not only on poll shows that result,many online polls showed the same,you dont have to reveal your name when doing online voting.so that's no pointing for people to lie.and i m just telling the truth.you can always say there are some part of china where are sparsely populated so the polls can not represent people living in those places,but any poll is like that.

chinese people are enjoying the benifits that brought to them by the decades long fast economic growth.with the wealth acumulated everyday and the peace and stable social enviornment,most people are just content ,that's the basic truth in china.peace and harmony has always been the dream goal pursued by chinese people.it is our deepseated philosophy.

Yeah Iraq had a rousing applause, and when Iran came out after Iraq they got some boos, which I was surprised. When the American team came out, very loud applauses and hoorays. Almost brought me to tears.

Originally posted by vox2442

Originally posted by Immortal_Roses
What i didnt find fair was that tawain wasnt able to use their countries name or flag cuz of chinese policy issues. I wonder what goes on there. And they couldnt do it live cuz there were many protesters so they wanted to edit the film so they wouldnt look bad. I loved the opening though and it was kinda funny when Iraq was getting cheered on loudly then Iran came and they booed. But i did feel bad

That's an odd comment.

I watched it live last night, and saw no protesters. I also didn't hear any boos for Iran. Heard some for Bush, though.

Actually he's right. I didnt believe it at first but going back to video, it appears Iran was boo'd.

[edit on 8/9/2008 by AndrewTB]

Originally posted by haidian
not only on poll shows that result,many online polls showed the same,you dont have to reveal your name when doing online voting.so that's no pointing for people to lie.and i m just telling the truth.you can always say there are some part of china where are sparsely populated so the polls can not represent people living in those places,but any poll is like that.

chinese people are enjoying the benifits that brought to them by the decades long fast economic growth.with the wealth acumulated everyday and the peace and stable social enviornment,most people are just content ,that's the basic truth in china.peace and harmony has always been the dream goal pursued by chinese people.it is our deepseated philosophy.

Online polls can be tracked by IP and can be easily manipulated. I'd hardly call peace and harmony a goal of the Chinese government when it is helping to fund slaughters in Darfur among other things such as oppressing those who speak against them. I'm not saying China hasn't made giant leaps in the past decade, but they are far from a free society. People can say whatever they will about America, but compared to most nations we are very free and lend aid to most all countries in despair whether it be by government or private industry.

Originally posted by yellowcard

Originally posted by haidian
not only on poll shows that result,many online polls showed the same,you dont have to reveal your name when doing online voting.so that's no pointing for people to lie.and i m just telling the truth.you can always say there are some part of china where are sparsely populated so the polls can not represent people living in those places,but any poll is like that.

chinese people are enjoying the benifits that brought to them by the decades long fast economic growth.with the wealth acumulated everyday and the peace and stable social enviornment,most people are just content ,that's the basic truth in china.peace and harmony has always been the dream goal pursued by chinese people.it is our deepseated philosophy.

Online polls can be tracked by IP and can be easily manipulated. I'd hardly call peace and harmony a goal of the Chinese government when it is helping to fund slaughters in Darfur among other things such as oppressing those who speak against them. I'm not saying China hasn't made giant leaps in the past decade, but they are far from a free society. People can say whatever they will about America, but compared to most nations we are very free and lend aid to most all countries in despair whether it be by government or private industry.

You are right about IP numbers.

Thing is this is the olympics a time where political disagreements to be put aside and for countries to make a name for their own country. I know many dont agree with this, but for me its not the time to be worrying about darfur.

One from another country can easily look at the USA and point out our issues (invasion of iraq). Thats just an example, although I dont agree with it.

Needless to say, I hope the chinese wake up and smell what freedom is like. I think the Olympics will bring a new feeling to those that have always been afraid to stand up against their government.

I thought the opening was beautiful and I think these Olympics are meaningful for China. Like it or hate it, China will only become more and more powerful on the world stage in the years ahead. The Olympics this year seems like a fitting symbol of China's growing influence and significance. I tried to look at it objectively from this perspective and found the opening ceremony very interesting in this regard.

Yes, China has some problematic issues regarding oppression and injustice but so do most other powerful nations. It is impossible for the Olympics to be free of political meaning, and yet at the same time I believe in the "Olympic spirit" that reaches beyond politics and attempts to tie the world together in some way. Call it hokey, but I think the Olympics reaches for and, at moments, manages to attain this spirit every time.

What I was proud to see was the ITV news report (could have been BBC) where they briefly looked at the lives of those who have suffered in China due to the builfin of the Olympic Stadium. Poor residnts literally thrown into prison for protesting PEACEFULLY against being forced out of their homes where they grew up. They are now in prison!!

It stinks that we can accept this. By watching and supporting our teams, that's exactly what we're doing. When all of this is over, will we care? NO

The olympics are a colossal waste of time and money. Who really cares about athletes probably so doped up trying to out perform each other. Why not spend the money on educating & feeding the poor of the world. There are hundreds of ways to better spend lavish amounts of money so pathetically wasted. What a disgusting spectacle of human stupidity.

brill

Originally posted by AndrewTB
I could not locate a thread on the Olympics and feel one would be fit!


Has anyone seen the opening ceremony? Absolutely beautiful in every way possible. First thing in a long time that has brought a tear to my eye.


The sheer beauty and magnitude of everything really leaves me feeling nostalgic!

While i'm not very supportive of China's policies, this is by all means the most beautiful Olympic display ever!


Kudos to China!

I found the opening very cool, but.... how unique are fireworks?? any monkey can put together a fireworks show...

The lighting of the torch was horrible.... they could have done something special instead of having some guy crawling across a wall.... not impressed =)

anyway, enjoy the games! =)

Originally posted by FredT
Not bothering with the sham at all.

The IOC is one of the biggest collection of scum ever. Salt lake City? Sure bribe your way into it. I have no doubt that China did the same. The fact that the games for humanity rolls over for and ignores the brutal repression in tibet, deportation of people who dare question the regime not that far removed from Mao, denila of press credentials, censorship of the net etc, had paramilitary thugs "guarding" the torch etc etc etc.

For me? No thanks, NBC can choke on the 1 billion they spent on the TV rights

I am glad someone came out and said this. I mean what in the world is wrong with our world!?! Come on, I bet anyone that the people sitting in the Chinese "Organ Harvesting" Camps didn't see their honorable country's glorious display! This is a clear cut example of the shape we humans are in. People are dying of famine, disease, and war and China spends 300 million on an opening ceremony. That makes me sick to my stomach, just sickening thinking about it. What a horrible country and Regime, the world is no more innocent for letting this go on. I can't believe people can say things like "Kudos for China!" I mean what a completely disgusting situation. Please everyone use this as an opportunity to rip into to Commy China! They make me sick. I feel bad for all the people of China who are slaves to their government.

"No kudos for China, hell no, SCREW CHINA!"

Originally posted by IndicasSativas

Originally posted by FredT
Not bothering with the sham at all.

The IOC is one of the biggest collection of scum ever. Salt lake City? Sure bribe your way into it. I have no doubt that China did the same. The fact that the games for humanity rolls over for and ignores the brutal repression in tibet, deportation of people who dare question the regime not that far removed from Mao, denila of press credentials, censorship of the net etc, had paramilitary thugs "guarding" the torch etc etc etc.

For me? No thanks, NBC can choke on the 1 billion they spent on the TV rights

I can't believe people can say things like "Kudos for China!" I mean what a completely disgusting situation. Please everyone use this as an opportunity to rip into to Commy China! They make me sick. I feel bad for all the people of China who are slaves to their government.

"No kudos for China, hell no, SCREW CHINA!"

I feel like a lot of you feel in respect to the chinese government. But the way I see it, the art and beauty of everything is still there, regardless of how screwed up the country is. I am a fan of asian arts so maybe thats the difference.

I say screw China too. But again, the art and beauty is what does it to me. The fact that something so pretty is performed by monsters does not mean its no longer beautiful.

i m not impressed by the ceremony either,but i have to tell you guys chinese people are happy with this government,with this government,people are enjoying the world record economic development,getting wealthier in a big way every single year,and also the social stability which is the condition for everything else.all poll made in china or by indepedent international agencies showed that.

peace,wealth, stability and prosperity of the nation.which ever government can bring these to its people would get their support in china,and this government is doing pretty well delivering those so far.

Originally posted by haidian
but from most chinese people's feedback and the posts on chinese forums shows people are not satisfied with this openning to say the least,very dissappointed if you may.

why are people dissapointed with the opening? i thought it was beautiful and it made me respect the Chinese people more for all their talent, ingenuity and engineering.
the buildings were amazing also, i love the swimming building at night.

Originally posted by haidian
i m not impressed by the ceremony either,but i have to tell you guys chinese people are happy with this government,with this government,people are enjoying the world record economic development,getting wealthier in a big way every single year,and also the social stability which is the condition for everything else.all poll made in china or by indepedent international agencies showed that.

I'm sorry buddy but I wouldn't believe for one second that the Chinese people are content with their status quo. They probably fear being killed, kidnapped, or deported for saying anything adverse about China. The fact of the matter is that polls are really worth nothing. If you do a little research about pollsters you will find out that they get the "answers" they want by asking the right "questions". The conclusion of a pollster is hardly if ever objective, bias always sways the conclusion. I mean what are polls supposed to actually do? It couldn't be that they exist to give a public consensus, that is not the world we live in.

you can refuse to accept anything,but some polls are made by world famous agencies,the error rate is within very small range.and china now has the most web users in the world,you can go any chinese websites to check it out,it is way too easy to figure it out.