happy father's day 2008 - The Metro Herald

SPORTS & RECREATION
June 13, 2008
OP-ED
SIU-
EDWARDSVILLE
TO JOIN
OHIO VALLEY
CONFERENCE
Southern Illinois University-
Edwardsville is joining the
Ohio Valley Conference, becoming
the 11th school in that
league. The conference and the
school announced the move Tuesday,
as the Cougars transition from
NCAA Division II to Division I.
SIU-Edwardsville will officially
become part of the conference on
July 1.
The Cougars will begin regularseason
competition in the OVC
during the 2011-2012 academic
year, and in most cases will be eligible
for postseason play the next
year.
SIU will replace Samford, an
Alabama school that is defecting to
the Southern Conference.
CHINA’S OLYMPIC TRIUMPH: COMING OF AGE IN BEIJING
Carlos Cardozo Campbell
Special to The Metro Herald
Months before the opening
ceremonies for the 29th
Olympic Games, the stage
has been set for what may be the greatest
celebration of the modern Olympic
Games in history. It will also mark the
40th anniversary of world wide satellite
based television broadcasting. As
Bill Toomey, the 1968 Olympic Decathlon
Champion said about the 1968
satellite broadcast: “Television and the
Olympics combined to bring the world
together like never before.”
The opening ceremonies will take
place on the 8th day of the 8th month
of 2008. The number eight is considered
to be the luckiest number of all in
Chinese culture.
Beijing, the centerpiece of the 29th
Olympiad, is the focal point for an urban
development boom with buildings covering
over 10,000 sites representing 1.7
billion square feet of floor space at a cost
in excess of 40 billion dollars.
The architectural crown jewels of
the Olympic venues are The National
Stadium, referred to as the “Cage” and
the National Aquatic Center referred to
as the “Water Cube.”
In addition there is the National
Center for the Performing Arts,
shaped like an “egg,” and the China
Central Television Headquarters, a 6.5
million square foot, 788 foot structure
which dominates the Beijing skyline.
These buildings, monuments to the
majesty of the Olympic movement,
were designed to inspire and symbolize
China’s new genesis and Beijing’s
debut as a global city.
In addition to the monuments the
Beijing Olympic Games will provide
majestic moments, miracles, and memories.
I was privileged to attend the Montreal
Olympic Games in 1976 when I
was the Deputy Assistant Administrator
of the American Revolution Bicentennial
Administration and the Director of
the Bicentennial Sports Alliance. The
assemblage of great athletes from all
over the world and the resulting competition
was a powerful experience.
Majestic moments during the
Olympic experience elevate the human
spirit and generate harmony, respect
and dignity for participants as well as
the nations that they represent.
Three words encapsulate the
essence of the Olympic creed: “Citius,
Altius, and Fortius,” which mean:
“Swifter, Higher, and Stronger.”
For the citizens of the People’s Republic
of China, a majestic moment
occurred during the summer of 1992,
at the 25th Olympics held in
Barcelona, Spain. Tens of thousands of
spectators watched a quick striding
diminutive twenty-four year old cross
the finish line in the ten kilometer walk
in forty four minutes and thirty two
seconds. The victory was historic.
Chen Yue Ling became the first
woman from China to win an Olympic
Gold medal in track and field as well
as the first Asian woman to accomplish
such a historic feat. She became a national
hero and the subject of a documentary
film. Years later a bronze
statue was erected and displayed in her
hometown of Tieling in the province of
Lianoning, China. With Chen Yue
Ling’s victory, the Chinese women
captured three of the first five places in
the ten kilometer walk.
Four years later, under the sweltering
summer heat of Atlanta, Georgia,
on July 19th 1996, it was well into the
night when the lights were turned off
throughout Centennial Stadium. Earlier
during the day, I had celebrated my
birthday with some of the greatest
Olympic champions in history. What I
was about to experience would virtually
erode the earlier celebration from
my mind. A capacity crowd of thousands,
watched as a runner with torch
in hand, ascended the last steps to pass
the Olympic flame. The identity of the
final recipient was kept secret. This
added to the suspense of the event.
From behind a screen a familiar champion
walked slowly forward and accepted
the torch. I had met the Champion
a quarter of a century earlier and
subsequently at various events including
the Montreal Olympics. Like most
of his admirers I had watched his
health deteriorate from Parkinson’s
disease. Mohammad Ali, with his hand
and arm trembling lit the Olympic
Flame. My face was so awash with
tears that I was embarrassed. When I
turned to my right and then to my left,
I noticed that everyone in sight was
also in tears. For the spectators who
watched in Centennial Stadium and on
television worldwide, this was indeed
a majestic moment.
In the Winter Olympics held at
Lake Placid, New York, an underdog
U.S. Hockey team was defeated by a
professional level Soviet team in an
exhibition match. When the U.S. Ice
Hockey team, which consisted of college
level players, defeated the Soviet
during the semi-finals it was dubbed
the miracle on ice because they overcame
seemingly insurmountable odds
in their triumph. This victory was heralded
as the greatest upset in the history
of sports. The U.S. Hockey team
went on to defeat the team from Finland
and capture the Olympic Gold
medal.
In architecture, design is the imperative
for the millennium. China, as the
host nation for the twenty-ninth
Olympics, has set the standard in the
design of venues for various sports.
China is a nation on the rise and is
in the midst of rapid change. During
the last twenty years China has moved
over 250 million people from rural
areas into the cities and is expected to
move a like amount to cities during the
next twenty years.
An Editorial in the May 11, 2008 of
The Washington Post “Olympic Gag
Order; Why should China’s repression
of free speech be imposed on athletes
from the rest of the world” is critical
of the International Olympic Committee
for sticking to it’s Charter which
states: “No kind of demonstration or
political, religious or racial propaganda
is permitted in any Olympic
sites, venues or other areas.”
$2M JEWEL HEIST IN MASSACHUSETTS
INCLUDES SUPER BOWL RINGS
Thieves broke into a jewelry company over the weekend and stole up
to $2 million in gold, gems and other valuables, including Super Bowl
rings made for New York Giants staff members, authorities said.
The thieves disabled the alarm system at E.A. Dion Inc., cut a hole in the
roof and made off with a safe that weighed at least 1,000 pounds.
The loss was discovered Sunday by a Dion employee, who went to the
business when she was unable to access her work e-mail from home, apparently
because phone lines had been cut. The heist could have taken place at
any time over the weekend, Sgt. Jim Keane said Wednesday.
The Super Bowl rings made by the company were to be given to the Giants
staff members to commemorate the team’s win over the New England
Patriots, team spokesman Pat Hanlon said.
The players and coaches had already received their rings last month. The
staffers were to receive identical ones—white gold rings with the “NY” logo
is set in diamonds and “World Champions” emblazoned in raised letters. They
were designed by Tiffany and Co. and have a retail value at $25,000 each, the
team said.
The company does not discuss specific customer’s orders, President Edward
Dion Jr. said.
“We’ve talked to our major customers and let them know what happened,
and I am confident we’ll be able to fulfill our orders,” he said.
The family-owned company, which has been in business for 40 years, was
back up running at full speed and re-evaluating security, Dion said.
The case remains under investigation by Attleboro police with assistance
from the FBI.
The Post Editorial states, in part,
“No worthy public goal can be pursued
without a measure of controversy, debate
and yes, conflict. Let the struggles
among and within nations be peaceful.
But don’t pretend they don’t existmuch
less try to stamp them out for the
sake of a commercialized extravaganza.
In helping China do just that,
the Olympic “Movement” risks sacrificing
values far more important than
athletic competition.”
The Washington Post diminishes
it’s stature by publishing such a self
righteous and sanctimonious editorial.
As much as I love and cherish America,
I find that our system of justice
which incarcerates more than any nation
in the entire world, (approximately
2.3 million which is 800,000
more than China) with an estimated ten
percent or more who are innocent and
whereby hundreds have been exonerated
from death row, has a house in serious
disorder. Moreover the incarceration
of suspected terrorist without
charges and the abuse of “detainees,”
not to mention the conduct of war
based on erroneous intelligence do not
put the United States high on the scale
of credible human rights practices.
Referring to the Olympics as: “A
commercialized extravaganza,” is condescending,
disingenuous and inappropriate
on the part of The Washington
Post.
The goal of the Olympic Games,
stated in the IOC Charter “Is to place
sport at the service of the harmonious
development of man, with a view to promoting
a peaceful society concerned
with the preservation of human dignity.”
Two times Olympic 800 meters
Gold Medalist (1948 and 1952) and
holder of five Olympic medals, Mal
Whitfied asserts: “The Beijing Olympic
will be the most spectacular games ever.
The Chinese are great people and they
are going to set the standards to the delight
of the entire world.”
In addition, China appears to be the
most progressive, resourceful and determined
nation in the world in addressing
the challenge of growth management.
China’s GDP of about 10 percent
annually for the past decade is the
longest sustained economic expansion
in history. The Chinese government,
like the British after World War Two,
has adopted a policy of building new
or Satellite towns around the periphery
of Beijing and Shanghai. These new
towns are planned to accommodate a
population between 500, 000 and one
million people. The new town of Milton
Keynes, about 40 miles northwest
of London, England was originally
planned for 250,000 people when it
was initiated in 1969. When I visited
Milton Keynes in 2005, I found out the
the new town had met it planned population
goal and is slated to add another
250,000 people.
The reported modal split for trips to
work in China is approximately as follows:
Walking 29%; cycling 25%; public
transit 24%; electric mobile 6%; motorcycle
5% and private automobile 9%.
The Chinese government is implementing
policy initiatives to establish
land use planning and sustainable development
standards to manage urban
growth. The Chinese are working with
urban development professionals in the
United States and clearly taking advantage
of lessons learned by this nation
as well as the Europeans.
In recent years I have had the opportunity
to meet with several elected
officials and development executives
from Dalian, China. Through this interaction
I have gained great respect
for their professional standards, dedication
and commitment.
While 2008 will focus largely on
the Olympic Games in Beijing, visitors
would do well to inquire about the
building of six satellite towns, an airport
town and subway that, upon completion,
will be the largest in the world.
In contrast to the construction in
support of the Olympic Games, China
in the province of Sichuan, experienced
a 7.9 magnitude earthquake which left
millions homeless and over 69,000
people dead. While the Foreign Ministry
initially declined the assistance of
rescue personnel , they reversed their
policy and let in specialist from Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan and Russia. President
Hu Jintao expressed thanks and
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao participated
in a photo opportunity with Ban Kimoon,
Secretary General of the United
Nations. International financial contributions
from over 80 nations are in the
tens of millions of dollars.
Fred Kemp, reported on Bloomberg
June 1, 2008 that the Chinese Central
Government has been responsive in
dealing with the Sichuan earthquake
which caused an estimated 20 billion
dollars in damage.
The strength of character of the
Chinese has been born out a culture
which is thousands of years old, and
traditions of discipline and unity. Anthropologist
Margaret Mead said:
“When you study others you can learn
about yourself.” We can learn a great
deal from the Chinese. The tragedy of
Sichuan has changed the calculus of
diplomacy with an international response
that bridges and strengthens the
bonds of our humanity.
This is the Chinese Century. Come
August 8, 2008, let the games begin.
• • •
Carlos Cardozo Campbell is a former
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Economic Development with the U.S.
Department of Commerce from 1981
through 1984.
When responding to an ad,
tell them you saw it in The Metro Herald
20 THE METRO HERALD