http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/olympic/ en-us Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:42:47 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354309/posts Chicago loses in first round of voting. 101st Airborne Division due in Copenhagen shortly. Beck, an increasingly contentious figure, got under the Administration's skin via typically goofy segment (Link goes directly to video) on Obama's plan to travel to Copenhagen to lobby on behalf of the city of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. While the White House bloggers do effectively rebut several of the points raised during the segment on Beck's show, you have to ask yourself when the White House decided to duke it out with television pundits. Guy Benson, blogging for the National Review, is wondering... National Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354309/posts#comment Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:42:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353995/posts Obama’s Olympic failure will only add to doubts about his presidency Tim Reid in Washington There has been a growing narrative taking hold about Barack Obama’s presidency in recent weeks: that he is loved by many, but feared by none; that he is full of lofty vision, but is actually achieving nothing with his grandiloquence. Chicago’s dismal showing yesterday, after Mr Obama’s personal, impassioned last-minute pitch, is a stunning humiliation for this President. It cannot be emphasised enough how this will feed the perception that on the world stage he looks good — but carries no heft. It was only... The Times (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353995/posts#comment Sat, 3 Oct 2009 09:20:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353791/posts Republicans have been ready with criticism for President Barack Obama's overnight journey to Copenhagen, where the president today pressed Chicago's case for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games -- playing booster, as the Republican National Committee put it this morning, for Obama's "Chicago Fat Cat Friends.'' RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri and then House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio all have questioned the president's priorities. Swamp Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353791/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 23:05:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353741/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama was left with the rare taste of failure when votes were counted on Friday, after his hometown Chicago's hopes of hosting the 2016 Olympics died in Denmark. Chicago's rejection by the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen, dealt a personal blow to Obama, who had put his glowing global prestige on the line, as a favor to the city where he nurtured his own American dream. Obama, who polls show is hugely popular outside the United States, was seen as the trump card in Chicago's pack on decision day at the IOC meeting. But... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353741/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 21:32:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353690/posts RedEye social media intern Ernest Wilkins was on the scene. YouTube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353690/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 20:05:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352654/posts In 2008, voters in the Iowa Caucus -- famous for their quirky picks -- gave a little-known Democrat named Barack Obama his first victory, propelling him toward the White House. Now, First Lady Michelle Obama is in Copenhagen, stumping for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. And last night, at a pep-rally dinner for 300 supporters of Chicago's bid, she likened the race in Denmark to that contest way back when in Iowa. "As my husband would say, we are fired up and ready to go in here," she said, echoing the slogan that generated so much excitement... L.A. Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352654/posts#comment Thu, 1 Oct 2009 17:44:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2350191/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama will make a whirlwind trip to Copenhagen this week to leverage his global popularity in a last-minute pitch for his hometown Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. The White House said Obama would arrive in Denmark Friday, hours before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) votes on the destiny of the Summer Games after a final battle between Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. The trip represents a change of heart: the president had previously said the pressure of his under-fire health care reform drive would keep him at home, and nominated his wife, First... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2350191/posts#comment Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:47:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315850/posts Baseball will try to grow globally after IOC setback Thu Aug 13, 3:23 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) – Major League Baseball (MLB) will continue its push to grow the game internationally despite losing out on Thursday in a bid for the sport to be included at the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said baseball's next chance to become part of the Games would be in 2020. "Baseball has enjoyed great international growth in recent years and today's decision by the IOC will not deter us from continuing our efforts to grow the game globally," MLB said in... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2315850/posts#comment Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:58:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247600/posts JUPITER, Fla., May 9 (UPI) -- Chuck Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 78. Daly, who was diagnosed with cancer in March, died in Jupiter, Fla., surrounded by his family. Known as the ultimate players coach, Daly led the Pistons to NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 and coached the original Dream Team to the Olympic gold medal in 1992. Daly affectionately earned the nickname "Daddy Rich" for his perfectly fitting dapper suits, The Detroit Free Press reported Saturday. "Tailoring covers your sins," Daly once said. Daly,... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247600/posts#comment Sat, 9 May 2009 16:16:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2191806/posts Beijing's Olympic building boom becomes a bust Many buildings in the city's impressive skyline are empty. By Barbara Demick February 22, 2009 Reporting from Beijing — "Empty," says Jack Rodman, an expert in distressed real estate, as he points from the window of his 40th-floor office toward a silver-skinned prism rising out of the Beijing skyline. "Beautiful building, but not a single tenant. "Completely empty. "Empty." /snip Beijing went through a building boom before the 2008 Summer Olympics that filled a staid communist capital with angular architectural feats that grace the covers of glossy design magazines. /snip By Rodman's calculations,... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2191806/posts#comment Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:33:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2176123/posts THIS is the astonishing picture which could destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history. In our exclusive photo Michael Phelps, who won a record EIGHT gold medals for swimming at the Beijing games last summer, draws from a bong. The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis. And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER. News of the World http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2176123/posts#comment Sun, 1 Feb 2009 11:43:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067072/posts US disrupts Olympic party with human rights attack on China America has openly attacked China for failing to live up to its Olympic promise to improve human rights after eight US citizens were arrested and imprisoned without trial for their part in a pro-Tibet demonstration. By Peter Foster in Beijing Last Updated: 12:20PM BST 24 Aug 2008 The Foreign and Commonwealth Office called on China to 'respect its commitment to freedom of expression' Photo: AFP In an unusually candid statement issued on the eve of the Olympic closing ceremony the US Embassy in Beijing expressed mounting frustration with China's refusal... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067072/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:05:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067037/posts Laura Wilkinson has, among other things, an Olympic gold medal, a big ball of tape and a plan. The gold medal, won eight years ago in Sydney, represents the competitive apex of her 15 years in diving, which came to a close Thursday night (Thursday morning CDT) with her ninth-place finish in the women’s 10-meter platform final. The tape ball represents the physical stresses of hurling her body off a three-story tower day after day, month after month, embodied by the miles of athletic tape Wilkinson, 30, has required over the last year to wrap her wrist and, during Thursday’s... The Houston Chronicle Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067037/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:53:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066693/posts South Korea surprises defending champion Cuba for baseball gold South Korea finished Olympics with 9-0 record Cuba's only two losses in '08 Games came to S. Korea Bases loaded double play in ninth inning sealed win BEIJING (AP) -- Campeones no more. There's a new champion in Olympic baseball: the surprising, gutsy South Koreans. South Korea captured gold and capped a perfect and improbable Olympic run with the country's biggest win yet in international baseball, a 3-2 victory over defending champion Cuba on Saturday night in the final of the Beijing Games. Sports Illustrated http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066693/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:56:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066608/posts For Gansu’s Uighurs, Beijing’s Olympics are a world away By Anna Bodner DPA, LANZHOU, CHINA Friday, Aug 22, 2008, Page 9 Olympic fever that has swept most of China seems to have limited influence in Lanzhou, considered the geometrical center of China. For many, the 3 million inhabitant city capital of Gansu Province is still a frontier town, and while the Games’ influence is hard to miss in the city center with flags on mass display in shops and cars, hardly a trace of the Olympics can be found in the city’s Muslim quarters, where minarets tower over the roofs.... DPA via Taipei Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066608/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:45:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066606/posts The Crackdown to Come By WILLY LAM FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA August 22, 2008 Not only have the Olympics failed to act as a catalyst for political liberalization in China, but the regime's pre-Olympics security buildup looks set to enable the government to crack down as hard as ever on dissent after the Games are over. In line with the time-honored Chinese tradition of "taking revenge after the autumn harvest," police and military authorities are planning major reprisals against a host of troublemakers. Punitive action has begun even before the athletes and the estimated 400,000 foreign tourists leave... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066606/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:40:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066553/posts Grannies vow to fight on after punishment for Olympic protests Fri Aug 22, 11:14 AM BEIJING (AFP) - Two Beijing grandmothers remained defiant and in good spirits Friday despite being sentenced to one year of reeducation through labour for applying to protest during the Olympics. In an interview with AFP, neighbours Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, said they had not received compensation after their homes were demolished by the city government seven years ago and were simply fighting for their rights. "We have done nothing wrong," said Wang. "They won't let me protest, then they sentence me to... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066553/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:55:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065940/posts BEIJING -- Torri Edwards' screeching expression said it all on a night of rain-soaked relay calamity on the Olympic track Thursday. Think about the famous Edvard Munch painting, "The Scream," and you get general idea of back-to-back disasters unfolding for the U.S. relay teams within about 30 minutes. There was disqualification for the men in the preliminaries of the 400-meter relay, followed by the same for the women, a huge dose of Olympic-size ignominy. This wasn't a whisper to a scream. It was a scream to a scream at the Bird's Nest. And, on top of it all, the botched... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065940/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:12:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065911/posts Don't laugh at Dear Leader, SKorean athletes warned Wed Aug 20, 4:14 AM ET South Korean Olympic athletes have been given detailed guidelines to avoid friction with their North Korean counterparts in Beijing, officials said Wednesday. Contestants should not point or laugh at badges or portraits depicting North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il or his late father Kim Il-Sung, the (South) Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) says in a handbook. "Refrain from pointing, touching or laughing at badges, portraits and remarks idolising the father and son," the booklet advises. Athletes should also avoid using names like "South Korea" and "North Korea"... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065911/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:09:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065892/posts Too Old and Frail to Re-educate? Not in China By ANDREW JACOBS BEIJING — In the annals of people who have struggled against Communist Party rule, Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying are unlikely to merit even a footnote. The two women, both in their late 70s, have never spoken out against China’s authoritarian government. Both walk with the help of a cane, and Ms. Wang is blind in one eye. Their grievance, receiving insufficient compensation when their homes were seized for redevelopment, is perhaps the most common complaint among Chinese displaced during the country’s long streak of fast economic growth.... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065892/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:51:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065510/posts Hacker uncovers 'proof' that Chinese gymnast is underage Jane Macartney in Beijing A determined computer expert has delved into cached pages on the Internet to unearth Chinese official documents showing a gymnast who took gold, edging Britain’s Beth Tweddle into fourth place, may indeed be underage. Controversy over whether He Kexin, gold medallist in the uneven bars, is under the minimum age of 16 has surrounded her participation in the Beijing Olympics. The latest challenge over the age of the tiny Olympian comes from the discovery through a cyberspace maze of Chinese official documents listing her date of birth. She... Times of London http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065510/posts#comment Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:26:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2065358/posts http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2065358/posts#comment Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:28:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064796/posts IOC breaks ranks with hosts over protests By Roger Blitz Published: August 19 2008 20:42 | Last updated: August 19 2008 20:42 Olympic officials have for the first time openly criticised their Beijing hosts for China’s intolerance of public protests, questioning their desire to allow citizens the right to raise grievances during the games. The International Olympic Committee is also understood to believe that lower-than-expected attendances at games venues is the result of Beijing’s poor distribution of tickets for the general public, including a failure to reallocate unwanted tickets. FT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064796/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:32:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064751/posts Shawn Johnson had dark circles under her brown eyes and a headache, but when she jumped onto the balance beam Tuesday night she switched on her smile and defiantly pounded out a gold- medal routine. "This gold means more than anything to me," Johnson said. "Beam is my favorite event, and I've worked hardest on this for a long time. It's the perfect ending to my Olympic experience." The United States finished 1-2, with Nastia Liukin getting the silver. China's Cheng Fei won the bronze. THE LOS ANGELES TIMES http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064751/posts#comment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:59:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064445/posts Look, I don't know much about gymnastics, but I do know that landing a vault on two feet is better than landing one on two knees. Olympic gymnastics judges evidently disagree with me, as they awarded China's Cheng Fei a bronze medal yesterday even after she fell on her vault landing. American Alicia Sacramone finished fourth despite, you know, not falling. yahoo sports blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064445/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:39:35 GMT