Torch Relay

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.

I'm thinking of going to Victoria, British Columbia, for the Olympic torch run. Where will the route be? Are there any promotions? The Olympic torch relay for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver will be the longest such relay in a single country. After being lit in Athens on Oct. 22, the sacred flame will make the trans-Atlantic flight accompanied by a representative of host country Canada. The official relay will begin in Victoria, the charming provincial capital, on Oct. 30. Accompanied by more than 12,000 torch-bearers, the flame will travel by land, air and water (ferries)

I'm thinking of going to Victoria, British Columbia, for the Olympic torch run. Where will the route be? Are there any promotions? The Olympic torch relay for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver will be the longest such relay in a single country. After being lit in Athens on Oct. 22, the sacred flame will make the trans-Atlantic flight accompanied by a representative of host country Canada. The official relay will begin in Victoria, the charming provincial capital, on Oct. 30. Accompanied by more than 12,000 torch-bearers, the flame will travel by land, air and water (ferries)

"The Olympic Games belong to the athletes and not to the politicians," Avery Brundage, a past president of the International Olympic Committee, once said. We like to think so, don't we? Yet, the raucous rounds of "snatch the torch" that have disrupted this year's pre-Olympics festivities reveal a deeper truth: The Olympics offer diplomacy by other means. That's why an unusual political coalition from the left and the right has called on President Bush to join several other major world leaders in skipping the Olympics' opening ceremonies in Beijing.

BEIJING -- China is calling it the "journey of harmony." But the Olympic torch relay that is to precede the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and showcase China's peaceful rise in world standing ran into discord as soon as the route was announced yesterday. The path of the flame and its characterization by China drew the immediate wrath of Taiwan, where Chinese Nationalists fled in 1949 after a lengthy civil war. "China has designated the Taiwan leg of the Olympic flame relay as a `domestic route,' thereby creating the misimpression that Taiwan is a region under China's jurisdiction," according to a statement released late yesterday by Taiwan's Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Torch Relay will make its way into Maryland from Philadelpphia on Wednesday. It is scheduled to reach Maryland shortly before 3 p.m. and will travel through Elkton, North East, Perryville, Havre de Grace, Aberdeen and Joppatowne before following U.S. 40 into Baltimore. The torch will be carried downtown, then north to John Hopkins University and back to the Inner Harbor, finishing the day at Rash FIeld. The next morning, the Torch Relay will resume ar Pratt And Light streets and will follow Route 2 to Annapolis before continuing west to Washington.

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."

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.

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."

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.

"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.

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.

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."

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."

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.

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.

'Christmas Eve on Ice' Skate to festive holiday tunes and take in the view of Baltimore's waterfront skyline during "Christmas Eve on Ice," noon to 5 p.m. Monday at the Inner Harbor Ice Rink at Rash Field on Key Highway. There will be free candy canes, cake and other giveaways for all skaters. Those who would rather not strap on a pair of ice skates can gather in the warming tent, where hot beverages and food will be available for sale. Admission is $5 for a two-hour session; skate rental is $2. Call 410-385-0675.

"The Olympic Games belong to the athletes and not to the politicians," Avery Brundage, a past president of the International Olympic Committee, once said. We like to think so, don't we? Yet, the raucous rounds of "snatch the torch" that have disrupted this year's pre-Olympics festivities reveal a deeper truth: The Olympics offer diplomacy by other means. That's why an unusual political coalition from the left and the right has called on President Bush to join several other major world leaders in skipping the Olympics' opening ceremonies in Beijing.

BEIJING -- China is calling it the "journey of harmony." But the Olympic torch relay that is to precede the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and showcase China's peaceful rise in world standing ran into discord as soon as the route was announced yesterday. The path of the flame and its characterization by China drew the immediate wrath of Taiwan, where Chinese Nationalists fled in 1949 after a lengthy civil war. "China has designated the Taiwan leg of the Olympic flame relay as a `domestic route,' thereby creating the misimpression that Taiwan is a region under China's jurisdiction," according to a statement released late yesterday by Taiwan's Olympic Committee.

'Christmas Eve on Ice' Skate to festive holiday tunes and take in the view of Baltimore's waterfront skyline during "Christmas Eve on Ice," noon to 5 p.m. Monday at the Inner Harbor Ice Rink at Rash Field on Key Highway. There will be free candy canes, cake and other giveaways for all skaters. Those who would rather not strap on a pair of ice skates can gather in the warming tent, where hot beverages and food will be available for sale. Admission is $5 for a two-hour session; skate rental is $2. Call 410-385-0675.