The latest twist in the Laure Manaudou v. Federica Pellegrini 2008 Olympics story is that Laure did not compete in the Wednesday finals of the 200 meter. It was kept in relative silence, but Manaudor had said she was thinking of quitting the day before.
Personally I feel sorry for Laure because she was in the perfect position to make a dramatic comeback on the World stage, and yet she gave up. Plus, in doing so, she allowed her nemesis Federica Pellegrini to win -- which she did -- and take the spotlight.
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com -- Last Friday's Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing Olympics Stadium was without a doubt the greatest event of its kind in the history of the Olympic Games. It was China's "coming out" party, and the organizers $300 million was well-spent.
The results showed in China Olympian Li Ning's levitating speed-skater style "walk" around Olympic Stadium and his lighting of a giant torch, which in turn caused what had to be the largest fireworks display in the history of the Olympic Games, if not the World.
A spectacle that looked tremendous, and even animated, and that's because it was.
The organizers of the event admitted that computer graphics were used to "replace" the actual fireworks images because the fear was that the "haze" -- read: smog -- was so bad that a great camera shot of the pyrotechnics would have not been possible.
Still, it was controversial because it took away from the overall historic effort and also took the wind out of the sails of the China Olympics, and sadly.
I write that because regardless of that country's problems, we're all fans of the Olympics and want to see it go well. Period.
But what was done reminded me of the movie "Wag The Dog". That flick, which starred Robert De Nero and Dustin Hoffman, was about a war that was staged on a television set and never happened at all.
With China's actions, we're a massive step closer to that possible occurence. China not only faked the fireworks, but the singer employed in the Opening Ceremony.
Seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, "who was deemed not attractive enough to go on stage" according to the article, was replaced by nine-year-old Lin Miaoke. One thing's for sure, that will scar Yang Peiyi for life, the fact that her own China told her she was not attractive enough to be seen singing on the biggest stage in the World, even though they love her voice!
Toward Laws Preventing This In The Future
I think we need to craft a series of International Laws to prevent or at least discourage (which is the best we can do) the occurence of the use of digital technology in this way. It's far too dangerous a possibility to ignore, especially in the wake of the fake fireworks scandal.
In a totally sad story of the work of a sick mind, Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney was killed by an obviously mentally deranged Timothy Dale Johnson, who walked in a shot him for no apparent reason. other than Timothy Dale Johnson had lost his job.
Gwatney was to appear at the Democratic National Convention on August 23rd to August 29th. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Mr. Gwatney but am saddened by the loss as I very will could have met him at the DNC Convention. Moreover, it brings into sharp focus how dangerous our society has become, especially to those who represent a political party during a poor economy.
As breath-taking as the current "Bird's Nest" design of the Beijing National Stadium is, this one -- an onion -- was favored before it. But the enormity and scale of the design reflects just how much in resources China committed to these games.
The total cost of the China Olympics was $40 Billion. That's more than twice as great as the current cost of the London games, which is at $18 billion. The cost of the Beijing Opening Ceremony alone is about $300 million.
