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-- 2008 Beijing Olympics!
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50 Most Beautiful Women of the Olympics
http://www.webtvhub.com/the-50-most...res-and-videos/
Guess who's #1? GO CANADA!
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| Originally posted by smuncky wow...amazing ceremony! i liked those moving squares performance the most. i can only imagine how hard that was to do. the drums at the beginning were also cool. btw, that scroll on the ground, was that made out of LEDs or something of that sort? because that thing was wicked. i also thought the torch lighting was very original as well. btw, those fireworks just made the air quality a lot worse lol. |
There's only one word to describe these opening ceremonies...
EPIC!!!
It was def one of the best productions I've ever seen....
And yah....HD was such a better way to watch...
I've got the pvr set to record all events...
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| Originally posted by Abercrombie 50 Most Beautiful Women of the Olympics http://www.webtvhub.com/the-50-most...res-and-videos/ Guess who's #1? GO CANADA! |
That scroll on the floor is the world's largest LED screen.
Did anyone else see the giant LED screen all the way around the stadium? Woah!
I just love how most of the performances were done with human power and not computers. 15,000 individual performers and they created a visual masterpiece!
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| Originally posted by exstasie That's great, and I completely understand your reasoning, but its a little late to boycott now. The reason is because the people that are being affected by the boycott are the athletes and the hard workers of China who have been working their ass off for the past few years trying to put to Olympics together (The non-politically affiliated Chinamons  )Maybe the Olympics should have never been in China in the first place, but that's over and done with and nothing that can be controlled now. It's all about supporting our athletes and standing by them while they try and prove that they are the best in world. Even though I don't necessarily agree that China has the best policies in the world, i'm watching the Olympics to support my country. If you don't want to support your country, then that's fine and maybe you don't have as much nationalistic pride as I do or others, but it's all about our athletes at this point. |
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| Originally posted by Cosmic Fur Yes, we're all going to run to CoR, find the thread, and then find your post so we can find out what your opinion is. |
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| Originally posted by KaiLee I just love how most of the performances were done with human power and not computers. 15,000 individual performers and they created a visual masterpiece! |
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| Originally posted by Dr. DAS You're welcome to go fuck yourself instead, if you like. |
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| Originally posted by Cosmic Fur Well it is China, lol. P.S. I agree with you. I think China is one of the worst countries in the world to have it in, based on how they behave on a global scale. They don't give a fuck about the environment, labour laws, human rights, ethical business practices, etc etc, and the Olympic committee decides to give them the games? Yeah, I'm sure no bribes were involved there. |
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Amnesty International Testimony Broken Promises: The 2008 Olympics and the Human Rights Situation in China Before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus United States Congress Presented by T. Kumar Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific Amnesty International USA July 22, 2008 Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Amnesty International is pleased to testify in this important hearing and we wish to express our appreciation for all the steps the Caucus has taken to highlight human rights in China before the Olympics. The efforts of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus stand in stark contrast to the tepid actions the Bush Administration has taken. It is important to compare the human rights promises given by the Chinese authorities when they were bidding for the Olympics with the human rights conditions today to determine whether the Chinese authorities have honored their promises. It is also equally important to ask whether the Bush Administration has taken appropriate steps to secure human rights improvements before the Olympics. Amnesty International has documented numerous human rights abuses committed by authorities in China that are being perpetrated because of the Olympics. There are pre-Olympics �clean-ups� resulting in several �Olympics prisoners.� There are also secret detention centers and Chinese activists are barred from talking to foreigners. We are also concerned about the rights of foreigners who will be going to Beijing to attend the Olympics. Human rights in China before the Olympics was awarded: The scale of China�s human rights violations is staggering. A quarter of a million people are langushing in labor camps, imprisoned under the �re-education through labor� detention system, where they are detained without charge or trial at the whim of local police and other officials. China accounts for upwards of eighty percent of all executions documented in the world. China also executes political prisoners. Torture by law enforcement personnel is endemic resulting in many prisoner deaths while in custody. Thousands suffer brutal religious presecution and political repression. Religious persecution has led to the detention and repression of thousands of Christians, Tibetan Budhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners. Other targets of repression include political dissidents, trade union organizers, advocates of reform, and people using the internet to disseminate information deemed to be �politically sensitive.� North Korean asylum seekers face intense repression and large scale forcible repatriation to North Korea. Women are still compelled to undergo forced abortion and sterilization to enforce the one-child policy. The government regularly denies the right to freedom of conscience, expression, religion and association. Promises made by Chinese authorities to improve human rights if Beijing is awarded the Olympics: Authorities in China made several promises to improve human rights: 1) Secretary General of Beijing�s Olympics bid Committee, Wang Wei (July 2001): �We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China.� �We are confident that the Games coming to China not only promotes our economy but also enhances all social conditions, includig education, health and human rights.� 2) Vice President of Beijing bid committee, Liu Jingmin. (April 2001): �By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of human rights.� 3) Mayor of Beijing Liu Qi: �By hosting the games, social progress and economic development in China would move forward, as would China�s human rights situation.� Human rights in China since the awarding of the Olympics: The human rights situation in China has continued to deteriorate since the Olympics was awarded to Beijing in 2001. The crackdown on journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders has intensified since Beijing won the Olympics bid. Due to these crackdowns we see a new category of abused �Olympics prisoners� who would not have been in prison if not for the Olympics. The authorities have stepped up repression of dissent voices in their efforts to present an image of �stability� and �harmony� to the outside world, which includes human rights violations perpetrated in preparation for the Games. Two recent crisis situations in west China have challenged the authorities to demonstrate that their human rights commitments are more than empty words. The recent protests in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of surrounding provinces and the subsequent crackdown and media silence imposed by authorities highlighted not only longstanding and unresolved violations of fundamental human rights but also the on-going censorship of the media. In contrast, the authorities initially responded to the effects of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province with uncharacteristic openness, allowing relatively free media access to the region. However media control tightened as local families began public protests calling for accountability of local officials, especially with regard to the collapse of schools which were allegedly poorly constructed. Secret detention centers In September 2007, reports emerged of secret detention centers established on the outskirts of the capital by Beijing liaison offices of provincial governments in China to detain petitioners before they could be forcefully returned to their hometowns. Petitioners were crowded into these facilities with poor food and no proper sanitation facilities or health care. Some sources also reported that guards often beat detainees. Activists barred from leaving or talking to foreigners At the end of June 2008, Shanghai police sent notices to activists and petitioners based in the city ordering them to report to the police every week. Some were briefly detained by the police. The new rules barred them from leaving the city without permission and warned them against speaking to foreigners or visiting Beijing until after the Olympics. Labor Camps (Re-education through labor): The Chinese authorities continue to rely on abusive systems of punitive administrative detention against a variety of �offenders� including, in many cases peaceful petitioners and human rights activists. The police enjoy unchecked authority to impose such punishments without charge, trial or judicial review. Far from acting as a catalyst for reform, the authorities have used Beijing�s hosting of the Olympics as a pretext for extending the use of punitive administrative detention, like �re-education through labor.� The police have specifically targeted petitioners and rights activists in their efforts to �clean up� Beijing ahead of the games. On May 8, 2008, the Beijing city authorities decided that �Re-education through labor� would be used as a way to control various types of �offending behavior� to clean up the city�s image in the run-up to the Olympics. This would include serious cases of �unlawful advertising or leafleting, unlicensed taxis, unlicensed businesses, vagrancy and begging.� Plight of Chinese activists Many human rights defenders continue to be detained, prosecuted and imprisoned as prisoners of conscience after politically motivated trials, while others are being held under �house arrest� as prisoners in their own homes. As the Olympics approach, human rights defenders who attempt to report on violations, challenge policies which are deemed politically sensitive, or try to rally others to their cause face a series risk of abuse. Those who have made connections between human rights and the Olympics have been specifically targeted in the pre-Olympics �clean up.� The police have also used surveillance and arbitrary detention against members of activists� families, in an apparent attempt to apply more pressure. The authorities continue to use provisions of the Criminal Law as political tools to suppress dissent. Broadly defined categories of crimes, such as �separatism�, �subversion�, �disturbing public order�, endangering state security�, and �leaking state secrets� continue to be used to prosecute those engaged in legitimate and peaceful human rights activities. Plight of Chinese Lawyers Many of those persecuted in the run up to the Olympics are lawyers and legal advisors who play a crucial role in securing the rule of law and the protection of human rights in any society. The vulnerability of Chinese lawyers was underscored in May 2008 when the authorities refused to renew the law licenses of Beijing � based lawyers Teng Biao and Jiang Tianyong. Both had signed their names to an open letter by 18 lawyers on April 3, 2008 offering free legal counsel to Tibetans arrested in connection with the recent crackdown. According to one of those arrested lawyers, Chinese authorities warned the lawyers and their law firms not to get involved in Tibetan issues. Jiang Tianyong�s law license was eventually renewed at the end of June, but Teng Biao�s has not yet been renewed. Media and Internet freedom In view of current patterns of media censorship and control in China, concerns remain that the authorities may seek to block broadcasting of any items deemed �sensitive� or �inappropriate� during the Olympic Games. Despite the introduction of new media regulations increasing the freedom of foreign reporters to cover news stories in China, overseas journalists continue to report being obstructed or hampered from conducting interviews. The Foreign Correspondence Club of China documented approximately 180 incidents in 2007. By July 2008, this had increased to 230, including over 40 cases after the unrest in Tibet in March and more than 12 after the Sichuan earthquake in May. Plight of Chinese journalists: Chinese journalists continue to operate in a climate of official censorship and control, with many still languishing in jail for reporting on issues deemed politically sensitive. Internet controls have been increasingly tightened as the Olympics approach with control, regulation and censorship extending to various categories of internet users, including Internet Service Providers, bloggers and website owners. Numerous websites have been closed down for providing information deemed sensitive by the authorities. Internet users who post such information risk detention, prosecution, and imprisonment. Foreign Olympics visitors � rights restricted? On June 2, 2008 the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) published guidelines which risk violating the rights to freedom of expression and association of foreigners intending to visit China to attend the Olympics, including athletes, officials and other visitors. The regulations state that foreigners must not �endanger state security, harm the rights and interests of society or disrupt social stability.� Foreign visitors are also prohibited from committing acts of �subversion� or other activities deemed to �endanger the national interest.� They are also warned not to bring into China any materials (including printed mater, DVDs, etc) which �harm China�s politics, economy, culture or morals� or to take any materials out of China whose contents �involve state secrets.� The guidelines also state that entry to China will be denied to anyone �considered likely to engage in activities which endanger state security and the national interest.� The wording of such provisions parallels the vague and broad wording of state security offences in the Chinese Criminal Law which have long been used by the authorities to prosecute and imprison peaceful Chinese activists and prisoners of conscience in violation of their rights to freedom of expression. The regulations also prohibit foreign visitors from displaying any �slogans�, banners or other materials of a religious, political or racial nature� in Olympic facilities. This appears to be based on Rule 51.3 of the Olympics Charter which bans �demonstrations or political, religious or racial propaganda in Olympic sites, venues or other areas.� However BOCOG�s guidelines contain an additional, broader prohibition on �the display of insulting slogans, banners or other materials to sporting venues.� No definition is given to the word �insulting� but current practice suggests that it will be interpreted broadly to include anything which authorities deemed to be offensive. The guidelines provide examples of �socially disruptive behavior� prohibited during �large scale public activities of a cultural or sporting nature.� The list includes �displaying insulting slogans, banners or other materials� as well as a catch-all category: �other behavior which disturbs the order of large-scale public activities.� In view of this vague, sweeping wording, Amnesty International fears that the Chinese authorities will use these guidelines as a tool to curtail rights to freedom of expression of athletes, officials and other foreign visitors to China at the time of the Olympics. Anyone bringing in materials, or staging peaceful activities, which are critical of the Chinese authorities risks being targeted. President Bush and the Olympics: There are only a little over two weeks left until the Olympic Games begin in Beijing on August 8, 2008. President Bush will be attending the opening ceremony and Secretary Rice will attend the closing ceremony. Their attendence shows the importance the Bush Administration is giving to the Beijing Olympics. We are concerned that the importance given by the Administration to the Olympic Games is not matched by the attention given to human rights abuses in China. Amnesty International believes that the Bush Administration should have done more to improve human rights in China before the start of Olympics. As noted above, the human rights situation has worsened because of the Olympics and the Administration has not been forceful in addressing the situation. There is still time for the Bush Administration to act. Amnesty International would like to recommend the following to President Bush to bring attention to human rights abuses in China even at this late stage. Before President Bush leaves for the Olympics: 1) President Bush should meet with the released political prisoners from China who are residing in the United States before he leaves for the Olympics. There are several Tibetan, Uighur, and other former prisoners in the US. 2) President Bush should make a strong public statement about human rights abuses in China and demand improvements. 3) President Bush should urge the Chinese Government to release some political prisoners and give commitments on the abolishment of labor camps (�Re-Education through labor detention system�) as a sign of good will before he arrives to attend the Olympic Games. While President Bush is in Beijing for the Olympics: 1) President Bush should make a strong public statement on human rights and consider speaking at a University or other public places. 2) President Bush should meet with the foreign correspondents based in Beijing to discuss press freedom. After President Bush returns from the Olympics: President Bush should make a statement about human rights concerns in China and outline steps his administration has taken and will take to end the abuses. Thank you for inviting Amnesty International. T. Kumar Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific Amnesty International USA Phone: (202)544-0200, ext: 224 Email: [email protected] |
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| Originally posted by dEsidEL |
Men's USA Olympic Basketball Team
Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Chris Bosh
Kobe Bryant
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Jason Kidd
Chris Paul
Tayshaun Prince
Michael Redd
Dwyane Wade
Deron Williams
aahhah fukkkkkkkkk
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| Originally posted by jon jon Men's USA Olympic Basketball Team Carmelo Anthony Carlos Boozer Chris Bosh Kobe Bryant Dwight Howard LeBron James Jason Kidd Chris Paul Tayshaun Prince Michael Redd Dwyane Wade Deron Williams aahhah fukkkkkkkkk |
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| Originally posted by dEsidEL |
I think Canada will get 11 medals....max....i wouldn't be surprised if Canada only get 2 or 3 medals.
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| Originally posted by dEsidEL |
holy shit best opening ceremony in the history of the Olympics. glow in the dark drumsticks with 10,000 drummers FTMFW.
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| One American dead; assailant commits suicide Olympic stain: Beijing stabbing victims related to former BYU volleyball coach By Michael C. Lewis The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 08/09/2008 12:40:37 PM MDT Related oly slaying Aug 9: Kragthorpe: Act of violence mars China's Olympic image, brings tears in ProvoU.S. women in hard-fought volleyball win over JapanUpdated: 9:09 AM- BEIJING - The father-in-law of former Brigham Young men's volleyball player and coach Hugh McCutcheon was stabbed to death Saturday in a shocking attack at an ancient tower near downtown, officials said, casting a sudden pall over the Beijing Olympics only a day after they began. The attack on Todd Bachman and his wife Barbara -- the parents of McCutcheon's wife, 2004 Olympian Elisabeth Bachman-McCutcheon, who was with them at the time -- occurred just as Hugh McCutcheon was preparing to lead the U.S. men's team, featuring former Cougars Ryan Millar of Highland and Rich Lambourne, into its first match of the Olympics against Venezuela and current Cougar Joel Silva on Sunday. McCutcheon is the team's head coach. Officials said a lone Chinese attacker wielding a knife attacked the Bachmans and their Chinese tour guide around noon at the Drum Tower in central Beijing, killing Todd Bachman and seriously injuring Barbara Bachman and their guide before jumping from the tower to his own death. The U.S. Olympic Committee said Barbara Bachman is being treated for life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, but that Elisabeth Bachman-McCutcheon was not injured. The official state news agency Xinhua identified the attacker at 47-year-old Tang Yongming, from the city of Hangzhou in southeastern China. The motive of the attack remains a mystery. "It is impossible to describe the depth of our sadness and shock in this tragic hour," U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said. "Our delegation comes to the Games as a family, and when one member of our family suffers a loss, we all grieve with them. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the Bachman and McCutcheon families." USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said he did not know whether McCutcheon will continue to coach the team, or if there has been any consideration given to postponing or cancelling the match against Venezuela. Seibel said the team was informed of the incident Saturday night, and its response was "as you would expect." "It's an awful thing," Seibel said. "A terrible tragedy." The 38-year-old McCutcheon played for the Cougars from 1991-93, and later returned as an assistant coach and top recruiter for head coach Carl McGown, who led the Cougars to national championships in 1999 and 2001. He has been the head coach of the national team since 2005, and McGown is now a team scout who's with the team in Beijing. Word spread quickly after the attack, surprising many who have observed the massive security build-up for the Olympics. Organizers and government officials here have sought to portray China as a safe nation welcoming of foreign visitors, and the country is known as typically free from attacks on tourists. "To tell you the truth, this is really a shock because there's so much security here," Annette Busateri, a 31-year-old communications manager from Salt Lake City told The New York Times. "We were told that even at the public markets, there was a lot of security in plainclothes. There are guards everywhere and cameras. So I'm not sure how something like this could happen." |
this olympics is going to be a shitshow
I predict Michael Phelps wins more medals then canada
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| Originally posted by ChemEnhanced I predict Michael Phelps wins more medals then canada |
For those of you who thought the air quality would hinder athletes performances. Yes it's an indoor event but they still breathe outside!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/oly...ing/7552038.stm
American swimmer Michael Phelps stormed to victory in the Olympic 400m individual medley, and broke his own world record in the process.
W00t w00t! I was rooting for Phelps
Actual news headline:
Canadian Poon has Chicken Pox
US Men's take home the gold in the 4 X 100 m relay! Second one for Phelps
The US Vs. China basketball game was good as well!
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| Originally posted by KaiLee US Men's take home the gold in the 4 X 100 m relay! Second one for Phelps |
hahaha the French will never beat us!! talk some more shit, FOOLS!!! 
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| Originally posted by yankeeBaby hahaha the French will never beat us!! talk some more shit, FOOLS!!! |
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