I’ve found the 2008 Beijing Olympics quite amusing. Everyone’s absolutely determined to turn it into a political arena, like former Olympian Joey Cheek who got thrown out of a Chinese visa because he wanted to rally up athletes to help the people in Darfur (See Time magazine news, Wed. Aug. 6, 2008, ‘China To Athlete Activist: Stay Out!’). And then President Bush, our nation’s beloved leader (Insert heavy sarcasm here), announced that he will not boycott the Olympic opening ceremony this year to raise awareness about China’s human rights violations.
And you know what? I think Bush has finally done something right this time. Gasp, gasp.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got very little Chinese pride left, especially since the government is so screwed up. But if people hadn’t noticed, the Olympics is a place where athletes from around the world get together to compete in sports, not where the entire western media relocates and pounces on stuff like Chinese border attacks:
“Chinese Border Attack Kills 16″ By SIMON ELEGANT / BEIJING
… Given that the entire province was under virtual lockdown, the scale and ferocity of an August 4 attack on police in the city of Kashgar that left at least 16 soldiers dead and an equal number wounded was particularly shocking. The incident will undoubtedly cast a pall over the beginning of the Games and has also underlined fears of further such events aimed at exploiting the media spotlight currently focused on China.
Or this picture of a Chinese Tibet activist:
Photo courtesy of www.time.com
or whatever. One of the people at the lab I’m volunteering at, Dr. Tsibris, also argued in favor of the Chinese. He reasoned that the government spent millions of dollars (Or billions of yuan, probably) beautifying Beijing and the one billion people that live in China want to show how proud they are of their country, yet all the media focuses on is humanitarian athletes or these stupid ‘Free Tibet’ protests.
(I’m not saying that the protests are stupid. I’m just saying that the timing and location of these protests make them unnecessary. I’m aware that China did illegally annexed Tibet back in the 1950s or the 60s, and the government does need to clean that mess up before those Dalai Lama monks tear up another city.)
Do you know what the original incentive for Olympians was? Wreaths. Yes, little twigs of leaves wrapped around their heads. I think we should go back to that time. This whole “gold medal honor” business is taking on a whole new meaning. No, I can’t just win a gold medal and be proud of it. I have to save hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees first, then free the Chinese Falun Gong from detention/torture camps before I can show my face in the Olympics again. Forget athletic competition, which is WHAT THE OLYMPICS WERE ORGINALLY HELD FOR, I must be the perfect humanitarian and bring about awareness to all these other people who just want to escape the miseries of the world and see the freakin’ Olympics.
Which is nice, but don’t you think athletes should use their influence at another time and place?
And okay, half of Beijing’s inhabitants can’t wait until the Olympics are over, because it’s closing down their street shops and wrecking their homes, and the migrant workers that came to build the arenas have to leave even though they want to stay and see the Olympics. But the rest of China is pretty stoked. Besides those people in Sichuan that’re still feeling the effects of that earthquake.
But I must admit, these reports do entertain me while I’m at the lab doing nothing.
As for the 2008 election (Wow, what a year), I can honestly say that I’m not enthusiastic. McCain does seem like an extension of Bush’s presidency, which we DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT want. I don’t know about Obama, but there’s been some pretty interesting things going on with him, besides his European tour (Which I give a semi-thumbs up for because now we’ve got a presidential candidate that actually wants to BE FRIENDS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES! GASP GASP!).
Like McCain’s claim that Obama can be compared to Paris Hilton. That was hilarious.
“McCain’s Anti-celebrity Story Line” by MICHAEL SCHERER / WASHINGTON
Thursday, Jul. 31, 2008
The McCain campaign, under the direction of its new leader, Steve Schmidt, has settled on a story line that could last through the election. It is, at root, an experience argument, adjusted to undercut the enormous enthusiasm that Obama generates. It can be seen in the recent McCain campaign ad that compares Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, or the recent Republican Party ad that compares Obama to David Hasselhoff. It can be seen in the recent self-deprecating distribution of “junior varsity” press passes for reporters on the McCain campaign and in the daily discussion of Obama as “The One” by McCain aides.
It is an argument that amounts to this: Barack Obama is a huge phenomenon, but he does not have the experience, or the judgment, to lead the country. In fact, he is just another politician, an empty suit, who will do whatever he needs, and make as many vague but eloquent speeches as he has to, to get elected. John McCain, on the other hand, is a proven, principled leader you already know.
Which Paris countered with a commercial of her own. And contrary to her reputation, her response pointed out just how stupid that was for McCain’s campaign. Seriously, how did he suddenly make the connection between Obama and celebrities? What did he mean to accomplish? Sounds like he’s getting a little desperate.
And the tire gauge thing Obama did was genius.
“The Tire-Gauge Solution: No Joke” By MICHAEL GRUNWALD
Monday, Aug. 04, 2008
How out of touch is Barack Obama? He’s so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled “Barack Obama’s Energy Plan” to Washington reporters.
But who’s really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.
I’m starting to like Obama a lot more. Muahahaha. Maybe the Democrats won’t be doomed this year (And possibly the next four years, if everything goes their way). Obama’s heading the polls right now, but only by a narrow margin. If McCain wants to win the race, then he’d better stop flubbing with celebrities and handing out Obama tire gauges.
Me? I don’t have a certain party I belong to, but I do find myself preferring Democrats over Republicans.
Olympic soccer game today. Brazil vs. Belgium. Brazil won, of course, but only with one goal. That’s kinda sad for Brazil, since they won the World Cup like, what, fifty times? Okay, they finished in the top eight last year, but still.
Haha! I can’t believe the US won against Japan. They’ve been in a bit of a soccer stupor for awhile, no? ‘Bout time they got back on track. Go Team USA!
Opening ceremony tomorrow! Too bad I’ll miss part of it because of my volunteering. But the scientist I’m volunteering for has an Olympic channel on his laptop, so I ca watch it during the hours and hours of nothingness we do in between experiments. Whee!
And the Chinese will finally have something to be satisfied with, too. It’s crazy over there, what with depriving Beijingers with more than half of their motor vehicles and ‘green’ing the entire place with energy-efficient appliances and closing down all of the construction sites to reduce air pollution. About time, too. I don’t remember ever seeing blue skies in Beijing whenever I visited the city for summer vacation. Blue skies are very cool. China should have more of them.
All articles and photos in this entry come from Time.com. Shut up, I’ll get more sources soon.
