Chinese cheaters

I’ve been watching the Olympics, and whenever they show the women gymnasts, I can’t help but wonder if the Chinese girls really meet the age minimum of 16. Well, as it turns out, there’s good reason to believe they don’t. The New York Times reported back on July 27:

The Times found two online records of official registration lists of Chinese gymnasts that list [He Kexin’s] birthday as Jan. 1, 1994, which would make her 14. A 2007 national registry of Chinese gymnasts — now blocked in China but viewable through Google cache — shows He’s age as “1994.1.1.”

Another registration list that is unblocked, dated Jan. 27, 2006, and regarding an “intercity” competition in Chengdu, China, also lists He’s birthday as Jan. 1, 1994. That date differs by two years from the birth date of Jan. 1, 1992, listed on He’s passport, which was issued Feb. 14, 2008. […]

The other gymnast, Jiang [Yuyuan], is listed on her passport — issued March 2, 2006 — as having been born on Nov. 1, 1991, which would make her 16 and thus eligible to compete at the Beijing Games.

A different birth date, indicating Jiang is not yet 15, appears on a list of junior competitors from the Zhejiang Province sports administration. The list of athletes includes national identification card numbers into which birth dates are embedded. Jiang’s national card number as it appears on this list shows her birth date as Oct. 1, 1993, which indicates that she will turn 15 in the fall, and would thus be ineligible to compete in the Beijing Games.

But the smoking gun is to simply look at them. There’s no way they’re 16. No. Way. Not unless they have some sort of growth-stunting disease. Kinda sucks the spirit out of the Olympic games when countries conspire to cheat.

Obama expected to announce running mate as early as Wednesday

Via the New York Times (note: may require free registration):

Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said. […]

Going into the final days, Mr. Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware. […]

If all goes according to plan, the announcement will be made with text and e-mail messages to supporters early in the morning, in time to capture coverage on the morning news shows and take advantage of a full day’s news cycle.

Mr. Obama and his running mate will begin, perhaps that day, a visit to swing states.

PJStar yet to get the memo about FBOFW

The Journal Star is getting ready to celebrate the ending of the For Better or For Worse comic strip, so they’re asking readers for their thoughts on it. Just one thing: the strip isn’t ending. Contrary to the PJStar’s statement that “its final, new-content installment” will be August 30, FBOFW creator Lynn Johnston has decided to keep adding new content after all, according to her website and the L. A. Times:

Calling the next phase of her comic strips “new-runs,” Lynn Johnston announced that beginning Monday, Sept. 1, her immensely popular “For Better or For Worse” will start over again. Using new comic strips drawn in the style she used 29 years ago when the Patterson family first appeared on comic pages, Johnston will begin retelling their story from the beginning, eventually blending at least half of the classic original comic strips with new material.

Not long ago, Johnston, 61, had planned to retire this year and offer mostly reruns of her 29-year-old comic strip. But her life changed when her husband fell in love with another woman and the couple divorced. “At this time in my life, I thought I would be on a cruise ship to Panama or the Mediterranean, retired with my Tilley hats, my sneakers. But I’m a single lady now, and I want to keep working,” she said in a video posted on You Tube.

Not that I care. I’m not a fan of FBOFW. I’m still waiting for Bill Watterson to come out of retirement.