Will China Become the No. 1 Superpower?

GFP Note: As the world is watching the Olympics in China, this story really is food for thought. Where do you weigh in on the subject?

By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor

As the world focuses on China during the Olympics and keeps a watchful eye on Russia's military moves in Georgia, there is an underlying expectation — and for some, fear — that China is poised to become the world's new No. 1 superpower. In fact, a good number of people in many countries believe the torch has already been passed......

Read the story.

-----
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Fayette Front Page

Ward And Team USA Win Bronze Medal In Team Sabre Competition

Incoming Duke freshman Rebecca Ward and USA teammates Sada Jacobson and Mariel Zagunis defeated France 45-38 to win the bronze medal in the team sabre competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics on Thursday in the Fencing Hall at the National Convention Centre.

Ward, who will enroll at Duke in the fall, earned her second bronze medal at the 2008 summer games after claiming the bronze in the individual sabre competition behind teammates Jacobson and Zagunis on Saturday, August 9. Ward won six of her nine bouts in the team competition, including two of three in the bronze medal round. Fifth-seeded Ukraine took home the gold, while third-seeded China claimed the silver medal.

Ward won the opening bout in Thursday’s medal round 5-2 over France’s Mary Solenn and followed with an 8-2 triumph over Carole Vergne that erased a 20-17 deficit and put the US squad ahead 25-22. The American trio did not trail for the remainder of the round and led by as much as eight points at 40-32 before Ward locked up the bronze medal by holding off Leonore Perrus 5-6 in the final bout. Ward’s 8-2 victory over Vergne was the most lopsided victory in the round.

Ward, Jacobson and Zagunis – who collectively drew the number one seed in the team competition – opened their medal run with a commanding 45-8 win over eighth-seeded South Africa in the quarterfinals before falling 45-39 to Ukraine in the semifinals. Ward won each of her first three bouts against South Africa and gave up just two touches in the quarterfinals, defeating Adele Du Plooy 5-1 and Elvira Wood 5-1 before shutting out Joyti Chetty 5-0.

The Ukrainians handed Ward and team USA their first loss in the semifinals and advanced to the gold medal round where they edged China 45-44 to clinch the gold medal. Ward managed to pull out a 6-5 win over Olena Khomrova in the semis after falling 6-4 to Halyna Pundyk and 6-2 to Olga Kharlan.

The bronze medal finish concludes Ward’s stay in Beijing. She will join the Duke women’s fencing team this fall as a member of the sabre team.

-----

Georgia Front Page

Georgia State Students’ Film to Premiere at Olympics

For most, going to the Olympics as a spectator is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For three Georgia State graduate students — Phoebe Brown, Shanna Gildersleeve and Micah Stansell — and their faculty adviser, Niklas Vollmer, attending this summer’s games in Beijing will offer another unique experience: the world premiere of their documentary film.

The Coca-Cola Co. commissioned Vollmer and his students to film a segment on Doug Stoup, an environmentalist and expeditionist who has led teams to the North and South poles and was selected as a torchbearer for this year’s Olympics. Teams of students from Australia, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tanzania and Turkey also filmed their own segments. After seeing the work from Georgia State, Coca-Cola asked Vollmer, Brown, Gildersleeve and Stansell to edit each five-minute segment into one film.

“Hopefully at some point, we’ll at least make some kind of personal contact with the other students,” Brown says. “We’ve spent a lot more time with their work. As you keep watching, you start feeling like you get a sense of what the people who made it would be like.”

The film blends the different filmmakers’ unique storytelling styles to illustrate the need for global awareness of environmental issues ranging from water pollution to melting glaciers to wildlife conservation. Each segment follows an environmentalist who was selected as an Olympic torchbearer and highlights his or her cause.

“Hopefully, it will effect some sort of change,” Stansell says.

Vollmer says it’s been rewarding to guide his students through the process of putting together the film, calling it a bridge between Georgia State and other universities.

“These three have been great at adapting to something that all of us, when we first agreed to it, had no idea what it really would turn out to be,” he says. “I wanted a sharp crew, and they’re sharp.”

The film will premiere Aug. 13 at the Coca-Cola Shuang Experience Center, a hospitality venue on the Olympic Green.

-----
Georgia Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com

Coca-Cola Invites People to ‘Connect with the World over a Coke’ in Celebration of the 2008 Olympic Games

BUSINESS WIRE--With three months to go until the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Coca-Cola is inviting people in the U.S. to celebrate the Olympic ideals of unity, optimism and inspiration. Long before the first medals are awarded in August, Coca-Cola will build excitement for the Olympic Games with the launch of a multi-faceted Olympic-themed program in the U.S. Anchored by a group of high-profile U.S. Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, limited edition Olympic-themed packaging and online experiences, the program is designed to bring fans together to celebrate the spirit and camaraderie associated with the world’s biggest sporting event.

“Together, Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games have shared and promoted the values of unity, optimism and inspiration for 80 years,” said Hendrik Steckhan, president and general manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North America. “For the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, we’re continuing that legacy of engaging the world. By combining Coca-Cola cans in different languages with six amazing athletes, we’ve created a program that celebrates global communities coming together and the unifying spirit of the Olympic Games and Coca-Cola.”

Connect With The World

Beginning May 19, Coca-Cola will give Americans a ‘taste’ of how Coke is enjoyed around the world with the release of limited edition, Olympic-themed collectible cans and FridgePacks bearing the iconic Coca-Cola logo in different languages, including Ethiopian, Russian, Thai, Mandarin, and of course, English. This new packaging marks the first appearance of the Coca-Cola script in different languages in the United States, with new designs appearing every two to three weeks.

Hitting stores simultaneously, 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles will feature labels with multiple languages including those of the U.S., Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“Six-Pack” of Athletes

To connect U.S. consumers with the spirit and excitement of the upcoming Games, a special Coca-Cola “Six Pack” of athletes will be featured on collectible packaging and in-store materials. The “Six Pack” includes gold medalists Natalie Coughlin (swimming), Steven Lopez (taekwondo) and Sanya Richards (track & field); Olympians LeBron James (USA basketball) and Andy Potts (triathlon); and Olympic hopeful Shawn Johnson (gymnastics). Leading by example, the athletes also are serving as Coca-Cola “Ambassadors of Active Living” to help encourage and inspire people to lead active, balanced lives.

Advertising

Today in New York, five of the Coca-Cola “Six Pack” of athletes” are filming special NBC vignettes that will air during the summer to raise awareness of the collectible Coca-Cola packaging. These vignettes will join other Olympic-themed ads from Coca-Cola this summer, including a commercial that celebrates the 80-year relationship between Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games.

Online Olympic Experience

MyCoke.com will be the destination for teens looking to interact with Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games in a fun, global way. Visitors can design their own digital Coke bottle to share with others around the world; learn about the Coca-Cola “Six Pack” of athletes; download wallpaper and screen savers; and enter a sweepstakes for a snowboarding trip with Olympic medalist Gretchen Bleiler to Vancouver, the site of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The site also will feature “WE8,” a global collaboration between eight exciting visual artists and eight progressive musicians to create eight limited-edition aluminum bottle designs and free, downloadable companion songs. Over the summer, thousands of samples of the special aluminum bottles will be shared with visitors at Simon Malls across the country.

Also, loyal Mycokerewards.com members can redeem their points for Olympic gear; learn about the collectible cans and bottles, download Olympic packaging collector’s sheets; watch video interviews with the Coca-Cola “Six Pack” of athletes”; and enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a U.S. Olympic Training Center tour with an Olympic athlete.