Wednesday-Night

NBC coverage and Photos of venues
Reuters   New York Times     CBC

China, Beijing Olympics ; Tibet
Official website
The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The Olympic Emblem

Thomas Friedman: A biblical seven years
I’ve learned over the years not to over-interpret any two-week event. Olympics don’t change history. They are mere snapshots - a country posing in […]

Following last Wednesday Night’s Canada-focused (healthcare, the NDP and environment) evening, we are looking forward to reviewing matters beyond our borders in the company of Carole and Rodrigue Tremblay. Dr. Tremblay, an economist, is a former Quebec Minister of Industry and Commerce, and  has published 27 books, most of them dealing with finance and economics while […]

With the winding-down of the Beijing Olympics, it seems inevitable that Vancouver’s organization should become a political target - at least in Canada. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the media should notice the none-too-subtle conditions attached to federal funding, not to mention the coincidental cuts to arts funding. Equally inevitable will be the debate […]

We are delighted that Anne Lagacé Dowson, the NDP candidate in our by-election will be joining us this Wednesday. As all of you who have not been hibernating (what would be the summer verson of hibernating?) in the woods, absent all forms of print and telecommunications news, the race in Westmount-Ville-Marie is […]

China, Beijing Olympics ; Tibet
Official website
The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
The Olympic Emblem

August 7
Athletes pay price for IOC riches
This is the most extreme case of a longstanding phenomenon of holding Olympics just when sensible citizens (as in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004), are heading for the hills. It […]

April 11
Gwynne Dyer: Controversial flame has never burned brightly
(New Zealand Herald) What’s actually colliding here are two irreconcilable views of the world. For almost all Chinese, the turmoil in Tibet is a threat to national unity.
We were struck by the contrast of the two opinion pieces excerpted below (there will assuredly be many more) and, […]

 See also Tibet and The Olympic Protest Primer

April 24
China to clear out students, refugees before Olympics
Beijing - China plans to order all foreign students to leave the country before the Olympic Games in August, strictly regulate the issuing of business and tourist visas, and deport refugees, sources said on Thursday (April 17).
‘Even if you have […]

China’s unsolved riddle is how to reconcile fast economic growth with environmental protection. But Beijing’s Olympic deadline means the city needs an immediate answer. The ruling Communist Party envisions the Games as a public relations showcase and is leaving no detail untended. Now Beijing is also going to try to manipulate air quality. For months, […]

What happens when an authoritarian government and thousands of activists go head-to-head at the Olympics? China is about to find out.
You can always count on the Olympic Games to provide drama. Next year’s games in Beijing will be no different; they too will produce powerful stories and riveting television. But this time the images will […]