Okay, maybe the air in Beijing is really bad if this photo is an indication. Photo by Peter Parks via LA Times.
Beijing Air
Don’t Jog In the Smog
Are people complaining about Beijing’s pollution just a bunch of wimps? Or do they have a valid concern?
Because I live in a polluted city, I initially labeled them as wimpy whiners. So I was like, “Silly people. I eat pollution for breakfast. If you want to live in a pollution free world then let’s all walk/run/bike to work. Besides, how convenient for Westerners to be complaining about Beijing’s pollution when they benefit from it through cheaper goods. Silly, silly, nose up in the air , hypocritical, energy-guzzling people.”
But then I came across this report which states that distance runner Haile Gebrselassie has decided to not compete in the marathon because of Beijing’s pollution. So I went, “Aha. If an athlete would rather forgo a sure gold medal because of health concerns maybe those whiners have a valid point after all. Maybe it’s unfair to label them as “whiners”".
What do you think? Does Beijing need to clean up its air? Or is the pollution problem being unfairly blown out of proportion?
Australia Predicts: Less Swimming Medals
Australia predicts that it’s medal haul in swimming during the Beijing Olympics will not be as good as its previous results. The problem? Seems like the guys (but not the gals) have not been delivering in recent international events.
From The Australian:
AUSTRALIA will need its men to lift their game to maintain its place in the top five nations on the medal tally in Beijing, according to research released by the Australian Olympic Committee yesterday.The AOC’s medal projections, broken down by gender, reveal that Australian women are holding their place in the top five among their international competitors, but the men have dropped to eighth on results in the past year.
Last year’s rankings show that Australia is under heavy pressure from France, Britain and Italy.
Athletes Blogging the Olympics
Now that the International Olympic Committee has given permission to Olympic athletes to blog about the Games, who would you like to read?
For us it would be Dmitry Tursunov. He’s one entertaining blogger who knows how to dish out on his fellow athletes. Too bad he’s not been updating his ATP site. We’d like to read Roger Federer too, if ever he blogs, but we’d rather see him win a gold medal because he’s not been winning anything lately.
Photo credit: ATP
Bjork’s Got Balls
We give points to Bjork for uttering the “T” word during her concert in Shanghai.
She’s got balls, we tell you. Sure, maybe she’s in it for the publicity but we gotta give her props; after all, the controversy she generated is not entirely risk-free. Who knows what the Chinese authorities could have done to her for her “insolence”.
Shouting for Tibetan independence right in the middle of the Middle Kingdom? That’s unheard of. Until Bjork entered the scene. Go Bjork!
