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BEIJING -- Just when it seemed that nothing good could pierce the gloomy, gray haze that stifles this city, just when the U.S. Olympic Committee set the bar of foolishness and political expediency higher than any gold medalist will ever jump, a story comes along to remind the world that the Olympics, though appallingly commercialized, still have great redemptive power. The captains of the U.S. teams participating in the Beijing Games soared above the pettiness of their elders Wednesday when they chose 1,500-meter runner Lopez Lomong, a Sudanese refugee who was abducted from his church at age 6 and targeted...

WASHINGTON — Though it was hoped that the Olympic Games would bring about an opening on religious freedom and human rights in China, the opposite seems to have occurred.That’s according to observers and religious freedom activists. “Instead of improvements in conditions for religious freedom and other human rights, we’ve seen broad efforts to crack down on and control religious activity,” Nina Shea, senior fellow with the Center for Religious Freedom, told the Congressional Task Force for International Religious Freedom June 20. Steve Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, believes that the Chinese government will do anything to avoid...

KASHGAR, China (AFP) - Chinese authorities Friday announced stepped up controls on religious figures and potential "trouble-makers" in the Muslim city of Kashgar as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing. The order by the Kashgar government followed an attack that killed 16 police officers and a new threat by ethnic Uighur separatists from China's far northwest Xinjiang region to attack the Games. "To ensure stability, (authorities) have strengthened controls on non-residents to root out trouble, and stepped up controls on key people, religious figures and trouble-making petitioners to stay abreast of things," said an announcement on the city government's website....

Reporters charged with covering the Olympics are now whining about "not knowing what they will be able to cover and not knowing how much the Chinese government will censor their online coverage." The fact that the mainstream media is even remotely surprised at a Communist Government not allowing complete freedom of the press is laughable, irrespective of the fact that China promised them complete freedom to report on the events after this one party state was awarded the honor of hosting the Olympics. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is absolutely right when he reminds folks that the Chinese government is "only doing...

Woman falls from consulate in Olympics protest Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, August 7, 2008 (08-06) 13:03 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A rappelling protester fell two stories from the roof of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco Wednesday, two days before the Olympic Games begin in Beijing and amid worldwide protest against China's human rights record in Tibet. San Francisco police and the State Department are conducting a joint investigation into the incident, including claims that the protester's ropes may have been intentionally cut. The protester was identified as Nyendak Wangden, 22, of Suisun City and a member of...

Had the National Population and Family Planning Commission not rescinded its invitation, I would be in China right now as the Olympics opened. But the Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the one-child policy, belatedly realized that I was a well-known critic of that policy--and of that country's human rights record in general-- and barred the door. I confess to not having been overly disappointed by their decision. Despite the fact that I read, write and speak Chinese, it would have been nearly impossible for me to do anything else in Beijing but the one thing that I will not...

2008 Olympics begin August 8th through to August 24. Live streaming on CBC begins with the opening ceremonies early am. NBC in prime time in evening.

<p>An Islamic group that has threatened to attack the Olympics released a new video warning Muslims to avoid planes, trains and buses used by Chinese, a US group that monitors militant organisations said.</p> <p>The six-minute video, issued two days before Friday's opening of the Beijing games, was purportedly made by the Turkistan Islamic Party, which seeks independence for China's western Xinjiang region, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Thursday.</p>

PARIS (AFP) - Police banned demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Paris on Thursday but critics of China's human rights record stepped up protests elsewhere in the world to mark the start of the Beijing Olympics. Police in the French capital said they did not want a repeat of the "violent disturbances" that broke out in April when the Olympic torch passed through Paris, when activists angry at China's crackdown in Tibet disrupted the route. They banned any protests outside the embassy on Thursday and Friday, when the Games officially open, including a demonstration planned Friday by a coalition including...

What to Look For as the Olympics Kick Off The Summer Olympics, a 17-day extravaganza, begins in Beijing on Friday. There is a torrent of news about the event, so it’s hard to know what to look for — and what to ignore — as we try to figure out what’s really going on. There are three things to pay special attention to in the next two days. The first is the reaction of Chinese officials themselves. There is a new hint of caution in government statements about the Olympics. This seems to say that, even at this late date,...

CHINA has not done enough to fix its pollution and indeed may have permanently damaged the environment, Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said today. As Beijing was again cloaked in a dirty haze just hours before its Opening Ceremony, Coates said he hoped one of the legacies of the 2008 Games would be that China took greater care of its habitat. Asked if Games organisers had done enough to clean up the atmosphere, Coates said: "No. But I don't know what more thay can do. "This may well be permanent damage. "I am no world expert but to have...

Beijing smog makes for a painful jog Will Pavia in Beijing All day yesterday Beijing was obscured by thick grey air, a phenomenon known in the Chinese state media as “overcast and hazy skies”, and described by the rest of the world as smog. Beijingers claim that the smog has thinned slightly in recent weeks, thanks to the factory closures and the one million cars removed from the roads, but still, for the newly arrived visitor, the vast windows of Beijing’s new airport terminal present an astonishing vista of nothingness. “We were gobsmacked when we landed,” an American athlete said....

These strong words coupled with President Bush’s visit to Beijing send a powerful message to the CCP and to the rest of the world; President Bush and the United States will participate in the 2008 Oympic Games but they refuse to ignore the dire human rights crisis that is taking place in China. President Bush is not attending the Olympics to appease Beijing; he is attending so that he can have one last opportunity to pressure Chinese president Hu JinTao, who unlike President Bush, still has a few years left in office. While President Bush and President Hu have had...

The President, First Lady and their daughter Barbra were in Thailand today and then travelled to Beijing China where they will attend the opening of Olympics tomorrow. Pray for President Bush -- Day 2885

Another video out of Turkistan makes more threats against the Olympics in Beijing. Like several other previous videos from this group, this video was uploaded to YouTube. If can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sufKQ_t5NfA We are currently working on a complete translation of this video.

China: Beijing's autocrats now complain about criticism of their "internal affairs." We say, get used to it. They asked for the Olympic Games, and now they have to endure the spotlight.The 2008 Olympics start Friday not far from the scene of a bloody massacre 19 years ago, when Chinese authorities crushed the Tiananmen Square uprising in the dead of night. We can say this much: There will be no convenient time for brutally crushing protests this time around. Too many are watching the government's every move, around the clock. China's ruling regime might be thinking, in fact, that it got...

The drug chief of the International Olympic Committee accused Russia of systematically doping its athletes on Tuesday, the same day that three of the country's race walkers, two of them Olympians, were nabbed for steroid use and less than a week after seven prominent female were caught in an elaborate doping and test-rigging scheme. In an interview with AFP, Arne Ljungqvist, who is also a vice-president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), expressed his disappointment and disbelief at what has transpired with the Russian team.

Radio report, broke this as breaking Mark Knowler with KFI is stuck on the aircraft...Not being allowed to be left off the aircraft.

Why Every American Should Care About China The Emerging Superpower Is Forging Relationships Where the U.S. Isn't   By BOB WOODRUFF, GABRIELLE TENENBAUM, SUSAN SCHAEFER and MEENA HARTENSTEINAug. 6, 2008   When the Olympics begin Friday in Beijing it will be a "coming out" party of sorts for China. Beijing hopes this will be a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tough year -- the country was hit by a devastating earthquake and rocked by scandals over tainted food and medicine and toxic toys. There have been protests, both within China and in other countries, about its...

China's Secret Intelligence Service, CSIS, has trained more than 1,000 of its most beautiful female agents to launch "honey trap" missions against British and other foreign businessmen and key diplomatic aides accompanying foreign leaders to the Olympic Games, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The warning has come in a detailed briefing by Britain's two intelligence chiefs -- Jonathan Evans of MI5 and John Scarlett of MI6 -- to the British team and businessmen. Similar warnings have been issued by the U.S. State Department and European foreign ministries to their teams. Earlier this year a senior aide...

The Sudanese 'Lost Boy' refugee will lead the U.S. contingent in the opening ceremony Friday at the 2008 Games. Lomong is a member of Team Darfur, co-founded by Olympic speed skater Joey Cheek. Cheek had his visa to enter China revoked by the Chinese government Tuesday. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-olyflagbearer7-2008aug07,0,796873.story

I am very disappointed by Beijing’s decision to revoke the visa of 2006 Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, a move that will effectively bar him from attending this year’s games. Mr. Cheek is the co-founder of Team Darfur, an organization that draws attention to the plight of children in the Darfur region of Sudan, and he was the U.S. flag bearer at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Turin Olympics. Today’s news, together with reports that Beijing will also bar Team Darfur’s other co-founder, Brad Greiner, is not in keeping with China’s pledge to hold an open games. Significantly, Team...

Draconian rules imposed by the Chinese authorities mean that flags of any non-competing nation are likely to be confiscated from fans, who could be barred from venues if they refuse to comply. Athletes could even be disqualified from competing if they break the rules. Because Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are not individually represented at the games, only the Union Flag of Great Britain will be allowed inside the stadiums. The regulation is widely believed to be aimed at preventing supporters of an independent Tibet from making political statements by waving its flag, but it will be enforced...

If you're in Beijing for the Olympics kick starting this weekend, don't be spilling any beans (state secrets or otherwise) in your cab back to the hotel, because you're being listened to. As the WSJ is reporting, on your taxi's dash is a microphone that can be activated remotely, at any time and without the driver's knowledge, for a live listen into any one of Beijing's estimated 70,000 cabs. And then, if the folks on the other end don't like what they hear, they can take things even further.The GPS-equipped devices also allow for remote disabling by "cutting off...

Two Americans and two British nationals have been ordered to leave China “within a prescribed time limit” after displaying “Free Tibet” banners near an Olympic venue in Beijing on Wednesday, local police said. Two are expected to leave on Wednesday night and the other two on Thursday. “They disrupted public order and violated Chinese laws. Their period of stay in the country will hereby be cut short according to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Control of the Entry and Exit of Aliens,” the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said in a statement issued late on Wednesday....

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States chose former Sudanese refugee Lopez Lomong to carry their flag at Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony in a move that could embarrass Sudan and its ally China. Lomong, who spent 10 years in a refugee camp after fleeing his native Sudan as a child, was given the honor after a vote by the team captains of the entire U.S. Olympic squad. “This is the most exciting day ever in my life,” Lomong said in a statement by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on Wednesday. “It is a great honor for me that my team...

American Christian activist detained in China. Coming up on Laura's show. Listen online on KRLA IN LOS ANGELES

Bush to rebuke China on human rights, dissidents Wed Aug 6, 2008 9:42am EDT BANGKOK (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush plans to voice deep concerns about human rights in China in a speech on Thursday, hours before he arrives in Beijing for the opening of the Olympic Games. "The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," Bush will say in a speech in Bangkok, copies of which were released in advance. "So America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights...

‘Chinese Military Shifts Focus to Ethnic Minorities’ AUGUST 06, 2008 06:44 The priority of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has changed from deterring Taiwan’s independence to preventing separatist movements by ethnic minorities and fighting terrorism. The Hong Kong daily Ming Pao said yesterday that the change was prompted by growing terrorist activities in the autonomous region of Xinjiang and improving ties between Beijing and Taipei. The Liberation Army Daily said Monday that the Nanjing army, which had deterred Taiwan from declaring independence, conducted large-scale anti-terrorism drills July 30. The exercises included fighter planes and bombers in Xinjiang and the Gobi...

Could the NBC honchos be a tad touchy about criticism of the Beijing Olympics—especially when it comes from its own talent pool? Was there a kernel of truth in Mika Brzezinski's light-hearted warning that MSNBC's Morning Joe crew would "get a call" if it persisted in its mocking of the games for whose broadcast rights the Peacock Network has over the years paid billions? When the subject of the Olympics arose during the opening segment of today's show, the panel went into an extended coughing fit, coupled with cracks about tanks in Tiananmen Square. Mika joined in the joshing for...

BEIJING - A group of American cyclists has apologized to Beijing Olympic organizers after arriving in China’s capital wearing face masks.

Two Britons arrested over Tibet flag protest in Beijing Jane Macartney and Will Pavia in Beijing Four protesters have been arrested after a Briton and an American scaled two flood-lighting poles near the centre of Beijing's tightly patrolled Olympic park this morning and unfurled banners calling for Tibetan independence. Despite intense security that had been ratcheted up further in preparation for the arrival of the Olympic torch relay in the Chinese capital today, the protesters were able to display Tibetan flags and two 140 square-foot banners beside the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium that will host the Olympics opening ceremony on...

Chinese police Tuesday apologised for roughing up two Japanese journalists as Beijing's Olympic commitment to allow foreign media freedom came under scrutiny three days before the Games opened. The apology came after border police "clashed" with the Japanese journalists who had arrived in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region after an alleged terrorist attack Monday left 16 police dead, Xinhua news agency said. "The local foreign affairs department made an apology Tuesday to two Japanese reporters," Xinhua said. A photographer for the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper was forcibly detained late Monday and kicked by police in the city of Kashgar, his employer said....

It appears that spending $5 million on advertising during the Olympics will get a presidential candidate only the silver medal. Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has taken out a $6 million ad buy for airtime during the Beijing Games that open Friday, $1 million more than Democratic rival Barack Obama had previously committed to his own media buy.

A U.S. cyclist arrives wearing a mask at Beijing airport to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, August 5, 2008. (Yves Herman/Reuters)

MANHASSET, N.Y. — When viewers around the world turn on their TVs this Friday (Aug. 8) to watch the opening ceremony of Beijing Summer Olympics, few will be aware of a behind-the-scenes controversy quietly brewing in China over the use of MEMS-equipped electronic toy torches in the stadium. This tempest in a teapot represents both the Chinese desire to put the nation's best foot forward and its government's intention to quash even the slightest hint of potential political dissidence. Suspense is building around a single question: Will the Chinese Olympic Committee allow spectators during the opening ceremony to use the...

CHINA XINJIANG OFFICIAL SAYS 18 "FOREIGN AGITATORS" ARRESTED AFTER KASHGAR BOMBINGS

Has China got a terrorist problem? The Uighur attack in the northwest was shocking but not a precursor to a bigger outrage Rosemary Righter The Olympics will open on Friday inside a triple ring of steel. Anti-terrorism precautions have been an unavoidable feature of the Games since the PLO massacre of Israeli athletes at Munich in 1972, but China has taken things to extremes. It has mobilised 110,000 police and other security forces in Beijing itself, plus 1.4 million security “volunteers” with Red Guard-style armbands and no fewer than 300,000 spy cameras. The security bill for Beijing alone exceeds £3...

The clock is winding down on the start of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. On Aug 8, the historic Games will begin. Over 500,000 visitors will flock to Beijing and 10,000 competitors will participate in 203 events in 28 sports. It will be the most expensive Olympics in history – China has spent $40 billion upgrading infrastructures in and around Beijing. For China, it was suppose to be a “coming out” party. When China was awarded the Games in 2001, the state news agency reported: “The Games will be a milestone in China’s rising international status and...

Today the President and the First Lady and their daughter Barbra departed from Washington DC for a trip to Asia which will include a visit to the Olympics in Beijing. Pray for President Bush -- Day 2882

NBC’s Matt Lauer, broadcasting live from the Great Wall of China on Monday’s "Today" show, referred to the "double-edged sword" of the world’s attention being on China for the Summer Olympic Games and asked a Chinese professor about how that "spotlight" might be "co-opted by party crashers who have a bone to pick with this country. He then asked the professor, "How worried are the people here about that?" Lauer, who will be in China during the next weeks for the Olympics, interviewed Professor Teng Dimeng of the Beijing Foreign Studies University 20 minutes into 7 am Eastern hour of...

Jihadist websites close to al-Qaeda have said that China is not the enemy at the moment. "Let China be. We now have other priorities that are not China," said a message posted posted by 'Kasir al-Asnam' meaning 'destroyer of idols' in Arabic. These and other comments came in response to the attack on Monday in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, which killed 16 policemen. The attack came four days ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games due to begin in the Chinese capital, Beijing later this week. "At this moment, China is not a country at...

HAINING, China -- Seeing Becky Hammon on the Russian side was exactly what the Americans needed. Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and the United States pulled away in the second half, beating the Russians 93-58 Monday night in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament. In a much-hyped matchup against her native country, Hammon scored 10 points, but her adopted team was no match for the Americans. This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Russia since the Russians beat the Americans in the 2006 world championship semifinals. "She made her choice, and that was up to her," U.S. co-captain Katie...

By Chuck BaldwinAccording to numerous press reports, President George W. Bush plans to attend the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China later this month. Bush said that it "would be an affront to the Chinese people" if he stayed away. Other world leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, are choosing to not attend the opening ceremonies in the communist country. It is hard for this writer to laud President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but in this case, even the socialist Roosevelt showed more integrity than our so-called "conservative" President, George...

via translation- ALERT - China: 16 customs officers killed and 16 wounded in an attack in Xinjiang BEIJING - Sixteen customs officers were killed and sixteen others injured Monday morning when the attack on their post in Xinjiang, Muslim region of northwestern China, according to the China New Agency.

BEIJING -- Normally smog plagued Beijing bathed in blue skies and sunshine on Saturday in just the sort of weather the Chinese pray will grace their Olympics and banish athletes' health fears six days before the big start. Experts attributed a rare day of fine weather in the Chinese capital to overnight rain and -- finally -- the impact of strict anti pollution measures such as ordering half the cars off the road and closing smoke-belching factories. "You see, we have done it! You can even see the mountains," enthused one Chinese student volunteer near the magnificent, newly built "Bird's...

Weather forecasters on Sunday predicted thunder and rain in Beijing on the day of the Olympic opening ceremony and warned that typhoons could disrupt events in other host cities. Organisers have repeatedly said rain is their biggest worry ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, which will feature more than 10,000 performers and a massive fireworks display. But top officials from the Beijing Meteorological Bureau confirmed that bad weather was certain for the August 8, although they held out hope that the skies may clear for the evening ceremony...

Chinese tailors run their own race for the summer games - to get the U.S. team's official uniforms ready for the opening ceremony. In just over ten days, they need to deliver more than 1,800 of these Ralph Lauren designed outfits for the American team for the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

I just want to say that we should boycott the Olympics. China is a repressive, corrupt, un-godly, heinous regime. Our athletes are forced to compete in their foul air, under the watchful eye of big brother. China's citizen's were forced to skim their foul seas of algae so their government would not be embarrassed. We should not reward them with our viewing.

Olympic Games show China through a glass, darkly As the opening approaches, preparations reflect a disturbing side of the communist regime Jonathan Fenby Olympic Games news The opening of the Beijing Olympics in eight days' time will, as always planned, attest to China's spectacular material progress since Deng Xiaoping launched market-led economic reform exactly 30 years ago. The array of venues, the gleaming new buildings, the urban infrastructure installed for the Games, will also reflect the genuine pride of a nation that, while still far from rich by Western standards, has made more people better off in a shorter time...