China Sends Two Old Women to "Re-education Camp"

I saw this article this morning on the "editorial/opinion" page of the local Journal/Sentinel newspaper and tracked it down online. I think this says all that has to be said about the regime in China - sending two old women to jail for a year. The rotten dirty filthy slimeballs. Will people remember this - or the fake fireworks and the fake singer and the drugged-up Chinese athletes hijacked from their parents at age 2 to go to "training school" and forced to perform on the world stage at ages 10 and 12 for the greater glory of China? Or will they remember the greater glory of the Borg showing their "superiority" over the rest of the world??? This photo was not part of the online article. There was a photo in the hard-print newspaper showing the two ladies, but I could not locate it online. I found this photo of the two grandmothers here. Web Posted: 08/24/2008 12:00 CDT Human spirit wins in Beijing Jonathan Gurwitz The Beijing Olympics have provided spectators with many inspiring individual achievements: Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, Nastia Liukin's graceful pantomime and Usain Bolt's superhuman speed among them. The most powerful performance in Beijing this fortnight was not, however, delivered by athletes. Not by the young and spry. Not by the swift or strong. Wu Dianyuan is 79. Wang Xiuying is 77. Both, reports the New York Times, walk with the help of a cane. Wang is blind in one eye. Neither had ever expressed any public discontent with the Chinese government. But they dared to apply to hold a legal protest in one of three zones designated for limited demonstrations during the Olympic Games. China's authoritarian leaders created the zones under pressure from the International Olympic Committee. Though strictly controlled, they were a nod to Olympic ideals about human dignity. On Monday, Beijing police announced they had received a total of 77 applications for protest. None was approved. The New China News Agency quoted a government spokesman as saying that 74 applications were withdrawn because the issues being raised were “properly addressed by relevant authorities.” Two applications were rejected because they were incomplete, one because the proposed protest violated rules. In China, the worlds of Orwell and Kafka seem to intersect. This is a small measure of the kinds of insults to human dignity that 1.3 billion Chinese people suffer on a daily basis. The spectacle of the Olympic Games can't disguise those indignities. The glare from digitally enhanced fireworks can't obscure them. The Chinese people deserve our admiration for economically, educationally and technologically raising their nation into the 20th century, in spite of oppressive and corrupt leaders. The oppressive and corrupt Chinese government deserves our disdain. Little Yang Peiyi is admirable. If you watched the opening ceremonies, it was her seven-year-old voice you heard singing the patriotic anthem, “Ode to the Motherland.” The Chinese authorities who deemed her to be insufficiently beautiful to serve the state are loathsome. They forced the little girl to sing backstage while a nine-year-old model of socialist perfection lip-synched before the audience of 90,000 at the Bird's Nest and millions more television viewers around the world. Yet another insult to human dignity. Presumably, the application to protest filed by Wu and Wang was among those that were “properly addressed.” They wanted to demonstrate against the limited compensation they received when the government seized their homes for redevelopment. Another insult to human dignity. For their effort, Beijing police sentenced the frail women to one year of “re-education” at a labor camp. Is it any wonder, then, that the authoritarian rulers who fear the strength of their small protest also fear the strength of “unofficial” churches, temples and mosques? Is a government that sentences old women to labor camps really deserving of the world's admiration? No crowd cheered Wu and Wang as they wrote out their application for protest. No high definition camera captured the moment when they filed it with authorities. No one saw their triumph. But Wu and Wang captured the gold in Beijing for the human spirit.

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I have one word for the current Chinese regime: PUKE! Sad to say, I wonder how many Americans, upon reading this, will even understand the allusions to Kafka and Orwell?

For Real?

From Yahoo.sports Thursday, Aug 21, 2008 4:42 pm EDT IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age By Chris Chase The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into the age of Chinese gymnast He Kexin, The Times of London reports. Faced with almost insurmountable evidence which suggests that He is two years younger than the birth date listed on her Chinese passport, the IOC has launched an inquiry that could result in the stripping of He's gold medals. This news comes on the heels of another Times report that details the findings of a New York computer security expert who found official Chinese documents that list He's age as 14 years and 220 days. Mike Walker used a Chinese search engine's cache feature to find He's actual date of birth on spreadsheets from a Chinese government website. The spreadsheets were taken down off the site recently and He's name had been removed. Assuming the IOC is committed to a real investigation and not some dog and pony show, the revelation that the Chinese government covered up the ages of gymnasts could end up being the defining moment of these Games for the host country. Officials wanted the Olympics to be a coming out party for a new China. But while the Games have been a huge success, there is a legitimate possibility that China's legacy from Beijing '08 will be that of a massive government cover-up, not the magical Opening Ceremony or the transformation of Beijing or anything else positive. All the good work China did to put on these Olympics could be forgotten because of an unnecessary, arrogant move by the government. Why risk everything to put a 14-year old in the competition when they could have replaced her with an of-age 16-year old gymnast? Sure, He is a better gymnast than the Chinese gymnasts who were eligible to compete, but with the judges they had at the Olympics, would it really have mattered? (Photo: from prior file, He Kexin at 2008 Olympics).

Empty Seats at Olympics

Okay - isn't this rather unusual? I'm watching volleyball on t.v. at the moment and the place is at least half empty. And who IS it that is playing that goddess-awful ancient pop rock junk music in the background with those cheesy kind of pre-recorded cheers one only hears in baseball and NFL stadiums? I thought Olympics were always THE hot tickets. I also noticed a lot of empty seats last night during the Women's gymnastics finals. Now you can't tell me that isn't one of the hottest tickets in the world - but plenty of people either didn't show up - or the seats were never sold in the first place... Guess the Chinese government kept out a few too many foreigners, heh. LOL! Supposedly all the tickets were sold. Yeah, right. Here's the official poop: From BBC News Tuesday August 12, 2008 Empty Olympic seats cause concern By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing Chinese officials have admitted that they are concerned about the lack of spectators at some Olympic events. They have hired volunteers, dressed in yellow shirts, to fill up empty venues and improve the atmosphere inside. But Wang Wei, a senior official with the Beijing organising committee (Bocog), said other Olympics had experienced similar problems. [Oh, really? Which ones would those be?] The comments came after spectators and journalists noticed that certain venues were far from full, even though all events are sold out. Weather? Speaking at a daily press briefing, Mr Wang said: "We are also concerned about this not full stadium [issue]." He said a number of factors had contributed to this, including the hot and humid weather in Beijing, as well as the rain. [Yeah, like the Bejing weather during the summer is some big frigging surprise! Isn't it always hot and humid and rainy there during this time of year? Of course it is. Duh!] Mr. Wang said some spectators were also only turning up for specific events, even though they had tickets for a whole session. "For competitions like beach volleyball and basketball, [spectators] have one ticket for the whole afternoon, morning, evening," he explained. "They may choose to go to one of them, but not all them." Mr Wang, executive vice-president of Bocog, said local authorities were hiring volunteers to fill empty seats. "If they find that there are not enough people, or if they find that there are too many empty seats, they organise some cheerleaders," he said. These cheer for both sides to "create a good atmosphere", he added. Although some events are full - such as Sunday's clash between the men's basketball teams from China and the United States - others have been less well attended. Corporate sponsors These include sessions of judo, badminton and water polo. "There were heaps of empties. It's sickening," said one spectator who went to the judo expecting to see a full house. There were even a number of empty seats at the opening ceremony on Friday. One reason for less-than-full venues could be that seats allocated to corporate sponsors are not being used. Many of these tickets are handed out the night before events take place, sometimes too late for those who get them to attend, according to someone with access to these tickets. [Where are the people they're handing out the tickets located? The North Pole?]

Little Girl Singer at Olympics Part of a Switcheroo!

From the Guardian.co.uk Olympics: Child singer revealed as fake Tania Brannigan, in Beijing guardian.co.uk, Tuesday August 12 2008 12:34 BST When nine-year-old Lin Miaoke launched into Ode to the Motherland at the Olympic opening ceremony, she became an instant star. "Tiny singer wins heart of nation," China Daily sighed; "Little girl sings, impresses the world," gushed another headline, perhaps in reference to Lin's appearance on the front of the New York Times. Countless articles lauded the girl in the red dress who "lent her voice" to the occasion. But now it emerges that Lin lent someone else's voice, following high-level discussions - which included a member of the Politburo - on the relative photogenicity of small children. The recording to which Lin mouthed along on Friday was by the even younger Yang Peiyi. It seems that Yang's uneven teeth, while unremarkable in a seven-year-old, were considered potentially damaging to China's international image. "This is in the national interest. It is the image of our national music, national culture. Especially the entrance of our national flag; this is an extremely important, extremely serious matter," Chen Qigang, the event's general music designer, explained to a Beijing radio station. Chen said that director Zhang Yimou - who created the ceremony - had demanded a "very cute" child; a standard certainly met by Lin and, many would suggest, by Yang. "We made the decision that the voice we would use was Yang Peiyi's. The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feelings, and expression. "Lin Miaoke is excellent in those aspects. But in the aspect of voice, Yang Peiyi is flawless," he explained. But at the last minute, officials decided a switch was needed, according to the translation by the China Digital Times website. "We had been through several inspections - they were all very strict. When we rehearsed at the spot, there were spectators from various divisions, especially a leader from the Politburo, who gave us his opinion: It must change," said Chen. "I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi. That is to say, we have a perfect voice, and a perfect image and representation - in our team's view - combined together." It appears that Lin, already a veteran of TV adverts, may not have been aware that Yang's voice was used. Chen said they had recordings of both girls and their voices were fairly similar. Yang appears to have taken the snub in her stride. Asked by a CCTV journalist whether she was sad to have missed the opening ceremony, she replied: "No, my voice was there." Not everyone has reacted so calmly. "Adults may lie, but leave the kids out of it," one angry internet user wrote. Her tutor, Wang Liping, wrote in her blog that Yang is cute and well-behaved, with a love for Peking opera. "She doesn't like to show off. She's easygoing," she added. Yang's school could not be reached today. The switch may reflect underlying cultural preferences as well as the incredible attention paid to Olympic preparations. Research by Daniel Hamermesh, an economist at the University of Texas, has suggested that the "beauty premium" in parts of China is far more pronounced than in the west for women. Dr Hamermesh's work shows that ugly people earn below the average income while beautiful people earn more. In Britain, attractive women enjoy a +1% premium. But in Shanghai, the figure was +10%. ********************************************************************************* Lots of coverage on this story - here's direct quotes and a u-tube video of the ringer's performance. When you cut out the crap, they changed up singers because they considered the original little girl too ugly to represent their "national image" even though her voice was "flawless." Now I'm wondering - was that little boy prancing around with the big basketball player actually nine - and was he actually a hero? Come to think of it, wasn't his presence something of a slap in the face to all of the parents who lost children in schools that collapsed in the June earthquake while all around other buildings withstood the quake with minimal damage? Thousands of children were killed and rather than investigating official corruption and malfeasance in office, the central government is trying to buy off bereaved parents with a couple hundred bucks each.

Who's Doped and Who's Not?

When watching the Olympics for the next two weeks, remember this quote: In an interview with Craig Lord, John Leonard, President of the World Swimming Coaches Association, said: 'We know that any performance that comes from outside the world top ten in the year [before the Games] to the podium is an anomalous performance and literally everyone of those performances over the last four years has later been proven to be doped. So if we get performances that are coming from outside the world top ten in the 2008 Olympic Games, no matter what nation they are from, we have to look long and hard that performances.'

What that means, in simple English, is that if a bunch of Chinese unknowns suddenly start winning medals in the swimming competitions, they were probably doped and stopped taking the stuff 2 weeks ago so it wouldn't show in urine tests. There are reasons why Chinese swimmers, particularly the females, look just like the East German women's swim team did in the 1980's, and it's not because they train 24-7! The NOVA special on the devastating results of doping those East German athletes in the 1980's should be enough to make anyone pee their pants. One woman was so altered by the constant overdoses of steroids and testosterone that she had a sex change operation and became a "he."

Here's the full story about the Chinese and doping: Spectre Of Doping Haunts China On Eve Of Games, Jul 21, 2008, by Craig Lord, SwinNews.com.

Of course, doping is not limited to the Chinese, but it is interesting that as of the date of this story, no members of the Chinese swim team had yet been named! Were they waiting to see who would pass their internal urine tests prior to naming the team???

Olympic Athletes Warned - No Politics

A disturbing story from the Wall Street Journal this morning: Olympic Committee Tells Athletes To Avoid Political Statements By MEI FONGMay 7, 2008; Page A15 BEIJING -- To Olympic athletes contemplating wearing messages of support for Tibet, Darfur or even the notion of a better world, the International Olympic Committee is saying, "Don't." Last week, the IOC sent a letter to all national Olympic organizing committees saying athletes should stay away from clothes, gestures or moves that demonstrate "political, religious or racial propaganda" at venues for the Beijing Games. This includes "all actions, reactions, attitudes" by people, including "external appearance, clothing, gestures and written or oral statements." The letter appears to represent the IOC's most explicit statements to date clarifying an existing prohibition on the use of the Olympic Games as a political venue, and it is a bid to prevent protests from swamping what already has become one of the most contentious Games in recent history. Recent demonstrations over China's human-rights record in Paris, London and San Francisco during the Olympic torch relay have in turn fanned a wave of patriotism and anti-Western sentiment in China. IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the letter, earlier reported by the Associated Press, makes it clear the IOC won't allow requests by, for instance, French athletes to wear a badge marked "For a better world," an attempt by the French contingent to express its disquiet in a way that wouldn't offend its Chinese hosts. "We're not saying athletes can't express their views, but not at Games venues. The Olympics are about celebrating sporting achievements," she said. Athletes would be free to express their opinions outside Olympic venues, including in blogs, but must abide by local laws, she said. Under Chinese law, protesters must apply for permits, a practice that frequently isn't followed. Chinese officials have said that visitors to the Olympics must observe Chinese law. [What does this mean? Will you be arrested if you say that China sucks?] Activist groups that have called on athletes to express their views through clothing include Team Darfur, a Washington-based coalition of athletes, and a Danish group called the Color Orange, which is encouraging Olympic participants to wear orange to protest human-rights violations in China. "How can they ban a color? They look like fools," said Color Orange's founder, Jens Galschiot. He was denied entry into Hong Kong last week, when the Olympic torch relay was being held there. The Olympic prohibitions also might be challenged by patriotic Chinese wearing gear with a message professing love for China. Sales of such items have soared in recent weeks, as Chinese reacted with fury to outside criticism and perceived bias by Western media companies -- some of whom are underwriting the Games' running costs. Past Olympians punished for making political gestures include American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who protested racial inequality by raising black-gloved fists during the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City. Both were suspended from the U.S. team. Another was Korean marathoner Sohn Kee-Chung, who in 1936 became the first Korean to win an Olympic medal. An ardent patriot, Mr. Sohn publicly lamented competing under Japan's flag -- Korea was at the time a de facto Japanese colony -- and openly wept when it was hoisted during his medal presentation at the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin. Japanese authorities then banned him from competing in other running events, according to historian David Clay Large in the book "Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936." Separately, China acknowledged for the first time that it is tightening its visa policy ahead of the Olympic Games. Foreign-ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular media briefing Tuesday that "we are more strict and more serious" in approving visas. For weeks, travel agents and foreign businesspeople have complained of extra difficulties in obtaining business or tourism visas to China. Mr. Qin said the tighter measures were to be maintained indefinitely, to create "a safe environment" and ensure "all the foreign friends who come to China can feel safer and happier."