As someone whose interest in sports has always been minimal I have been aroused from that lethargy every four years by an unavoidable, in-your-face media focus. My attitude with a sigh is “if you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em.” as I start paying attention.

Having said that, I see the World Olympics through a different lens than most people. The Olympics is an echo of global international relations with all its conflicts and contradictions come to life. Sworn enemies and friendly rivals hide their ugly tendencies long enough for sports competition in the same way that extended human families manage to pocket resentment of in-laws long enough to have at least occasional meals together despite their differences.

I’m always pleased to see peaceful conflict resolution instead of open fighting, so Olympic competition is a sign of hope, no matter which countries are involved. In fact, the worse the conflict, the better it is to support and encourage sports competition.

This time my greatest complaint is not about the country selected but the selfish greed with which NBC and the IOC are colluding to control and manipulate for private gain activities which should clearly be part of a common public interest. Video images with audio stream are today’s equivalent of snapshots, and for control of this new technology to be left in the hands of a couple of so-called “private” entities amounts to nothing more than censorship.

My hope is that future Olympics will be made instantly available world-wide in real time. Only after the curtain rises should the journalistic wolves and hyenas be permitted to attack their prey.

We attended the first week of the Olympics and this is our third and we rate it as the worst by far relative to country selection and China’s handling of the games. I do not know who was polled in this survey but I find it surprising that EVERYONE we talked with who had attended a prior Olympics (and these people had been to anywhere from 3-13 Olympics before Beijing) said China ended up dead last and not even close relative to the country’s handling of the event FOR THOSE IN ATTENDANCE. Television is where they shine…a lip syncing young girl should tell the whole story. Dress it up for television. The sky was horribly gray with pollution, the food at the venues was horrendous and did not honor the sponsors of the Olympics such as McDonalds whose food was not even offered, Olympic park was desolate due to security paranoia even for those that had already purchased tickets, email communication back to the States was cut off by the Chinese and the overall atmosphere was not one conducive to meeting new people from around the world. It was cold, sterile and militaristic with a general lack of trust for everyone around. A scary country–with all of our problems, I am very proud to be American —don’t let China’s television facade fool you. There are still a very few controlling all there. Not a place I need to visit again.