Good point and well taken
the more i'm seeing of the fine young people representing their countries, the more sentimental i feel. i hope it's all they hoped it would be, they shouldn't be the ones to suffer, now is their time to shine. I'm very proud of my countries pick for flag bearer and i'm sure every country has heartwarming stories to tell, i'm looking forward to reading them.
Former 'Lost Boy' to lead U.S. Olympians in Beijing - CNN.com
he was six years old when he was separated from his family, wandered and endured thousands of miles and spent 10 years in a refugee camp. IMO he's a champion, medal or not.
*quote from article
*A U.S. athlete who overcame the chaos of war in Sudan to become a middle-distance runner in the United States will carry the American flag during Friday's opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games.
*Teammates chose him Wednesday
*Lomong is a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes committed to raising awareness about chronic violence in the Darfur region of western
Sudan.
He was among roughly 3,800 refugees, dubbed the Lost Boys of Sudan by reporters and aid workers, who were resettled in cities around the United States.
*The Chinese government this week revoked the visa of Team Darfur's co-founder, former speedskating gold medalist Joey Cheek and activist for Darfur, the group said, without offering a reason
but then i read this and remember orwell's "doublespeak" and i have to bang my head.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Beijing pollution efforts hailed
*quotes (my thoughts)
*He said there would be no danger to the health of athletes, despite continuing concerns about pollution levels
*BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organization (WHO) standards. It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at
191 micrograms per cubic metre. This far exceeds the WHO target of
50 micrograms/cubic metre, and also exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre (OMG
)
*Mr Rogge praised the Chinese authorities for having done "everything that is feasible and humanly possible to address this situation". "What they have done is extraordinary," (i have no doubt they've tried but....
)
*"absolutely no danger" to the health of athletes taking part in events that last less than one hour (i'm sorry i don't understand this thinking, if it's bad, it's bad, it doesn't just turn bad at 61 minutes)
*Mr Rogge urged reporters to distinguish between fog and pollution - a point, correspondents say, often made by Chinese authorities. "The fog, you see, is based on the basis of humidity and heat. It does not mean that this fog is the same as pollution" (not doublespeak, its quadriple speak) ( i thought that was what smog is, fog mixed with pollution
smog - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, somebody get this man a dictionary)
