I Hate It When ...

...people politicize international competitions, sporting and otherwise. /snark, plus yowza:

“If you exercise your right to free speech, you’re unfit to represent the United States in international competition. Why is that so hard to understand?”

We now return to our regularly scheduled "Spreading Democracy" programming.

Comments

[Frederick]

"This isn't a free-speech issue," so shut the hell up. I love these people who talk about, "our soldiers died to give you these rights," and then don't even let veterans use them, or bridge players, or Dixie Chicks. Like Jon said, "In Pakistan we can already see the tragic results that can occur when some people misunderstand what America stands for." [insert expletive]

[JP Stormcrow]

I think a touchstone for my entire generation in the US could be the question: Do you view the Tommie Smith/John Carlos medal-stand salute at the 1968 Olympics positvely or negatively?

To me it remains one of the most magnificent moments in Olympic history. They were thrown out of the games.

A spokesperson for the organisation said it was "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit."

[eRobin]

My husband and I talked about that story for a long time last night. Although he had no trouble with what the team did, the thing that he missed was that they had faced questions during the tournament from other participants about US policies - like torture. Other countries' citizens are truly interested in how we are handling this crisis and are forcing us to explain our gov't. It's fascinating - as is the fascist response from some of the people in charge of that organization.

On the bright side of global relations, the section with the above story in it also had a FANTASTIC photo of Venezuela's youth orchestra playing at Carnegie Hall. It's here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/arts/music/14boli.html

They were photographed while playing Mambo from West Side Story and they're adorable:

"When it ended, Mr. Rattle, with not a trace of British reserve, dived among the players and engaged in a hugfest. Not to be outdone by Mr. Dudamel, he led the orchestra in a reprise of the hit encore from Sunday afternoon, the “Mambo” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” Mr. Rattle kept turning to the audience to lead shouts of “mambo!” as the Venezuelan musicians played and danced their hearts out."

[sylamore, Memphis]

Hey, you may not know this, but when George Bush was in college he actually won a gold medal as a member of the school's bridge team. He immediately went out and had it bronzed.