Influencing the weather gods, and a dash of politics

China has for decades maintained an ambitious programme for weather modification. While many scientists contest the efficacy of such measures, altering rainfall works two way: seeding the clouds (with, for instance, silver iodide) to cause droplets to form, perhaps carrying out the operation on clouds before they approach the area intended to be kept dry.

Or, by making sure there are so many seeds released that raindrops don’t individually become heavy enough to fall.

What about Ekecheiria?

As the Russian campaign in Georgia intensified, there were reports that the Georgian team could consider withdrawing from the Olympics. (Later, it was announced that they would stay). Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in attendance at the opening ceremony and he visited Russian athletes at the Games Village to announce that every gold medalist would be awarded $150,000. Natalia Paderina will hopefully get at least a good fraction of that sum. The Russian won silver in women’s 10 m air pistol on Sunday, catching in an embrace the bronze medalist, Nino Salukvadze of Georgia. (The gold medal was taken by Wenjun Guo of China).

The fighting has predictably drawn sombre reminders about the Olympic truce. The truce harks back to the ancient Olympics, when the Games were a time of peace, when hostilities were kept in abeyance so that competitors — and presumably spectators — could travel for the competition. They called it Ekecheiria.

The International Olympic Committee adopted a resolution in 1992 seeking to enforce a modern, worldwide version of that ancient practice. The UN of course was thrilled, and before these Games too, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made the now-customary call.

From softball to cricket

George W. Bush has been spinning around venues, getting a feel of Michael Phelps’s first medal of these games, getting a quick game of volleyball, getting a feel of the competition bike track, and visiting the US women’s softball team. “It’s good for the world to have girls playing softball,” he said.

Well he might. This is the last Olympics for softball and baseball. Softball got included on the competition at the Atlanta Games in 1996, and baseball four years earlier. The IOC plans to shed some more from the schedule at subsequent Olympics, while other sports aim to get a look-in, like golf. Those making a pitch for cricket may be interested to know it was in fact once played at the Summer Games. At Paris 1900, Britain defeated France. The French at cricket? The team was apparently drawn from British personnel at their embassy in Paris.