Beijing 2008 - The Final Medal Tally

The final gold medal tally of the 2008 Olympic Games was 51 to 36 in favor of China over the United States. The United States led in the overall medal count by 110 to 100 over the host city, China. Russia won 72 medals and Great Britian, host of the 2012 Olympic Games won 47.

The United States failed to medal in 16 of 38 disciplines or sub-disciplines, and in several sports was unable to achieve even a single top-eight finish. Weightlifting, track, and diving will need to be the focus for United States improvement in London 2012.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Game Highlights:

The Stars

Michael Phelps - United States - A human fish in the Water Cube in Beijing 2008. Eight Gold Medals

Usain Bolt - Jamaica - Fastest human alive even though she was competing in a Bird's Nest.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh - 108 match winning streak in volleyball is still in tact after Beijing gold. Great photo with President Bush as well.

Olga Kharlan - The Zorro of Sabre won gold for Ukraine.

Yukiko Ueno - Japan - Threw 21 innings in a single day and the last 28 innings overall to win gold for Japan in softball.

Maarten van der Weijden - Netherlands - overcame long odds battling leukemia in 2001 to win Olympic gold in 2008.

Other Notable Medal Winners:

United States’ Jason Lezak - Two swimming Golds and a Bronze

Australia’s Stephanie Rice - Three swimming Golds

China’s Yang Wei - Gymnastics - All Around Gold

United States’ Nastia Liukin - Gymnastics - All Around Gold

China’s Guo Jingjing - Two Diving Golds

British cyclist Chris Hoy, won three gold medals in Beijing, and British sailor Ben Ainslie, has now won gold in three straight Olympic Games.

Future Story To Watch:

He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin - China - gymnastic team won gold but these three gymnasts were probably all under the age requirement of 16.

The 2008 Olympic Games Can't Fill The Stadium

In truth, it seemed like only yesterday that confident predictions of full houses at every Olympic event were being advanced by organizers of these Olympic Games.

However, the predictions have not proven to be accurate with a noticable lack of spectators attending most competitive venues.
In fact,many events in Beijing 2008 have been held in front of empty seats. This has lead Olympic organizers to admit that they are using "volunteers" to fill some of those empty seats at different Olympic venues.

After computer animated fireworks and lip syncing little girls in the Opening Ceremony in Beijing 2008, the world should not really be to surprised by China's use of fake fans at many of the Olympic Games venues.

These fake fans are easily recognizable and have been attending in large numbers. These yellow-shirted "cheerleaders" are recruited to create an atmosphere and to prevent the embarrassing spectacle of empty seats from appearing on television.

Meanwhile, the world has been told that all 6.8m tickets for the Games have been sold. So, what is going on here? The vast majority of tickets have been sold to Chinese nationals but despite the assurances of the organizers, Olympic enthusiasm has not been sufficient motivation for them to take up their seats.

Also,consider that global sponsors, who are each paying tens of millions of dollars to be associated with these games are reportedly complaining that few visitors have been let through to see their pavilions.

It is a spectator no show of Olympic proportions. Tight security, difficult access to the Olympic location and ticket scaping by Chinese officials that were given free tickets are contributing factors. In addition,humid,rainy weather and an apparent lack of interest in the preliminary events are also being blamed.

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China can't fill the stadium, even with the help of all those fake cheering fans.

(Photograph of empty seats at the women's beach volleyball tournament by: Georgios Kefalos/EPA)

Beijing 2008: An Opening Olympic Ceremony That Was Unreal

The opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing, China was acclaimed worldwide. In fact, nearly 14% of the world's population (3 billion people) watched an Olympic Ceremony from China that was in the words of international critics breathtaking, flawless, and delvered with perfect execution.

The world saw a flawless little Chinese girl that had the voice of an angel. Also, there was that incredible fireworks display that proceeded through the night sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird's Nest stadium. Indeed the performances in the Opening Ceremonies were unreal.

Now, we have found out how unreal it really was. Consider that the 9 year old little Chinese girl in the red dress we saw by the name of Lin Miaoke singing "Hymn to the Motherland", lip-synched the entire song. The song was actually vocalized by another little girl by the name of Yang Peiyi but she did not appear because she did not present the proper image for China. Her problem was a lack of a "flawless" appearence due in part to her buck teeth. A member of the Chinese Politburo made the final decision to feature the "flawless" little singer that lip-synced the song instead of the real one.

How about that wonderful fireworks display? It was also unreal. Chinese officials have now admitted that the pictures of those giant firework footprints which marched across Beijing towards the stadium on Friday night were prerecorded, digitally enhanced and inserted into footage beamed for the entire world to see. So, the entire world was really just watching Chinese computer animation of a fireworks display.

The dubious slogan of environmentally friendly games which are being held in the word's most polluted air. Propaganda about basic human rights from a country that holds one of the the world's most dismal human rights records. A "Flawless" little Chinese girl in a red dress that appears to sing but lip-sync's instead . A breathtaking fireworks display that is really just deceptive computer animation. Welcome to the 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing, China. It should be amazing. It will also be unreal.

China And Russia Use The Media As Olympic Sport

It is often said by media professionals that if you want to announce something damaging or have a particularly negative thing to hide or disclose, the best time to do it in the perpetual media news cycle is late on a Friday afternoon. Of course, its even better if late Friday afternoon comes just before a huge international news and sporting event like the Olympic Games.

The idea is for the bad news and publicity to become diluted and eventually forgotten over the weekend or in the constant media news stream to come. This is exactly what Russia hoped for last Friday afternoon. With the world's attention focused on the 2008 Olympic games, Russia invaded Georgia and as a result nearly 2000 people are feared dead, today.

Of course, the invasion itself was several years in the making and the formula for conflict was already in play. An independent Georgia was seeking inclusion into NATO, had supported the U.S. military in Iraq and had recently launched an invasion of its own into South Ossetia. The truth is that Georgia had become a painful thorn in the side of the Kremlin. Therefore, the timing was perfect for Russia to make an agressive military move against Georgia under the international news cover of the 2008 Olympic Games.

So, last friday evening as the world watched the opening ceremonies of China's international propaganda game, Russian tanks were on the move against the country George Bush once called "The Beacon of Liberty".

Indeed, while thinking of the President, liberty and basic human rights, exactly what was George W. Bush, doing attending that opening Olympic ceremony in Beijing, anyway? He would spend much of the evening like the rest of the international community watching China's showmanship and empty propaganda about the importance of human rights. In addition, he could also be seen smiling with Vladamir Putin as Russia's military invasion of Georgia was well underway.

The truth is that if you include the names of countries like Tibet, Myanmar, Darfur, Zimbabawe, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Georgia to this administration's eight year resume, it all adds up to an American foreign policy that is in complete and total disarray. Bush would have been much better off staying home as a protest to China's cyncial use of basic human rights in these 2008 Olympic games.

In retrospect, it was a weekend that highlighted China and Russia's intent to exploit the news media. Indeed, China presented their best artificial image to the international community while Russia would use international Olympic news coverage in an attempt to cover an ongoing military conquest.

As China and Russia used the international media as an Olympic sport, their opening weekend extravaganza was there for everyone in the world to see, in color, on split screen T.V.

China's 2008 Olympic Games

The 2008 Olympic Games begin with the opening ceremony in Beijing, China this Friday August 8, 2008. However, China's real Olympic games began several years ago with its promises to the world to improve its dismal record on human rights, and to grant free and unrestrained access to the international press covering the games. China also pledged to clean up Beijing's air quality for these 2008 Olympic Games.

These promises were made by China in order to win the honor of having Beijing host the 2008 summer Olympics Games. Unfortunately, all these promises were nothing more than a cynical game. For weeks, international headlines have told the same sad stories concerning Beijing 2008: Internet censorship, a crackdown on internal dissent, restricted freedom for international reporters, no human rights improvement in Tibet and Myanmar. Also, Beijing's air quality is still the worst in the world. Olympians in the outside events will be physically challenged in the world's worst air.

The broken promises by China speak louder than empty words and slogans as we approach these so called environmentally friendly 2008 Olympic Games. Its clear that for China, the issues of basic human rights and the environment are just tools to be used in its Olympic propaganda games.

In retrospect, it is very difficult to understand how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could be so easily manipulated into awarding Beijing the venue of the 2008 Olympic Games in the first place.

So, later this week, when the world hears "Let these 2008 Olympic Games begin", everyone should realize that China has already been playing its own Olympic Games on the issues of human rights, and the environment with the International community and the I.O.C. now for each of these past seven years.

For more on the 2008 Olympic Games, Read: Beijing 2008 Was A Bad Bet By The I.O.C. on eworldvu.com