On What Propaganda is Condemned and Countenanced at Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

The 23rd Winter Olympiad in Pyeongchang, South Korea had a reoccurring theme of Peace, as was evident from the Opening Ceremonies.  It was well known that athletes from North and South Korea would march as a unified team into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.  

One of the draws for casual sports fans to watch the Olympics is the Opening Ceremonies. The pageantry of the Opening Ceremonies, as expressed through artistic expression as well as thematic choice sets the mood for the Olympic Games.  Afterwards, there is the Parade of Nations, when all of the competitors gather in a gesture of unity and good will.  During this long march of nations, television viewers often have to endure commentary from NBC announcers to add color and context to the visuals.  Often this dialogue is pap or seems scripted.

However, when the Japanese team made their debut at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, NBC Asia correspondent Joshua Cooper Ramos offered an incredible generalization.  Ramos claimed that Koreans looked with admiration to Japan as an important example of cultural, economic and technological transformation.




Several hours after uttering this insensitive and insulting insinuation, NBC Sports issued a hasty apology.

NBC paid $967 million for broadcast rights for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and it would seem that they did not want to insult their hosts.

With that in mind, one wonders why NBC keeps pushing North Korean propaganda while covering the Winter Olympics.  No doubt that a unified Korean team marching during the Parade of Nations was a big story.  It epitomizes the international aspiration of brotherhood and exemplifies the Pyeongchang Game's theme of Peace.  

[Front Center] Vice President Mike Pence [Back Center] Kim Yo Jung, sister of DPRK dictator Kim Jun Un

It is understandable that an Olympic broadcaster would want to capitalize on controversy by showing how close Vice President Mike Pence was seated to North Korean Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong during the Opening Ceremonies.




The coverage of the North Korea cheerleaders during the womens' hockey game between Korea and Switzerland does raise eyebrows.  It was a cute featurette to have a piece about the some of the 200 woman squad of  the North Korean "Army of Beauty" cheerleaders leading chants during the 0-8 rout of Korea.  Some say that the synchronized chants of the North Korea Beauty Cheerleaders stole the show. But what what telling is what they chanted and how they performed.  These NPDK cheerleaders chanted "Unity" waving "neutral" flags of a unified Korea. After each goal by their opponent, they chanted: "Cheer up!".  Perhaps that exemplifies a cultural trait.  


What has been shown but little explored are instances in which the female Beauty Squad use big heads of a Korean man.  Hmm.  Who could this be?  


It is dubious that it was an everyman Korean.  The Big Head looks rather like an idealized image of North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un. What does it say about the consequences of  "Unity".  Is that something that all Koreans also believe?

UPDATE 02/12/2018  BBC News quotes Korean media that the DPRK Army of Beauties cheerleaders were holding up big heads of Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (the first of the Hermit Kingdom's Juche post World War II dictators).  Yet the South Korean Unification Ministry insists that the cheerleaders were just holding up cut outs of "a good looking man". 

Lord Mancroft on Skiing

Being At Peace With Different Measures of Glory

Athletes from Unified North & South Korean Team at Winter Olympics

The 23rd Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are themed to be the games of peace.  This was accentuated by athletes of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) marching with their Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) counterparts under a unified flag.

Olympic Athletes from Russia for 2018 Winter Olympics 

Due the doping ban on Russian Federation, the 169 clean Russian athletes marched as neutrals in red and grey uniforms as neutrals.  Any gold medal winning "Olympic Athletes of Russia"  will be feted with the raising of the Olympic flag and anthem. 

While the  2,952 athletes participating in the Pyeongchang games are the best winter sport athletes in the world, but only a few make it up to the medal stand to receive their glory. For most, marching in the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is the highlight of their careers. 



This makes Eric Liddell's admonition about glory all the more poignant. 



What is particularly noteworthy of Eric Liddell is not that he was the the Flying Scotsman was the first  British Gold Medal winner in track from 1924, or that he was the basis of the film Chariots of Fire (1981), or his steadfast Sabbath keeping, but for dying as a missionary in a Japanese internment camp in China in 1945. 

We should all be inspired to run a good race in life and doing our best.

Vice President Mike Pence on the Winter Olympics

Why the Red Card on the F.I.F.A. World Cup of Corruption?

In the wake of Attorney General Loretta Lynch pulling out a red card on 14 F.I.F.A officials for an alleged World Cup of Corruption, Russian President Vladimir Putin opined that the Americans were offsides. 

It is bizarre that Putin purports that the United States is culminating a three year investigation in order to interfere with the F.I.F.A. election of Joseph Sepp  Blatter, but that sort of agiprop distracts from the Russians continuing to mass heavy firepower on the Ukrainian border. But then again, Putin's Russia used the Sochi Winter Olympics as cover for initially invading Crimea in 2014.

To answer why the Department of Justice issued a 47 count indictment over F.I.F.A. corruption, it is worth noting that the plots were hatched in the United States and utilized the U.S. banking system.  It is wrong to think that the F.I.F.A. case does not affect American politics either.  The United States missed out on winning the 2018 World Cup to the Russian Federation's Sochi bid and the out of the box award to Qatar in 2022.  The U.S. would be a natural backup in case either the Russian or Qatari bids fall through.

Moreover,  the Clinton Foundation received between  $50,000 and $100,000 and partnered with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.  President Bill Clinton was said to have been so upset at the US losing the 2022 World Cup bid to Qatar that he smashed a mirror.  But the Qatar 2022 tried to make it up by giving the Clinton Foundation  $250,000 and $500,000 as well as the Qatari government pitching in between $1 million and $5 million.

This may only be the beginning of the F.I.F.A. fallout. Suddenly the business of soccer has become very exiting.  Goooooooooooool!

h/t: Steve Bell

World Class Gymnast Natalia Godunko Auctions Gold Medal to Aid Ukrainian Army

[L] Natalia Godunko performing Rhythmic Gymnastics  [R] Gold Medal being auctioned for Ukrainian Army

Natalia Godunka, a 29 year old world class Rhythmic Gymnast from Ukraine, decided to auction her team Gold Medal from the 2001 World Championships in Madrid to support the Ukrainian army in the War of the Donbass (Eastern Ukraine).

To get an idea of the caliber of athlete Godonko is, witness her frenetic but flawless ribbon performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.



Godunka boyfriend, musician Sasha Polozhynsky, announced the auction of the medal on Facebook.  Plozhynsky regrets that Godunka put the medal up for auction but since it has been bid upon, he hopes that it will raise more money and inspire others to also help fund the cause. 

In one day, the auction had garnered bids had garnered bids up to $843 US.   The auction runs until August 10th, 2014.

During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia  a couple of Ukrainian athletes protested violence at the Euromaiden protests in Kiev by Russian backed paramilitaries  by not showing up to their events.

Godunko sacrificing her gold medal  to support her country's army to inspire shared sacrifice to forestall Finlandization of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin's expansionistic incursions using  non-linear warfare.

Many celebrities will spout off about causes about which they know little or that lending their support comes at no cost.  It is admirable that Ukrainian athletes like Natalia Godunko as well as Olg and Bohdana Matsohski are willing to personally sacrifice for their country and their freedom. 

h/t: Ukrainian Pravda 

Sarah Hughes on Winning

Kirill I on the Olympics

Kristi Yamaguchi on Training

Figure Skating Folderal on Judging at Sochi

There have been a couple of prominent voices at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics which have been fervently complaining about judging at Figure Skating competition.  There was prior to the start of the Olympics, there was a rumor that there was a backroom deal which would allow for Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White to win Gold for the Ice Dancing discipline while the Russians would again be at the top of the podium for figure skating.

Toronto Star sports writer Rosie DiManno spewed bile at the second place finish of Canadian skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir being edged out of their repeat Gold medal in Ice Dancing by Davis and White.  Dimanno went so far as to exclaim that : “If the fix is not in against Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, then I'm the Princess of Wales."  That seemed like jingoistic jive from the Great White North.

Ashley Wagner, the 22 year old American Figure Skater, placed in seventh  at the Womens’ Figure Skating competition at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.  Yet Ashley Wagner felt “gypped” because of the judging in the individual competition.  Wagner’s scrunched face in the “kiss and cry” after her performance during the Team competition showed confusion at the judging.




Wagner’s overall 193.20 point total was 7.37 points behind Yulia  Lipnitskaia who placed in fifth.  Lipnitskaia seemed like the darling of the Sochi Olympics when her skating lifted Russia to Gold in the Team Figure Skating competition.  But during the individual Womens’ Figure Skating  the 15 year old Russian falling once during the short program  and once during the free skate. But Lipnitskaia had the home crowd behind her and was scored higher than Wagner.

Wagner’s ire may also extend to Gold medal winner Russian Adelina Sotnikova, fellow American Gracie Gold who finished fourth as well as Japanese skater Mao Asada who placed in sixth who also fell during their performances at the Iceburg Skating Palace in Sochi.

Prima facia, Wagner’s rant sounds like it has some credibility.  But several points seem to extinguish the flame of figure skating ire.

Firstly,  Canadian Ice Dancer Scott Moir’s mom told her son when he was starting in the sport that it was a judging discipline which can be fickle.  Wagner’s suggestion of ending anonymous judging at the Olympics might somewhat curtail nationalistic favoritism.  The USFSA associates judges names with scores but it uses all of the scores, whereas international competitons drop the high and low score and have anonymous, randomly selected panels

Secondly, Ashley Wagner barely made US Figure Skating team to Sochi because of her disastrous skates at the US Nationals in Boston.  The US Figure Skating Association chose fourth place finisher Wagner over the US Nationals Silver Medalist Mirai Nagasu.  Some questioned the fairness of Wagner’s selection, even though the USFSA thought that Wagner had a better chance at the Olympics.  A few voices thought that it was racism.  That seems silly considering the prior US figure skating successes of Debbie Thomas ( Calgary 1988), Kristi Yamaguchi (Albertville 1992) and Michelle Kwan (Nagano, 1998 and Salt Lake 2002).   Perhaps it was a choice based on international competition experience along with marketability, good interviews for NBC Olympics up close and personal glossy videos as well as the ability to make headlines.  On the latter quality, Wagner wins a Gold.

Mao Asada jumping

A third compelling counter-argument to Wagner’s competitive cri-de-coeur is the change in Figure Skating judging.  After a Figure Skating judging scandal at the Salt Lake Games in 2002, the scoring system for Figure Skating was revamped.  No longer did judges start from perfection and deduct points, but you needed to earn points, with a full point being taken off for a fall.  There is also a clock for midway through a skater’s program when extra points are awarded for jumps performed at exhausting stages of a skate.

Mao Asada seemed in the zone of Wagner’s criticisms about falling during performances.  But Asada has a very challenging program and was rewarded for that, despite her flaws.  Asada does all six kinds of jumps and is the only female skater to land eight triple jumps at Sochi.  Wagner should not be so jumpy about figure skaters’ scoring well despite falls.  Wagner won the 2013 US Nationals despite having two halls during her free skate.

[L] Tara Lipinski [R] Johnny Weir 

As much as one is tempted to criticize Johnny Weir’s flamboyant sense of fashion when covering Figure Skating at Sochi for NBC Sports, he was spot on in predicting where Wagner fell short with her free skate and he anticipated fewer points awarded.  Weir observed that Wagner changed music for her free skate from   Romeo and Juliet   which fell poorly in Boston to a more familiar Samson and Delilah.   Weir’s commentary caught some jumps where Wagner landed on two skates and also kicked up some “snow”.  So simply landing a jump might not cut it for the judges.  These nuances might not be seen by casual fans, but it seems to matter to judges and competitive skaters.

It is easy to understand the disappointment of athletes who worked hard for years to compete on the international stage at the Olympics and who follow short of their potential or expectations.  But short of exposing a conspiracy among judges, this is figure skating folderal.

Ashley Wagner has expressed her intention to compete for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.  If that falls through, she may pursue a career in modeling.  But finishing seventh on the Olympic stage in Sochi does not set her up for as many lucrative endorsement.

Men with Brooms on Curling

 

Peggy Fleming on Figure Skating

On Curling

Sarah Hughes on the Olympics

Lamenting the Lack of Olympic Truce for Sochi Olympics

Dmytro Mystak is an 18 year old downhill skier for Ukraine.  The day before his first Olympic ski race, there was organized violence against Euromaidan protesters at Independence Square in his native city of Kyiv.   The Euromaidan protests demanding an end to corruption and tyranny were attacked by paramilitary forces.  At least 25 people were killed and 1,000 persons injured.  And Mystak is supposed to compete in this environment.

Mystak's lament about the lack of an Olympic truce is a reasonable reaction for an athlete.  While Mystak's sympathies are clear, the skier does not want to politicize the situation.  Sergey Bubka, the head of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee also urged his countrymen for an Olympic Truce.  Bubka wrote on his website: “I am once again urging all parties to stop the violence! There is no 'their' Ukraine, or 'your' Ukraine. It is OUR Ukraine.”

The IOC prohibited Ukrainian Olympic athletes from wearing black armbands to commemorate the loss of life at Independence Square presumably to maintain neutrality, which also would not embarrass the Sochi Winter Olympics host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is closely aligned with Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych.

[L] Russian President Vladimir Putin [R] Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovch

  Some Ukrainian athletes were willing to sacrifice their chance for glory which they trained for years by intentionally missing their events in protest of the bloody crackdown in Kyiv.   Marina Lisogor and Katerina Serdyuk failed to appear for their cross country team sprint semi-final race.   Andre Sannikov, a prominent opposition leader from Belarus, indicated that it was a gesture originating in the prohibition on black armbands.

A  Facebook statement indicated that Bohdana and Oleh more explicitly refused to perform at Sochi in solidarity with the Euromaidan protesters.  Oleg and Bohdana Matsohski also refused to compete in solidarity with the protest movement.

Oleg and Bohdana Matsohski, Ukrainian Olympic Skiers 

Although  generally I am skeptical about athletes opining about public affairs, like the Protect Our Winters Manifesto, as the details of the policy are often beyond their ken.  However, it is easy to understand that Yanukovych blessed paramilitaries attacking peaceful demonstrators and violated the idea of an Olympic truce.  I am chary about politicizing the Olympics but I admire individual athletes following their consciences at great personal cost.

For those who need background information on what sparked the controversy, please see Understanding the Euromaidan Unrest at DCBarroco.com

Brendan Shanahan on Hockey

Dorothy Hamill on Figure Skating

Gretchen Bleiler the Olympics

Meryl Davis on Ice Dancing Partnership

Meryl Davis was paired with Charlie White to ice dance when she was ten and he was eleven.  After seventeen years of partnership, their athletic efforts culminated in a Gold medal for Ice Dancing at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. 

Nancy Kerrigan on Perseverance