OLYMPIX

I have no idea where these photos are aggregated from but despite a striking number of butt-shots (and really unnecessary number of beach volleyball cheerleader pictures) there's some astounding photos here.


(I like the ear-design headphones).








Speaking of the Olympics, random thoughts during the Closing Ceremonies:

London's mayor looked incredibly schlubby. It's the Olympics dude; would it have killed you to button your coat?

Not to be outdone though, the London "show" with Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page and a...a...tranforming bus with topiary unfathomably cornball. Sure, Zhang Yimou's ceremonies were like Cirque De Soleil on EPO but if this is any foreshadowing of London 2012, maybe it'd be enough to get the queen to come out, wave a bit, and call it a day.

China's answer: "I Love Beijing" was nearly just as bad. Wu bu ai that terrible theme song.

One can only hope this spells the end of PhelpsMistyMayWalsh-mania ...at least until 2012.

--O.W.

TWO CHINESE SEPTUAGENARIAN WOMEN SENTENCED TO RE-EDUCATION LABOR CAMPS FOR ASKING TO PROTEST

A Chinese Hoosegow

First three paragraphs from an article in today's NY Times:

Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of “re-education through labor” after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to family members and human rights advocates.

The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing.

During their final visit on Monday, public security officials informed them that they had been given administrative sentences for “disturbing the public order,” according to Li Xuehui, Ms. Wu’s son.

Those two elderly women weren't even protesting; they were asking to protest. And now they'll be doing twelve months of physical labor, with no access to counsel, no right to a hearing, no right of habeas corpus, and no other form of due process.

That Gray Lady article further reveals that authorities have not approved any of the 77 protest applications it received, despite setting up official protest zones.

Those of you who said that Beijing's hosting of the Olympics would lead to the expansion of fundamental democratic rights in China -- at least during the Olympics -- can admit that you were wrong now.

--Junichi

PHELPS IS NOT THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN EVER

I got more medals than Snow White got dwarfs

Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics? An amazing accomplishment.

But does Phelps deserve the title of "Greatest Olympian Ever" for winning the most gold medals in a single Olympics?

Not in my book.

From my amateur armchair vantage point, swimmers are the only category of athletes to realistically have a chance of winning eight medals in a single Olympics.

A quick scan of the official website suggests that it would be far more impressive for an athlete in any other sport to achieve eight gold medals -- especially since most sports don't even get eight different events. Even with Phelps dominating, swimmers still comprise the largest group of multiple medal winners thus far in the 2008 Olympics.

Male swimmers can compete in 17 different events. Sure, the skills involved vary, but they all consist of swimming. Thus, Michael Phelps can cherry-pick from 17 different options and select the eight he is most likely to win.

In contrast, male runners -- who seem to have the second highest number of choices -- only have nine events in which they can compete. (Track and field, or "Athletics," has about 23 events for men, but those events are split into javelin throw, pole vault, etc.)

Other examples: male gymnasts can pick from eight events. Female shooters can win, at most, seven. Tennis players can choose from two.

Plus, there's the fact that the physics of aquatics and the mechanics of the human body allow swimmers to jump from one event to the next in ways that weightlifters, boxers, wrestlers, pitchers, and handballers cannot.

Thus, is it really fair to say that Michael Phelps is a "greater" athlete than Rafael Nadal, Kobe Bryant, Katerina Emmons, Yang Wei, or to use historical examples -- Carl Lewis?

The comparison only seems valid if, for example, Rafa had the chance to compete in 17 different tennis events and chose his best eight. Surely, Nadal would take gold medals in five-set singles, three-set singles, ground strokes, clay courts, first serves, second serves, backhands, and the 10-meter topspin.

So call me a hater, but I think it's more appropriate to call Michael Phelps the greatest swimmer in the history of Olympic swimmers.

Given that gymnasts have far fewer events in which they can compete, I say it's more apropos to proclaim Larissa Latynina the greatest Olympian ever.

(I'm sure that other pundits are pointing out similar sentiments, but I'm too lazy to check. Also, I spent five minutes researching, so don't hold me accountable. Finally, I'm happy to concede that I am jealous of Michael Phelps' abs.)

--Junichi

THE UGLY PEKING DUCKLING

The Chinese government declared one of these girls unattractive

Given the oodles of controversies involving the Chinese government, I shouldn't be riled up about lip synching.

But I can't help but comment on the audacity of Chinese officials to hire one extremely talented 7-year-old girl to sing "Ode to the Motherland" at the Olympic opening ceremonies -- behind a curtain -- while an allegedly cuter girl mouthed the words on stage.

Was China unable to find one girl in its pool of 1.4 billion people who was both attractive and euphonious? They should have used their mountains of yuan to import Simon Cowell and launch Chinese Idol.

Instead, China replaced Yang Peiyi (the girl above, on the left) with Lin Miaoke (the girl on the right) because Peiyi has a "chubby" face and "crooked" teeth. (See video clip below.) The persons responsible for the switch continue to defend the decision.

Could there be anything worse for a 7-year-old girl's self-esteem than for her government to declare that she is too ugly to be seen by foreigners? I know I'd be in therapy for decades.

I realize less attractive vocalists get replaced by more attractive lip synchers all the time. Natalie Wood mouthing Marni Nixon's vocals in West Side Story comes to mind.

But there's something more ominous about China's pulling a Milli Vanilli.

Lin Miaoke is now a symbol of the lengths that China will go to hide its dirty business. Her deceptive lip synching leads me to suspect that China's famed Bird's Nest was built upon the mass graves of political dissidents.

On a more positive note, this story is apparently burning up the Chinese blogosphere, which suggests that the government did not censor this news. (Unfortunately, their government is censoring this blog.)

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I'm also agitated by the following quote from the BBC article about this story:

Miaoke's father has told reporters he thinks Peiyi is also cute.

"Yang Peiyi's looks are OK," Lin Hui reportedly said. "In my opinion, she's not ugly."

The first line of that passage is entirely inconsistent with the second!

Lin Hui does not even come close to suggesting that Peiyi is cute.

If somebody says, "you should date my friend Bertha - her looks are OK," that means that Bertha looks like a morbidly obese Wookie.

If somebody says, "you should go out with my roommate Garfield - he's not ugly," that means that he looks like a pus-filled wart on the sphincter of a decaying walrus.

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Finally, for the record, I think Yang Peiyi is damn cute.

--Junichi

WTF WERE THEY THINKING?

"Spain's eye catching faux pas".

And timely enough, here's the ever-great Jay Smooth schooling folks on how to deal with a situation as the above:




Also, I read this on a blog comment, had to laugh despite myself: "China will get the last laugh when the Spanish basketball team ingests the urine filled Coca-Cola."

--O.W.

FLAMING IN SAN FRANCISCO

Torchbearers of protest?

I often waffle about the usefulness of protests. But today is one of those amazing days where it's easy to see how a massive demonstration can make a great impact.

As far as Olympic protests go, we've come a long way from "Bong Hits for Jesus."

With an international game of "Capture the Torch" forcing the flame to be alternately extinguished and vanished wherever it's gone, this fire is doing wonders to stoke the local, national, and international media to focus on Tibet, among other issues related to China.

Watching the live footage right now of a thousand SF cops protecting a torch that has come to symbolize the Chinese government's unconscionable abuse of basic human freedoms, I can't help but snicker at this quote from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad:

"[T]he Olympic torch has received a warm welcome worldwide."

Given China's censorship of these demonstrations, I suppose that there might be a few billion people who believe this.

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As for protests in the virtual world, I enjoy this brief animation:

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Finally, is it me or are the pro-China demonstrators so nationalist that they are totally incapable of participating in any meaningful discussion about China's human rights abuses?

Most of those I've seen or heard interviewed today either adamantly deny that the Chinese government has ever done anything wrong (excuse me?) or mistakenly believe that advocates for Tibetan freedom are vilifying and hoping to imprison all 1.4 billion Chinese people.

Is it not possible to be "proud that China is hosting the Olympics" and acknowledge that China has work to do in the arena of human rights?

To be fair, there are some who are able to make rational arguments for supporting the Olympics in Beijing while acknowledging China's abuses. But Helen Zia doesn't sound anything like PRC-supporting Cuckoo McCocoaPuffs on ABC right now.

Some have asked me how I would feel if other countries were protesting the torch because the games were to be held in the United States. My response: Great! If the games were held in Bakersfield, I would be simultaneously "proud that the U.S. is hosting the Olympics" and happy to accept the criticism that the U.S. has work to do in the field of human rights.

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Related note: I guess Poplicks.com will now be officially censored in China.

--Junichi