An official from the General Administration of Sport of China (GASC) denied reports that athletes were banned in January from eating untested pork, beef and lamb in an attempt to avoid doping scandals in the run-up to the London Olympics.

Still, extreme caution is in order.

“The administration has never banned athletes from eating meat. It just reminded them to be on alert,” said Chen Zhiyu, head of the general office of GASC’s science and education department.

Chinese media reported earlier this month that Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang hasn’t eaten pork for years due to fears he could accidentally consume clenbuterol – known in China as “lean meat powder” – the banned performance-enhancing substance that led to Olympic judo champion Tong Wen’s two-year suspension in 2010.

“I specifically checked with the 110m hurdles team’s leader, Yang Jimin,” Chen said. “He felt pretty angry (when he heard the report). He emphasized Liu has never stopped eating pork.”

This is hardly a recent issue. I blogged about this problem in the lead-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics when the sourcing of local food became an issue for a U.S. Olympic Committee caterer who came upon a 14″ half-breast of chicken in a local market – “enough to feed a family of eight” – that was riddled with steroids. “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.” See here.

According to a 2008 article in the Daily Telegraph, “[T]he International Olympics Committee [IOC] previously stated competitors are banned from bringing their own food to the athletes’ village to protect the rights of sponsors like McDonalds and to police the use of illegal substances.” This is just another example of how collusive the IOC, and especially Jacques Rogge, was with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). This shoddy relationship between two corrupt organizations was a non-secret among those who paid the least bit of attention back in the oughts, after China bought was granted the Olympics.

According to this morning’s China Daily piece, “The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a warning last November to athletes traveling to China and Mexico, urging them to exercise extreme caution when eating meat.” That said, the Chinese athletes at the national training center in Beijing are forbidden to eat in restaurants outside the center, a restriction that I imagine pre-dates the World Anti-Doping Agency’s advisory by several years.

Whether or not Liu Xiang, the great hurdler, eats pork is his business, though in China pork is the deal. When you say meat (ròu) it means pork. The character for both family and home is a pig beneath a roof. Here, pork is deep, which explains why Chen Zhiyu so adamantly disputes Liu’s reported pork snub.

In fairness, this is not exclusively a Chinese problem. Laced food is finding its way into the worldwide consumption chain, though in China it is easy to imagine that there is more juicing of livestock going on than anywhere else. It’s a numbers thing, not necessarily a cultural one. There are a lot more people in China doing what they think must be done in order to get by. Trying to make money is not easy, unless, of course, you’re at the top of the CPC heap, where there’s more money than a mule can shit. Just don’t try eating the mule. If you do, there may be no gold medals in your future, and you’re going to have to buy bigger hats. It’s that Barry Bonds thing all over again.

Shake It Twice
A reporter submitted green tea as his urine specimen to 10 Hangzhou (China) hospitals, then sat back and waited for his results. Six hospitals determined he had an infection, and five prescribed medicine totaling 1,300 RMB – in today’s money market, nearly $180 USD. Expensive tea. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health blasted the media for violating a nebulous professional code of conduct.

Too Close To Call
Britney shaved her head.

New Century Diplomacy
In his ‘argument ad nourishment’ lesson Li Zhaoxing, former Chinese ambassador to the US, ex-Foreign Minister and current Beijing University professor, told his students at China’s most prestigious institution that his strategy for countering foreigners’ incessant badgering about human rights was to state, “I have suffered from starvation before and so I know what human rights are. Have you ever suffered from starvation before?”

Cats Pause
The University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team lost to Gardner-Webb, which, prior to this game, I’d wrongly assumed to be an insurance company. Apologies to the Runnin’ Bulldogs. You keep on goin’ Cats!

White Olympics?
Snow was reported to have fallen in Beijing at least twice this past August, though the first incident was debunked by the Beijing Weather Observatory. Snow in August? Insane. After it happened again, there was a resounding silence from the InfoWeathermen. In Chinese folklore summer snow translates into the commission at some level of grave injustices, which may or may not speak to the machinations of weather manipulation as a preternatural strategy for controlling the upcoming 2008 Olympics.

A Head of the Pack
In the Amazing Science category Slugger Barry Bonds, whose head has inconceivably continued to grow well into his forties, passed Hank Aaron as all-time MLB home run hitter. Rich “Goose” Gossage said it best in 2006: “Hitting in a game is no different than hitting in a home run contest. It pisses me off to say Barry Bonds is the greatest hitter. He’s playing in a wussy era. The game is soft. You never get thrown at today. Last thing a hitter has to worry about today is getting hit. The first thing Hank Aaron had to worry about is: Am I going to survive this at-bat because I’m black.” In spite of the wussified shortcomings of the ‘era,’ Mr. Bonds, an alleged human growth hormone abuser, bravely dared recent pitchers’ beanball dreams by giving them an even bigger head to throw at. Kudos.

Prime to Premier
Thaksin Shinawatra, exiled Thai prime minister who fled to England after a military coup, purchased the Manchester City Football Club of the English Premier League for $162 million which equals the total annual wages of 736,363 Thai housekeepers. Kick that ball!

Available
Marilyn Manson officially divorced former stripper Dita Von Teese, aka Heather Sweet, proving that you can’t have your Cake and Sodomy too.

Samsonette Agonistes
Post head-shaved Britney lost her children.

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