Olympics on the Mind

I've been watching Olympic coverage on four different channels: CBC, RDI (Radio-Canada), NBC and CBC Newsworld. CBC's online streaming and on demand video is pretty good so far although it only works with Internet Explorer :(

The opening ceremonies were orchestrated flawlessly and quite amazing to watch. So far the coverage on NBC has been much better than CBC. The NBC commentators are more knowledgeable and their explanations and analysis during the opening ceremonies put MacLean, Mansbridge and the CBC to shame.

The men's cycling road race has been my favorite because of the amazing aerial shots of Beijing and the surrounding area. Michael Phelps set a new Olympic record in a preliminary heat and battle for medals has started with China having 2 gold and the US with 3 medals total.

I have also been reading a lot of coverage online. Here are some of the best:

• Jetson Green reviews the many green buildings built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

• Chris Bowers at Openleft.com: China and the March of Nations

Before the ceremonies, I was generally of the view that, because of its environmental degradation, internal human right's and worker's right's abuses, it should not have been awarded the Olympics games. However, watching the march of nations, it became clear to me why hosting the Olympics was so important to China, and why there really isn't a good argument to deny them these games.

• CalgaryGrit discusses the lesser known "Political Olympics"

• The Real News: Naomi Klein on China and the Olympics “Security, central planning, surveillance state is an ideal cocoon for global capitalism.”

Almost all the coverage I have watched or read has talked about the air pollution problem in Beijing. What I would love to see happen is for environmental issues to gain prominence and attention after seeing these glaring pollution problems.

What have you been noticing? Let me know of any good blogs covering the Olympics from Beijing?

~BT