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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Imperfection at the Olympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Atlantans know that staging an Olympic Games is not for the faint of heart. But many believe that China went over the line last week when it decided that a 7-year-old singer (Yang Peiyi, top photo at right) was not cute enough for the Opening Ceremonies and replaced her with a purportedly prettier girl (Lin Miaoke, 9, bottom photo at right) who lip-synched the song “Ode to the Motherland.”
“The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen,” the ceremony’s chief music director, Chen Qigang, told Beijing Radio.
This sort of “national interest” is an alien concept to many Americans. What do you make of it? Read about this incident and other problems at the Beijing Olympics here, and join in a discussion of the singer who wasn’t pretty enough.
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Saxby and the Gang of 10
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cynthia Tucker says that Saxby Chambliss and the “Gang of 10,” the five Democratic senators and five Republican senators who are seeking middle ground on energy policy, are not just acting like adults: they’re acting like leaders.
So why, Tucker asks, are right-wing ideologues like Rush Limbaugh and Neal Boortz complaining about their efforts? And why is the left castigating Barack Obama for saying that he would agree to new offshore drilling in exchange for significant funding for alternative fuel development?
Tucker believes that partisan politics is strangling efforts to lead us out of the energy crisis. Read her full column here, and then join the conversation on Chambliss and the Gang of 10.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Forum
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