NEWS
By Andrew Ratner | April 13, 2008
"Swifter, Higher, Stronger" was how Pierre de Coubertin described the Olympic ideal a century ago, after resurrecting the games of the ancient Greeks. And now we could add "Bloggier," due to the modern geeks. If there was ever an event that plays to the best qualities of blogging, it's the Olympics. They're political and global, prime topics for blogging. The preparation and even the event itself are scattered, so it's easier for observers blogging to be everywhere than it is for traditional news media.
NEWS
By John M. Glionna and Maria L. LaGanga and John M. Glionna and Maria L. LaGanga,Los Angeles Times | April 10, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- What was planned as a celebration of international harmony turned into an exercise in subterfuge and frustration yesterday, as officials staged a cat-and-mouse game to keep the Olympic torch away from potentially violent protests. The flame arrived late for its scheduled 1 p.m. appearance and blazed briefly on an outdoor stage near downtown. Then the torchbearer vanished into a nearby building, only to reappear later across town flanked by heavy security, leaving would-be spectators baffled.
NEWS
By Joe Burris and Joe Burris,Sun reporter | April 9, 2008
When Duncan Mackay, a journalist and co-author of a coming book on China's Olympic bid, ran with the Olympic torch through London on Sunday, scores of demonstrators converged on him, shouting their conflicting views about China's hosting of the Summer Games. "It was like running between two gangs, really," said Mackay, referring to the people protesting Chinese treatment of Tibet and other human rights abuses and their detractors, tempers flaring like the torch. "One of my friends had children there between the ages of 7 and 13, and for them it was quite frightening."
SPORTS
By BILL ORDINE | April 8, 2008
One of the great ironies of sport is the ideals of the modern Olympics clashing with the realities of a world in which the Olympic Games exist. Guiding principles in the Olympic charter are laid out with these words: "promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."
FEATURES
August 16, 2007
Matt Damon, who plays former assassin Jason Bourne in The Bourne Ultimatum, has a much fuzzier role in a future episode of PBS' Arthur. Damon, bedecked with bear ears, plays himself as part of "Postcards From You," an initiative to encourage young viewers to make their own videos. His guest appearance on the animated children's show about a friendly aardvark is set to air Sept. 3. A Bel Air finalist Country singer Julienne Irwin of Bel Air has made it to the finals of NBC's hit reality show America's Got Talent.
NEWS
By Cox News Service | June 10, 2007
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- When Beijing announced the route the Olympic flame will travel from Greece to China ahead of the 2008 Summer Games, officials dubbed the 85,000-mile odyssey a "journey of harmony." But for Taiwan, an island that has ruled itself for almost 60 years but which Beijing claims as a renegade province, the trip may underscore a legacy of distrust and tension between the rival governments. Ever since Beijing announced the route in April, declaring that the torch would travel from Vietnam to Taipei, Taiwan's capital, and then to Chinese-controlled Hong Kong, Taipei and Beijing have traded rhetorical blows.