I commented on Twitter that for Canadians, the US is the best team to beat, and conversely the worst ones to lose to. Take that for flattery because I think it is. Anyway, the Canada/US rivalry is good for the sport. The "miracle on ice" stuff was dumb though. If America's team of above average NHL players had defeated Canada's team of star NHL players, that is not 1980 redux.
The closing ceremonies were unexpectedly hilarious and generally engaging. Inflatable moose and beavers. William Shatner. Mounties and lumberjacks enough to make Monty Python blush. Good stuff.
In honour of that, here is something I've wanted to post here, but never had a good excuse. I proudly present the only piece of Canadiana missing from the Closing Ceremonies, the Log Driver's Waltz:
One of the original purposes of the Olympic Games, I believe, was to allow for brief truces and / or cease fires between warring Greek city states. Additionally, that principle was also included during the organization of the modern Olympics, by finding a way for nations to come together--and compete--peacefully, rather than in war. Obviously, that is a tradition Russia has violated in Georgia. The reason I bring this up is that Russia is set to host the Olympics in a town not far from Georgia in 2014:
Beginning a well-planned war (including cyber-warfare) as the Olympics were opening violates the ancient tradition of a truce to conflict during the Games. And Russia's willingness to create a war zone 25 miles from the Black Sea city of Sochi, where it is to host the Winter Games in 2014, hardly demonstrates its commitment to Olympic ideals.
Now, given this interesting and ironic coincidence, one obvious sanction that it seems the international community could level at Russia would be to withdraw Sochi's award of the 2014 Winter Games. Really, this is probably the minimum that should be done, but it seems like it would be a harsh enough stick to potentially alter behavior. Countries really, really want to host these things, after all.
Yesterday's opening ceremonies of the Olympics seem to be receiving nothing but rave reviews today. Personally, I enjoyed them, too, even if most of the artistic portion struck me as pretty much the same thing as Broadway, Disney or Bollywood musicals that I don't like very much, only on a scale 50 times larger. A bit cloying for my tastes. Then again, the older I get, the more I seem to like those musicals, but I digress...
What I did like, and what I usually like about the Olympic opening ceremonies, is the march of nations. Yesterday's was just as spectacular and enjoyable as any I can remember:
Before the ceremonies, I was generally of the view that, because of its environmental degradation, internal human right's and worker's right's abuses, it should not have been awarded the Olympics games. However, watching the march of nations, it became clear to me why hosting the Olympics was so important to China, and why there really isn't a good argument to deny them these games. Concerning the former, it is pretty obvious that having the world's greatest athletes, along with many of the world's leaders, make a pilgrimage to your country is a remarkable honor--and certification of recent progress--for a once preeminent nation that has struggling mightily over most of the last 170 years. Concerning the latter, considering our extensive economic ties with them, considering our own recent international record, and considering our own environmental abuses, the more I thought about it, who are we to criticize China? Until we put our own house in order, China absolutely deserves to host this pilgrimage every once and a while.
Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is buying into NBC Universal's Olympics coverage.
The McCain campaign made a last-minute $6 million ad buy, which tops the $5 million Sen. Barack Obama's campaign had announced last month it was buying during the Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 8.
Like the Obama team's ad buy, the McCain campaign's purchase includes network and cable spots. NBC Universal is airing 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage on its broadcast network and cable networks including NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Oxygen and Telemundo
With the Olympics sucking out news oxygen, and with McCain equalling Obama's Olympic ad purchase, it looks like we are going to have to wait for the vice-presidential picks and the conventions to see a marked change in the campaign.
We might be on hold for two or three weeks. Given the current trends in the campaign, that is not a good thing.
Steven A. Smith reports that, in order to compete in the Olympic games this year, athletes are required to sign waivers declaring that they will not engage in political protest:
It's nice to see recognition for the two former medalists on the eve of another Olympics. But at the same time, to participate in the Beijing Games, athletes are now required to sign waivers promising that they won't engage in any kind of protest or demonstration at Olympic venues. It's ironic at the very least. Not to mention pathetic, weak and un-American. That's right, I said it!
Olympic organizers can try all they want to keep the Games nonpolitical. That won't stop Tibetans at home and abroad from protesting Chinese repression. And it certainly shouldn't stop today's U.S. athletes, collectively and individually more powerful than ever before, from saying or doing something that transcends sports instead of being limited by them. I don't care if it's in the form of a small quote or a big gesture.
I wonder if this non-protect waiver will apply to thanking Jesus and asking people to support the troops. Also, Never mind that the games are themselves basically a massive political rally for the Chinese government. Propaganda good, protest bad.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Olympic Games should never have been awarded to China. From the air quality in Beijing, to the pending clamp down on the media in October once the games are over, to disallowing protest by athletes at the games, these Olympics do not appear promising. Even leaving politics aside, the twelve-hour time delay should make the American coverage of the games pretty lame, too.
The Social Concerns Committee of Lake City (Michigan) United Methodist Church, led by Richard Renner, is spearheading an effort to boycott the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The Chinese Games are regularly referred to as the "Genocide Games," due to China's record of human rights atrocities at home, and their unyielding support of the brutal regimes in Burma and Sudan.
According to Renner, "We absolutely support our American athletes, and it is highly unlikely that the U.S. will completely boycott the Beijing Olympics. However, we urge our Representatives in Congress to support resolutions condemning China's human rights record. Further, we would like our President, George W. Bush, to reconsider his decision to attend the opening ceremonies. As leader of the free world, it would send a strong message of disapproval to the Chinese Communists if he were to decline their invitation to be an honored guest."
Since 1950, when the army of the People's Republic of China illegally invaded and occupied Tibet, the Chinese authorities have conducted a systematic campaign of genocide upon the Tibetan nation. Reliable estimates claim that as many as 1.2 million innocent Tibetans have been murdered. This crime of genocide has been condemned by the International Commission of Jurists, and is currently being investigated by Spain's High Court.
China is the number one diplomatic, economic and military ally of the brutal regime in Sudan. Armed with Chinese weapons, the Sudanese government has conducted a systematic campaign of genocide in the Darfur region. Since the conflict began in 2003, over 400,000 Darfuri civilians have been murdered, 2.8 million refugees have been driven from their homes, and 90 percent of ethnic Darfuri villages have been destroyed. On the U.N. Security Council, China has repeatedly threatened to use its veto to block resolutions imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Sudan.
"It is unfortunate that the Beijing Olympics have become so politicized," said Renner. "However, it is the Chinese government that began the process, by continually using the games as a propaganda tool to promote their political and economic agenda. China wants to be recognized as a global power, perhaps even a superpower, and they are using the Olympics to achieve that recognition."
So far, people of conscience from all across Michigan have joined our campaign to boycott the "Genocide Games." However, we need your help, too. For more information contact Richard Renner at 231/229-2505, or rrenner@core.com.
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."
- Pastor Martin Niemoller, decorated World War I U-boat Commander. Imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau Death Camps from 1938 to 1945 for his anti-Nazi activities.
Ok, this is really weird. Today, Bush National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley was on Fox talking about whether Bush would boycott the Olympics' opening ceremony, and talked about the issue of "Tibet." Later the same morning he went on ABC and discussed the same issue, but he consistently talked about "Nepal."
(As Think Progress and CrooksandLiars point out, these are 2 distinct places.) Very curious -- is Hadley just a moron? Or is there some diplomacy-speak reason that someone would tell him to actively switch from "Tibet" to "Nepal" between shows?
And I often wonder, "If Dr. King were here, and Robert Kennedy were, what would they be doing?" So someone must continue to speak up and speak out, because they're not here.
As usual, a progressive campaign is disappeared if it's a negative for the fake progressive candidate. Anyone else think this reminds them of the pseudo-progressive stand down on Iraq during the Kerry campaign? Of course, in place of real progressivism, there are plenty of lies and other anti-Hillary gotcha crap available at both dkos and huffpost. Or is it anti-Bill-Clinton stuff that pseudo-prog readers, like their loony right sexist brethren, have been trained to think is anti-Hillary stuff?
The only good news on the "boycott the opening ceremonies" front is made by the very honorable John Lewis:
Nancy Pelosi catches a lot of flak. Some of it is justified, but IMHO, most of it is undeserved, because she is operating in a difficult situation with immediate underlings who are not loyal to her, and a caucus that is still conditioned by 12 long years out of power.
This week, we have another example of her using her position to speak out in a manner strikingly different from other high leaders. It deserves our attention, not just for her message, but for how she delivers it.
On the San Francisco Olympic Torch Relay April 8th, 2008 by Speaker Pelosi
The Olympic Charter states that the goal of the Olympic games should be to promote 'a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.' The Chinese government has failed to live up to the commitments it made before being awarded the Olympic games to improve its human rights situation. In fact, there is disturbing new evidence that it is conducting a broader crackdown on human rights in China and Tibet because of the Olympics.
For the next four months, the International Olympic Committee and Chinese officials will parade the Olympic torch through dozens of countries and even through Tibet. The torch will be met by politicians and heads-of-state from all over the world along a 'journey of harmony.' It is the Chinese government that is making the Olympic torch relay a political event.
Freedom-loving people around the world are vigorously protesting because of the crackdown in Tibet and Beijing's support for the regime in Sudan and the military junta in Burma. The people are making a significant statement that the Olympic ideals of peace and harmony should apply to all people, including those in Tibet and Darfur.
San Francisco is blessed by a large and vibrant Chinese American community. As San Franciscans, we embrace the diversity of our community and we value the contributions made in every corner of our great city. We also value free expression, and this week, many will exercise this right by demonstrating against the Olympic torch. I urge all those who protest to do so peacefully and respectfully. I commend those who speak out for their commitment to shining a light on the causes that challenge the conscience of the world.
California's Democratic Party just passed some very progressive resolutions, btw, and Pelosi's daughter is the CDP chair. So, take notice, people. Please.
"We want to say to China, 'We thought that the Olympic Games would help you improve your human rights record," Tutu said. "We still hope... But what we are saying to the heads of state, to President George Bush, is, 'For goodness sake, don't go to the Beijing games... for the sake of our children, for the beautiful people of Tibet. Don't go!'"
In a week that saw the Olympic torch extinguished not once, not twice, but thrice, our very own Lee Camp provides the hard-hitting analysis we at Laughing Liberally have learned to rely upon.
