2008 Olympics // Current TV

Pollution cloud over the Olympics

With less than 50 days to go to the Olympics China has admitted pollution fears remain... more

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Chinese Olympics struck by curse?

Floods sweeping southern China seem to have fulfilled the final stanza of an Internet... more

SilenceNoMore
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3 years ago
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All together now: "Olympics! Add petrol! China! Add petrol!"

China has issued official instructions on how to cheer at the Olympic Games -... more

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'Digging Up the News' w/ Jeremiah Pasternak - episode 1.1

Digg.com has great stories that you won't find anywhere else. I have mad on... more

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Earthquake mutes protests of Beijing Olympics

China's deadly earthquake may have saved the Beijing Olympics.

Just a few weeks ago, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge described the games as "in crisis." They were being battered by pro-Tibet protests, health concerns about Beijing's noxious pollution, and calls for boycotts tied to China's support for Sudan.

The May 12 earthquake changed everything.

"I'm sorry to say it, but this has turned things around," said Gerhard Heiberg, a member of the IOC's executive board member and its marketing director.

After the tragedy in Sichuan province, the games are now riding a wave of goodwill — a feeling that the government's propaganda machine had failed for months to generate.

Of course, 11 weeks remain before the Olympics begin on Aug. 8, and another unexpected event could change everything. Politics still loom, and some athletes are still expected to use the games to speak out on political issues like Darfur and Tibet.

Activist groups grudgingly acknowledge that China's state-controlled media — by allowing uncharacteristic openness in 24-hour earthquake coverage — have shaped the news agenda and gained sympathy for a catastrophe that has killed more than 55,000 people. Instead of criticism, China is receiving wide-ranging praise for its quick earthquake response.

Known for its secrecy, the government has let earthquake coverage flow more freely, with less censorship in an era of quick-moving text messages and the Internet.

State-controlled China Central Television has produced nonstop coverage of the disaster. The government initially allowed more aggressive news reporting, most dealing with the government's rapid response, heroic rescues and grieving.

Following a three-day mourning period, the Olympic torch relay resumed Thursday in Ningbo, an eastern port city that greeted the restart with a minute of silence. Organizers also announced a rejigged relay. Instead of mid-June, the torch will pass through earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province on Aug. 3-5 — just days before the opening ceremony.

"Frankly, few people care about the torch relay these days," said Jiang Dongfang of Shanghai.

"The earthquake killed so many people and caused so much damage. I think it should be a part of the Olympic opening ceremony," she said.

[Credit: Stephen Wade, AP Sports; Photo: AFP]China's deadly earthquake may have saved the Beijing Olympics. Just a few... more

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Zero energy media wall // it's Italian the project for the biggest LED screen

Close to the site of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing there's the biggest LED... more

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Blade Runner: The Amazing Oscar Pistorius Wins His Olympics Appeal

Oscar Pistorius, the amazing double-amputee runner, can compete to win a place on... more

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Disabled athlete granted access to compete in Beijing

Get excited for this summer's sports hero. Well, he has to qualify, first...

Oscar Pistorius will try out for this summer's Olympic Games. His carbon fiber prosthetics are code-named "Cheetahs".

With this movement by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, disabled athletes will be able to compete with able-bodied athlete unless the the International Association of Athletics Federation can "provide indubitable scientific evidence to the contrary", reports The New York Times today.

-Jake
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FROM ARTICLE:

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who was barred from able-bodied competition in January, will be allowed to pursue his dream of qualifying for the Olympic Games after an unexpected decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Court, an international panel which has final say over legal matters in sport, overturned the International Association of Athletics Federations’ ban, ruling in effect that Pistorius’ carbon fiber prosthetic blades do not give him an unfair advantage.

The court came to a decision after hearing expert testimony from Pistorius’s camp and the I.A.A.F., track and field’s governing body, on April 29 and 30 in Lausanne, Switzerland. It published its opinion in a statement at 9 a.m., Eastern time.The I.A.A.F. had declared Pistorius ineligible for able-bodied competition in January despite originally clearing him to compete last spring, pending further investigation. Pistorius will be allowed to resume his efforts immediately.

*clip*

What the decision means for other disabled athletes hoping to compete in the Olympics is that they will be allowed to compete with able-bodied athletes unless the I.A.A.F. can provide indubitable scientific evidence to the contrary. In the past, I.A.A.F. spokesman Nick Davies has insisted that these matters can only be treated on a case by case basis with the burden of proof on the athletes to show that the prosthetics do not provide an unfair advantage.

“Unless there is adequate evidence to support that determination,” Kessler said. “Then the disabled should be allowed to compete.”Get excited for this summer's sports hero. Well, he has to qualify, first...... more

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Can't Torch This // Comment Picked for TV

Thanks to Eric_C for his response to "Can't Torch This" -- a JT hosted... more

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After China quake, Olympic torch relay shortened

The Beijing Olympic torch relay will be scaled down in the wake of the devastating... more

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4 years ago
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Beijing Internet Police make an arrest

The Beijing Internet Police Strike The AP is reporting, “A Chinese man was... more

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4 years ago
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China announces Everest torch squad, includes Tibetans

China announced today a 36-member squad, including 24 ethnic Tibetans and three women,... more

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4 years ago
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2008 Beijing Olympic Symbol Origins Discovered!

After months of research, the origin of the 2008 Beijing Olympic symbol has finally... more

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4 years ago
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Weather threatens Everest torch ascent

Even mother nature is protesting the torch bearer this year.

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Thunderous welcome for Olympic torch in China

Thunderous applause and cheers greeted the Olympic torch today as it began the first... more

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China trying to censor internet access for Olympics guests

Sen. Sam Brownback says China is preasuring US hotels to monitor or even limit the... more

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4 years ago
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Olympic demonstrations continue in South Korea

Pro and anti-China demonstrators have clashed in Seoul, South Korea during the latest... more

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Public banned from Japan torch leg

Japan will shut out the public at the start, midpoint and end of its leg of the... more

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4 years ago
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Got Moves?

Go to Current.com/getdown and show us what you got... or just watch other people... more

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4 years ago
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Olympic protest movement turns its sights on to sponsors

The linked rings on every Chinese Coke bottle and the leaping athletes on each... more

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4 years ago
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