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2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China - Page 13

post #361 of 440
8/23/08 at 4:58am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

According to the following article, each medal GB has won has cost circa £5m - What is a gold medal really worth? | Yahoo! Finance Does anyone have comparable data for other countries, please?
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post #362 of 440
8/23/08 at 7:35am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

I must say I'm not surprised at the comments about Taekwondo. I was watching a match with a Canadian the other day (and again, I was admittedly biased) and the commentator was genuinely puzzled at the lack of points being given to her. He wasn't outraged at the end, but simply stated that the judges just did not see the points being scored.

Apparently a Cuban competitor was banned for life from international Taekwondo competition after kicking a judge and lashing out with fists and feet at others after he was disqualified for spending over a minute on the sideline when he was taking an injury timeout (you have a minute and no more). I don't know the details (were they upset about when the clock started? was there no official clock?), but his coach said they have nothing to apologize for...I saw part of the clip and the guy actually tried to do a roundhouse kick to a judges head.

Even if they have cause for being upset, that's just unforgiveable.

Quote:
each medal GB has won has cost circa £5m
Bargain! Oh wait, no, I mean "Holy crap!". You can't help but think about what else that money could be used for, but I suppose you need to understand the whole picture as to how the money was raised, etc. Andrew, you mentioned the National Lottery - was that specifically set up or expanded for Olympic funding? Or did they redirect those funds to sports from something else?
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post #363 of 440
8/23/08 at 8:07am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

As far as I know, the British National Lottery is not set up for any specific funding. Various groups that are looking for funds have to make a case to the Lottery and they decide who gets what (sports, charities, etc.).

Lottery Funding

http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk/uk/...rs-listing.htm
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post #364 of 440
8/23/08 at 10:07am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Andrew, you mentioned the National Lottery - was that specifically set up or expanded for Olympic funding? Or did they redirect those funds to sports from something else?

The National Lottery was originally for funding projects that resulted in something physically tangible, like buildings. The money was split between community projects (e.g. a new meeting hall for a village, that sort of thing), sport (e.g. a new running track), the arts, etc. The rules were then changed, so that money could be given to less tangible things, like training programmes and similar. It's the latter that has really revolutionised sport in the UK. But it's still only a smallish part of the lottery funding. Marianne's quite right - there's no particularly fixed remit as to what gets funded and in the main it's up to groups to apply.

Quote:
Oh wait, no, I mean "Holy crap!". You can't help but think about what else that money could be used for, but I suppose you need to understand the whole picture as to how the money was raised, etc.

Funding for essential services (e.g. health care, social services, etc) was never part of the Lottery remit. So in essence money raised by the Lottery is not being given to sport, the arts, etc, at the expense of something more vital. And in any case, a large proportion of the money raised goes to local projects that target specific local needs.

Quote:
Even if they have cause for being upset, that's just unforgiveable.

Agreed. The irony is that the incident that stopped the contest and caused the Cuban to lose his temper appeared to be a decision in favour of the Cuban.
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post #365 of 440
8/23/08 at 6:26pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Court: Wrestler who dropped medal was right - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports

--
H
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post #366 of 440
8/23/08 at 6:54pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
the guy actually tried to do a roundhouse kick to a judges head

He didn't TRY, he hit the ref so hard it required surgery.

Cuban athlete might be banned after kicking ref

The dirty communist thug should be take out back by the Chinese government and have his skull smashed in.
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post #367 of 440
8/24/08 at 7:40am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

I generally liked the closing ceremony and proceedings, but this new Mayor of London should take some lessons of how to walk, stand and behave in public.


Cees
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post #368 of 440
8/24/08 at 8:19am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
I generally liked the closing ceremony and proceedings, but this new Mayor of London should take some lessons of how to walk, stand and behave in public.

Ah, the walking disaster area that is Boris Johnson. We Brits adore him, probably for exactly the same reasons that everyone else is exasperated by him. At least his hair was combed (well, sort of) today.

Incidentally, if anyone can explain the British presentation to us Brits, we'd like to know what the freakin' hell it was all about. It seemed to start off by playing up to Brit stereotypes that we think the rest of the world loves us for (double decker buses, umbrellas, queuing) and then it segued into an ageing Brit rockstar playing an old Willie Dixon song and a singer I've never heard of (I stopped listening to chart music about five years ago - I'm happier now). We then had David Beckham and er, that was it.
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post #369 of 440
8/24/08 at 9:30am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Image:Boris Johnson.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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post #370 of 440
8/24/08 at 9:31am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Incidentally, if anyone can explain the British presentation to us Brits


No I can't. I understood what you're explaining too, but, well...

Quote:
At least his hair was combed (well, sort of) today.
I know he was playing "The Brit" (hand in pocket, generally "loose" and unimpressed, waving, not showing too much - submissive - respect to anyone, attempt to leave too soon, etc.)
But still...

His hair got disturbed (if any more possible) by the Olympic flag.
Will he still be there in four years?


Cees
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post #371 of 440
8/24/08 at 10:19am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Will he still be there in four years?

The Mayor of London is re-elected every four years and Boris came to power earlier this year, so it's possible that he will have been replaced by the time the Olympics open. At the moment it's difficult to judge his chances of success. However, he does have a very engaging personality and that can get a person a long way in a post that is pretty heavily weighted towards the personal appeal of the candidate.


Quote:
I know he was playing "The Brit" (hand in pocket, generally "loose" and unimpressed, waving, not showing too much - submissive - respect to anyone, attempt to leave too soon, etc.)

Cees, that's pretty much how we Brits see a typical Dutch person as well.

BTW, I should I guess send you a private message about this, but others may be interested in this book as well: Play.com (UK) : Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory : Books - Free Delivery . It's about how the British Empire was created by appropriating ideas from the Dutch. I think it's something that any educated Brit (or Dutch person) already knew, but this goes into quite some detail. I've got my copy on order, but haven't read it yet. However, Lisa Jardine is usually a good writer.
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post #372 of 440
8/24/08 at 10:25am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrew markworthy
Cees, that's pretty much how we Brits see a typical Dutch person as well.

except for the clogs!


I haven't seen the handover ceremony yet (not on until this evening in US) but I am already embarrassed by your description.
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post #373 of 440
8/24/08 at 10:48am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Andrew, this book also explores the thesis about the Brits learning from the Dutch.

The author even retreats to software terminology: he calls the Dutch Empire the "British Empire v. 0.5", the Brits the "British Empire v. 1.0", and the US the "British Empire v. 2.0".
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post #374 of 440
8/24/08 at 11:36am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
except for the clogs!

... and the herbal cigarettes.

Dennis - many thanks for that info. I'll order it as soon as I've finished reading the Jardine book.

Quote:
I haven't seen the handover ceremony yet (not on until this evening in US) but I am already embarrassed by your description.

The rest of the ceremony isn't too bad. However, if the whole event is being broadcast as live and you have the capacity to record it and watch it later, I'd strongly advise doing so and fast forwarding through some bits. In particular, the athletes coming in gets rather wearisome after a while. However, there are some spectacular moments as well.

We watched it live through force of circumstances. The BBC offered a commentator-free version on a parallel digital channel, but it can't be recorded. After hearing the 'quality' of the BBC commentary on the opening ceremony we as a family voted en masse for the commentator-free broadcast.
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post #375 of 440
8/24/08 at 11:49am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

so, the closing ceremony already happened.
and wont be airing live in U.S. on NBC sunday night?

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post #376 of 440
8/24/08 at 12:13pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
so, the closing ceremony already happened.
and wont be airing live in U.S. on NBC sunday night?
Unless you wanted to watch it live at 8am, but people are at church or still in bed. Prime time is the way it always goes for the ceremonies.
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post #377 of 440
8/24/08 at 12:29pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

closing ceremony already happened yes/no
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post #378 of 440
8/24/08 at 12:32pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
closing ceremony already happened yes/no
Yes, it already happened.
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post #379 of 440
8/24/08 at 1:03pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

The presentation by the next city at the Closing Ceremony is always disappointing. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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post #380 of 440
8/24/08 at 1:47pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Cees, that's pretty much how we Brits see a typical Dutch person as well.

And I'm afraid it's true.

Very interesting books. I'm going to order both.

(My own theory goes like this:
Some very enlighted notions came together in Amsterdam, from all places of Europe, in the late 16th Century, including the concept of a Central Bank, separation of Religion and State - a believe of the first Prince of Orange - and new ways of doing commerce and trade. The proved to be very successful as well.
They were almost immediately exported to Manhattan, when Peter Minuit "bought" the island, and thirty to fifty years later also to London, when William III, prince of Orange + Mary became King of England.
When Peter Stuyvesant "handed over" Manhattan to the Duke of York, which was still in Charles II's time, he demanded that the current laws and habits would be preserved: which was agreed upon. So the colonies started with mainly English law, but the egg had already been planted and saved. When Charles II died and William and Mary took over, a year later, everything was in place to bring those same ideas to a fruitful life, both in the UK and the later US.)


Cees
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post #381 of 440
8/24/08 at 2:44pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Is it just me (or maybe us USA folk) or do the Olympics kind of go out with a whimper? It seems to me that near the end of the Olympics people kind of tire of it a bit and that there are not many marquee events to generate interest (I understand that this could be more regional in effect). Why not save something like gymnastics for the last several days? Thought?
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post #382 of 440
8/24/08 at 3:40pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
When Peter Stuyvesant "handed over" Manhattan to the Duke of York
Actually that nasty brigand Capt. Nicholls grabbed it for his patron the Duke of York.
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post #383 of 440
8/24/08 at 4:22pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

"Brigand" is too nice a word actually for that scandal Nicholls (and his cabin cat).

OK, Nicholls and Stuyvesant later became the best of friends and were often spotted raising a good glass while verbally reviving old battles they had been in.


Cees
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post #384 of 440
8/24/08 at 8:45pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidJ
Is it just me (or maybe us USA folk) or do the Olympics kind of go out with a whimper? It seems to me that near the end of the Olympics people kind of tire of it a bit and that there are not many marquee events to generate interest (I understand that this could be more regional in effect). Why not save something like gymnastics for the last several days? Thought?
The summer games are always frontloaded into the first week from an American standpoint. That said, there were some great moments really late in the schedule this time around like the Gold medal game for basketball. Actually giving these world-class players a chance to train together as a team made a big difference.

The New York Times has an interesting article up about NBC's coverage of the games:
Sports / Olympics
On TV, Timing Is Everything at the Olympics
By BILL CARTER
Published: August 25, 2008
Getting U.S. stars like Michael Phelps to perform live in prime time was just one of the moves that set up the spectacular success NBC achieved in the Beijing Games.
I don't know about everybody else, but I definitely get more jazzed when events are live than when they're taped. Ironically, British Summer Time being only five hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (as opposed to Beijing Time's 12 hour lead) will make it virtually impossible to get any big events live for American audiences on the East Coast; instead of being the next morning like in Beijing, events would have to launch at 1:00 am for an 8:00 pm primetime showcase in the U.S. of A! Obviously, that's not going to happen.
To sum up, the math: Spectacular opening ceremonies + an American public too poor to vacation this summer = Best ratings for an event in U.S. television history.
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post #385 of 440
8/24/08 at 9:12pm

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

I guess I'd take issue with the U.S. men's basketball win being called "great." They've had the talent in every Olympics to walk away with the gold and never played as a cohesive unit...every player seemingly with his own agenda. I'd say they merely did what was expected of them. The U.S. men's volleyball win...that's another story. First gold medal in 20 years...first medal of any kind in 16 years. All of this after their coach missed three games while mourning for his father-in-law who was murdered in China.
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post #386 of 440
8/25/08 at 3:40am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

deleted
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post #387 of 440
8/25/08 at 3:48am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
everything was in place to bring those same ideas to a fruitful life, both in the UK and the later US

I think that's a fair analysis. I believe the Netherland's fundamental secret weapon was tolerance. By allowing freedom of religious expression etc, intelligent people came together and found pragmatic solutions that weren't immediately suppressed because some poo for brains religious leader or monarch thought that time honoured tradition was threatened. But because the Netherlands like the UK also has a rather puritan streak in its culture, this pragmatism tended to be directed towards business rather than pleasure.

Anyway, back to the Olympics - the Brit papers had various things to say about Boris this morning (as usual). But more space was probably devoted to a slight gaffe at the Brit-hosted reception afterwards when a video display as part of a 'great things about the UK' presentation showed a momentary image of a picture of Myra Hindley in an art gallery. [Myra Hindley was a notorious child murderer in the 1960s].
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post #388 of 440
8/25/08 at 6:45am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrew markworthy
Ah, the walking disaster area that is Boris Johnson. We Brits adore him, probably for exactly the same reasons that everyone else is exasperated by him. At least his hair was combed (well, sort of) today.

Incidentally, if anyone can explain the British presentation to us Brits, we'd like to know what the freakin' hell it was all about. It seemed to start off by playing up to Brit stereotypes that we think the rest of the world loves us for (double decker buses, umbrellas, queuing) and then it segued into an ageing Brit rockstar playing an old Willie Dixon song and a singer I've never heard of (I stopped listening to chart music about five years ago - I'm happier now). We then had David Beckham and er, that was it.
While watching that skit I asked my wife if that is the way the British usually wait for a bus? No telling what the British might come up with during the closing of the 2012 Olympics if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Olympics - bootleg gangsters being chased by Elitot Ness?
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post #389 of 440
8/25/08 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt
That said, there were some great moments really late in the schedule this time around like the Gold medal game for basketball. Actually giving these world-class players a chance to train together as a team made a big difference.

I agree, and I thought it was very classy of them, to give Coach K their gold medals.

And I always enjoyed the track & field, which is what got me into watching the Olympics in the first place.

Great closing ceremony, and very tough act for the next host to follow. Then again, I thought the same with Beijing, after the ceremonies in Athens. I'm glad that the interviews were cut down, and not in the middle of the ceremony.

I always enjoy hearing Bob Costas' final thoughts and the closing credits that follow, which closes the book on the Olympics for me.

Until then, it's 18 months until Vancouver (or 4 years if you just follow Summer only).
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post #390 of 440
8/25/08 at 7:35am

Re: 2008 Summer Olympics - Beijing, China

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThomasC
Unless you wanted to watch it live at 8am, but people are at church or still in bed.

Or watching the F1 European Grand Prix on Speed!

So I still haven't seen the closing handover ceremony because I couldn't stay up until 3am (to see something that happened many hours before and wasn't live so why didn't they repeat it earlier!).
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