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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Sep 6 2008, 06:24 PM
 Jen Armbruster - 5-time US Paralympian and US flag bearer
Photo: Brian Love/Lakeshore Foundation
China wanted to portray itself to the world in a new light. In a more compassionate, friendly way. There’s no doubt that the Olympics were a success and I’m sure most people would say they enjoyed watching the games. But we are not so blind to realize that China still has problems. I think what’s important is what China takes away from the Olympics.
Today the Paralympics began. You can see some slides of the Opening Ceremony HERE.
And the athletes marching in to the stadium HERE.
While the Olympics were a success, it is thought that the Paralympics may have a greater meaning to the Chinese people. We know China has an issue with human rights. And the rights of the disabled in China have appeared to have been forgotten. The Paralympics have brought the disabled out into the open in China. Hopefully these Chinese citizens will receive some deserved care and attention from their government.
"China was a place where in Maoist times the word used to refer to the disabled was “deficient” or “useless,” and vestiges of that attitude lingered on until quite recently. Beijing is now full of newly built wheelchair-accessible facilities — and perhaps more important, the disabled themselves in China are newly out, visible and proud. Xie Yan, a producer at a Beijing radio station for the disabled who lost a leg to bone cancer, tells Vause that he spent years at home, unable to face the outside world. Now it’s different; every employee at the station where he works has a disability."
Read the article "the Starting Line: The Benefits of the Paralympics from the New York Times
HERE
(Xinhua Photo)
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Aug 30 2008, 07:05 AM
After the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics drew to a close, the other Summer Olympics got ready to begin. I’m speaking of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
See a slideshow of the Torch Relay for the Paralympics
HERE
The Paralympic torch was lit at the Beijing Paralympic flame lighting ceremony in the Temple of Heaven on Thursday.
(Xinhua Photo)
"In front of the symbolic Hall of Annual Prayer, deaf-mute flamecollector Jiang Xintian lit the flame out of a concave, burnished mirror[before the 13th Paralympics open on Sept. 6].
The flame was then handed to a wheelchair-ridden girl, before it lit a torch held by Liu Qi, president of the organizing committee of the just concluded Beijing Olympic Games.
Liu passed the torch to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who lit a cauldron and announced the beginning of the 10-day torch relay."
Read the article HERE
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U.S. Paralympic Team
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The success of Beijing Olympics provided good experience in presenting an excellent, successful and passionate Paralympics, [Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping]said.
Xi said the country's attention to the rights of handicapped people was a remarkable feature of China's human right cause.
"A successful Paralympics would further promote the development of the country's cause of the disabled," he said.
Chinese Vice Preesident Urges More Efforts On Beijing Paralympics
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"Paralympic athletes personally embody the lofty Olympic spiritby challenging the limits of mankind. I wish for you players to give courage and hope to the entire nation by doing your best at the Paralympics," said the president at the letter.
S. Korean President Encourages disabled Athletes for Paralympics
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Keep updated on the Results of Team USA in the Beijing Paralympics by checking daily on the Beijing Paralympics tab on my sidebar.
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Aug 24 2008, 10:09 AM
 I nterior view of the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, capital of China. Beijing 2008 Olympic Games closing ceremony will begin at the stadium at 8 p.m. sharp on Sunday. (Xinhua)
There are some pictures out of the Beijing Olympic closing ceremony if you want a sneak peak. The one on this page is from last night, as they began to prepare.
The link below shows actual pictures from the ceremony.
We, on the other side of the world, must wait until tonight until Prime Time for official viewing of the closing of the Beijing Olympics.
It has been said that these olympic games will be the most watched television event in history.
CLOSING CEREMONY PHOTOS BEIJING OLYMPICS
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Aug 24 2008, 07:05 AM
Photo HKLUG
Hong Kong Lego User’s Group (HKLUG) is truly amazing.
They have made an unbelievable recreation of the 2008 Beijing Olympic setting, including mini-figures.
Using 300,000 Lego bricks, and 4,500 mini-figures, they have taken 24 square meters and constructed all of the Olympic structures from the Games. This includes The Birds’s Nest, The Cube, the equestrian grounds, and all sports and residential villages. So far 43,000 visitors have seen the display in Hong Kong. Will it come to a location near you?
Who doesn't love Lego's?
This is Legolympics!
Visit the HKLUG Lego Sport City
HERE
I found this comment on the site amusing:
RSS fabriek » Blog Archive » Lego Beijing Olympics Doesn’t Include Tibetan Monk Minifigs [Lego]
August 13th, 2008 at 2:44 am
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By Janet Evans
Saturday, Aug 23 2008, 07:50 AM
"In the annals of people who have struggled against Communist Party rule, Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying are unlikely to merit even a footnote.The two women, both in their late 70s, have never spoken out against China’s authoritarian government. Both walk with the help of a cane, and Ms. Wang is blind in one eye. Their grievance, receiving insufficient compensation when their homes were seized for redevelopment, is perhaps the most common complaint among Chinese displaced during the country’s long streak of fast economic growth.But the Beijing police still sentenced the two women to an extrajudicial term of “re-education through labor” this week for applying to hold a legal protest in a designated area in Beijing, where officials promised that Chinese could hold demonstrations during the Olympic Games.
They became the most recent examples of people punished for submitting applications to protest. A few would-be demonstrators have simply disappeared, at least for the duration of the Games, squelching already diminished hopes that the influx of foreigners and the prestige of holding the Games would push China’s leaders to relax their tight grip on political expression."
Ng Han Guan/Associated Press
Wang Xiuying, left, and Wu Dianyuan have been ordered to undergo “re-education” for seeking a protest permit in Beijing.
Oh, it’s good to be an American…unless you are in China, outside the “Birds Nest,” protesting Human Rights. Even the most passive protest, as in standing there showing the peace sign is not tolerated.
We may look at these two old women and ask what they think they are doing? Why are they wasting their time when they could be resting in a garden somewhere?
Their country, who spent millions on the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics cheated them. They just want to speak up about it. And now they must be "re-educated."
Too Old and Frail To Re-Educate? Not In China
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Aug 17 2008, 04:50 PM
 Tom James, proudly posing with the Welsh flag following the presentation ceremony.
Photo Peter Black AM
Tom James, a member of Great Britain’s rowing team, won the second gold medal for the country of Wales, the first going to cyclist Nicole Cook.
Before the beginning of the games, there had been questions as to whether England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland should enter the Olympics separately. Under an archaic Olympic rule, which Beijing is using for political reasons because of the issue of Tibet, they are not allowing the display of flags or banners that are not those of the official countries entered in the Olympics. Not outside the stadium, not in the stadium by fans, not by the athletes themselves.
Tom James’ parents were displaying the Welsh flag in the stands yesterday. After the medal awards ceremony, James displayed the flag. A proud moment for him.
"But Tom said: “I’m a patriotic Welshman – born in Cardiff and living near Wrexham – and it’s brilliant to put Wales on the map at the Olympics.”
Parents Mike and Julia James were on their feet waving the Welsh flag in delight as the bowman crossed the line first in the GB flagship four.And after being given his gold medal on a special presentation pontoon, he took the flag from his dad and proudly waved it in front of the main grandstand.
“I don’t think Wales won any golds in Athens, so it’s brilliant to represent my home nation here and make it a second Welsh gold after Nicole’s brilliant ride,” said Tom.
“I’m so proud of what the Welsh rugby team have done, Nicole did fantastically in the cycling and we’ve still got Tom (Lucy) to come in the rowing tomorrow and Geraint (Thomas) in the velodrome.
“It’s great to be flying the Welsh flag on the world stage. My Dad’s born and bred in Wrexham and is Welsh through and through and so am I.”
Dad Mike wasn’t about to let the flag ban get in the way of celebrating a Welsh victory, handing the flag to his son in front of the grandstand as the crew celebrated a third straight GB Olympic title.“It’s fantastic to see. After all they’ve been through, just brilliant,” he said."
Patriot Tom James Defies Olympic Flag Ban
I cannot find anything regarding any protest of James and his display of the Welsh flag. Technically, he could be disqualified. Beijing has already sent protestors home from China for displaying the flag of Tibet.
Flag of Tibet
And while we are only seeing all of the wonderful things going on at the Olympics…there are protests going on outside the stadium everyday….
China-Tibet Demonstration near Stadium
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Aug 14 2008, 09:58 PM
What the heck is going on at the Olympics? I realize every Olympics there is some controversy, or sadly, tragedy.
But remember “the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" from Wide World of Sports?
Well that would be normalcy…and there has been some of that.
But what about this?  The Spanish men's basketball squad in controversial photo AP image
A second group of Spanish Olympic athletes has been photographed making “slit-eyed” gestures, threatening to overshadow the Beijing Games with a row over racial stereotyping.
Second Spanish team photographed making slit eyed gesture  The photo was discovered on the official website of the Spanish Tennis Federation Or This ~ Horror injury: Hungarian Baranyai's elbow clearly faces the wrong way as he lies on the ground
Hungarian Olympic weightlifter turns elbow back to front
Or This ~
Unwanted: Abrahamian's discarded medal Photo: Reuters
Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian throw away medal in Olympic hissy fit
Or This ~
Humiliation for former Judo Champ
Former Olympic and world judo champion Keiji Suzuki said he felt "empty" and was considering his future in the sport after suffering a humiliating -100kg first round defeat at the Beijing Games on Thursday.
Tearful judo king Suzuki "empty" after Beijing humiliation
Or This ~
The Chinese player Tan Wangsong, center, kicked a Belgian player, Sebastien Pocognoli, in the groin, resulting in a red card on Sunday. (Lars Baron/Bogarts - Getty Images)
Men's Chinese Soccer Team Finds New Way to Lose
Geez, there’s some strange stuff going on!
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By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Aug 12 2008, 11:41 AM
I had intentions of posting the video below first thing this morning, but had technical difficulties and had to run off to work without posting anything....sometimes #!&% happens.
Then some news from China....
Sometimes #!&% happens....but I don't have to like it...we don't have to like it.
These two little girls pictured...the one on the left, Lin Miaoke, is the one who we all saw in the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. She was singing "Hymn to the Motherland," the patriotic song of China in that oh, so sweet voice.
Trouble is, it was not her voice. It was the oh, so sweet voice of the little girl on the right, Yang Peiyi. Seems she wasn't good enough. She wasn't perfect enough to appear in the Olympics because she does not have perfect teeth.
I guess the world wouldn't think a beautiful voice was what was more important. We would care more about the teeth of a child, right?
WRONG!
This is China, land of hide those who protest away in prison.
What do they know, anyway?
Fools. You may read the story HERE
Photo: GETTY/AFP
In the meantime, here’s the video I was going to post.
LenOLYMPICS.
Pandathalon. The Halls of Pollution.
Somehow it isn’t as funny anymore….
>
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Aug 11 2008, 06:15 AM
Don’t get me wrong…
Go USA!
I’m an American and a proud United States citizen.
I want our athletes to take home every medal they are entitled to take home.
But there’s something about the Olympics that has always been with me.
Maybe it’s from when I used to watch them with my dad…
Maybe it’s not just me and you feel this way, too…
Sometimes, just once in a while, I can’t help but root for a team or athlete that is an underdog, no matter what country, if he or she deserves to win.
Sometimes, there are moments in the Olympics, when you realize how much these athletes have worked, and you see during this one competition how hard they want this moment, how much more they want it than the other person, how much more they are willing to fight, to give it their all…and you, in your heart, have to put down whatever barriers you have and at that moment just say, “Yes, go for it, you deserve it!”
Some examples?  USA's Phil Dalhausser stands dejected as
Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Martins Plavins celebrate their victory.
| By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY |
On August 9th there was an opening Men’s Beach Volleyball match between 23rd ranked Latvian team Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs and our USA team, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, ranked second.
The USA team went in there expecting to win…everyone thought they would win. Come on…Latvia was ranked 23rd! They don’t even have decent teams to practice against, so they have to practice against a team of six instead (hmm…maybe this will catch on?).
The USA team looked lethargic from the start. Latvia was there to play. It was a match I could watch over and over again. Now this wasn’t a medal match…but it was an upset. And team USA was gracious in their response to commentator’s questions:
"This wasn’t the way we wanted to start out the Olympics," Dalhausser said. “I wasn’t nervous at all. It just wasn’t our day.
They played great.”Rogers added: “They played great and we played poorly and that combination means we got spanked.” It was a glorious day for Latvia…maybe there will be no other like it. But it made me smile. And while I felt badly for team USA, it warmed my heart that two athletes from Latvia, who work so hard, just like USA, but perhaps not always under the best of conditions, had one moment of glory to remember.
Dalhausser, Rogers Upset By Latvian Duo
And another?
South Korea.
This time not against the USA. But another wonderful moment. South Korea's Park Tae-hwan won the Gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle. No big deal? Well, it is.
Park's time is now second only to the world record
set by former Olympic swimming champion, Australia Ian Thorpe. [Getty]
Four years ago, Park Tae-hwan stood ready to begin the same race, and fell into the water before the race started. He was disqualified for a false start. He ran into the bathroom and hid, too embarrassed to show his face and then later hid in his room for a month.
So, to come back four years later, and bring home the Gold for your country at 19 years old. The first medal in swimming for your country...It was just a proud moment. A humble moment. Another moment to make you smile.
Park Tae-hwan No Ordinary Gold Medalist
These are the unique times in the Olympics that make them special. If we didn’t have them, they would be just another sporting event.
USA has had those moments too, like our US Men's Swimming 400Relay team who took the title back from France yesterday (or past moments with Olympians Dan Janssen, Carrie Scruggs).
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) Two down, six to go: Phelps, left, celebrates his second gold
with fellow US relay team-mates, from left, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak
So while I will always be on Team USA’s side…I’ll be looking for those humble, heartfelt moments.
Sometimes it's about how you play the game....
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By Janet Evans
Friday, Aug 8 2008, 06:40 AM
If you had to name the greatest Olympic track and field athletes of all time, who would you choose? Of course you would have to do some research. But I'm sure you have a few great moments in Olympic history that come to mind. And I'm sure you have a few sports that are your favorites.
I prefer the Pole Vault, Shot Put and Marathon for individual events.
From Times Online ~Calvin Schulman
Four years ago for Games in Athens, I devised a points system to rank the leading track and field athletes in the history of the Olympics. This year, the list has been updated and revised to include all the discontinued events that were left out in 2004. The inclusion of such events as the standing long jump and 56-pound weight throw has made a dramatic impact on the top 100 rankings and produced a surprise athlete in the No 1 position. Of course, it is impossible to compare the athletes of the early Games against the professionals of the modern era and such legends as Dick Fosbury and Bob Beamon, who made such dramatic impacts on the sport, are missing because they appeared in only one Games. But that's the beauty of a list - it gets people talking ... and fuming. The points system
All top-eight finishers in track and field events have been awarded points according to the following scale: 1st 12pts; 2nd 9pts; 3rd 7pts; 4th 5pts; 5th 4pts; 6th 3pts; 7th 2pts; 8th 1pt. Competitors in relays and team events are given half the points: 1st 6pts; 2nd 4.5pts; 3rd 3.5pts; 4th 2.5pts; 5th 2pts; 6th 1.5pts; 7th 1pt; 8th 0.5pt.
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One of my favorites? "Babe" Didrikson #74. She was some athlete.
Mildred Didrikson (United States) 33pts
born 1911 Port Arthur, Texas; died 1956 Galveston, Texas
Gold 80m hurdles 1932; javelin 1932
Silver high jump 1932
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See if any of your favorites are included here in pages and in a picture slide show:
Top 100 Olympic Athletes
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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Aug 7 2008, 11:45 AM
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Aug 5 2008, 06:40 AM
 Smog returned to Beijing's skies on Monday, despite claims by Chinese officials that drastic
anti-pollution measures had slashed the chances of Olympic events having to be rescheduled.
Well, it looks like it depends what day it is as to whether you need to wear a mask in China to protect yourself from air pollution just to walk the streets. Let's face it...it's just plain ugly. And you hate to think of athletes practicing and then competing in this pollution.
The aerial photo taken on August 2, 2008 shows the Peking University Gymnasium,
in Beijing, China. The table tennis competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will
be held there. (Xinhua Photo)
While it looks very bad on August 4th, here is a slideshow of most of the buildings on August 2nd...
Slideshow of Beijiing Olympic Venues
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jul 6 2008, 09:23 AM
The Beijing Summer Olympic organizers have reported that they don't see there will be any major problems next month even though China has been through rioting, a major earth quake, flooding, now mold, algae and even locusts.
View this stunning slide show of the removal of blue-green algae from Qingdao, China beaches.
Bloomberg Slide show algae removal China
About 10,000 people are scooping algae out of the sea at the eastern city of Qingdao, while officials in Inner Mongolia are preparing to fight off a plague of locusts that may arrive in the capital city during the Olympics. It's unbelievable what the Chinese people have gone through these past several months because of the wrath of nature. You have to wonder how much manpower is going into the Olympics at the expense of their people. Read an article from Bloomberg í here
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