The other side of the Olympics

I've been remiss in not talking about this subject. With all of the focus on Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, the Chinese divers and their gymnastics team (is it just me, or did the COMBINED age of that team look to be about 16?), no one has talked much about the greater issue of what staging a major sporting event like this in a repressive, totalitarian state means. Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe, thankfully, hasn't avoided the subject: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/24/chinas_totalitarian_games/. I don't know if I'm willing to go as far as some have to claim that staging the games there is the equivalent of staging them in Berlin in 1936, but it's not far off..........

How can we miss you if you won't go away?

Jean Chretien, the disgraced, corrupt former Primer Minister of Canada, seems intent on traveling down the same road as President Peanut Farmer. Just as there WAS a tradition in the U.S. for ex-Presidents not to criticize the actions of sitting Presidents, until President Peanut Farmer breached that tradition, there was a similar policy in Canada for retired Prime Ministers to keep a low profile after they left office. So much for that policy. Chretien has trashed sitting Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the latter's refusal to attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, as well as for Canada's refusal to repatriate terrorist wannabe Omar Khadr: http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/beijing-games/story.html?id=732142#email. I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. Chretien has never met a communist he didn't like, and he has always been very sympathetic to the actions of terrorists.

All of a sudden, I don't dislike Kobe Bryant so much anymore

I am on the record as NOT being a fan of Kobe Bryant. Well, I'm going to back off that dislike A LOT after this interview, where he talks about his pride in playing this summer in the Olympics for the United States: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121901828943748251.html?mod=djemEditorialPage. The article makes a very good point. Neither Bryant nor any of the other players on the team HAD to do this, and yes, while they undoubtedly will cash in from a marketing standpoint if the team brings home the gold, they are still giving up their time for what amounts to a non-paid, extended competition. And, you can't say that Bryant is purely looking at the money aspect--he has been at numerous events to wave to the flag, including at least two of Michael Phelps' finals.

I take my hat off to him.

Call me a sucker

I love the Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The pomp and ceremony are incredible, and yesterday's ceremony in Beijing was particularly impressive. The Chinese put on a stunning show, and I was struck by the warm welcome afforded so many of the countries, including the United States: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26079138/.

One tragic footnote to the above. Today, two family members of one the American volleyball coaches were attacked and one was killed by a Chinese national who then committed suicide before he could be apprehended by the local police: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080809/ap_on_re_as/oly_china_american_killed. This story is still unfolding so we'll know more in the hours and days to come, but initial reports are that there was absolutely nothing to indicate that these people were American, meaning that the attack on them was probably random (though they were in an area that is very popular with tourists).

More deafening silence.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have "women-free" Olympic teams: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2008/05/21/should-men-only-muslim-teams-be-barred-from-the-olympics/. It's strange how this seems not to upset feminists in the least. You don't hear a word out of NOW or any other feminist organization. Nope, instead they're focussing on horrors such as construction work signs which say "Men at work". The IOC as well of course has nothing to say about this.

Talk about your priorities being completely out of whack.............

Going for the gold

That's what Qatar is doing, as it contemplates a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games: http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010980. The article author sings the praises of the Arab nation, and talks about a flawlessly executed Asian Games in 2006 (omitting, of course, that little tidbit of information that Israeli athletes were not allowed to attend, despite the fact that Israel is in Asia).

You have to wonder--would Israel be banned from the Olympic Games, assuming that Qatar won the right to host them? It's not that farfetched..................

China and Darfur

One of the great, unspoken truths about the ongoing genocide in Darfur is that it is taking place to a large degree because of the support that China is giving the rogue Sudanese regime, both from an economic as well as a military standpoint. Well, China is scheduled to host the Olympics in Beijing in just over a year's time, and as such, it is susceptible to political pressure because of the importance the communist government has placed on these games: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_pesek&sid=ak4otZL4l5ow.

I'm curious to see how this will play out, but I am not overly optimistic about how the world will react. The West in general seems far more concerned about dozens of Palestinian dead thand it does about tens of thousands of African Christian dead in Darfur.......................