Olympia, Greece - Olympic flame-lighting ceremony disrupted during Chinese speech

AFP via translation | March 24, 2008

[HAL9000]

via translation -

ALERT - UL-2008 - Two men are trying to disrupt the ceremony ignition

OLYMPIA (Greece) - Two men attempted to grab the microphone during the speech of the head of the Chinese Organizing Committee for games (Bocog), Liu Qi, ceremony, lighting of the flame in Olympia, according to several witnesses.

[BunnySlippers]

The Olympics have started?

[Jet Jaguar]

I think this is the start of the running of the torch from Athens to Beijing.

[Jet Jaguar]

The Beijing Olympics flame was lit in a tightly-guarded ceremony here on Monday at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.

The ceremony launches the Olympic torch relay that marks the countdown for each Games, and the Beijing Games relay is the longest and most ambitious ever planned, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometres (85,000 miles) worldwide.

The Beijing Olympics, the first to be held in China, will open on August 8 and run until August 24.

Prior to the lighting of the flame, the ceremony was marred when three unidentified protestors tried to disrupt the speech of China organising committee chief Liu Qi.

The protesters tried to grab the microphone, and unfurled a banner reading “Boycott the Games in the country that tramples on human rights.”

The three men are believed to be part of the international rights group Reporters Without Borders.

“The Olympic flame will radiate light and happiness, peace and friendship, and hope and dreams to the people of China and the whole world,” Qi said in his speech.

AFP

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080324095556.ah9avppq&show_article=1&catnum=0

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Two menBoth of the people planning to watch the Olympics attempted to grab the microphone during the speech of the head of the Chinese Organizing Committee for games (Bocog), Liu Qi, ceremony, lighting of the flame in Olympia, according to several witnesses.

There, fixed it.

[Caipirabob]

You know, I get the idea that for those who read and pay attention, this is going to be enlightening as to just how American isn't hated as much as a good, old fashioned, tyrannical commie-state.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> You know, I get the idea that for those who read and pay attention, this is going to be enlightening as to just how American isn’t hated as much as a good, old fashioned, tyrannical commie-state.

Our (NZ) athletes apparently have to promise not to say mean things about the ChiCom while they compete in the Olympics — in effect, a good, old-fashioned, tyrannical commie-state gag-order.

Wouldn’t it be great if they held an Olympics and nobody showed up?