The Olympics So Far...

Been doing my best to follow the Olympics from Canada...lots going on obviously, but here are the top 8 stories in my view:

1. Parts of the Opening Ceremonies were faked. Fireworks were drawn in with CGI, and they had a cute girl lip synch for an uglier one (who had a better voice). If it wasn't obvious before, there's a lot on the line here for China.
2. Michael Phelps is dominating. So much so that a Chinese blog removed a "How Many Medals Will Phelps Win?" post. We all know he's only winning cause he's a horrible cheater though.
3. Pollution. Not so much a story so far.
4. China's cheating (told ya so). It's been using underage gymnasts (the minimum age limit is 16). Can't defend it, but I guess if you can get away with it, why not. What's rarely mentioned in Western articles is that this is pretty common practice in sports, especially baseball (though to be fair, there's much less on the line there).
5. The Spanish are racist. Parts 1 (the basketball team) and 2 (the womens tennis team). Jose Calderon, a Spanish player who plays professionally in Toronto, a city with one of the largest Asian expat populations, defends his team by saying, "We thought it was something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as somewhat loving." He goes on to say anyone thinking anything differently is "confused", and, of course, that "some of my best friends in Toronto are from China".
6. China is raking in the gold. It's got 27 golds to US's 16 (thanks in large part to Phelps), though it trails in total medals 48-54.
7. More trouble in Xinjiang. A bus "accident" killed 30 three days ago. Needless to say, probably not an accident. And probably not the last attempt for attention either (though I hope it is).
   
8. And finally, the 21 Edicts from the Government's Propoganda Unit. Wonder how they got this. Also means things like this get no coverage at all in China.
   

Fun links, on the day that Canada finally passes Tajikistan in the medal count:

• Phelps eats a lot. Journalist tries to do same, fails.
• Journalist eats assorted animal penises to get a taste for the local culture.
• Bad Olympic jokes.
• Chinese rower misses race, dq's himself from 2 shots at medals.
  
• The Olympic Blue Screen of Death
• A horrific (I'm really not kidding) weightlifting accident.