40 years ago in Mexico City

It’s been 40 years now since Tommy Smith and John Carlos stood atop an Olympic Medal podium in Mexico City. The two American track athletes claimed the gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter event, with Smith doing it in world record time. They approached the podium shoeless, wearing only black socks to represent the poverty faced by African Americans of the 60s. They stood tall in their podium positions, received their medals, and as the American flag is raised and the National anthem did sound, Smith and Carlos raised a gloved fist above their lowered heads, a non-violent protest of America’s inequalities.

Their actions prompted the removal of the pair from the Olympic Games, as ordered by the IOC. Back home, they received death threats, and were blacklisted, having difficulties finding employment and housing. America revealed their hate for two individuals symbolizing America’s freedom of expression. 40 years later, we look back and realize how much courage it took during a time of racial tension for anyone to even take it upon themselves to express their frustrations on the world’s biggest stage. These weren’t politicians. These were average men. They were you and I, as well as our neighbors. We sit in our homes today, each with political views, and each with fair amount of dissent in various areas of American politics, and our thoughts an opinions go unheard, and are cast aside as a silent vote. But how many of us, knowing that our expressed freedom would result in unemployment, public resentment, and threats against our lives, would still speak those words or perform those acts of protest. Few, if any, would have the courage to accept the punishment.

The Mexico City protest hits home for me. Not because it affected my life in 1968, but because it marked the first heated disagreement I ever had with my girlfriend. Her stance, the protest was an embarrassment to America, and the athletes deserved to be removed. My stance, America suffered greater embarrassment before the games, with human rights issues. She viewed it as unnecessary, and the use of an improper forum. I viewed it as courageous, with the only alternate forum being the same as we all share now, our homes, where not a single ear or eye of power will give us a glance or listen.

It finally came down to education. She repeated words as taught to her in her Washington school district. The district teachings continued to blackball the athletes for their act, without ever reflecting on issues that brought about cause. This prompted the “Little Giant”, as friends tend to call her, standing only 5’1, but appearing as an enormous presence for community related issues, to approach her district and the board. She demanded to know why she was cheated of an education. She demanded to know why more than 30 years later, the district was still clinging to curriculums from the early 70s. She wanted to know why the teachings at her school resulted in her speaking without knowing. Ironically, a member of that board, and a good friend of her family, was a civil rights activist of the 1960s, and marched with Martin Luther King. In the end, the little giant forced change, assisting in the betterment of education in the State of Washington.

You can see how far we’ve come, since those fists were raised in the air. This is a nation that imposed sanctions on South Africa, for human rights violations that mirrored our own. Look at the recent Summer Games, and the outrage of media censorship and the Chinese government disallowing any content that displays political protest. Carlos and Smith were tagged as “radicals” of their time, for a non-violent act. 4 years later, the world got a glimpse of true radicals in Munich, as innocence became victim to a cowardly act of terrorism, expression in the violent form.

To bring about change, there must first be recognition of a problem. Many men and women throughout history have made sacrifices to bring awareness before we could act on solution. 40 years ago, two of those men raised a fist in the thin air of Mexico City. And 40 years later, I give them their honor and remembrance.

Final count, 21 medals, Goodbye Beijing

The 2008 summer Olympic Games are over, and the final tally is in. Of 41 athletes representing the University of Southern California, collectively they gathered 21 medals. Only the games of 1984 had a higher output (24). The order of medals goes as follows:

Gold-9 Silver-10 Bronze-2

The 21 medals would rank the Trojans 13th in the world, if they were a country. It gives the men and woman of Troy more medals than the larger Spain (18), Canada (18), Brazil (15), and Netherlands (16). The Lone medal performance for the country of Tunisia was achieved by Trojan Ouis Mellouli. The 9 overall gold medals would place USC in a tie for 8th best in the world. The Trojans also topped all colleges, with Texas and Florida picking up 14 medals each, and Michigan earning 12. Of Michigan’s total of 12, Michael Phelps swam for 8.

Leslie wins fourth gold, Felix gets first

It was never in doubt, as it never has been. The U.S. Women’s basketball team again lived up to the expectations, and Lisa Leslie wins her fourth gold medal. Leslie teamed with another Lady Trojan, Tina Thompson, who won her third Olympic gold.

No team in the world has displayed more dominance than the American lady’s of hoops. If international players are slowly creeping up on our men, the Women’s Olympic dynasty shows the gap remains wide between themselves and the world. Australia again became the victim, losing the gold medal round by a score of 92-65. The Aussie’s are now the 3 time runner-ups to the stars and stripes, as the U. S. Olympic win streak is extended to 33 games.

Allyson Felix finally grabs gold. Felix ran the second leg of the women’s 4x1600 meter relay, sprinting past the Jamaica leader, and passing the baton to teammates that completed the golden performance. The American time of 3:18.54 is the fastest in the world since 1993. Felix now owns 3 Olympic medals, adding new gold beside 2 silvers earned in the 200-meter events of Athens and Beijing.

Nicole Davis earned a silver medal in Women’s volleyball, after the Americans were defeated by the Brazilians in the final round. At USC, Davis was the libero for the Trojans’ back-to-back NCAA volleyball champions of 2002-2003.

Felix sprints to silver; Rodriguez kicks for gold

Allyson Felix, the 2007 world champion in the 200-meter event, ran to a silver medal on Thursday in a time of 21.93. Felix’s time was sandwiched between two Jamaicans, Veronica Campbell-Brown who won gold, and Kerron Stewart who won silver. The Jamaicans continue to display their track and field dominance, now combining with Jamaican men to win all 4 sprint events in Beijing.

Amy Rodriguez goes from NCAA champion to Olympic champion in women’s soccer. The U.S. women’s soccer team defeated Brazil 1-0 in an overtime period to win the gold medal for the third time in four Olympics. With women’s water polo and softball being upset in gold medal rounds on Thursday, the soccer team denied the triplet.

Rodriguez and her Lady Trojans are the defending NCAA soccer champions.

De Bruijn leads Netherlands to golden upset

The U.S. Women’s water polo team had to settle for silver, after being upset 9-8 by the Dutch. Danielle De Bruijn had a dominating performance for her Netherlands team, scoring 7 of their 9 goals, including the game winner with 26 seconds remaining. The Dutch were ranked just No. 9 in the world, and lost two preliminary games in their Olympic run for Gold.

The American silver medalists consists of 5 Lady Trojans, Kami Craig, Patty Cardenas, Brittany Hayes, Moriah Van Norman, and Lauren Wenger, as well as Bernice Orwig, an assistant coach for Team USA. Playing for Hungary, Aniko Pelle, fell short of a medal, with her team falling to Australia in the bronze round and finishing fourth.

Tasha Danvers leaps to bronze for the Union Jack

Tasha Danvers won bronze in the women’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles event. The Lady Trojan, running for Great Britain, posted a personal best time of 53.84. Danvers, who turns 31 years old next month, received her first Olympic medal, after failing to capture any in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. American Sheena Tosta (UCLA) took the silver, with Jamaica’s Melaine Walker winning gold. Trojans now have 8 individual medals in Beijing, with Allyson Felix set to run in a medal race tomorrow.

Tasha Danvers is a former Pac 10 champion, and national champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 2000. She still owns two standing records at USC.

DOH-mer Of The Week- Uneven Bars

To be uneven is to be unbalanced. It is a show of difference between one item and another. It is lopsided, inexact, irregular and unaligned. It is unequal, erratic, and weighted to one side. Uneven is a stanchion of gymnastics, along with the judging of Olympic games. Support for the home banner of stars and stripes may sometimes cast a false illusion of unfairness. But even through the dense fog of patriotism, it is evident when fleecing occurs.

In 2004, a Russian gymnast by the name of Svetlana Khorkina criticized the Olympic judging in Athens, claiming a show of favoritism towards the U.S. She followed up her statement by falling from the uneven bars and landing on her ass. And on a scale of comedic value, I would have given the bitch a “10”. Now I find myself in her position, and prepared to play the whiney bitch role, as 4 years later we move across the world.

Beijing is revisited, and this focus is on women’s (little girls) gymnastics. Here we’ll see athletes that have been training from the youngest of ages, sacrificing youth in search of perfection. We’ll then see them compete in an event where the score of “10” is nonexistent, letting each know they are less than perfect. Olympic Games are supposed to be free of politics, yet too often it’s politics deciding the order on a medal stand. And though champions are determined by a subjective judging system, the IOC should do a better job of masking favoritism and having it not appear so blatant.

The puberty of America finished with 8 medals, edging the Chinese toddlers by 2. But I believe it was “home cooking” that even made it close, unfairly awarding greater points for lesser Chinese routines. Drawing this conclusion was easy, as I watched judges hesitate to post scores. The wait should never be lengthy, when determining the individual score for one performance. The long pause between end of performance and the posting of an actual score can only occur if you take the time to compare other scores to determine just how much needs to be given to boost one girl above another or allow another girl to fall. It moved to a new level of embarrassment, as the crowd grew restless, and an IOC official had to approach the judges to inquire about the delay in posting a score for America’s Nastia Lukin. The fix was on, and Lukin was robbed. And the thievery wouldn’t end, as Lukin drew a tie for first on uneven bars, but receives a silver medal, based on a rare tie-breaking rule used by the IOC, despite the better performance. Yes, that’s my subjective take. Her performance was “better”.

There is no true measure to determine the greatness of a performance, when the system is based on opinions. It isn’t opinion that Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world. It’s factual, based on head to head competition on a track. But gymnasts don’t race to the end of a beam, launch themselves higher on a vault or swing faster on bars. It’s all based on who likes you and who does not. But as subjective as it may be, the IOC has allowed unfairness to be more obvious, unlike the subjective voting of college football’s BCS or beauty pageants, that will at least cloud the favoritism behind a screen of smoke. Women’s gymnastics in the Summer and women’s figure skating in the winter. Two popular Olympic events, and two events swirling with more controversy than any other. Let’s go back to the days of just holding up a scorecard, when it all "appeared" to be fair. Scores were immediate, and leader boards changed just as quickly. The more you allow judges to prolong their decisions, the more focus will appear on that eventual score, sending ripples of scam throughout the world. This is something that hasn’t been fixed, and has been improperly addressed with new scoring methods. And for this, my DOH-mer belongs to the IOC. They can now go ahead and thank all the little people (judges) that made this possible. Just don't thank God or mention Jesus Christ, unless you want to be deported from the country before the games are complete.

Is it the equipment or the athlete?

Michael Phelps is the star of the 2008 Summer Olympics, as should be. Picking up 8 gold medals, and doing it seven times at a world record pace, he has more than reached celebrity status, and elevated to “sports explosion”. But honestly, how much of his recent achievement can be credited to the athlete, and how much should we credit his equipment? Not that I’m trying to burst anyone’s Phelps swimming bubble, but it’s definitely food for thought.

Phelps today reflected back on the events in Beijing. The 200-meter butterfly was the only collected medal that didn’t come in world record time, and he feels a wardrobe malfunction kept him from being a perfect 8 for 8. But if we’re talking about equipment, and goggles collecting water slowing his pace, then what of the new no-drag swimsuits provided by Speedo? Without a doubt, I believe if the suits didn’t exist, Phelps would still out-swim the world’s best. But if not for the suits, could it be done in record time, and 7 times? In many of the events, though Phelps set new world records, the second and third place finishers were also above the old marks. Either the world’s athletes dramatically increased their water speed or we can give Speedo an assist.

Technology has come a long way since Mark Spitz swam to 7 gold medals in Munich. Strength and conditioning has become a science. There’s more focus on diet, as well as modern machinery used to pinpoint and exercise the necessary muscles to build an Olympic swimming champion. The use of performance enhancing drugs is forbidden. The use of performance enhancing equipment is welcomed. I can see the difference in the two, and understand that one poses a health risk. But when it comes to fairness, why isn’t there more emphasis on the equipment available to athletes today in comparison to athletes of the past? Sentences will begin with “Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time…”, and I find myself waiting for the “but”. “BUT he’s not breaking these records on skill and athleticism alone", is how the sentence should be completed. In the sport of swimming, 1/100th of a second means so much. In the fashion of swimming, the new no-drag Speedo suit is designed to trim hundredths of a second from swimming times.

If Major League baseball approved the use of aluminum bats for the 2009 season, and sluggers blasted 80+ homeruns, there would be no hesitation to mention the difference in the equipment being used by the modern slugger and a Babe Ruth or Henry Aaron. They would probably call it 80 homeruns in the “aluminum era”. Why is it different for swimming? In the first Greek Olympics, the athletes performed naked. As years went by, they added clothing, some bulky, not wind resistant on tracks, and probably absorbed so much water in a pool that it’s a miracle no one sank to the bottom. Then technology arrives and clothing becomes lighter and specifically designed to add speed to each sport. I don’t believe you can mention the amount of world records broken in the pool of the Beijing "water cube" without giving a mention to the changes in equipment. To me, it lessens the efforts and achievements of past swimmers that performed at a championship level, while possessing less technology to alter speeds.

This isn't a shot at Phelps, as he is very deserving. This is a shout to past record holders, that are no less.

Singing Gold to a different tune

Ouis Mellouli finally has his moment in the sun. Already holding four USC swimming records, Mellouli now adds Olympic gold. Representing his native Tunisia, he brings home the nation’s first ever gold medal in swimming, winning the 1500-meter freestyle. He also became the first to defeat Australia’s Grant Hackett, who owned the event for the past 11 years.

Swimming for the Trojans, Mellouli was an 11 time All-American and 5 time Pac 10 champion. His gold medal time of 14:40.84 is an African record, and second fastest ever in the event.

Rebecca Soni took another shot at gold in the Women’s 4x100 medley relay, but the American’s came up short, and she adds another silver medal to her Beijing collection.

Soni wins Gold in world record time!

The most unlikely person to medal for the U.S. swim team now adds a gold medal to sit beside her silver. USC's Rebecca Soni is a replacement swimmer that has made the most of her opportunities in Beijing. After narrowly missing out on a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, she claimed the silver by the smallest of margins. For someone who wasn't supposed to be here, that medal alone could have made the trip successful and worthwhile. But not for Soni, who last night, in the spirit of Troy, continued to "fight on", swimming to a gold medal in the 200-meter breatstroke in a world record time of 2:20:.22, and upsetting the Australian favorite, and now former world record holder, Leisel Jones.

Both women shot out quickly, swimming above the world record pace. Jones secured the early lead, seeming to pull away from Soni, but never more than half a body length. Going into the final turn, Soni surged forward, catching the Aussie in the last 25 meters and completing the upset. A women that could have easily found herself watching the Olympics from home, suddenly found herself on the medal podium for the second time. But in this instance, she stood atop, as her national anthem played.

Where Michael Phelps is the biggest story of Olympic swimming, Rebecca Soni represents the biggest underdog story, and this dog had some bite.

Fight On!

Olympic streak remains golden

Millions of viewers tuned in and watched Michael Phelps continue his historic Olympic run in the 4x200 freestyle, as the Americans claimed another swimming gold, and shattered the world record in doing so. But some may not have seen or forgot the qualifying round of the event. In the 4x200 qualifying round, the team consisted of Trojans Erik Vendt and Klete Keller, where they established then an Olympic record time and the U.S. team advanced to the finals. Neither man swam in the finals, but both also received gold medals for their team participation.

Their efforts kept a Trojan Olympic streak alive, as USC athletes have now captured gold in every Olympiad (where the U.S participated) since 1912. The Trojans made their first Olympic appearance in 1904, and since then, 385 athletes with USC affiliation have competed, which is more than any other University. The current count is 114 golds, 67 silvers, and 57 bronzes.

It’s early, and the streak was never in doubt, unless the world could possibly find a way to upend and upset Lady Trojan Lisa Leslie and the U.S Women’s hoops squad. Potential gold medals can also be achieved in track and field and water polo. Rebecca Soni, already a bronze winner in Beijing, has an opportunity to claim a gold medal tonight, after setting a new Olympic record in the qualifying heat of the 200-meter breaststroke.

DOH-mer Of The Week- Proud as a P’Cock

I’d like to begin this by saying, due to the blatant censorship by the Chinese government, as much as I’d like to give a DOH-mer to Chinese rower Zhiang Liang for showing up at the wrong location and at the wrong time, which cost the Chinese two medals, I can’t. Apparently we aren’t allowed to dishonor their countrymen or their nation. Well, at least not until the Olympics are over…I don't understand why we can't show China for what it is or why Chris Collinsworth is an Olympic analyst. I'm irked by both.

Despite the censorship, NBC is cashing in on Beijing. Ratings are soaring, as they play the role of puppet. Events are aired worldwide, and they continue to focus on the beauty and hospitality of China. It doesn’t matter that an American tourist was killed over the weekend, because by Tuesday it was all hushed. On with the beautification, despite the tragedy of an obvious targeted killing. On any other day, let's criticize China for their lack of freedoms, history of cover ups, and bad politics. But when there’s money to be made, and for two weeks of the summer, let us then become China.

China is noted for the manufacturing and display of fireworks. Knowing this, they give us fake pyrotechnics during the opening ceremonies, which NBC airs as a real occurrence. For purposes of dramatics, along with keeping the American public watching and waiting, Did NBC also alter the order of countries in the opening parade, pushing the United States back, and bringing others forward? Since the countries enter in alphabetical order, it would be an obvious alteration. Wouldn’t it? Take a look at the photograph of the two adorable little girls below:

The girl on the left was told she was too ugly to sing at the opening ceremonies. But because of her great voice, the girl on the right (who couldn’t hold a damn note if she wanted to) lip-synched to the words of the first girl, all captured by NBC. Apply a little make-up to each girl, and suddenly they are transformed from 7 year olds and into 16 year old Chinese gymnasts. If the Chinese government says they are 16, and they have official government documents saying they are 16, then you know damn well they are 16. Would the Chinese government ever lie to you?

Moving along, George Bush and Vladimir Putin are suddenly fans of Olympic sports? Are you buying that? NBC is selling it. They’ve captured George Bush everywhere, not once mentioning his true purpose in China. It’s not about Olympiads. It’s about capitalism, and looking to profit from the booming Chinese economy. Say it for what it is, and stop trying to tell me our president traveled half way around the world because he’s a f**king fan of women’s beach volleyball. General Motors sells twice as many automobiles in China than they do in America. The vehicles aren’t even imported. They are manufactured in the country, from their own GM plants. The presence of Bush, Putin, and any other world leaders in Beijing isn’t about sport. It’s about cashing in on a crop that has been growing wild for the past 12 years…and somehow Chris Collinsworth is an Olympic analyst.

And aside from the politics, what about the programming? Don’t put the word “live” in the corner of my screen, when it’s not. I’m not stupid enough to fall for it, seeing that people are blogging about the results before you even air the damn event. And as for my local NBC news, you must think we are all f**king idiots or you’re extremely arrogant, to continue with the annoying announcement that states, “If you don’t want to see the results, then turn your heads from the screen now”. Unless you live in a cave, it’s impossible to not know Olympic results. And to think that you are the only one carrying those results and a simple head turn will keep from spoiling the ending is a joke. This isn’t Government run television. People have other sources of news. You 'cocks control the video feeds, but you don't have results under lock and key. Do you think Michael phelps ignores the scoreboard, and looks over at an NBC employee for the official results? Or better yet, maybe he turns his head, to not spoil the ending.

50 million viewers on the West coast miss out on early events that were purposely scheduled in China to give us something “live”. The east coast can watch the Mens basketball team play live. On the west coast, the games air one hour after the event is complete. More basketball aired today, with the same routine. Why? Who is the DOH-mer that figured people out west wouldn’t get up at 7 in the morning to watch, but somehow they can watch at 10 a.m….from WORK! Wouldn’t it be more logical to air it live, and people can watch as they prepare for work, than to air it tape delayed, at a time of day when the working man can’t watch? Why am I watching synchro diving, while the east coast is watching Phelps go for another gold? Why don’t we get the English translation for anything Bella Karoli has to say? Why is Chris Collinsworth a f**king Olympic analyst?

And finally, on a serious note, the cameras had no problem showing protest against the United States’ occupation of Iraq during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Not only will NBC comply with the Chinese government, by not showing any protests against the nation, but they also avoid any conversations about it. Free press? Not a chance. The media is controlled by ratings, and what can be generated by them. Everyone looks to profit somehow and in someway, but when you willfully strip yourself of one of America’s longstanding freedoms to give “Americans” coverage of “American” athletes, you’re not truly acting as an “American”, are you? NBC has shown that corporate greed is greater than the freedoms Americans have fought and died for. Instead of telling the Chinese to go f**k themselves, the ‘cocks got on their knees and kissed their asses. The pen is mightier than the sword, but even a child knows paper covers rock. Someone is getting their paper...and a DOH-mer to go with it.

Let the Trojan medal count begin

Forty-one past, present, and future Trojans are competing in the Beijing games, and it didn’t take long for one of those athletes to pick up a medal. Larsen Jensen, a recent graduate of USC, swam to a third place finish and bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle, edged by China’s Lin Zangh for the silver. Jensen was a silver medalist in the 2004 Athens games, participating in the 1500-meter freestyle event. Though he placed third, Larsen’s Beijing time of 3:42.78 established a new American record for the event, breaking his own U.S mark for the third time. Jensen remains a favorite in the 1500-meter freestyle scheduled for August 15th.

Rebecca Soni grabbed another medal, claiming the silver in the 100-meter breaststroke. Soni was a replacement for Jessica Hardy on the Olympic roster, after Hardy was disqualified from competition for failing a drug test for performance enhancement.

Note: Placing 5th in the 400-meter freestyle event was Larsen Jensen’s former USC teammate, Ous mellouli. Swimming for the nation of Tunisia, Mellouli’s time of 3:43.45 did not earn him a medal, but it established a new African record.

Fight On!

My heart goes out to the Bruin nation

There’s plenty of hate between USC and their rival UCLA. Together they compete for complete dominance of a single city, splitting the population in half, and allowing children to secure the future with the same hate that drives us today. But it takes just one moment, and just one act, to make us realize our similarities. One of those moments occurred this weekend, as Todd Bachman, the father of former UCLA volleyball player and 2004 Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, tragically lost his life to a senseless act of violence in Beijing.

Elisabeth was at the Drum Tower with her parents when the incident occurred, but was not harmed. Her father died from the stab wounds received from a crazed attacker. Her mother, Barbara, also became a victim, and at last report, said to be in serious condition. The attacker, identified as 47 year old Tang Yongmin, followed up his violence by throwing himself from the second story balcony of the tower, where he died in the street. This wasn’t a robbery or quarrel. It was one man, in one moment, changing the lives of one family. This was an Olympiad, less than a day old, already claiming a casualty.

My heart goes out to the Bachman family and Bruin nation. We are forever separated on gamedays, but as an American, I am unified in grief.

DOH-mer Of The Week- Who Was That Masked Man?

We quickly approach the gathering of nations, blanketed beneath the cover of goodwill, unity, and healthy sport. From many countries they come to represent a single Olympiad. And though the Olympic games are always a gamble with success or failure, it took a real DOH-mer to choose Beijing as the host site for 2008.

Healthy sport? Not a f**king chance. The Olympic motto is “Swifter, Higher, stronger”, but in terms of the Beijing games, this is descriptive of the toxins filling the air of the city. Olympic athletes are already bothered , before competition even begins. Some have chosen to arrive late, to avoid training in a toxic cloud. Some are choosing not to participate in opening ceremonies, to lessen the poison intake, or attend those ceremonies wearing masks. Wearing a mask? Isn’t that slapping the face of the host government that invited the world in? We don’t readily know the faces of most Olympic athletes, until competition begins. And we sure as hell won’t know the faces parading opening ceremonies, if protective coverings leave them hidden.

The Chinese government makes the claim that particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfer dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide have decreased 13.8% in Beijing’s air since winning the Olympic bid. But of course, this is the same Chinese government that will say, “What political protests are you speaking of?” You didn’t really believe Baghdad Bob was the world’s only liar, did you? The Chinese claim was debunked by an American Scientist, saying the statistical gains were achieved by simply moving their measuring materials to less polluted areas of the city. That's a pretty slick move, and could have been effective, if they hid the sh*t cloud behind a mountain.

And how dare some people say it’s no different than Los Angeles hosting the Olympics in 1984? Any Angelinos you see wearing masks are probably fresh off rhinoplasty, and not fearing lung disease. That's an apples and oranges comparison, and I'm offended enough to trash your city in an article..like this one. I don't speak any of the Chinese dialects, so I'm not sure what they named the Beijing mascot, but somehow I believe the English translation would be "Smoggy".

Aside from the smoke filled skies, what about the politics? Why would you allow an Olympiad to be held in a political war zone? If Beijing can host this year, The Gaza strip should bid on the next one. Truth of the matter is, violent protests don’t decrease with the world’s media coming to town. They increase to the point where they light a fire under your ass. You want the world to know your struggles? Blow some sh*t up or start clubbing someone, then wait for the government to react in their usual manner, with the cameras rolling. Paint your signs and stage your sit ins, and wait for the government to violently disburse the crowd. If they refrain from violence and rallies increase, you win. If they use violence in front of a worldwide audience, you win again, so f*ck it.

The point is, none of the Beijing events are new, so what would prompt someone to give them the bid? Is it an experiment to see if doping athletes can sprint towards world records with oxygen tanks weighing them down? Or maybe it’s to show us that that the "shot put" isn’t just an Olympic event, but it’s also a way of expressing opinion on the Beijing streets. It’s a bad place at a bad time. And for making this decision, I have to give the IOC a DOH-mer. You're not giving us an Olympiad. You're giving us "Survivor-Beijing".