There Will Always Be An England

Having peeked at the Olympic opening ceremonie in London, I will hazard that if the Brits last a thousand years men will still say, this was their weirdest hour:

The noisy, busy, witty, dizzying production somehow managed to feature a flock of sheep (plus a busy sheepdog), the Sex Pistols, Lord Voldemort, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a suggestion that the Olympic rings were forged by British foundries during the Industrial Revolution, the seminal Partridge Family reference from “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” a group of people dressed like so many members of Sgt. Pepper’s band, some rustic hovels tended by rustic peasants, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and, in a paean to the National Health Service, a zany bunch of dancing nurses and bouncing sick children on huge hospital beds.

People who do this sort of thing will revel in a comparison of the 2008 Beijing "Power Rising" ceremony and the 2012 "Power Fading" response from the West: From the Times in 2008:

Any Olympic opening is a propaganda exercise, but Friday night’s blockbuster show demonstrated the broader public relations challenge facing the Communist Party as China becomes richer and more powerful. The party wants to inspire national pride within China, and bolster its own legitimacy in the process, even as leaders want to reassure the world that a rising China poses no danger.

That has not been an easy sales pitch during the tumultuous Olympics prelude, in which violent Tibetan protests and a devastating earthquake revealed the dark and light sides of Chinese nationalism.

But for one night, at least, the party succeeded wildly after a week dominated by news of polluted skies, sporadic protests and a sweeping security clampdown. Across Beijing, the public rejoiced. People painted red Chinese flags on their cheeks and shouted, “Go China!” long after the four-hour opening had concluded.

“For a lot of foreigners, the only image of China comes from old movies that make us look poor and pathetic,” said Ci Lei, 29, who watched the pageantry on a large-screen television at an upscale downtown bar. “Now look at us. We showed the world we can build new subways and beautiful modern buildings. The Olympics will redefine the way people see us.”

Comments

[centralcal]

Okay, guess my comment needs to be here instead of the JoePA thread.

Didn't watch opening ceremonies. About the nurses and the kids jumping on hospital beds, a Telegraph UK blogger said this:

The NHS segment in particular underlined how surprisingly parochial this ceremony was. The idea of the Health Service as a beacon for the world is, bluntly, a national self-delusion. Most other Western European countries have better state healthcare systems – and healthier people – than we do.

A "national self-delusion" pretty much sums it up.

[Clarice]

Best lede ever, TM/

From the prior thread:I understand Viera said the kids didn't look very sick. Who wins the lowest IQ contest:The folks who dreamed up the NHS number or the American commentator?

[Threadkiller]

Two different questions, Clarice.

From the previous thread:
"What's worse, the stupid show or the idiotic commentary?"

One of the rare examples of a perfect tie.

From this thread:

"Who wins the lowest IQ contest:The folks who dreamed up the NHS number or the American commentator?"

A much closer competition but the Gold goes to America.

[Threadkiller]

A tie would be the closest competition, so it probably should be " A not so close competition but the Gold goes to America."

Back to bed.

[hit and run]

There's Buckingham Palace, kids. That's where the Queen lives and works.
Works? What does she do, Dad?
She queens... and vacuums.

Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament.

Again.

[This one breathes fire, and is very long and imbedded in its sinister cave.]

Spanier now involved in cryptic national security issues for this pathetic and pathological administration makes me wonder if the early bird saw the worm.
===========

[Extraneus]

“Now look at us. We showed the world we can build new subways and beautiful modern buildings.”

Shame we had to eliminate the concept of brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles to do it.

Ah, well, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette.

[narciso]

Orwell let out a primal scream over this;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2180124/Olympics-opening-ceremony-NHS-disgracefully-glorified.html#ixzz21vMCtNtf

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 17 at Raz today.

Trails Romney by 4.

[windansea]

Since mom and dad always taught me to say something nice, I thought the torch lighting was pretty cool.

For some funny fashion snark on uniforms, see Mary Katharine Ham

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/27/olympic-fashion-the-fantastic-the-fail-and-the-flight-attendants/

[matt]

regarding that Chinese guy's comment they must half self esteem issues.

My impression from the movies is that they're all emperors or concubines or kung fu masters.

Watching the whole thing last night was having to tolerate the commercials and banal commentary, but the latter part of the ceremony really began to drag and fall apart. McCartney was simply awful and I'm still trying to figure out what the heck Mike Oldfield was doing playing Tubular Bells.

The second half was a random, poorly patched together effort for the most part, and 200+ NOC's would test even Ban Ki Moon's patience. What the heck he and the rest of the lightbringers were doing there was beyond me.

And Ali, frankly, should have been at home watching. Highlighting what has happened to him is cruel to him and us all. "Look! The former heavyweight champion of the world wears Depends!" is not the way I want to remember him.

[Sara]

I thought the overhead shot of the torch after it was lit was spectacular. That's about all I can say good about the opening ceremonies.

[Danube of Thought]

God that thing was strange. Eerie, strange. Does "bush league" sound right?

Anyhow, London looks magnificent today.

[Thomas Collins]

TM, why no mention of the most significant Olympic story, namely, will the sole rep from the country of Little Rhody, Elizabeth Beisel, take home gold. See LUN.

[Captain Hate]

McCartney was simply awful

McCartney has become embarrassingly bad. He was on a Buddy Holly tribute collection last year doing "It's So Easy" that was easily the worst rendition on the disc, at one point going into an over the top emulation of quasi-ebonics (which I'm still trying to figure out what that had to do with Holly) that made Amos 'n Andy seem PC. The producers of the disc were idiots to include it.

[sailor]

Am watching the bicycle races and one cyclist is being treated by a doctor in a car riding beside him. Wonder if the doc is with NHS?

[windansea]

15 hottest female olympians,

http://www.thefrisky.com/photos/the-15-hottest-female-olympians/antonia_misura_102612_m/

and the men

http://www.thefrisky.com/photos/the-hottest-olympians-around-the-world/olympics_dudes_071712_m/

[Captain Hate]

Did Costas have the moment of silence for the slain Israeli athletes?

[Ignatz]

--will the sole rep from the country of Little Rhody, Elizabeth Beisel, take home gold--

If that heat she was in is any indication she will, since she won by about three body lengths.

[rse]

I thought the nhs glorification was satire worthy and the Industrial Revolution segment was consistent with it having been a bad idea. Great harm to the pastoral loveliness. I made Red stop the recording to tell her the story of the lovely villages and hamlets now being despoiled because Anglican church officials are granting permission to put the wind turbines on the parsonage property.

I just got online to do some searches after deciding what I was reading had to track back to Ayers. Why yes and brother john too.

Oh and Nel Noddings I have written about several times. But I had not connected to ayers before. Had not really thought about it.

Back to the Olympics show, it was hard to not see the opening through the lens of what the new economic foundation, nef, is pushing over there for their future. And I really was not looking for that. I adore London. Spent 2 weeks there with my daughters when they were 7 and 10 and used to get over there on business and spent the summer of 1980 at Oxford travelling all over. It feels like I have seen it in a variety of economies.

I don't like what Blair and Cameron have done there. Makes me sad. That island can make you adore the subject of history. I do love the idea of beach volleyball at Whitehall. Hope NBC shows viewers the Banqueting Hall's inside so they can appreciate that greatest of all palaces.

[peter]

LOL, 'xtraney, funniest comment here in years.

[hit and run]

I sure hope Chicago puts on a better opening ceremony in 2016.

Wait. What?

[Jim Eagle]

Lee Kiefer, 18 year old fencer, won her round of 16 and moves to the quarters in Foil. Goes to Notre Dame in the fall. Her Dad says she has a problem accepting anything but winning. You go, girl.

All the build up showing the GB road race team setting up Mark Cavendish for the sprint somehow forgot there are others there that are just as good riders. They lost the plot and let the Kazzy, Vinikurov, break away with 5 miles to go and never caught up.

[windansea]

great photo essay in case you missed the opening ceremony

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179920/Olympics-Opening-Ceremony-London-gets-2012-Games-way-Greatest-Show-On-Earth-rounded-Macca-course.html

[Jim Eagle]

What did you all expect from Danny Boyle? Slum Dog II?

In an interview, he was unrepentant, noting that he was projecting his own personal values. Gee, I thought the Olympics and its host, Great Britain, had their own values. What happened to those? (Or as Bamster would say, "that".)

[rse]

Clarice-site shows 1,176 yesterday coming from AT with more than 2000 views so many stayed and read. Thanks.

I said it helps the frustrated find me but I did get tickled the search "education" showed up on my doorstep.

Back to work. The windy city and its ed shenanigans are really coming into focus. That's not where I started but looking into what a transformational high school was doing in CA based on a cited book made me order the book used. And it is taking me to that fine city. With a few detours to henry's neck of the woods.

My. My. My. And you'll never guess where the funding came from. Stanley Kurtz would find this interesting.

[Extraneus]

Oh, and how could I forget cousins? There are no more cousins in China.

Beautiful subways, though.

[hit and run]

Well, I tried. Sat on the couch and tried to watch the Olympics for a while.

Can't do it. Sitting inside all day drives me nuts.

And besides, the gravitational pull of the driveway is just too great.

[Jim Eagle]

Heh!

How about Michael Phelps just making the finals in the 400 IM by a fraction of a second - another magic touch. Now he seeded in the No. 8 lane. I wonder if any swimmer has won gold from the 8th lane?

[sailor]

Well, the Olympics has "sideline chicks" just like football. Just saw one asking a swimmer how it feels to not be first like he was last year!! Get rid of the "sideline chicks!"

[Clarice]

Wow, rse. I'm astonished and pleased--it was just a teensy blog.

[Danube of Thought]

As I understand it, China's one-child policy applies to a hefty chunk of the population, but it is far from universal. But where it applies, they are creating what may be something like a subspecies--who knows how that will turn out?

My sister-in-law and her husband did a river cruise in China last month, and on an excursion ashore they chatted at length with their Chinese guide, who was furious about the policy and not afraid to say so.

[hit and run]

sailor:
Well, the Olympics has "sideline chicks" just like football.

It was a big controversy. I posted a comment a week or so ago for daddy's enjoyment.

The committee organizing the olympic cheerleaders was headed by a Britain's Got Talent judge or something. They opened up a vote to the public. The public choose a scantily clad troupe based on their video of them singing to Call Me Maybe. Not much cheering going on in the video, but a lot of booty shaking. Scantily clad booties.

Ms. Committee Chair decided to overrule the public vote and go with a less scantily clad group of cheerleaders.

It started a . . . row.

[Jim Eagle]

Hit,

I think sailor was referring to Andrea Kramer, the NBC Sports "chick". But she more like a Grandchick since Andrea has to be in her mid 50's.

[hit and run]

Oh, got it JiB.

I don't know why I have scantily clad chicks on the brain.

[sailor]

Yes, JiB.

[Clarice]

Back at ya linoleum
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/07/28/Obama-Top-Ten-UK-Gaffes

[Danube of Thought]

"I’ve written that Romney’s many gaffes reflect his enormous sense of entitlement and lamentable lack of empathy."

You may well have written, but few if any have read, and none gives a shit.

What a gasbag.

[hit and run]

So I'm doing an "On This Date In 2008" series from the last election. So periodically I go search news stories from four years ago. Doing that just now, I learned something that I don't think I knew before (or if I did, I had forgotten).

I knew that James Johnson had originally been tapped to head up Obama's VP selection team . . . but became too toxic because of his Fannie Infamy and Friends of Angelo Imbroglio. But I didn't remember who Obama chose next for that task.

Without looking it up -- anyone remember the person to credit for placing sooper genius Joe Biden one heart beat away from the oval office?

[Susanne]

Hit,
Wasn't it Caroline Kennedy?

[Clarice]

Caroline Kennedy, hit. Do I get the cassoulet?

[Some guy]

Without looking it up -- anyone remember the person to credit for placing sooper genius Joe Biden one heart beat away from the oval office?

If you asked Biden, I'll bet you a Ben Franklin that he would claim he did.

[hit and run]

Oh, maybe I misspoke on the James-to-this-person sequence of events . . . but I'm not thinking of Caroline.

No, this person's name is an anagram of Herd Recoil

[rona]

"his enormous sense of entitlement"

So is he now a Liberal Democrat? Did you see him in line while waiting for your food stamps, welfare check and "free" cell phone?

I am still waiting for the Libs to list off Obamugabe's list of achievements over the last 4 years. They seem to enjoy talking more about Romney.

Where is the best place to hide a Liberals welfare check so they can never find it?

Under their "work" boots. Heyooo!

[Ralph L]

sooper genius Joe Biden
Caroline Kennedy Schlossedbird had something to do with it.

[Andy]

Would this be Romney who has spoken nothing but the truth, the same truth that the idiot left have difficulty listening to? Or do you mean the successful Romney who made something of himself and has a successful family....unlike I suspect the envious, jealous failure you are?

The opening was shite and only projects the view of Britain held by the idiot metropolitan elite.
McCartney cannot sing, I wish someone would put down that past it scouse cu@t, evey bloody ceremony going the miserable cheese faced fool is there singing some crap from 40 years ago. Just imagine the banal oaf Lennon would have become if he had not been shot.

[hit and run]

I suppose 63,882,230 American voters had something to do with it too.

[Ralph L]

Ann Romney's horse is in the Olympics without her.
I believe it's playing doubles beach volleyball.

DailyMail caption: "The Queen is greeted by Princess Anne (right) and David Cameron after her spectacular entrance into the Olympic Stadium"

For those who can't distinguish the Princess Royal from the PM--he's the pretty one.

[Clarice]

More about the IOC an Munich--not a pretty story.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/07/27/why-ioc-will-never-memorialize-72-munich-massacre/#ixzz21sKMW6vY

[pagar]

Hopefully there will not always be editing by NBC.

http://www.soopermexican.com/2012/07/28/nbc-edits-out-olympics-tribute-to-victims-of-terrorism/

[Captain Hate]

i>Just imagine the banal oaf Lennon would have become if he had not been shot.

That was pretty much my reaction to "Imagine".

[Danube of Thought]

Watching McCartney right now (via DVR) doing Hey Jude. Beyond awful.

[Captain Hate]

More about the IOC an Munich--not a pretty story.

Of course it's not pretty; the IOC is human garbage and the nation lowers itself by participating in this vile charade of "olympian ideals". Jew hating filth; every fucking one of them.

Sending the JEF to shill for the US getting the games was brilliant in an unintended way.

[Clarice]

CH, What I can't forget either was the nincompoop tv reporters broadcasting to the terrorists where the athletes were/

My curse on them all.

[Jim Eagle]

Clarice,

Thanks for that link to Guri Weinberg piece on the 72 Munich Massacre. Jim McKay was never the same after his marathon reporting. He was visibly sick having to watch the innocents being slaughtered due to a corrupt and criminal enterprise - The IOC.

Nothing has changed in 40 years. Pathetic.

[hit and run]

Just to close the books ... on this date in 2008, the WSJ told us that Eric Holder was leading Obama's VP selection team that ultimately gifted the United States with Joe Biden living in the Naval Observatory.

[Captain Hate]

Back then Howard Cosell hadn't become the dottering fool that he ultimately revealed himself as; although maybe being in the vicinity of Avery Brundage permanently turned him away from viewing sports positively.

[Janet]

Here's an odd pic of the FLOTUS -

[rse]

Clarice-Red loves history and knows a tremendous amount of it from all her reading. She had never heard of the Munich massacre until a couple of years ago when I asked her about it. Made her watch Mackay's poignant reporting.

His "they are all dead" still rings in my ears after all these years. When I heard it again when we watched the tape it teared me up.

But if Red's not familiar with it, it's lost to most of her generation. Most of her friends are Jewish. Quite a few are off to Israel for a gap year.

How can their parents not have told them? Why isn't it taught in the Jewish private schools?

Once of the best ways to minimize the resurgence of evil in the world is to recognize that it has existed. And will recur without vigilance. It cannot be every waking thought but it has to be a recognized reality.

[Clarice]

Well, I expect it is discussed in the parochial schools . It's always a difficult thing for a parent to explain. When my son learned about the holocaust he couldn't eat or sleep it was so upsetting to him.

While there is evil in the world, there are concentrations of it, and it's not really distilled at the IOC.

[Danube of Thought]

I'll never forget McKay's coverage. Just a fine, decent man who loved sports, and who found himself having to narrate an atrocity.

[hit and run]

windansea:
15 hottest female olympians

Hmmmm...I was a bit taken aback last night when on the cable guide on the tv I saw:

The XXX Summer Olympics

I double checked to make sure I wasn't up wherever the porn pay per views are.

[Clarice]

Telegraph (This sounds like a wretched idea):
Hospitals could be allowed to keep patients with massive brain injuries alive solely to harvest their organs, under controversial plans being floated by the NHS.

The 19 million people on the Organ Donation Register could also be given preference in the event of needing an organ, over those who are not.

These are two of the proposals mooted in a consultation being carried out by NHS Blood and Transplant this summer.

NHSBT is canvassing views from health professionals and the public on these and other ideas in the online survey, which closes on September 21. If put into practice they would represent large-scale changes to the way transplant is undertaken.

The survey asks whether doctors should be able to keep alive patients with catastrophic brain damage, for example due to head injury or stroke, who will not survive, solely for the purpose of organ donation.

***

Sure, hit..Sure.

[Jon]

I missed Paul McCartney but caught Angela Lansbury performing "Hey Jude". Is she British?

[bio mom]

I wonder if the Obama campaign went after Bob Costas for saying Romney saved the 2002 Olympics when they showed him and Ann in the stands during the entrance of the American athletes?How did that slip by?

[Jim Eagle]

I remember watching the 72 reporting as if it was a Daniel Silva book. In fact his whole series of Gabriel Allon is based on the Israeli revenge against Black September.

It was riveting and a guy like McKay definitely out of his comfort zone did a remarkable job in a cool, dignified but upset manner. The words I most remember and to this day, the most poignant statement by a reporter on the scene:

When I was a kid, my father used to say "Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized." Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone

[Janet]

Hospitals could be allowed to keep patients with massive brain injuries alive solely to harvest their organs,

That sounds a bit like the movie Never Let Me Go. I really liked it.

[AliceH]

I don't watch or follow sports, but of course some seeps through. From my limited exposure, I have found Bob Costas to be eminently likeable, intelligent, and interesting, so I'm curious - why the negative comments about him? I gather it's nothing huge given the relative mildness of the criticisms but still. What's he done/said or failed to do/say to get called out at all?

[Captain Hate]

Where are the negative Costas comments?

[Jim Eagle]

BTW, a little trivia for you guys in SoCal. One of the Black September leaders in the massacre was a guy named Issa or Luttif Afif.

[hit and run]

I'm a meh on Costas. He's basically fluff.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, and certainly not anything offensive or evil. I just tease mrs hit and run because she only watches sports for the "human interest stories" as we call them. Costas is good at those.

[AliceH]

CH: a few side swipe comments over the various threads - not this one.

[Captain Hate]

Ok. I like Costas fine, particularly how he got his start broadcasting in the ABA. Sometimes he can be a little too flip for his own good but usually his comments on sports, or anything, are very well considered.

[Danube of Thought]

I think Costas is a smart, likeable guy.

[Danube of Thought]

Lansbury was born in London in 1925. I sat next to her in a restaurant in L.A. about 25 years ago and she was the most beautiful woman in the room. I didn't see her doing Hey Jude--was it a shot of her in the audience?

[hit and run]

FACT CHECK

Nancy Pelosi on Obama regarding Israel: "He has been there over and over again."

Bill Kristol recounts the history here.

Obama has never been to Israel as president -- only twice as a Senator/presidential candidate, and never as a private citizen.

WE RATE THIS STATEMENT: 332 pinocchios, 128 pairs of pants on fire, and thus 82 metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

[narciso]

All of which is a cruel joke, when one realizes what Issa means in Arabic, 'Jesus'
Simon Reeve, in his account of the Massacre, made a big deal of the fact that the main players, Atif, Gashey, et al, came from the same village, btw, 'failure to connect the dots', seems to have gone back a long ways;

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/officials-ignored-warnings-of-munich-olympics-massacre-a-845867.html

[Danube of Thought]

A billet-doux for Gmax (and all right-thinking people);

"A new poll shows trouble for Democrats in the key battleground state of Missouri, with President Obama down 9 points to GOP candidate Mitt Romney and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) trailing all three of her possible Republican opponents.

"A new Mason-Dixon survey, conducted for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and News 4, finds presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney leading President Obama 51-42 percent among registered voters. 

"Obama holds a 51 percent unfavorable rating in the state with 34 favorable, challenging numbers three months from election day. Romney holds a 39 percent favorable rating to 27 unfavorable."

[Dave (in MA)]

I'm so old, I remember when McCartney had grey hair.

[matt]

Costas had more spackle on his face during the opening ceremonies that a tenement in Harlem. He was creepy looking.

But few know more than he does about the Games. I always wanted to see his briefing books and see him toss them aside and say "Ah, Timor L'Este, one of the newest and most corrupt countries in the world. Their swimmer, Babadan Nobretisia, was on the JayVee team at Morgan State in 2004 and has more recently been working in a telephone call center in Kansas and working out at the local "Y"."

[Danube of Thought]

"Ah, Timor L'Este, where Captain William Bligh and the sailors who remained loyal to him arrived in their open boat on completion of their extraordinary journey following the Bounty mutiny."

[Stephanie]

I'm one of the ones that doesn't care for Costas. I tune into sporting events to see sports not feel good BS stories. They have gotten so bad that at the last few Olympics it seemed to be more BS stories and less sports coverage. The prime time showing was full of fluff at Beijing. I'd like to see more of the athletes that are just glad to be part of the Olympics and less of the fluff (which they occasionally show but in a 'gee isn't this guy an oddity" sort of way). What's the point of inviting all those athletes if you're only gonna show the top 5 or 6 competitors in any given event? I'd like to see the full rotation in gymnastics, for example.

Costas and Michaels both seem to be into the reportage not the action. Meh.

[hit and run]

Via Stacy McCain, here's part of Obama's weekly address:

“[Republicans and Romney] believe that if our country spends trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy, we’ll somehow create jobs – even if we have to pay for it by gutting things like education and training and by raising middle-class taxes. They’re wrong.”

And here you thought that the government spending was a result of collecting taxes.

Oh, no. According to Obama, by the federal government not taking in taxes, it is spending money.

Because it is all the government's money. Any they leave you with after you worked hard to earn it is government spending. They have a right to all of it, but for a benevolent arrangement where they have agreed to let you retain some of their money for yourself.

You don't do enough to thank them for this.

[Jim Eagle]

Well, I am being forced to have to watch a channel I despise. Fencing is only being carried on MSNBC and NBC Universal. The only one of those our hotel has is MSNBC. All Italian final in the woman's foil and without Vezzali the 3 time golf medal winner - she lost to Errigo in the semi's.

Incredible footwork, intense competition. Looking for something a little different than BBall, gymnastics or swimming then go watch the fencing. On August 1st, its woman's saber and we have the 2 time defending world champion in Mariel Zagunis from Beaverton, Oregon.

For all events schedules you can go to www.nbcolympics.com

[hit and run]

Stephanie:
I tune into sporting events to see sports not feel good BS stories.

I can agree with that. But with NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, XXXNBC or whatever other channels they're covering the Olympics with, there is room for the human interest stories.

Wait!

MCNBC
(MaryCarilloNBC)

[Stephanie]

Additionally, I'd like to see more of the sports that aren't shown. Archery, badmitton, etc. So what if they are not big money earners, one of the NBC channels is showing infomercials right now, let them show the lesser sports 24/7 during the games.

It's like the Olympics coverage mirrors the problem with college sports. Granted football enables the other sports to exist, but you'd think the colleges wouldn't mind some ticket sales and/or eyes at sports that are there to satisfy their title 9 requirements. Might even get more kids into those sports, but no... all little kids want to be in football, gymnastics, basketball and the sports that get the screentime. I'm interested in the kid that toiled for years to get to the height of his sport in say fencing and giving him his time in the spotlight.

Less fluff would mean more time to show these sports. And less face time for Costas. Poor dear.

my 2 cents.

[East Bay Jay]

Lots of wind last night so I'll be doing a bit of fencing myself today.

[narciso]

Someone explain the Mary Carillo reference, with regards to MSNBC

[hit and run]

From wiki, narciso:

Carillo served as late night show host, closing ceremony host, and "Friend of Bob" for the 2008 Beijing Games, her ninth Olympic assignment and her sixth with NBC. Her role focused on cultural commentary and "slice of life" pieces about China.[7] She repeated these duties – late-night host and human-interest reporter – for NBC in their coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

She's the human interest torch bearer, if you will.

[narciso]

Thanks, remember what I said about Orwell, I mean they ignore an attack in their own city;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180179/NBC-Olympic-coverage-Bob-Costas-joins-outrage-7-7-terrorist-attacks-tribute-edited-Opening-Cere

[Stephanie]

I've got the fully Olympic schedule and know what is on where, but surely showing the lesser sports instead of infomercials could be done for the period of the Olympics. Don't even need commentary for some of the sports, so no need to pay a talking head. Just pure sports, like you were there as a spectator. I'm anticipating the day when a ticket to a sporting event includes an interpreter for every section of seating so that I can be properly informed of what my lying eyes are watching IYKWIM.

Plus, I'd like to know how the brackets were filled in badminton and such and not just see a few gratuitous minutes of the finals and who won so NBC can say they broadcast 'all of the sports.'

[Stephanie]

BTW I thought of another Obama gaffe in London that can be added to the mix...

the limousine event where the car bottomed out at the embassy cause the security detail didn't do their jobs.

[hit and run]

Stephanie:
but surely showing the lesser sports instead of infomercials could be done for the period of the Olympics

Sure. It could be done. But NBC is not a non-profit, and has apparently decided that the infomercials bring more revenue than broadcasting the lesser sports.

[Danube of Thought]

Well, hell. Thus far I've been watching everything on West Coast delay, without knowing any results. So I hop in the car to go to lunch, turn on a Rush weekly highlight show, and some babe breaks in and gives the results of the men's 400 IM.

[hit and run]

News You Can Use: An itch inside one's left nostril, if said nostril has a safety pin through it, is terribly difficult to sate.

[Stephanie]

((But NBC is not a non-profit, and has apparently decided that the infomercials bring more revenue than broadcasting the lesser sports.))

Then they shouldn't bid on the Olympics. I can get a shakeweight on any of the other myriad channels also showing infomercials, and Olympians aren't competing or being shown anywhere else for the next 2+ weeks. Comes with the bid that some events are gonna have higher ratings.

[Captain Hate]

“[Republicans and Romney] believe that if our country spends trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy, we’ll somehow create jobs – even if we have to pay for it by gutting things like education and training and by raising middle-class taxes. They’re wrong.”

His blatant dishonesty in how he frames this makes me willing to crawl over broken glass and used cat litter to get to the polls in November to vote for Romney.

[hit and run]

Stephanie:
Then they shouldn't bid on the Olympics

What?

They should absolutely bid on the Olympics, and if awarded the contract, NBC should show whatever they determine is the most profitable for their company.

They should then be rewarded or punished by the market for their decisions.

You may think NBC is wrong in their decisions. But if the market is too dumb to recognize your wisdom, then NBC was absolutely right to ignore it no matter how wise it was.

[matt]

The demographics of the Olympics and most other sports these days are analyzed with the precision of Mission Control.

The multi-culti/gender equal agenda is just as alive in London as with Title IX. Many years ago, P&G broke down the statistics of figure skating for us. It was the single biggest female magnet of the Winter Games. Then came ice dancing and sychronized ice dancing ice polka and ever more stories of precious young men and psychotic young women acting gracefully under pressure. I of course wanted to hip check the whole bunch of them out of the Games.

Each of the international federations "The Sports" agrees to have their world championship as a part of the Olympics every four years. Thus, the qualification process results in opening rounds, quarter finals, etc.

What is held in most sports is the result of the year's round robins etc.

In other sports, athletes must have a minimum qualification; in time or other metrics. Some sports, like badminton or baseball have a minimum number of nations that practice them, so we see things like the Western Samoa handball team or such.

Then there are the Kumbaya/WTF athletes. Every nation is allowed to enter 8 athletes (last I read, which was years ago), even if they never qualify. This explains the 5 hour 36 minute stopped for a massage and fizzy drink marathoners or Eddie the Eagle or my friends on the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team (who in 1988 beat the Americans in the 2 man, I might add.

So in reality there are rules. Most are obscure and they cheat anyway. Drugs are rampant and the abusers can usually afford to stay 2 steps ahead of the enforcers.

[hit and run]

Here's NBC sports chief Mark Lazurus after being awarded the bid in June 2011:

"We will make every event available, on one platform or another, live," said Lazarus during a conference call with IOC president Jacques Rogge Tuesday.

Assuming Lazurus wasn't mistaken or lying (he does work for NBC afterall), what platform(s) are those events on that you are not currently using?