Beijing Olympics 2008

Croatia upset Canada in a blow-out quarterfinal clash on July 18 in the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens.

Canada ranks three places higher than 20th place Croatia. However, what was predicted to be a tight game turned out to be a slaughter that went to the underdogs.

In the first half both teams struggled in scoring but made a strong showing on defense. Croatia scored 18 points in each quarter, while Canada only trailed seven points at the end of the second.

In the second half, Croatia made it a totally different game as they found their shooting touch and suffocated their opponents’ offense at the same time. In the third quarter Canada essentially lost the game, underscoring 13-26. Although they came back with 20 points in the fourth, it was too little too late to stop the Croatians taking the game 83-62.

Marko Popovic scored 17 points for the winners but he was not the best shooter of the night. Croatian shot an astonishing 62% within the 3-point line and an excellent 39% behind the arc. They had five players with 10 more points, three of which didn’t miss a single shot.

Olu Famutimi was the best player on the Canadian team, netting 14 points. However, he shot only 25% from field, worse than the team’s miserable overall 27.11%. Canada grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, 10 more than their opponents, but they underperformed on offense, dishing out only seven assists the whole game, while Croatia doubled that.

Croatia becomes the first team to enter the semifinals, and will face Germany on Saturday.

from: beijing2008.cn

More than 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries will be competing in the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing which is scheduled to begin in August 2008. As the sole official vehicle partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Volkswagen Group is supplying the Organisation Committee with a fleet of 5,000 vehicles to transport athletes, officials and VIPs during the Olympic Games.
To support a fleet of this magnitude, Volkswagen will provide a dedicated team of more than 140 technical specialists for daily vehicle checks and professional maintenance. In addition, Volkswagen will appoint more than 40 dealers in Beijing among the Audi, FAW-Volkswagen, Shanghai Volkswagen and Skoda dealers to provide 24/7 maintenance for the official Olympic cars.

Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing
In addition to the official Olympic fleet vehicles, Volkswagen will also have a large exhibition area set up in the Beijing Green Common Domain to present the ‘Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing’ which will carry the theme of the “Past, Present and Future”. This will feature the hundred year history of the automotive industry, the establishment and development of China’s motoring industry and China’s thirty years of reform. The seven Olympic torches from previous Olympics Games will also be featured to remind visitors of the history of the Olympic Games.
The utilisation of modern and water elements in the design of the Volkswagen Group Olympic Showcasing coincides with that of the “Bird’s Nest” and the “Water Cube” stadiums. The “outdoor” design brings visitors closer to the environment and enables them to experience the harmony between humankind and Mother Nature. The three sites synchronise with each other to form a unity. In the exhibition area, Volkswagen will also set up a 78-metre long screen wall with 9 movable display panels to showcase the competition of the Olympic Games at that particular time.
Among those expected to partake in the experience and delight that comes with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are distinguished guests and customers of Volkswagen, business partners as well as rewarded outstanding employees from Volkswagen.

Green Olympics
One of the most prominent features of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is its long standing pledge to stage a “Green Olympics”. To endorse this concept Volkswagen will illustrate their achievements in research and development including the evolution of new energy-conserving and environmentally friendly fuels, such as the Sun Fuel technology and other green energy resources.

The Olympic spirit of “faster, higher and stronger” is a long-term pursuit of Volkswagen; in retrospect, the “Green Olympics, High-Tech Olympics and People’s Olympics” concept of the 2008 Olympic Games is closely aligned with the long-term quest and practice of Volkswagen in such fields as environmental protection, sci-tech advancement and social responsibilities.

Volkswagen will endeavor to support the Organisation Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (BOCOG) in its efforts to be an outstanding host during the Olympic Games and spread the Olympic Spirit in China.

source: albawaba.com

People who provide police with evidence of a “major security threat” to the Beijing Olympics could receive a reward of up to 500,000 yuan ($73,000), Beijing media reported on Friday.

The tip-off must include accurate and detailed information about a planned terrorist attack, possible sabotage by an illegal organization, such as the Falun Gong, murder of Olympic-related personnel or foreigners, or some other major crimes, a notice jointly issued by the city’s police bureau and public security comprehensive management committee said.
The notice said the rewards would range upwards from 10,000 yuan and be determined by the value of the tip-off. The offer will be in place from July 10 to Oct 31.

The rewards are designed to “mobilize the masses to maintain public security, as well as to eliminate hidden dangers to the Games“, the notice said.

The payout scheme is the city’s latest move to ensure a safe Games. In Beijing, police rewards for major tip-offs are usually below 10,000 yuan, with a maximum of 100,000 yuan for information regarding serious crimes.

The Ministry of Public Security and Interpol have both warned of the “real threat” of terrorism during the Olympics.

On Wednesday, police in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said they cracked five terrorism groups in the first half of this year, and had detained 82 suspected terrorists who had allegedly been plotting to sabotage the Beijing Games.

In April, the public security ministry also reported several failed terrorist plots to disrupt the Games, including poison gas and bomb attacks on hotels and government offices in Beijing and other cities, and kidnapping foreign athletes and spectators.

Sources also said they had received public reports on suspicious explosives and guns in apartments near the Olympic Village, but would not elaborate.

To prevent possible attacks, authorities in the capital have instituted a raft of security measures.

A strong anti-terrorism force is in place, surface-to-air missiles have been deployed around key venues and security checks are being conducted in subways.

Starting next week, security staff will also be deployed at hundreds of checkpoints on roads into the city. All passengers and vehicles with licenses registered outside Beijing will be subject to security checks.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

AC Milan reiterated their refusal to let Kaká take part in the Olympics with an official note on their website.

With a note on their official website, AC Milan wanted to silence the rumours going around in Brazil concerning Kaká’s possible participation to the Beijing Olympics with the Brazilian national team.

“Following the news stories which appeared in Brazil today concerning Kaká’s possible participation to the Beijing Olympics,” it says on the note, “A.C. Milan reiterate the position already expressed earlier, not allowing the player to join the Brazilian Olympic team.”

Kaká’s Milan team mate Pato probably will be a part of the Brazilian squad, and there were even rumours that Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi would join the Italian squad in Beijing.

from: goal.com

As U.S. congressional leaders disbanded for the July Fourth holiday last week, the White House quietly released travel schedules confirming that President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.
The careful timing will not mute the impact of the decision. As a rising tide of world leaders boycotts the ceremony, Mr. Bush will lend his imprimatur to a regime that continues to jail dissidents and persecute religious groups, back a criminal junta in Burma and bankroll what Mr. Bush himself has described as genocide in Darfur.
Politicians and human-rights advocates have sharply criticized the decision, with some drawing comparisons to leaders who attended the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which served as a propaganda machine for Hitler’s regime. “If this were 1936,” asked Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R., Calif.), “would President Bush be anxious to sit next to Adolf?”
The White House has insisted that Mr. Bush views the Olympics as an apolitical sporting event. But he has chosen to participate in the one portion of the Games aimed at showcasing the Beijing regime’s political and economic primacy.
A contingent of world leaders is boycotting the ceremony, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering. In the U.S., Barack Obama and John McCain have taken strong positions. Sen. McCain has indicated he would not have attended without significant reform on China’s part, while Sen. Obama directly called Mr. Bush to task for his decision. Scores of lawmakers have proposed boycotts, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
China has historically resisted international pressure. But it has jumped to defend the all-important Beijing Olympics. The regime responded to publicity linking Darfur to the Games last year with startling immediacy, hastily placing defensive articles in U.S. newspapers and lifting a longstanding veto threat to allow the U.N. to authorize peacekeepers for Darfur. With the Olympics an unprecedented point of leverage, an opening ceremony boycott may have been one of the few gestures capable of moving Beijing.
Mr. Bush could have declined to attend at little political expense. A boycott limited to the opening ceremony would avoid targeting the athletes competing in the Games. It would send a powerful symbolic message — a clear refusal to endorse mass murder, genocide and religious persecution — without substantively affecting economic or political ties.
Instead, Mr. Bush will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with China’s President Hu Jintao at a time when his regime’s abuses continue unabated.
Mr. Bush has passed up a critical opportunity, but he still has the power to demonstrate moral leadership. How he chooses to frame his decision will have real impact. He should use his attendance as a platform to press China to live up to its reform promises, and join human-rights groups in expressing hope that Beijing will release political prisoners before the opening ceremony. He should reiterate the pleas of other world leaders that China use its unparalleled influence with Sudan to halt the slaughter in Darfur.
Mr. Bush claimed that declining the invitation would be “an affront to the Chinese people.” In fact, not attending would have been a far stronger show of solidarity with individuals across China who have been brutalized by the Beijing regime. Baiqiao Tang, who was imprisoned for participating in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, was one of several Chinese dissidents urging leaders not to whitewash Beijing’s image. “I feel so sad,” he said last week at City Hall in Manhattan, “that most of the political leaders are going to go to the opening ceremony of the Games with Chinese Communist Party leaders.”
The U.S. has lost an opportunity to stand up for the people of Darfur and Burma, and for countless Chinese citizens like Mr. Tang. But the Bush administration still has a chance to serve as a moral voice on their behalf, and to make good on its professed commitment to defending democracy and freedom across the world.

from: online.wsj.com

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games next month, the State Department said on Thursday.
According to department spokesman Sean McCormack, Rice, who just visited China late last month, is also likely to attend some sport games in August.
He did not release other details about Rice’s travel.
Rice’s trip was announced after the White House confirmed earlier this month that President George W. Bush would attend the Beijing Olympics Games’ opening ceremony.

from: xinhuanet.com

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday thanked US President George W. Bush, who has announced he will attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies, for not “politicising” the Games.

Hu said through an interpreter after talks with Bush on the margin of a rich nations summit in Japan that he “highly appreciated that President Bush has on various occasions expressed his opposition to politicising the Olympic Games.”

“I told the president I was looking forward to coming to the Olympics. I reminded him that not only am I coming, but my wife, my mother and dad will be there and we’re looking forward to your hospitality,” Bush said.

“In this context, the president and I have constantly had discussions about human rights and political freedom. He knows my position and as I told our people, Mister President, I don’t need the Olympics to talk candidly with somebody who I’ve got good relations with,” he said.

Bush said Sunday that skipping the August 8 opening gala, as human rights activists had urged him to do, would have been “an affront” to China’s people, making it harder to engage with China’s leaders.

“So I’m looking forward to your hospitality,” he said. “I’m hoping to get tickets for the US-Chinese basketball game. If you can help me get a ticket, I’d appreciate it.”

The US leader said he and Hu had “candid discussions” on issues like Taiwan, Sudan and trade in their talks on the sidelines of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations in northern Japan.

Hu said their “sincere and friendly” talks also covered diplomatic efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its atomic ambitions and Iran to curb its suspect nuclear programme.

“I also briefed President Bush on the Chinese position on the Taiwan issue and informed President Bush about the current situation in the Taiwan straits,” said Hu.

“We hope that the US side will continue to follow the ‘One-China’ policy,” Hu said, referring to Washington’s policy of recognising only the Beijing government of mainland China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy also announced on the margins of the G8 on Wednesday that he would attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games despite an earlier threat to boycott over a crackdown in Tibet.

from: afp.google.com

They are not accredited with the Beijing Olympic Games’ organizers. But they are journalists all the same and may have a more enjoyable experience than their accredited counterparts at the Main Press Center (MPC).
The 2008 Beijing International Media Center (BIMC) for non-accredited journalists opened yesterday and offers all the routine services such as news conferences and free Internet access.
But those comprise the cake. The thick icing comes in the shape of cultural activities: Peking Opera and acrobatic performances, folk handicraft shows, experiencing the fine art of Chinese embroidery, watching 20 Chinese movies with English subtitles and city tours. The list runs longer.
And the cherry on the cake is that the journalists can enjoy all those free.
As if those are not enough, the non-accredited journalists have a mouth-watering offer: a buffet dinner with 30-50 Chinese and Western dishes for only $1. Not impressed. Just see what their accredited counterparts have to pay for a combination-meal at the MPC: at least $10.
“We aim to make life more convenient for the journalists, and we hope they feel at home here,” said BIMC director Zhai Huisheng.
So far, more than 5,000 journalists, 2,700 of them from abroad, have registered with the BIMC, says Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, who is working with the BIMC to help reporters. “More are expected to register because the process is still on.”
The BIMC will organize two or three press conferences every day. For burning issues such as environmental protection and the economy, “we will invite professionals to talk face-to-face with the journalists”, Zhai said.
The journalists can apply for information on specific topics or to interview somebody. “We’ll help them arrange the interviews,” Zhai said. Or, they can travel across the country to get information on something they are interested in.
The 60,000-sq-m center has three working areas, two press conference halls and 12 media rooms from the first to the fourth floors in the 19-story building.
The floors above the fourth are guest rooms where the non-accredited journalists can stay, though they have to pay for it.
The bigger press conference hall can seat about 500 people and the other about 200. The three working areas can hold about 570 journalists, and have 200 desktops for those not carrying a laptop. But free wireless Internet service is available only on the first, second and 19th floors of the building.
“I am quite satisfied with the facilities here,” says Juan Rosso, a journalist with Colombia’s Caracol TV International. “The staff and volunteers are very kind and have helped me a lot.”
Chito Romana, Beijing bureau chief of ABC News, says he is more interested in Chinese people’s reaction to the Games and their interaction with foreigners. “Stories about people are the most interesting.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn

TOYAKO - French President Nicolas Sarkozy will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, representing his own country and the European Union, his office said on Wednesday.
Sarkozy met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of a summit of world leaders in nothern Japan on Wednesday.
“The President of the Republic has confimed to the Chinese president his intention of travelling to Beijing on August 8 to take part in the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games,” the French presidency’s office said in a statement.
As well as France, Sarkozy would represent the EU because France holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc, the office said.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Sporting skimpy outfits and glistening smiles, the women dancing in a Beijing gym could be cheerleaders for any US sports team. Only the colorful fans and nunchaku gave them away.
One month before the Beijing Olympics, hundreds of Chinese women are flocking to a gym in the suburbs of the capital to learn how to jump, flip and cheer for the tens of thousands of spectators who will attend this summer’s Games.
Cheerleading is a quintessentially American tradition but has become more and more popular in China, thanks in large part to the phenomenal success of US basketball among China’s youth, who are not shocked by scantily clad dancers.
Olympic organizers have embraced the dance teams as a colorful way to keep spectators happy during breaks in play in basketball, beach volleyball and some of the other sports.
Some of the women are professional dancers, others come from dance schools around the country.
Training sessions will run until July 27, but last week, the women working out in Jingdong, an hour’s drive from Beijing, learned from some of the best - the cheerleaders for the Super Bowl runners-up, the New England Patriots.
“They’re a lot like Americans - they use pompoms, they do flips,” 20-year-old Patriot dancer Corie Mae Callaluca said.
She is every bit the stereotypical cheerleader with long blonde hair and blue eyes.
When the Patriot squad launched into one high-energy routine after another during a demonstration, their Chinese students watched with wide-eyed admiration and envy.
For 22-year-old university graduate Pei Qiyu, working out with Callaluca and her teammates was a great pre-Olympic confidence builder.
“We’re learning this new skill. Our sessions with foreign cheerleaders have really been a great way to learn. We like their style, and what we’re learning from them,” Pei said.
Organizers are hoping the lala dui, as they are known in Chinese, will enchant spectators with their signature style, mixing elements from traditional Peking opera with typical US hip-hop routines.
“We use a lot of moves and props from Chinese folk dances, like fans,” Pei, who will entertain the crowd at the Olympic basketball venue, said.
Pei says she hopes the Olympic cheers will help spectators learn more about Chinese dance.

from: chinadaily.com.cn