wow factor

Going for Gold but at what cost?
Taxpayers have forked out $16.7 million through direct federal grants for each of the 13 gold medals won by Australia's Olympic team in Beijing.

For a country of 20 odd million people who bitch about taxes, petrol prices and Government waste at every opportunity, we seem more than willing to fork out a lot of money for an Olympic Gold Medal.

The individual and team performances are incredible and deserve generous support. However it's also valid to ask where the dollar pissing competition ends.

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Algae strikes Olympic sailing course - ABC News

In a well planned show of love for China, thousands of Chinese students descended on Canberra with a simple objective... drown out any pro Tibet activity.

This was not a spontaneous outpouring of Olympic love.

I drove she who knows best to work in the city at 7 am and watched organised groupings marching to their designated locations along the torch relay route.

China has a frail sense of confidence if it still believes sheer numbers are the solution to their issues.

At least they had no counter to the sky writer slowly composing Free Tibet across the blue morning sky.

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Image source: ABC News News coverage: ABC News

Declaration: My definition of Synchronized Swimming is that 3 competitors in the final of the Olympics 100 meter come equal first.

So, why is Synchronized Swimming still a part of the Olympics?

Pegs on noses and pet show poses remain part of athletic excellence !!

Maybe because they remain free of outed drug cheats ?. That's my best guess.

Original programme source: PBS - Graceful, sharp and visually spectacular

take a break from your made in China flat screen TV and switch on your made in China computer and watch some made in China history about Tiananmen Square June 1989

If you can't wait until the Games, don't feel bad about watching it now as it sure beats the current media coverage of Paris Hilton.

Note that the Google video is 52 minutes long.

Also note that Google, Yahoo and others have some questions to answer about their relationships with China