Scenes from the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008:
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Friday, 8 August 2008
Opening Ceremony
The Beijing Olympics will kick off in less than an hour (8:08PM local time) today. Unfortunately, Beijing is shrouded in fog and haze, and is sweltering in hot and humid conditions.
Those who are in the Bird's Nest stadium tonight will experience temperatures in the low 30s Celsius and humidity above 80%.
However, Jacques Rogge (President of the IOC) remains optimistic, he is quoted on Bloomberg:
"The fog does not mean necessarily pollution.
We prefer clear skies but the most important thing is that the health of the athletes is protected."
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Those who are in the Bird's Nest stadium tonight will experience temperatures in the low 30s Celsius and humidity above 80%.
However, Jacques Rogge (President of the IOC) remains optimistic, he is quoted on Bloomberg:
"The fog does not mean necessarily pollution.
We prefer clear skies but the most important thing is that the health of the athletes is protected."
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Thursday, 7 August 2008
The Olympics Junket
With the Beijing Olympics due to kick off tomorrow, the British government has come under fire over the cost to the public purse (estimated at being £7M) of sending public servants to Beijing.
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who is avoiding the opening ceremony will fly out to attend the closing ceremony and will be accompanied by 20 aides at a cost of £114,000. On top of that many other bodies, involved in organising the 2012 London games, are sending representatives.
In total, 639 people at a cost of £6,846,700 will attend.
Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster said:
"While appreciating the importance of the UK being represented in Beijing, questions have to be asked if this many people are necessary.
I'm staggered by the amount of money some departments are spending on sending their staff.
It almost looks as if some public officials have been dreaming up excuses to go on a junket."
Unfortunately, people do love a jolly junket!
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who is avoiding the opening ceremony will fly out to attend the closing ceremony and will be accompanied by 20 aides at a cost of £114,000. On top of that many other bodies, involved in organising the 2012 London games, are sending representatives.
In total, 639 people at a cost of £6,846,700 will attend.
Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster said:
"While appreciating the importance of the UK being represented in Beijing, questions have to be asked if this many people are necessary.
I'm staggered by the amount of money some departments are spending on sending their staff.
It almost looks as if some public officials have been dreaming up excuses to go on a junket."
Unfortunately, people do love a jolly junket!
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
The Sweet Smell of Bullshit
The IOC would have the world believe that internet access in China, for the period of the Olympics, is more or less free and unfettered for the foreign journalists who are camped en masse there.
The IOC released a statement:
"The media should be seeing a noticeable difference in accessibility to websites that they need to report on the Olympic Games.
Open Internet access has always been assured by [Beijing Organising Committee] and the Chinese authorities, and the IOC is pleased to see these reassurances being upheld."
All very nice, except for one small problem.
It is bullshit!
Thousands of sites remain unavailable to both journalists and Beijing residents; including TypePad, LiveJournal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Technorati, parts of Wikipedia and the Huffington Post.
WebSitePulse.com has a "China Firewall test" tool, which lets users input a site's address to see if it's working in Beijing. Why not try it out for yourself?
The IOC does not come out of this very well at all.
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by http://kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Ticket Scam
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is taking action against www.beijingtickets.com that has allegedly been operating an Olympic ticketing scam.
It is reported that many hundreds of people in Britain, America, Belgium and Australia have paid the site approximately £30K for non existent tickets and accommodation.
The hapless purchasers have been arriving in Beijing only to find that their purchases have yielded them nothing.
The site is now offline and "parked".
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
It is reported that many hundreds of people in Britain, America, Belgium and Australia have paid the site approximately £30K for non existent tickets and accommodation.
The hapless purchasers have been arriving in Beijing only to find that their purchases have yielded them nothing.
The site is now offline and "parked".
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Monday, 4 August 2008
Haze Returns
Despite a recent bout of clear skies and breathable air, with the Olympic games due to start this Friday, Beijing has woken up today to a return of the dreaded haze. This despite that fact that organisers have closed factories and removed over 1.5 million cars from the roads.
There are now plans being considered to seed the clouds to induce rainfall to clear the skies.
Failing that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it may reschedule endurance events, such as the marathon, to prevent health risks if the pollution continues.
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
There are now plans being considered to seed the clouds to induce rainfall to clear the skies.
Failing that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it may reschedule endurance events, such as the marathon, to prevent health risks if the pollution continues.
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Web Access in Beijing
The IOC have announced that Chinese and international organisers are working on a compromise to unblock censored websites for the foreign media.
Despite the fact that Beijing has unblocked a number of banned sites, including Amnesty International, there are others that remain blocked.
IOC President Jacques Rogge has promised free and unrestricted net access for foreign journalists during the games.
The IOC and the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, have set up a working group to determine which remaining censored websites can be opened up to reporters.
With nine days to go, they will have their work cut out!
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Despite the fact that Beijing has unblocked a number of banned sites, including Amnesty International, there are others that remain blocked.
IOC President Jacques Rogge has promised free and unrestricted net access for foreign journalists during the games.
The IOC and the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, have set up a working group to determine which remaining censored websites can be opened up to reporters.
With nine days to go, they will have their work cut out!
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
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