O.K. China, I surrender!

[Noble Dreg]

Always figured the Chinese nation would ascend to the level of a 'super power', perhaps usurping our own...if the closing ceremonies of the Olympics are an example, they are indeed worthy.  Did anyone else see that?!  Wow!  They made a real effort to give it an international feel, I commend them for it.  One can only hope the more China enters the world stage the more freedoms the population will achieve.

40 BILLION dollars!!  A true economic tour de force!

Congrats where they are due, well done China!

[Malcolm]

I'm sure there were people that said the same thing in 1936.

[SleepyArcher]

I heard the closing cermony was good, but if you look at the opening and what they did there I am sure in a few day we will here about the stuff they cheated on with the closing. I have not watched it yet. I am still upset with the opening and all the hype about the gymnists girls. I still and will always think the Chinese lied about those girls. I watcheda lot of coverage and read a lot of columns. I think their was a lot of cheating or "helping of" with the Chinese getting a lot of their medals.

Sorry for the rant but Im not impressed with China at all.

[KeeperoftheBar]

I was very impressed by what I saw.  The precision was amazing in both the opening and closing.  However I don't think it was worth $46 Billion.  I don't believe a democratic country would pay that much just to host the olympics.  The taxpayers would revolt.  At least I would....

[SirRichardBear]

This is from the BBC funny I didn't read or hear any of this from the media in the states.

Wang Xiuying and her friend, Wu Dianyuan, do not look like enemies of the state. They are both nearly 80 and walk with the aid of a stick.

Wang Xiuying, right, and Wu Dianyuan applied to stage their own protest
But the grandmothers have both been told they face a year in a re-education-through-labour camp if they do not stop protesting.

This punishment seems a strange fate for two elderly women who only want to complain about being thrown out of their homes.

But their case illustrates just how far the government has been prepared to go to present China's best image during the Olympic Games.

[Charlotte Rowan]

Didn't watch it. I was at Fest and didn't think to DVR. Oh well. I always enjoy the Opening ceremonies, but by Closing I'm usually over it.

[Lord Figaro]

I didn't watch any of the Olympics this year. But I did keep and eye on the medals. I said it from the start, I wonder how long it will take people to start making the claims that China cheated.  Listed as Gold,Silver,Bronze plus total.

Olympic medal rankings 2008

1    China China (CHN)    51    21    28    100
2    United States United States (USA)    36    38    36    110
3    Russia Russia (RUS)    23    21    28    72



Olympic medal rankings 2004

1    United States United States (USA)    36    39    27    102
2    China China (CHN)    32    17    14    63
3    Russia Russia (RUS)    27    27    38    92

Olympic medal rankings 2000

1    United States United States (USA)    36    24    31    91
2    Russia Russia (RUS)    32    28    28    88
3    China China (CHN)    28    16    15    59


Anyone else notice something not quite right here?? I don't care we didn't come in first. But that seems like and awful big climb from where they normally fall on total gold medals to what they got this time around.

Info obtained from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_medal_rankings

[PurpleDragon]

Anyone else notice something not quite right here?? I don't care we didn't come in first. But that seems like and awful big climb from where they normally fall on total gold medals to what they got this time around.
Info obtained from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_medal_rankings

Oh, we all know that China cheated, there's no doubt about that, but well, it's not like the IOC is going to do anything about it now are they?

[*Teach*]

Not really strange when you look at what their strategy was.
If you notice the Russian and US numbers didn't drop much (ours even went up total), but China's number went way up. They focused hard on the lesser known and easier (comparatively) to win medals. Pretty smart thinking there really. As far as the cheating goes... time will tell. Stories will be told eventually and it will all settle out.

*I want a rum olympics. Every event starts with a shot of rum... much more funny*

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

After the allegations of cheating by the Chinese gymnasts, I stopped watching.  I don't care if the U.S. doesn't win, but if our nation did that, there would be such an outcry from the rest of the world, yet nothing will be done to China.

And the fact that they chose a pretty little girl to pretend to sing the song because they thought the girl with the golden voice wasn't pretty enough -- that turned my stomach.

Another fact that I found out this week. The company I work for sells medical equipment and supplies.  The exam & surgical gloves come from China.  We are on a stock shortage situation for a lot of our gloves.  Why?  The Chinese government closed many, many factories (not just ours) prior to the Olympics because they wanted to lessen the smog before foreigners arrived for the Olympics.  I wish all of the products that all Americans use were made in America, but I am not that naive to think that will ever happen anymore.

The fact that the government spent 46 billion on the Olympics when people live in such poverty and make such low wages speaks volumes to me.  This Olympics really disappointed me.

[SleepyArcher]

I had heard a lot "rumors" that smaller countries gave an edge to china being the host country and as a lot of little countries they dont get to send many peole to the Olympics and didnt want to make the Chinese mad and have the Chinese judges vote low on them. I know this is speculation but we all know as the host country you do get a little edge. I just think China got a really BIG edge.

[Sir William Marcus]

We liked all the Olympic volunteers that were probably more than likely forced to volunteer or face some sort of persecution. All round, just crooked communist, being crooked communist. 

Heck..

Ask a Tibetan about the Chinese government.