Woke Olympics not for me

I normally watch the Olympics, but this year I only saw a few clips of highlights on YouTube.  I didn't miss it because the wokeness would have made me retch. Sadly.  But Andrew Klavan points out some highlights for the non-woke among us that gives me hope for 2022 and 2024.

Woke Olympic hopeful comes in 3rd, disrespects anthem

If you are trying to compete in the Olympics to represent your country and then after qualifying, you disrespect your country, you need to give up your spot on the team to someone who actually wants to represent their country.  Go compete for somewhere that also disrespects America, like say China.  They will need a few more bronze medals because their cheat machine probably is too focused on winning Gold medals and they can't have it look too suspicious.

Her actions were shameful. They were two-faced. How are her teammates who respected the flag and anthem supposed to focus on their sport with this woman selfishly dragging all of the attention to herself? She's harming other teammate competitors' chances with this ridiculous behavior. She does not deserve a spot on the team.   Frankly if the Olympic team does not remove her in favor of someone who wants to compete for her country, they deserve not to win.

Sochi Security holds up, but...

It looks like the Sochi Olympics went off without a hitch as far as security goes.  That's a good thing.  If a police state like the son of the Soviet Union that Russia has become can't stop terror attacks, what chance would we in the West have where searching nuns would be frowned upon (or should be)?

Just asking.

Of course we should have suspected all along that security would not be the issue at the Sochi Olympics. Transparency is another thing.  Graft it seems, was what built the entire venue;

“The Sochi Olympics are an unprecedented thieves’ caper,” says former deputy prime minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. He claims that some $26-billion in phony costs may have been creamed off by contractors, many of whom are Putin cronies.

But it doesn't end there.  There's also the issue of padding Russian results with more or better medals.

When Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won the gold medal in women's figure skating over South Korea's Yuna Kim on Thursday night, it was the signature moment of the Sochi Games for the host nation. For many skating fans, however, it was a serious injustice. With&nbsp accusations of inflated scores for Russian skaters and several judges having  questionable backgrounds, Sotnikova's win has been seen as both the skate of her life and a potential injustice towards Kim.

Is Russia concerned about efforts to overturn the gold medal?  I'm just asking but really, in a rhetorical way this time.

And then there's the issue of Russia's intolerance of gay rights. I guess Putin counted on the protests to quietky disappear once the games got underway.  It turns out, he was right.

...the only really noticeable pro-gay act inside Olympic Park came when Italian Vladimir Luxuria, a transgender gay rights activist, showed up at a women's hockey game in a rainbow skirt after broadcasting that she planned a protest. Police removed her from the park. A day earlier police detained her briefly after she unfurled a "gay is okay" banner outside the park.

So what happened?

"I really have already voiced my opinion and spoken out," said U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner, responding to questions from reporters. Wagner has been outspoken in her criticism of the Russian laws. "My stand against the LGBT legislation here in Russia is really the most that I can do right now," she said. "I'm here to compete first and foremost."

Is Russia going to be penalized by the international community for this sort of approach the way a politician anywhere else in the world might be?  Just asking.

With all of this going on in a sporting environment, can you imagine what Putin is trying to do behind the scenes with respect to the situation in the Ukraine, no matter what president Obama exhorts Russia to do or not do?

Again, just asking.

Should the U.S. skip Sochi?

There are security threats with Islamic terrorist overtones.  There's Vladimir Putin tripping all over himself to say that Russia is an open society, all the while comparing homosexuality to pedophilia.  There's president Obama calling Al Qaida a shadow of its former self - not acknowledging a potentially serious threat. There's Russia putting pressure on the Ukraine not to join the E.U. in deeper trade ties, causing unrest in that nation.   It all makes for a potentially unpleasant Sochi Olympics next month in Russia.

The most worrisome is the potential threat to spectators and athletes, regardless of nationality.

"We've prepared a present for you and all tourists who'll come over," the video says in part.

"If you hold the Olympics, you'll get a present from us for the Muslim blood that's been spilled."

The US-based SITE Monitoring Service identified the men as "purported Volgograd bombers Suleiman and Abdul Rahman."

December suicide bombings at a railway station and on a trolleybus in the southern Russian city -- which investigators have linked to suspects from the mostly Muslim republic of Dagestan -- killed 34 and injured dozens.

Islamist insurgents based in North Caucasus republics such as Dagestan who are seeking their own independent state have vowed to disrupt the Sochi Games in order to undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

"The threats are real. They are basically calling for attacks on the Olympics. I think you're going to see attempts to do that," said Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

It's not like it hasn't happened before.  In 1972 terrorists attacked the Olympics in Munich.

There was also an incident in Atlanta in 1996.  Remember in 2012 Mitt Romney was slammed for his comments on the potential security risk at the London Olympics?  The press blasted it as a gaffe, but the safety of innocent civilians should never be ignored, let alone used as a political bludgeon.

There are unfortunately politics around the Olympics. In 1980 the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics as a protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  In 1984 the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries boycotted the L.A. Olympics in retaliation.  Boycotting the Sochi Olympics as a political statement on Putin's oppressive regime (with his comments about homosexuality as a premise and indicator of the bigger problem) is just not in the cards.

But the safety concerns are real.  The Russian threat of intimidation and brutal reprisals after-the-fact if there were to be terrorist actions in Sochi are not going to be enough to deter terrorism.  Thye possibility that something will happen is very real, and skipping the Olympics if there is a clear and present danger is something worth considering.  Not as a knee-jerk reaction, but a threat assessment is very important.

Olympics aren't supposed to be political

1972 served as a wake-up call for the world that the Olympics were not immune from terrorism, and politics.  If ever there was an event that showcased national pride without the intrusion of politics either internal or international politics, the Olympics should be it.  And for most people, that is indeed the case.  With the Olympic games set to open within the next 60 minutes or so, it serves us all well to disregard the politics that surround the games - the back and forth between Mitt Romney and a few British politicians, the risk of potential terrorist disruptions - and enjoy the spectacle of athletes giving it their all in their chosen sport.

Career Ending Face Plant

U.S. Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin's career in gymnastics is sadly ending without a trip to the 2012 Olympics in London as a result (in part) of this spill:

Not pretty.  After a wonderful career she has been outshone at the ripe old age of 23, by other exciting gymnasts who will represent the United States at the Olympics in 2012.  Liukin will not be remembered for this fall as much as her performances in 2008.

President Obama on the other hand, should have had a career ending face plant multiple times with scandal after scandal and failure after failure between 2008 and 2012.  I hope his presidential career ends on this kind of note this year, and then Americans across the country can provide the same sort of face plant to Obamacare that it so richly deserves.

Olympian Sized Platitudes

Vindication? Expect some Olympian sized platitudes for Obama from the IOC.

Let's face it - President Obama's speeches to the International Olympic Committee were a complete flop. Rio was always the prohibitive favorite. The speeches by Obama et al. were not likely going to change the decision of the IOC. But the stinging slap in the face was the fact that Chicago was the first city eliminated from contention. If that was as a result of the Obamas' shared sense of self-importance (George Will noted that they averaged about 1 "I" or "me" per sentence in their collective speeches. How many mentions of Chicago?) or it had nothing to do with it is unclear.

What remains clear is that the speeches were failures. But don't be surprised if you see the Obama's vindicated by the IOC. They slapped The President pretty hard and it was for one of the two reasons mentioned above. (1) They perceive him as weak and they don't care about the impact of their decision. In fact given the first round dismissal, they likely deliberately sent a message. You are too self absorbed - this is supposed to be about us. Or (2) they were still mad about what they perceive as an arrogant American past and President Obama was the convenient outlet for their venting.

The former case is more likely the truth. Certainly there was no level of respect in the action either way. But the IOC will, in a sense apologize. Like a guilty abusive spouse who realizes they've been bad, they will offer some platitudes to Obama.
I would expect some of the "highlights" of the speech to show up in some Olympic video montage promoting the common good of man. Perhaps Obama's lines along the same topic. Don't expect it next week, but as the 2012 Olympics draw near, expect to see it.

It assuages the IOC guilt, it promotes their brotherhood of man brand image and the timing, couldn't hurt Obama's re-election bid later that same year. See, they'll imply, we really are sorry.

I wonder if Obama will buy that line. Based on his track record, I'm thinking yes.

Mobile Post: Shocked By The Failure of Hype

Chicago was the first city eliminated from the running for the 2016 Olympics. This after BOTH Obamas - Barack and Michelle - and Oprah spoke on behalf of the city.

The President's rock star persona really only exists in the minds of the mainstream media, his most ardent fans and of course - the Obamas themselves.

The shock of not only the loss by ChicagObama just proves the arrogance - they expect that because The One has spoken - all will listen and obey. It proves the disconnect - they really don't hear Tea Parties because they only hear themselves, and the same is true for the Olympics.

Most importantly it proves that Obama doesn't do due diligence. Why wouldn't he have assessed the odds prior to participating in the pitch? Either he did and was self-aggrandized to the point of believing he could sway the votes, or he didn't and was clueless. Like in his vetting of his appointees.

I'm shocked too - at the level of shock. The Obamas, the MSM and the idolizers of the President really are out that of touch.

Its good news for those looking for a change in 2010.