cross! That is yet another reason why 2KSports should have kept their tights on and waited for the Olympics to play out so they could have added more snowboarding events including Snowboarding Cross! Definitely another bad dismount by the people at 2KSports!
Of course I bet there are other events not put in here, like short track and skeleton for instance, not to mention no figure skating slash ice dancing (d’oh, to paraphrase the bored sleepy announcers). No spirit, no soul, no… nothing. The games couldn’t be more of a turnoff even if it tried! If given the choice? I’d rather recommend the only seen in Japan PS2 game known as “Party Game“, the Japanese Olympics for Super Deformed animorphic athletes who do the Summer thing (with curling from the Winter Olympics added in) as well as sports not usually associated with the Olympics… but who cares! It looks like it’s way more fun than Torino 2006 and at least I’d rather you play that than this snoozer!
Yeah, the Olympics may come but once every four years but it seems as if the people at 2KSports doesn’t see it that way since they went out of their way to make a half (bleep) attempt at a game!
Then there’s the fact that the game promises to be easy to pick up, and easy to learn, which it is only half true. While, yes, you can pick the game up with little muss or fuss (‘cause it’s only a few ounces in weight) learning to play it fast is another matter entirely. Promises to make the gameplay easy to learn apparently is a lie, especially since you have to first read the “instructions” on each while practicing in a singles mode which is more “trial by error” learning than an actual tutorial that’ll teach you how to play this game! I don’t know what 2KSports concept of “easy to learn” is, but this isn’t it.
Higher, Faster, Stronger eh?
Thanks to 2KSports and the inattentive people at the IOC (who seem to miss a great deal, including how half(bleep) the recent hellspawn of Winter Olympics games is it should be changed. I like to call the Torino 2006 games Lamer, Clunkier, Sleepier… d’oh! Of course I heard the Summer stock of games do fare a little better than the Winter ones in terms of game content, but I suppose that is something only a real full out review of last Olympics Athems 2004 and this Beijing Olympics 2008 can answer... maybe... but for now this game gets it's athletes one dishonorable mention out of 5. Bad game! BAd! Bad game!
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