Reactions to story from USAToday

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  Excited about the Olympics

  http://www.youramericandollar.org/index.php/archive/excited-...
  12 days ago in Your American Dollar · Authority: 2

  Excited about the Olympics August 7th, 2008 I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t wait for the games to begin! I LOVE the Olympics. Though the entertainment and athleticism are a huge part of my fascination, they are only a part. There is so much to be learned about human beings as individuals in terms of personal accomplishment. Individual stuff IS juicy stuff and certainly does and make for great writing, but the really fascinating part is the political tension and strains. I have supreme respect for the athletes that are boycotting the opening ceremonies… and the political pressure Bush has been getting from McCain, Pelosi, and so many others to Boycott… it’s pretty intriguing stuff. It amazes how after all of the unrestrained and vicious Bush bashing that has been going on in the media, people actually expect an outgoing President to bow to political opinion. If I cared what the American populace thought, I certainly wouldn’t after a term in office. That being said, the Chinese deserve a more than a political black eye for all of the scandalous shit they continued to pull. To speak specifically, if you add up the Chinese abuse of Tibetans, human rights violations across the board of all kinds including wretched treatment of women, their dedication to ruining the planet with pollution, and about 1,000 other reasons, quite frankly I don’t think they deserve the honor of hosting the Olympics. But they “won” the lottery (no favoritism or sneak-trickery played there, I’m sure) to host the Olympics in Beijing, and since there’s nothing any of U.S. can do at this point to stop that, we might as well sit back and enjoy. Though I do feel very sorry for all of the hardworking athletes who are going to be ruining their lungs on that wretched smog the Chinese try to pass off as “breathable air.” I think it’s really unfair that all of the athletes who have worked so hard so have to complete under such brutal conditions, as I’m certain breathing black smoke makes it much more difficult to break any records, especially if you’re used to the air in more civilized locations. But that’s just one of so many factors that will add to the drama of this great contest. It will not surprise you to discover that I predict America will handle business and scrape everyone else with a highly respectable medal count. I base this conclusion on my well researched observation that we are better than the rest of the world at most things Sphere: Related Content Tags: Chinese, Olympics Posted in American Pride, Critical Issues, For Discussion
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  First NBA Matchup, Olympic Attendance and ESPY Nominees

  http://www.doubleazone.com/2008/07/first_nba_matchup_olympic...
  42 days ago in NCAA Double-A Zone · Authority: 77

  Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, the top two picks in the recent NBA Draft, met yesterday in their first summer league game. Beasley got the best of the matchup, scoring 28 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Rose had 10 points and four assists in the game. This got me thinking...which college career would you prefer? Would you want to put up Player of the Year-like numbers on a pretty good Kansas State team, or be the point guard for the national champion runner-up? Despite the urging of Congress and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, George Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. In hypothetical news, presidential candidate John McCain said as president he would also attend the ceremonies, but Obama said he would not. As presidential candidates postulate about their fictitious involvement in the Olympics, steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti had a more literal decision to make. After qualifying for the Olympics Famiglietti told the New York Times, "I had a lot of moral dilemmas about making this team and going to a country that is suppressing the human rights of individuals in their country and individuals in Tibet." Famiglietti eventually decided to make the trip to Beijing because, like the 1936 Olympics, "I think if you use it for the right things, it can have an incredible effect on people in a positive way." What do you think? Did Famiglietti and President Bush make the right decision? Ahead of the Olympics, China has ordered 40 factories closed. Will the air be clean by the time the games begin? Colorado defensive tackle George Hypolite is doing more than just getting ready for his senior season on the football field. The All-Big 12 player volunteers at a local Boulder safe house for battered women and children. We know there are numerous student-athletes around the country who do great things like this off the field, and we always love to hear about them. Send us your ideas at hssmith@ncaa.org or mhlawrence@ncaa.org. There are several college ties to the nominations for the upcoming ESPY Awards. A couple of note: Loyola College swimmer Phil Scholz has been named a finalist for the "Best Male Athlete with Disability" category. Scholz will be swimming for the US Paralympics team in Beijing after winning the gold in all four of his events at the trials in April. During his first year at Loyola, Scholz set 14 American swimming records. Division II Western Oregon's softball game against Central Washington was nominated for "Best Sports Moment." Western Oregon's Sara Tucholsky's was carried around the bases by two Central Washington players after tearing her ACL during her first-ever home-run trot.
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  Bush won't boycott Olympic opening ceremonies

  http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/politics-religion-society/1...
  44 days ago in SLUniverse Forums - Second Life Community · Authority: 86

  President Bush has announced he won't boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics because it would be 'an affront to the Chinese people'. I suppose it's a good thing he at least recognizes that he has no room to talk about human rights violations. Bush: Boycotting Olympics would be 'affront' to Chinese - USATODAY.com

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