https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/g...-under-the-olympic-flame-20220205-p59u1b.html Global power games played for high stakes under the Olympic flame By Eryk Bagshaw February 5, 2022 Beijing: While the world was getting ready for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday night, the final touches were being put on a document that could set the stage for a new geopolitical conflict. Timed for release at 7.30pm as hundreds of dancers were twirling their way around Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium and athletes prepared to walk in, China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladmir Putin put a final end to the Sino-Soviet split and made their pitch for a new world order. The communique - finalised after months of planning - and released as both men took their seats in the stands, is extraordinary in its boldness and its overt politicisation of an event that has long pretended to be above politics. The joint statement released by China and Russia came out just the opening ceremony began, with both Putin and Xi in the stands. Credit:Sputnik In the strongest statement between the two countries in half a century, the two leaders said there would no longer be any “forbidden areas of cooperation” between the two powers and their alliance was now “superior to the Cold-War era”. They attacked NATO, AUKUS, human rights defenders, western governments and old alliances. A week after Russia amassed 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and China flew 39 warplanes towards Taiwan, they condemned the West for using the “advocacy of democracy and human rights” to criticise others. The leaders of Russia and China, where elections are rigged or filled by a select few, said no country had the right to define democracy, that the liberal traditions of directly elected members did not apply to them or their people. They had their own democracies, they said, that best suited its particular state, “based on its social and political system, its historical background, traditions and unique cultural characteristics”. They said they were sick of being lectured by other states on their “internal affairs, infringing their legitimate rights and interests” and called for “an inclusive system of international trade,” a month after China blocked any European businesses buying products from Lithuania and more than a year after it launched $20 billion in trade strikes on Australia. Most significantly, China for the first time explicitly inserted itself into European affairs by calling for an end to the expansion of NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - established after World War II to contain Russia and now the key alliance standing in the way of an invasion of Ukraine. “This is a big shift in the Chinese foreign policy mainstream,” said Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister and President of the Asia Society. “China now sees itself as a global, not just a regional, security actor.” In exchange for its support against NATO, Russia joined China in condemning the AUKUS nuclear submarine alliance, warning it increases “the danger of an arms race in the region, and poses serious risks of nuclear proliferation”. Xi Jinping, President of China, waves at the crowd during the opening ceremony. Credit:Getty China has for the past century largely maintained an arms-length approach to international affairs that are not directly related to its security interests. It is aggressive on issues that it sees as its own such as the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong but has avoided publicly inserting itself into disputes on other continents. That changed on Friday. Under the Olympic flame, China is now building its alliances for any future conflict and asserting itself as a diplomatic superpower. The communique was delivered while the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, were also in the Olympic stands, revealing China and Russia’s plans for recruiting members to a Sino-Russian order. They want NATO sidelined, the Quad dismissed, and “small cliques” abolished on the global stage. They want to protect the “United Nations-driven international architecture to ensure peace and stability”. Gallery 25 images Gallery: 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony The focus of that seemingly optimistic message is a dysfunctional UN where both nations use their veto powers to block resolutions or rally votes from the leaders of smaller nations who are reliant on them for economic aid. A dozen, including those from Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Serbia, will make their way from the Bird’s Nest to Xi’s office over the coming week. Like the Olympics, the United Nations gives China and Russia the global veneer of international human rights respectability. But goal now is to recruit as many nations as possible to this illusion.
opening ceremony nap News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom February 5, 2022 Vladimir Putin’s not losing any sleep over the Ukraine conflict. The Russian president appeared to doze off during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics Friday as Ukraine’s national team marched through the stadium. The world leader was caught on camera slumped in his chair with his eyes closed as the athletes were introduced and their national anthem blared, according to the UK Independent. Putin’s eyes then flitted open and he was up and at ‘em by the time the Russian Olympic Committee team entered Beijing’s National Stadium, standing to salute them. The president’s ill-timed snooze came amid tense relations between Russia and Ukraine after Putin placed more than 100,000 troops on the nation’s border. Images of the notoriously shrewd politician’s shuteye sparked speculation on Twitter later Friday that he “faked” the nap as a slight to the rival country.
All the Beijing snow is human-made -- a resource-intensive, 'dangerous' trend as planet warms By Derek Van Dam, CNN Updated 8:19 AM ET, Sat February 5, 2022 (CNN) It would be hard to hold a conversation over the deafening sound of the snow machines preparing the Olympic venues northwest of Beijing.They are loud and they are everywhere, blowing snow across what will be this month's most-watched slopes. It is almost beautiful -- except that the venues are surrounded by an endless brown, dry landscape completely devoid of snow. In an Olympic first, though not an achievement to boast about, climate variability has forced the Winter Games to be virtually 100% reliant on artificial snow -- part of a trend that is taking place across winter sports venues around the world. More...
Can’t blame Beijing has no snow this decade. Check out PA snow reports, all ski resorts are machine groomed this year. My family owns a condo in one of the ski towns there, the condo value actually dropped and we rent it out to locals. Not fun anymore. I ski black diamond slopes and would go a far as killington in Vermont for the weekend but six hours drive one way is too much. https://www.onthesnow.com/pennsylvania/skireport
I would say not choosing a place like Norway or Sochi is why..... how much snow do you expect to have for winter games in Beijing area versus a place like Salt Lake City or a Lillehammer....where it is powder all winter and you only need minimal man amde snow for the artificial events.
No, even places like Vail, Aspen, Jackson Hole, snowfalls on the the destinated time windows is not possible. I was skiing in Torino often after their Olympic in 2006. They have machines working all night in the base. In the upper mountains were snow covered once it is over 3000 feet.
It is hilarious when extreme liberal ET trolls complain about the Chinese communists silencing extreme liberal American athletes during the Olympic Games yet, these same extreme liberals have no problems trying to shutdown other Americans free speech rights. The ban on President Donald Trump on Twitter and other social media is one blatant example. There are numerous others. When extreme liberal Democrats and their lackeys in liberal media do their utmost to promote fascist measures to stifle contrary opinions----you have a communist dictatorship like the Communist Chinese. So, what are you idiots complaining about? You are getting a dose of your medicine. I thought you guys loved communism so much?
Everyone in the whole world should not watch the Chinese Games because of the genocide. Boycott them. I am.
I feel all the events outside of donwhill is all fake anyway such as half pipes, moguls and the ramps and landing areas since they are constructed.... gone are the days of just competing on fresh powder