Posts tagged stripped

1. Tibetians protesting during the torch relay at London, San Fransisco etc.

2. Beijing’s air not ‘ideal’ according to the IOC. Despite efforts to clean things up by reducing traffic and shutting down factories, Beijing’s legendary haze has been an image beamed all across the planet.

3. An American tourist, a relative of the U.S. volleyball coach, was murdered by a Chinese civilian in an apparently random act of violence.

4.  Prior to the start of the Games, Beijing organizers endured bad publicity when a plague of millions of locusts descended on the city and a 154-square-mile algae bloom threatened sailing competition. Some scientists blamed the problems on the country’s rapid growth and the accompanying pollution.

5. A spectacular fireworks display during the Opening Ceremonies wasn’t quite what it seemed. The televised images were enhanced by computer generated graphics.

6. A nine-year old who appeared to deliver a patriotic ode at the Opening Ceremonies wasn’t really singing. A seven-year-old who actually won a contest to determine who would have that honor wasn’t deemed telegenic enough for the task, so she sang while the older girl lip-synched for the cameras.

7. Before the Games began, Chinese officials proudly announced that all of the record 6.8 million tickets had been sold. Televised images from venues have caught aisles (and sometimes sections) of unclaimed seats. Organizers scrambled to deploy state-trained “cheer squads” to fill venues and improve the atmosphere.

8. Some potential visitors were denied entry to the country. Officials warned in advance that purchasing a ticket was not a guarantee that you could actually attend the Games.

9. Some of the Games’ biggest sponsors set up elaborate pavilions along the Olympic “Green” — a space three times the size of New York’s Central Park. Organizers anticipated about 200,000 visitors a day, but security restrictions limited crowds to about 20 percent of that.

10. Hotels all across Beijing reported occupancy rates below average for August. The aforementioned visa restrictions have been cited as part of the shortfall.

11. In the wake of the murder of that U.S. tourist, Chinese officials came under fire for allegedly attempting to censor coverage of the incident.

12. To be eligible to compete, female gymnasts have to be 16 years old during the year in which the Games are held. Rumors swirled that the gold medal-winning Chinese were too young. Just nine months before the games, the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13. The Associated press found the story on the agency’s Web site and saved an image. The story was removed from the Xinhua site later in the day, and editors declined to comment.

14. Serbs protest over Phelps win. The controversy sprang up following an extraordinary battle between Cavic and Phelps to reach the finish line. Phelps finished with a time of 50.58 seconds. Cavic touched with 50.59s. Even now it is unclear from the omega released photos who won but the officials made it clear by saying

“We use automatic timing systems and the timing system, in this case Omega, was in perfect condition, it was in perfect order and there are no doubts it provides for the competition at these Olympic games.”

15. A Swedish wrestler was disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal Saturday for dropping his medal in protest after a disputed loss at the Beijing Olympics. Later it was known the disgusted wrestler was right. The judges did not give a fair decision.

These were the ones I could compile. Please let me know if any more at indigoanalysis@gmail.com