Ολυμπιακοι και Κινα

Οι Ολυμπιακοι Αγωνες ηρθαν και εφυγαν και η ζωη ξαναγυρισε στο σημειο που μας αφησε πριν την εναρξη των αγωνων.

Οι Κινεζοι οπως ειδαμε καθαρισανε τους παντες και τα παντα (σχεδον) και πηρανε τα πιο πολλα χρυσα μεταλλια, αν και οι Αμερικανοι κορδονωνται γιατι αυτοι πηραν τα πιο πολλα συνολικα...τελος παντων.

Η Αυστραλια επεσε λιγο στον τελικο πινακα μεταλλιων. Ηρθε εκτη, ανω μεχρι τωρα επιανε τη τεταρτη θεση.

Οσο για την Ελλαδιτσα...καταφερε να παρει τεσσερα, συνολικα. Καλα κι αυτα απο το τιποτα.

Η μεγαλη εκπληξη ομως ηταν η Βρετανια αφου πηρε την τεταρτη θεση, μετα την Κινα, την Αμερικη και τη Ρωσια. Οπως λενε πηγες οι Βρετανοι εχουν ξοδεψει, και συνεχιζουν να ξοδευουν, εκατομυρια δολλαρια για να μπορεσουν να ...  κερδισουν περισσοτερα μεταλια, αφου οι επομενοι αγωνες προκειται να γινουν στο Λονδινο!

Αυτο ομως που εκανε μεγαλη - πολυ μεγαλη-εντυπωση σε ολους ομως ηταν η τελετη εναρξης (και η τελετη στο τελος) των αγωνων. Ειδικα εκεινο το κοριτσακι που "τραγουδησε" (οι Κινεζοι ξερουν να ξεγελουν τον κοσμο), και τα πυροτεχνηματα που ηταν φτιαγμενα ειδικα για την τηλεοραση (αφου αυτα τα "ειδικα" δεν τα ειδαε κανενας στο σταδιο, παρα μονο οσοι ειδαν τηλεοραση), και πολλα αλλα.....

Μπραβο Κινεζοι, καλα τα κανατε!

Παρ' ολα αυτα ομως, ας λεμε και του στραβου το δικιο, οι αγωνες ηταν καλοι. Οπως ειπε και προεδρος Mr Rogge, οι αγωνες ηταν "exceptional". Μπραβο τους.

(Αν και πολλοι Αυστραλοι, εδω περα, ακομα θεωρουν τους Ολυμπιακους του Συδνευ, ως τους καλυτερους Ολυμπιακους, και αλλοι τετοιοι αγωνες δεν εχουν ξαναγινοι, αλλα και ουτε προκειται να ξαναγινουν ποτε!!!!)

Παντως χρειαζονται τετοια πραγματα για να μας κανουν να νιωθουμε τι ειδος ανθρωποι ειμαστε!

Αυτα.

ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΙ ΑΓΩΝΕΣ ΠΕΚΙΝΟΥ

Οι Αυστραλοί αθλητές στίβου είπαν «όχι» στην τελετή έναρξης του Πεκίνου

Οι υπεύθυνοι της κινεζικής Επιτροπής Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων εξέφρασαν την βαθιά απογοήτευσή τους για την απόφαση της αυστραλιανής ομάδας στίβου να μην λάβει μέρος στην τελετή έναρξη των Αγώνων, στις 8 Αυγούστου, επικαλούμενη την ρύπανση του αέρα του Πεκίνο.

Σύμφωνα με την απόφαση της Αυστραλιανής Ομοσπονδίας Στίβου, οι αθλητές θα παραμένουν στην βάση τους, στο Χονγκ Κονγκ, κατά την διάρκεια της έναρξης των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων, όπου λαμβάνουν παραδοσιακά μέρος οι αθλητές όλων των αγωνισμάτων, προκειμένου να συνεχίσουν το πρόγραμμα της προετοιμασίας τους.

Παρά το γεγονός ότι αθλητές και από άλλες χώρες αποφάσισαν μεμονωμένα να μην λάβουν μέρος στην τελετή έναρξης, αυτή ήταν η πρώτη επίσημη αθλητική ομοσπονδία που πήρε απόφαση να μην λάβουν μέρος οι αθλητές της στην έναρξη.

Το γεγονός αυτό ανησύχησε σοβαρά τους Κινέζους διοργανωτές που έχουν καταβάλλει υπεράνθρωπες προσπάθειες, φιλοδοξώντας να σημειώσουν μεγάλη επιτυχία οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες του Πεκίνου.

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Μπορεί να "έχουν καταβάλλει υπεράνθρωπες προσπάθειες", παρ' όλα αυτά όμως, οι Κινέζοι αντιμετωπίζουν τεράστια προβλήματα...
Αφού είναι τόσο δύσκολο να αναπνέει ο κόσμος....πώς θα τρέξουν οι αθλητές....
Ίσως να κουβαλάνε μαζί τους και μπουκάλι οξυγόνου.... ποιος ξέρει.
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Η ιστορία αυτή άρχισε όταν ένας Αυστραλός αθλητής, επιστρέφοντας από το Πεκίνο όπου είχε λάβει μέρος σε φιλικούς αθλητικούς αγώνες στο κεντρικό Ολυμπιακό στάδιο, πριν ένα μήνα, παραπονέθηκε για την ατμοσφαιρική ρύπανση και σταμάτησε να προπονείται μία βδομάδα λόγω αναπνευστικού προβλήματος.

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Ας περιμένουμε λοιπόν μια κάποια λύση....

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Monkeys control robots

I came across the following story while reading the newspaper today. I found it to be quite impressive indeed. Its seems to me that if more people had the ability to act in a similar fashion to the hero of the story then the world would be a much better place.

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Monkeys control robots with brain power

May 29, 2008 - 9:41AM

Scientists have trained monkeys to manipulate a robotic arm solely with brain power and could soon help amputees and paralysed stroke victims do the same.

Immobilised monkeys with electrode filaments inserted into their cerebral cortext learned within days to reach out with the free-standing prosthesis, pluck a tasty morsel with a pincer-like claw and pop it in their mouths.

When the path of the arm, positioned next to the shoulder, was deliberately blocked, the animals simply willed it around the obstacle with their minds.

Details of the research are published in the Nature journal.

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/monkeys-show-brain-power/2008/05/29/1211654171158.html

Strange but True!

Here is a strange story from Greece, about a little girl and her "twin"!


Twin found in nine-year-old's stomach

A nine-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said.

Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo more than two inches long.

"They could see on the right side that her belly was swollen, but they couldn't suspect that this tumour would hide an embryo," hospital director Iakovos Brouskelis said.

The girl has made a full recovery, he said.

Andreas Markou, head of the hospital's pediatric department, said the embryo was a formed foetus with a head, hair and eyes, but no brain or umbilical cord.

Markou said cases where one of a set of twins absorbs the other in the womb occurs in one of 500,000 live births.

The girl's family did not want to be identified, hospital officials said.

AP
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/twin-found-in-nineyearolds-stomach/2008/05/16/1210765106098.html

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The following is a very unusual and unfortunate way to go....

Spitting match proves deadly


A Swiss man died when he fell from a hotel balcony during a spitting match with a friend, a Swiss newspaper has reported.

The daily Blick said the 29-year-old man took a run-up from inside the room so he could spit further, but lost his balance and plummeted 6.4 metres to the street below. He died in hospital.

The man had suggested the contest when he and two friends returned from a disco to their hotel in Cadempino in Switzerland's Italian-speaking Ticino canton in the early hours.

One of the men went to sleep, but the two others decided to see who could spit furthest from the balcony of their room.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/spitting-match-proves-deadly/2008/05/14/1210444472552.html

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And here's what NOT to do with your barbeque!


Man barbecues car by mistake

A man barbecued his own car by mistake following a mishap at a grill party in southern Germany, police said.

The 37-year-old poured a beaker of petrol onto the smouldering charcoal of his balcony grill in order to coax it into life, prompting a tongue of flame to shoot out.

A friend standing next to him panicked and dropped the cannister containing the petrol, causing it to ignite and spill on to the man's car parked below.

The car went up up flames.

Two other vehicles were damaged in the blaze, which police said caused no injuries but more than 30,000 euro ($50,000) worth of damage.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/man-barbecues-car-by-mistake/2008/05/12/1210444275678.html

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The following story  is rather unpleasant, especially if you plan to do what you shouldn't!

Angry wife severes husband's penis

A housewife in the Philippines cut off her husband's penis while he was sleeping in their house because she suspected he was having extra marital affairs, a police officer said.

Police officer Rolly Lipata said 37-year-old Lenly Bayabado had long suspected her younger husband's infidelity, prompting her to cut off his organ.

Lipata said neighbours rushed the screaming victim, 32-year-old Joelito, to a nearby hospital in the Manila suburban city of Pasig after the attack.

Bayabado underwent several hours of operation so his organ could be re-attached, but hospital sources said there was no guarantee he would still be able to perform sexually.

Bayabado denied he was cheating on his wife and said he will not file charges against her because he wants to keep the family intact for the sake of their four children.

DPA
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/angry-wife-severes-husbands-penis/2008/04/10/1207420587420.html

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The following is a sort of reminder that justice is not always blind!!! Thieves do  get their just rewards....

Thief deposits loot with victim

Three days after stealing a rare collection of coins, a thief in Germany took them to the bank for safe keeping - and delivered them into the hands of the man he had robbed.

"I don't think the thief was expecting that," said a spokesman for police in the western city of Dortmund.

Soon after the thief made the deposit, a bank worker handling the coins recognised them as the set worth some 50,000 euro ($A85,630) that had been stolen from his house.

Police tracked down the 36-year-old suspect and arrested him, securing a haul of other stolen goods in the process.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/thief-deposits-loot-with-victim/2008/04/16/1208025223077.html

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Afghanistan

Australia's participation in the Afghanistan conflict has produced another unpleasant statistic. Another Australian soldier has been killed by the Taliban, and we are hearing the usual condolences about what a great husband and father he was and a great Australian and all the rest of it.

All these are just words to try to justify the unjustifiable and to ease the pain a little for those closest to the dead man.

Here's a link to the Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald article on the story:
He lived his dream: Aussie commando's widow
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/commando-lived-dream/2008/04/28/1209234690844.html

Makes you think about war and death and lies and politicians.

ANZAC DAY

Australians are a relatively new country with a short history, if we exclude the native Aboriginal people.

The Australian Aborigines have one of the longest histories in the world. They have lived in Australia for at least 60 000 years, but scientists have said that evidence suggests that Aborigines have lived in Australia for 100 000 years, while some believe that they may have lived here for 200 000 years.

It is common, however, when speaking of Australian history to, unfortunately,  refer to 'modern', European-related history, the history made predominantly by European-descended Australians.
In recent years the history of the Aboriginal people is being taught more and more, but there is a long way to go yet.

Australians, because they lack a history to rival other nations' history, and probably because they haven't had wars like other nations have had (such as the American War (of Independence)
against the British, the American Civil War, the Greek War of Independence, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and so on), love to make a big thing out of anything that
might make them feel good about themselves.

Take the ANZAC Legend, for example. Primarily this is story to rival any nation's story, with a twist.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. It refers to those Australian and New Zealand soldiers who voluntarily went to fight, on the side of Britain, against the Turks, in World War I (WWI).

The particular event that has created the 'Legend", is the military campaign at Gallipoli, in Turkey, in 1915.

It started with Churchill's idea to create a new battle front against the Germans, because the Allies were unable to break through German lines on the Western Front and elsewhere. There was stalemate and so a new Front was created.
The idea was to open up a supply line for the Russians through the Dardanelles, to help them in
the war against the Germans and Austrians, on the Eastern Front.
So the Allies (Britain, France etc) planned to redirect their efforts there, and force Germany to do the same, so there would be some relief in the Western Front.
Turkey would be knocked out of the War, the Allies would take over the Gallipoli area, they
would control Constantinople, and would be able to open up a supply route to Russia.

Great plan, if it could work! It did not!

Soldiers who took part in this campaign were mostly from Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand. But it was the Australians and New Zealanders (the ANZACs), who really made history.
Unfortunately it all started terribly. Plans of this campaign had been made public by the British, weeks in advance, so the Turks were prepared! The ANZACs were given wrong information and outdated maps about the landing area. They landed at the wrong place and, of course the Turkish troops were ready for them. When the landing of the ships took place on the early morning (dawn, about 4.30 am) of 25th April, 1915, it was a total disaster. Thousands of ANZACs were killed by Turkish gunfire from the top of the hills, on the coast.
Somehow the landing did take place. What followed was the same as what happened on the Western Front. Fighting and death for the next nine months. Almost 9 000 Australians and many others, died. Thousands more were wounded.
Eventually the British and allied generals realised the futility of the campaign and decided to put an end to it. An evacuation (withdrawal of everyone) took place at the end of November and beginning of December, 1915. Incidentally, this evacuation was the most successful part of the whole Gallipoli campaign, because no one died!!

However the important thing about this story is really that it marked Australia as a nation. It showed Australia could stand up alongside any other country and be counted. It showed Australia was a country with an independent spirit. Its people loved freedom and were prepared to fight for it anywhere.
It marked Australia as a new nation. It symbolised Australia's coming of age. Up to that time it had just followed Britain and had been part of Britain. Australia was an English colony (1788-1901).  
On the 1st of January, 1901, Australia became an independent country; a Federation of six states and two territories. It kept the British monarch as its Head of State, and certain other links, but essentially it was an independent country. Gallipoli was a chance to prove its worth.
Australians volunteered to go to war, to fight away from their homes. They fought just as bravely as any other soldier. They sacrificed their lives for freedom, even though Australia was not really threatened (at least directly).

And so a legend was born about the Australian spirit. A myth was created about the brave, courageous Australian soldiers, and the birth of the Australian spirit. It was not really false because these soldiers did volunteer and so many were killed.
Perhaps the story became a little too big. This was, after all, not a victory! It was really a defeat, a disaster! And yet Australians commemorate it as if there's nothing better to remember. Well...there isn't. It is the only thing we have.

The people most responsible for the promotion of this legend were Charles Bean (official War correspondent, and the official government historian) and a British war correspondent, Ellis  Ashmead-Bartlett. They both sent reports from the Gallipoli Front back home, writing about the bravery
and self sacrifice of the Australians.
At the time Australians responded with great enthusiasm to these reports. The government wanted more volunteers for the war, and it got them with the help of the positive reports of C. Bean and E. Ashmed-Bartlett.

And so every year we commemorate this event. It is not a bad thing. It is good for our history. But it should not be forgotten that many more Australians also fought and died elsewhere during WWI. For example on the Western Front there were many more Australian deaths than in Gallipoli. In recent times moves are being made to redress this imbalnce and recognise the self sacrifice of other Australians too, particularly those on the Western Front, rather than concentrating on Gallipoli at the expense of all other campaigns.

It should be said, however, that the annual ANZAC celebration (or more correctly, commemoration) includes the sacrifices made by all Australians in all wars, including their contribution in the latest wars in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

And so this is the ANZAC Legend.