The Beijing Olympics was a unique event in many senses, and China has been one of time’s most debated Olympic hosts. New article examines the great global impact of the Beijing Olympiad.

Comment: There are still many who discuss a cultural boycott of Israel because of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, and especially because of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. If sport is perceived as part of the concept of culture - the so-called extended concept of culture - the discussion about a cultural boycott might have a new and important element. 20 January Israel and the Palestinians formally entered a sporting cooperation towards the London Olympics in 2012.

Many people have been surprised and shocked by the revelations in the WikiLeaks documents currently being distributed by Julian Assange and his fellows. More shocks will probably be in store for those who allow themselves to be shocked.

Comment: In the bathroom, during the opening ceremony of the World Cup in South Africa this summer, the North Korean ambassador in Pretoria grabbed hold of the arm of his South Korean counterpart and threatened South Korea with non-specific measures unless Seoul stopped accusing North Korea of sinking the South Korean navy vessel Cheonan. The Cheonan was sunk in March this year and 46 South Koreans died.

At the NATO summit this weekend, the alliance decided to enter into closer cooperation with Russia and launched 2014 as the year of withdrawal from Afghanistan. 2014 is not any year for Russia; this is the year when the Russian Federation will host the Winter Olympics for the first time. Security is going to be a hot topic in the Olympics. It might therefore be convenient to have a good relationship with NATO.

Read the first chapter of Steve Menary's new book examing the history of British Olympic football through historical facts and interviews with former players about the Great Britain football team that won two Olympic gold medals and is set to play at the London 2012 Olympics for the first time in more than forty years.

Just a month after India concluded the Commonwealth Games, China is hosting the Asian Games. The Games are taking place in Guangdong Province between 12 - 27 November, mainly in the city of Guangzhou.

Yet again, the Nobel Peace Prize did not go to the IOC. This year the prize went to Liu Xiaobo – the Chinese dissident – who criticized those who wanted to boycott the Beijing Olympics because that would deteriorate the human rights situation in China.