A warm welcome to the 182nd Britblog Roundup of the modern era. This blog is being brought to you live from Beijing by a 437-strong team of BBC researchers, IT specialists and technicians, but never let it be said that you do not get value for money here; press the red button on your handset now to access a range of interactive features including highlights of the past week's blogging, fully moderated messageboard, a virtual coconut shy where you can chuck hard objects at the political leader of your choice, and of course three-day eventing from Hong Kong.

Yes, Olympic fever has hit Britain. Can you feel it? Me too. Surely everyone's a winner at Olympic time; competitors, spectators, sponsors and a global audience "estimated at 3 billion". (Really? Half of us stayed up overnight to watch the cycling?) Well, perhaps not quite everyone...

Alex Massie wonders why we are already relishing the prospect of a fiasco in 2012, Meral Ece bemoans the lack of Turkish Cypriot representation in Beijing (the Greek boy will remain silent at this juncture), and Bridget Fox raises the ever so slightly awkward issue of the human rights of the poor bloody Chinese (remember them?). No, not everyone is a winner after all, particularly if you dare to print Bibles in China.

Meanwhile, the 3 'R's rants on the BBC's wasteful coverage of the Games in fine style (as well as providing a rather tasty-looking recipe for thousand island dressing) and the incomparable Diamond Geezer looks at plans to regenerate the route to London's Olympic stadium, which are being marketed by the Government under the predictably heart-sinking label of project "High Street 2012".

Finally on this, Craig Murray looks at Chinese policy towards the Uighur minority in far west of the country, and wonders if the spotlight of the Olympics might help their quest for recognition. And Charles Crawford looks at... well, Craig Murray.

If the Chinese are using the Olympics as cover for some unpalatable actions, they are in good company. Cabalamat considers the small matter of the full scale war currently going on in the Caucasus and what, if anything, we can do to stop it. You want a weapon of mass destruction, Mr Saakashvili? Two words: Katie Melua.

To matters domestic. With politics in recess and MPs on the beach [fanning themselves, no doubts, with sheafs of your money], the big political story of the week was the conviction of Ian Oakley, Tory PPC for Watford, for waging a pretty disgusting one-man hate campaign against the Liberal Democrats in the constituency. Sal Brinton at Lib Dem Voice and Sara Bedford are of the view that this shows the Tories are still the "Nasty Party".

Michael Gove was in the headlines after taking a swipe at lad's magazines like Zoo and Nuts. A shame, then, that his 2005 election campaign was funded by the production company behind, er, Nuts TV. Recess Monkey nails him.

On a slightly more important note, there are tales of heavy-handed and stupid policing from the Kingsnorth Climate Camp protest. Scribo ergo sum and Rupertsread have the lowdown. And, since we're on the subject of saving the planet, here's an alternative look at that Sainsbury plastic bag levy.

Meanwhile, Harpymarx fires off a well-aimed broadside against the 42 day detention proposals. And frivolity rules at the blog of the same name; following Gordo's plan for Cabinet to meet outside London, what if PMQs were held at the seaside?

Susanne Lamido welcomes plans for new affordable housing in Islington. (Though, as pilot schemes go, £10 million for 14 homes does seem awfully expensive...) And Theo Blackwell mourns the passing of a Camden Town legend, Bill Fuller.

Probably not attracting too many column inches in London, but there are two separate leadership elections going on in Scotland at the moment. I refuse to discuss the Lib Dems on a point of principle, but here's Two Doctors on the Labour race.

August is, of course, silly season in the newspapers, so it is no surprise that Madeleine McCann is in the news again. Liberal England criticises the media for its continued coverage of the sad tale, while Obsolete employs far less tasteful verbal imagery to make a similar point.

To wrap things up, we have a few odds and ends which it's harder to classify. Unmitigated England takes a whimsical look at Health and Safety regulations in churches, JimJay has a very thoughtful post on your "ownership" of your children, and Natalie Bennett reviews "Her Naked Skin" at the Olivier - remarkably, the first play by a living female playwright staged there since its opening in 1963. And Meanwhile Here In France has photos from her garden in Provence that will bring tears to the eye of anyone currently suffering the miseries of another Great British Summer.

Franz Kafka's eclectic porn stash. I guess they were right to arrest Josef K after all.

And finally, Mick "Slugger O'Toole" Fealty makes a plea for greater MSM engagement with the blogging world. Not a rallying cry that will gain much traction amongst the elite [sic] of the commentariat, one suspects, but a timely one nonetheless. And he's not just talking the talk; Mick is currently locked in signing talks with the Britblog team, with a view to bringing the Telegraph's Brassneck blog on board as a roundup host in the very near future. You heard it here first.

Until next week, as the man said: Toodle-pip!