August 9, 200816 yr What I found absolutely hilarious was the news that Robert Mugabe was banned from attending the Olympics.... ...Yeah, cos THAT aint a case of the pot calling the kettle black or anything.... :lol: As nasty a piece of work as Mugabe is, his human rights abuses aint even on the same scale as China's.... It's a bit like Hitler banning Franco or Mussolini from attending Berlin '36 for being a bit "out of order" tbh..... I'm totally with TiP on this, these Games are a fukkin' disgrace..... And, sorry Craig, but you simply CANNOT divorce politics from sport when it comes to these Olympics anymore than you can take stink out of dog-sh!t..... <_< Well you don't seem very inclined to take the politics away from the olympics anyway. Not that the politics of it don't matter. I don't see why the games are a complete "disgrace", as you put it either. Sure, the host country might have a dodgy history but it doesn't mean that the olympics are a disgrace, i mean China doesn't exactly "own" the olympics for 4 years, if you get what i mean.
August 9, 200816 yr Am i the only one who find the opening cermony boring? Yes, you are. And London's so f***ed in 2012 - it's gonna be incredibly difficult to better that.
August 9, 200816 yr Yes, you are. And London's so f***ed in 2012 - it's gonna be incredibly difficult to better that. I have high expectations actually. I think Britain can pull it off, espescially with that enormous budget.
August 9, 200816 yr Budget? They're already WAYYY overbudget. :lol: Like Grimly said, it'll be my Great Great Great Great Great Grandsons/Granddaughters who'll be still paying for it in the near future.
August 9, 200816 yr I've enjoyed watching it today. I watched for about 4 hours this morning and never got bored. Judo, Road Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing, Swimming, Weightliting, Shooting, Sailing. All good. Not a particularly good day for the British team though we have fairly decent in the rowing, sailing and as good as can be expected in the swimming. Hannah Miley, who was 19 yesterday and is probably our best prospect in the pool, reached the final of the 400m Individual Medley though to even stand a chance of winning a medal she's have to beat her own European record. We didnt win a Gold until day 5 in Athens though, we'll definitley get stronger as it goes on. Here are the medals won today! Cycling (1) Men's road race final: Gold Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Silver David Rebellin (Fra) Bronze Fabian Cancellara (Swi) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fencing (1) Women's final: Gold Mariel Zagunis (US) Silver Sada Jacobson (US) Bronze Becca Ward (US) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Judo (2) Men's 60kg final: Gold Choi Min-ho (Kor) Silver Ludwig Paischer (Aut) Bronze Ruben Houkes (Ned) Bronze Rishod Sobirov (Uzb) Women's 48kg final: Gold Alina Alexandra (Rom) Silver Yanet Bermoy (Cub) Bronze Paula Belen Pareto (Arg) Bronze Ryoko Tani (Jpn) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shooting (2) Women's 10m air rifle 3 positions final: Gold Katerina Emmons (Cze) Silver Lioubov Galkina (Rus) Bronze Snjezana Pejcic (Cro) Men's 10m air pistol final: Gold Pang Wei (Chn) Silver Jin Jong Oh (Kor) Bronze Kim Jong Su (Prk) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weightlifting (1) Women's 48kg group A final: Gold Chen Xiexia (Chn) Silver Sibel Ozkan (Tur) Bronze Chen Wei-Ling (Tpe) Medals Table: 1 China 2 0 0 2 2 USA 1 1 1 3 3 South Korea 1 1 0 2 4 Czech Republic 1 0 0 1 5 Romania 1 0 0 1 6 Spain 1 0 0 1 7 Austria 0 1 0 1 8 Cuba 0 1 0 1 9 Italy 0 1 0 1 10 Russia 0 1 0 1 11 Turkey 0 1 0 1 12 Argentina 0 0 1 1 13 Chinese Taipei 0 0 1 1 14 Croatia 0 0 1 1 15 Dem P Rep Korea 0 0 1 1 16 Japan 0 0 1 1 17 Netherlands 0 0 1 1 18 Switzerland 0 0 1 1 19 Uzbekistan 0 0 1 1
August 9, 200816 yr I think UK will get the medals in the Track & Field Games, but I'm not holding much hope for us.
August 9, 200816 yr We'll get hardly anything from Track & Field!! Our main hopes of decent medal hauls will be from the cycling and then boxing and rowing.
August 9, 200816 yr I've never heard such a negative take on the Olympics. :mellow: Personally, I thought the opening ceremony was AMAZING. Though I did find it kind of amusing that Bush sat around with his legs spread, looking like he was going to fall asleep and glancing at his watch every few minutes. Until, of course, our team came out and he replaced his jacket and waved at everyone. Also, the story about the kid who escaped the rubble and rescued two classmates was a tearjerker. Youngs and Branagh were doing terribly against the Dutch today, omg. How many match points did it take them to finally win? Like eight? :rolleyes: And weren't the Dutch lowest-ranked, too? I was glad to see three Americans win for fencing, though, that was great. Well, broadcast starts again for the east coast in about half an hour, so I suppose I'll have more to say later.
August 10, 200816 yr Oh YAY Michael Phelps for the win! Also, though I don't have any reason to pull for Korea, I'm glad Park won. It's good he got to make up for falling in and getting disqualified last time. :rolleyes: Dara Torres is amazing. Too bad about that one guy who sat down in the middle of his routine. And the girl who won third in fencing, Rebecca Ward or whoever, is going to school near me :P
August 10, 200816 yr Well you don't seem very inclined to take the politics away from the olympics anyway. Not that the politics of it don't matter. I don't see why the games are a complete "disgrace", as you put it either. Sure, the host country might have a dodgy history but it doesn't mean that the olympics are a disgrace, i mean China doesn't exactly "own" the olympics for 4 years, if you get what i mean. You dont get it do you...? I TOTALLY believe in the ideas behind the Olympics (as I suspect does Richard), which is why I am utterly disgusted at China being given the games... ALL of their actions as a political system act in total opposition to the Olympic Spirit and ethos...... They are as bad as 1930s Germany, and in some ways WORSE...... I suppose you would just happily trot along to Berlin if you'd been around in 1936 would you....? The decision to give Beijing the games was completely political in its nature, it's widely acknowledged that Toronto and Paris put in better bids, so you tell me that that this decision by the IOC was anything other than political and I'll laugh.... There is absolutely NOTHING to be positive about concerning China having these games....
August 10, 200816 yr I've never heard such a negative take on the Olympics. :mellow: What the fukk is there to be positive about.....? These "games" are all for the promotion of the China Plc Brand Name and all the pathetic apologists for the Chinese regime from within yours and my Govt are all out there having a nice little jolly at the taxpayer's expense..... And all the athletes are being used as political pawns by the Chinese Govt..... Witness the "gentle persuasion" (ie, Political pressure) put by the Chinese authorities on our own sporting bodies and Govts to prevent sportsmen and women saying anything negative in the press about the Chinese authorities... British athletes were more or less threatened with censure and disciplinary actions which included possible expulsion from the games if they did any interviews to the press which expressed negative opinions about China over the Tibet issue in particular..... Oh, and there's the "minor" detail of Foreign journalists having their internet access restricted also.....
August 10, 200816 yr If you forget that the games are actually being held by China (<_<), and see them as the games, then naturally it's really good to watch! Especially Billy Joe Saunders, his performance was pretty impressive I thought!
August 10, 200816 yr If you forget that the games are actually being held by China (<_<), and see them as the games, then naturally it's really good to watch! Especially Billy Joe Saunders, his performance was pretty impressive I thought! But some of us cannot and will not. I've always enjoyed & looked forward to the Olympic Games, but I refuse to watch any coverage of this Games, because I like Grimly and many other people including the French PM, believe that by watching and enjoying the Games then you are showing support for a country that is authoritarian, communist, and socialist, with heavy restrictions remaining in many areas, most notably in the Internet and in the press, freedom of assembly, reproductive rights, and freedom of religion.. Whilst the population of China has doubled in the last 40 years, the population of Tibet has dropped by 60% due to their genocidal occupation of this once proud nation. PS. Well done to Nicole Cooke winning gold for Great Britain in the women's road race. The UK's 200th Gold medal in Olympics history & first Welsh national gold medal winner since 1972.
August 10, 200816 yr You dont get it do you...? I TOTALLY believe in the ideas behind the Olympics (as I suspect does Richard), which is why I am utterly disgusted at China being given the games... ALL of their actions as a political system act in total opposition to the Olympic Spirit and ethos...... They are as bad as 1930s Germany, and in some ways WORSE...... I suppose you would just happily trot along to Berlin if you'd been around in 1936 would you....? The decision to give Beijing the games was completely political in its nature, it's widely acknowledged that Toronto and Paris put in better bids, so you tell me that that this decision by the IOC was anything other than political and I'll laugh.... There is absolutely NOTHING to be positive about concerning China having these games.... OK Canada and France may have had better bids, i never said they had worse bids than China. And i don't know why you're ranting at me either; i agree with you that some of their actions are against the olympic ethos. I was just trying to say that just because the olympics are hosted in China it doesn't mean that its all about China. Also i reckon when Berlin were awarded the games they didn't have a Nazi goverment, which only came to power in 1933, and was fairly "sudden" imo. If you forget that the games are actually being held by China (<_<), and see them as the games, then naturally it's really good to watch! I agree completely with you. From a sport point of view, the same things would probably happen in a different country, apart from the host nation getting a few less medals etc. And its great for Nicole Cooke getting the first gold, well done to her :D .
August 10, 200816 yr But some of us cannot and will not. I've always enjoyed & looked forward to the Olympic Games, but I refuse to watch any coverage of this Games, because I like Grimly and many other people including the French PM, believe that by watching and enjoying the Games then you are showing support for a country that is authoritarian, communist, and socialist, with heavy restrictions remaining in many areas, most notably in the Internet and in the press, freedom of assembly, reproductive rights, and freedom of religion.. Whilst the population of China has doubled in the last 40 years, the population of Tibet has dropped by 60% due to their genocidal occupation of this once proud nation. PS. Well done to Nicole Cooke winning gold for Great Britain in the women's road race. The UK's 200th Gold medal in Olympics history & first Welsh national gold medal winner since 1972. Spot on Richard, obviously it's good to hear of our Athletes doing well, and I hope their success continues, and I certainly place absolutely no blame on them for not speaking out against China over the Tibet issue, (as they were put in an impossible position by our own Govt and sporting bodies, basically, "criticise China or make 'trouble' for us in the media with London 2012 coming up in four years, and you're off the team..." Democracy, innit grand.....? :rolleyes: I simply cannot bring myself to watch this event knowing that many of the athletes taking part are under this sort of political duress and pressure and have been all-but denied their democratic voice by a ruthless, murderous, totalitarian regime that WE (ie, our Govt...) seem to be apologists for.... You'd may as well have the fukkin' games in Saddam's Iraq, Ahmadinejad's Iran or Mugabe's Zimbabwe as far as I'm concerned...... <_<
August 10, 200816 yr Read this article today about the Olympics, and it says some of the things being stated here. Go on, admit it. Beijing is boring. Call off 2012 Well, the Chinese can certainly put on a do. At the Olympics opening ceremony, fireworks were blasting about, hither and thither, like some celestial Jean Michel Jarre concert. And did you see that bit where the Olympic logo was hoisted in the air like five giant shimmering Polo mints? Impressive stuff. And all the time. I was thinking: is it too late for us to get out of hosting this borathon in 2012? Is it my imagination or, with the Chinese Olympics barely begun, is everyone already either bored stiff or openly hostile? Every report is about the smog, heat, commercialisation, dope tests, blah. And that's not even starting on the human rights issues; so bad even President Bush feels entitled to have a go. Then there's the great unmentionable - the fact that, whoever the host nation is, the Olympics are always (whisper it) knuckle-chewingly tedious. I keep reading that, this year, there is an estimated global audience of three billion, but who are these people? I don't think I've ever met a person who genuinely cares. Nor can I recall popping around to someone's house, and being told: 'Ssh, damn you - the Olympics are on.' Indeed, no offence to 'Team GB', but does anyone care about discus throwing, swimming, or fencing? Leastways in the relationship-ending way they care when you start up the vacuum cleaner during a penalty shoot out. Though there are exceptions. When Frankie Gavin, the boxer came home in tears for failing to lose a few pounds to reach his target weight, there couldn't have been a woman in Britain who didn't feel his pain. The occasional Olympic event or personality might have caught the public imagination over the years (Daley, Kelly, the rowing champs, Eddie the Eagle). But on the whole, the Olympics are akin to a giant internationally sanctioned parents' race on school sports day, and who wants to watch that? Indeed, the Olympics has to be most boring, sprawling, least loved, most over-produced and expensive sporting tournament ever. And in 2012 it's all ours. It doesn't bode well. People are already complaining about the millions it cost to join the Chinese Olympics. Can you imagine the whingeing when we host the thing? By 2012, the Olympics will have been damned as a 'national folly', like the Millennium Dome, only with javelins. Everywhere, people will be moaning that they never wanted them in the first place. And while much has been made of the Chinese public being ordered to view their Olympics as the 'pivotal moment of their generation', I can't imagine them pulling that off here. Refuseniks and curmudgeons that we are, the British Olympics probably won't even rate as the pivotal moment of the fortnight. That's if we are even ready in time. In place of trillion-dollar opening night firework displays and giant shimmering hoops, one can just imagine the 2012 British version: officials charging around, tipping crisps into bowls at the last minute, giving foreign dignitaries sparklers to write their name in the air. Andy Burnham, or his equivalent, standing in the stadium, watched by billions around the world, red-faced, shouting: 'Someone must know where we put the catherine wheels!' :lol: And even if it isn't as bad as that, if our opening ceremony isn't like Abigail's Party with neon, if we do end up with bronze for curling, who can seriously be bothered? Rather than hosting the Olympics I'm sure, like me, the majority of Britons would prefer to do something more rewarding and enjoyable - such as feeding our arms into a giant meat grinder? Indeed, with only four years to go, we should start backing out now, using methods subtle and perhaps not so subtle. It could be like when you've had a couple too many in the pub and start agreeing to horrible hiking holidays with friends, and the next morning you have to ring and say: 'Oh sorry, I just checked the dates, and I can't make it after all. Shame that.' Alternatively, there is still time to offload it onto another country, the same way people in offices always try to get others to do boring tasks under the guise of: 'It's such a great opportunity, but I'm snowed under - do you want to do it? It will get you noticed by the people that matter.' But of course we won't do anything of the sort. The British Olympics of 2012 will happen, and we'll only have ourselves to blame for a daily helping of Sebastian Coe looking insufferably 'busy and important'. Just don't pretend you haven't been warned. Source: The Observer
August 10, 200816 yr Author It's a bit ignorant to say people don't care... yeah, some of the sports aren't very well know (like the examples given) and yes not a lot of people care, but people do. And if we won a Gold medal in the fencing, all the media would have a field day with it. Things rarely catch the public imagination nowadays tbh... or when they do it's when we're really successful, and then after the few weeks after all the hype has died down, it seems the public don't care again until we win, or come close (Rugby Union World Cup and 2005 Ashes seem to spring to mind). The basketball was immense today... such a good game between China and the USA. I thought China were gonna give the USA a run for their money at the beginning, but the USA were way too strong for them in the end.
August 10, 200816 yr Hideous article. The Olympics are a great sporting event, so what people don't usually care about fencing, people don't watch it because it's fencing, they watch it because it's the Olympics. And urely if few people care about something, it'd mak about 95% of TV completely pointless, afterall the vast majority don't wtach them... They're on every four years for a fortnight, anyone would think the way some people moan they're about as regular as the FA Cup. Oh and a mention of curling in an article about the summer Olympics? Was this 'journalist' stolen from NOTW?! I'm also surprised that some people (mainly F1 fans) haven't been in here moaning that the coverage has favoured the British competitiors.... :rolleyes: Edited August 10, 200816 yr by RabbitFurCoat
August 11, 200816 yr If you forget that the games are actually being held by China (<_<), and see them as the games, then naturally it's really good to watch! *applause* After all, that WAS kind of the point, wasn't it? :rolleyes: I'm not going to bother with the political c**p, because I'm not watching this to support China, I'm watching this to support the American teams. The women's gymnastics is always my favorite part to watch; I lovee Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin! I can't believe we had two girls out of the floor competition for injuries, that was awful - especially since Bridget Sloan and Alicia Sacramone both went out of bounds. But I thought we did very well on the balance beam, and good enough on the uneven bars. Basketball earlier was amazing, that's all I can say :cheer:
August 11, 200816 yr Amazing, another gold and a bronze for GB in the same event in.... swimming!!! :o Well done to them :w00t: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/s...ing/7553179.stm Here's the article and video, even if you know the end result, its amazing to watch :P And that article is just awful and just more typical pessimism from British newspapers.
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