could you be any more biased in this post?

While it is certainly possible (maybe even likely given the information found by the hacker), China is a sovereign nation. If China provides government documents saying they are of age, I don't really see how the IOC could prove they are underage without combing through government records that they don't (and shouldn't) have access to.
The IOC can only take this so far-- the only way I can see the results being changed is if China itself admits falsifying ages, which isn't going to happen. I have 2 questions for Chris: 1) are you worried about injuries to young Chinese gymnasts or do you just want Nastia to get another gold? 2) why do you even care if this doesn't enter into the "real" medal count?
M

Breaking news.. the British will try to outclass Beijing in 2012 open ceremony, here is one of their ideas:
"We will show the world the true face of Britain. We could have a parade of people dressed up as rubbish. Hordes of drunken Brits fighting each other with displays of synchronized vomiting. Then we could show the world the true British work ethic by having a cavalcade of the unemployed and the unemployable. Perhaps our university students could show their dedication to learning by not turning up (just as they fail to attend lectures so frequently). "
So far
So far 34% Britons support the idea

Why should something so important, involving the entire world, be pushed aside without a second thought. It seems as if there should be a governing body to look over the shoulders of IOC members to make sure that they are not being complicit in any future scandals.

No surprise. The IOC just approves any doc the chinese provide. They gave the country the games in the first place, why would they want to confront them now. The ioc behaves no different now than they have forever. The athletic community just keeps expecting more. Sad.

A friend of mine who is a doctor, he says there is a medical procedure which can find out a person's real age.
If IOC is really serious, hire a doctor, if they can not afford, let's start to donate money to get it done!!!!
what a shame.

IOC inclusions...When Americans win, they yell, scream, and loud. When they lose, they complain. Basically no one is allowed to beat Americans. Period.

You're a joke, Mr. Chase. It's clear that your twisted mind won't accept anything else despite all the facts (not something you found on the internet). Please stop embarrassing yourself and us fellow Americans.

If there was a question of age, why didn't one of the many all knowing reporters ask the girl(s) what sign they were born under? They would likely give a honest answer vs. a coached answer. Since it is a twelve year cycle you would need to quess which year they were born in but they certainly look to be closer to 12 than 24.
This is a trick used in Chinese factory audits to find underage employees

Actually it is your blogs that are jokes in this Olympics.
Here is a quote from an article on NBC:
To be clear:
The IOC has not ordered a formal "investigation" or even launched a formal "inquiry." The Friday report from London completely mischaracterizes such a process as well as the IOC's role in the course of such an action.
If the IOC had launched an "investigation," it would likely have named the members of such a commission as well as the persons of interest in such an inquiry. It did no such thing.
Nor could it have done such a thing. The way any such process plays out is that questions of age eligibility would be first directed to FIG.
If the IOC were dissatisfied with whatever findings FIG made, then the IOC could take the next step of perhaps launching its own follow-up inquiry.
Again, the IOC has done no such thing.
"You shouldn't regard this as some sort of formal investigation," Davies said, instead saying the IOC had informally gone to FIG about "apparent discrepancies."
Intriguingly, the matter appears to be of interest primarily to media from English-speaking media outlets, in particular American outlets. This shows no signs of becoming a consuming whirlpool like the figure-skating judging scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.
For more than 20 years now, since the 1980s, every dodge, every ruse, every trick imaginable has been tried to show that this gymnast or that meets the age rule -- first 14, then 15 and, since 1997, 16.
In gymnastics circles, they still talk about Kim Gwang Suk of North Korea, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991. She was listed as 15 for three years in a row -- and North Korea barred from the 1993 world championships.
Moving past the outrage for a moment, consider this. The Chinese would run the risk of a major embarrassement at their Games by making the elemental mistake of posting the purportedly "real" ages of underage gymnasts on an online registration list that's accessible publicly?
And leave it there to be discovered by an American running, as the Times of London account relates, a Chinese search engine?
Does that make sense?

why are u still writing. .. y u still paying to write

What ever Mr Chase, your a loser just like your team. If US won the gold, will you still be B*itching about the Chinese age?

why are u still writing. .. y u still paying to write

This is not about China looking good by putting on a good show. The Olympics are about the brotherhood of humanity putting aside its differances and coming together in the spirit of competition, fairplay and pride. If cheating is what you bring to the table you are simply showing the world what your country and its citizens are truly about. In this case its China not caring about human rights issues and child labor issues
Too Bad....

The IOC is about effective as the United Nations. BOTH should be disbanded.

Not another one, Chris!
I don't think you are really care about young girls getting hurt in China, since Liukin & Shawn both started training at 3 yr old, which is treated as "cute" here in media.
The thing you really care about is China cheated and how many gold medals US can get back. BTW, the divers from China seem young to me too but no one is doubting their age. I guess it's because Americans cannot get any medals from diving.

It is extremely disgusting and offensive that these articles continue to bully the chinese for producing excellence. I personally think an investigation should be lauched to full scale on the both the source of the complaints and the motives. It is my opinion it is simply someone who is full of prejudice and hate toward anyone who is not in their own category... likely arien. What true morons!!!! Let's expose the whistle blowers and discover what a farce is truly going on. It is always the first one to accuse that is often believed. Probably a war monger.......wanting to darken the ignorance of the nations a little more. Believe me. People are not as stupid as the accusers believe.

I don't know why the Chinese say that we are questioning the Chinese gymnasts ages due to the size of the girls compaired to the other athletes in other countries. The suspicion came up due to past compititions where they stated different birthdates on the list, which would make them too young to compete in the Olympics. Why does the IOC have rules? so they can be fair and followed. Another thing is why are they trying to prove ages with passports?? Don't the Chinese have birth certificates? If not, I'm sure that parents are given some kind of documentation at the hospital when a child is born (Cmon people!).

Haven't these women/girls ever left China? If they ever went to a country where they had to produce a passport wouldn't there be records indicating their relevant biographical information? This investigation should be done without the cooperation of the Chinese delegation since they have such an inherent conflict of interest their credibility is subject to question - regardless of whether you believe them. Let's find some independent proof and move on.

Although most Orientals, it is very hard to tell their age from appearances and they always look younger than they really are, their ages should make no difference. Afterall, they beat the world - they are the best, no matter what their ages are. Yes, if they have cheated, it's a shame but try to realize they felt the need to cheat, if they did and the others earned their medals, if they didn't cheat!

I am sure most people may feel that a violation in the minimum age is victimless. But consider those children from other countries who may very well be the best, but under age, that did not compete in the Olympics in Beijing. When rules are broken, the glory will be tarnished.

I thought this was interesting, the other night while watching the final vault competition, the bar along the bottom of the screen gave the ages of each competitor. Two of the Chinese gymnasts were listed as 15 and another gymnast (I'm sorry I can't remember which country) was listed at 14/15 as well. I thought that you had to be 16 no matter what to compete in the Olympics for the gymnastics competitions due to the development of muscles and bones. If it is such a big deal for the Chinese gymnasts, then the other gymnast under age should be investigated as well right?

You know what, I have been angry about this situation because I think it is so unfair that young girls are denied a medal because a country cheats. However, now I think its funny. China wants to be seen as this great power in gymnastics, but they have gotten the title by cheating. They will forever be tainted in the sport of gymnastics. How despicable is this country, the parents and the athletes if they will go through these measures to cheat just so they can keep a medal that doesn't belong to them. China disgusts me.