Olympic Ideals

This video live from the Olympic Stadium nicknamed "Birds nest" is on April 8, exactly 4 months before the opening ceremonies begin. This while we watch CNN broadcast the many protests going on in London and Paris and soon to be San Francisco. Which is why we are focusing on the ideas of the founder of the Olympics, Pierre de' Courbertin when he founded the games in 1896. Stay tuned as we send more video from Beijing.

Beijing Hutong Rooftops

This video report shows the hutong rooftops of an area north of the forbidden city. The gray roof tiles against the gray polluted skies is a reminder of how the battle continues for clear skies here in Beijing.

Off to Beijing with four months until the games begin

Well I am off to Beijing today to see what things are looking like for the Olympics. A whirlwind trip for one week to document some of the historic preservations of the hutongs (or lack thereof?) so we will see what we can accomplish on this short exploratory trip. Wish me luck with all that is going on with the Olympics and china right now. Guess this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone but given how the pure symbol of the Olympics stated by Pierre de' Coubertin at the first Olympics in 1896, it has come a long way since then and Politics are just a reality in the world we live in.

Stay tuned for more updates this week live from Beijing.

Preservation of Old Beijing?

Well, here we are, and another week has passed. We are nearing the 5 months until date (March 8) of the opening ceremonies and soon the Olympic games will be upon us. I will be in Beijing from April 6-12 doing some research on "Old Beijing" and the preservation or lack thereof of the Hutong neighborhoods. It is a tricky thing, preserving something that in many cases is a decrepit old structure that lacks proper plumbing and electricity and the Beijing governments rush to modernize before the games begin. They are in a difficult position for sure and no matter what they do they will be criticized with the world watching. What do you think about this issue? Here is a recent photo of the Birds Nest from October. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Beichley.

Speilberg drops out...

The politics of the Olympics are now beginning to be felt with Steven Spielberg's withdrawal as an artistic consultant for the opening ceremonies because of Beijings reluctance to outright condemn the actions of Sudan. In this day and age, politics is a part of the world stage no matter what and this is a good things. With the hypo in the next four months to only get more focused on Human Rights and China's future, we will see more and more of things like this. For a link to more info on this, see the links under 2-18-08. What do you think?

Congressional hearings in Washington D.C.

I was surprised to get an email regarding upcoming hearings as part of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. They will hold a hearing entitled "The Impact of the 2008 Olympic Games on Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China" on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. As the Olympics approach in less than six months, I wonder how the media will react and if politics will begin to play a part of this sporting event. Quite honestly I wish they could focus on the games, bringing the world together to celebrate life, sports and all but will all that goes on with sports doping, with the US political race heating up and global politics even more closely and quickly held that we are beyond the pure sport.

Here is a link to the hearing in Washington. Let me know what you think the impact will be post Olympics for Beijing, China and the world.

http://www.cecc.gov/pages/hearings/2007/20070227/index.php

Beijing bound

Well, yesterday I booked my flight to the Beijing Olympics. I will be there from August 4 - August 21 and now I can really plan the trip. Next up is lodging, have a possible apartment but am open to other suggestions too. I know the hype always makes travelers nervous towards the olympics that everything will be booked and very expensive but in my past four olympics that always doesn't happen. But we will see since Beijing and the Beijingers seem to be trying to cash in big time, with most places averaging 10 times the normal cost. Talk about gouging tourists....

200 days and counting

Well, the countdown hit another milestone today as you can see by the clipped graphic here from the website. It looks to be cold in Beijing right now but they will warm up soon enough as the venue's are completed. I wonder how many migrant workers are putting in long hours to get the stadiums ready? More than we can count I imagine.

Beijing here we come...

Well, here we are in 2008 and I have my Olympic event tickets ready for the trip. Now the only thing is to find a place t stay that isn't more than 20 times the normal price for a stay in Beijing. The spiked prices especially from the "official" travel in the USA really makes you wonder what the Olympics are about. It is about $2000 a day hotel rooms per person for a 3 night stay in Beijing? Of is it about the real people - the common folks who will be enjoying the events and the people from around the world? This fish is from a recent trip to Belize, C.A.