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A Critical History of the Olympics
http://kielarowski.net/2014/02/08/a-critical-history-of-the-olympics/Also posted in GD. Well worth the time to read.
snip:
A Critical History of the Olympics
Beyond Sochi
by PAUL GOTTINGER
The 2014 Winter Olympics are set to open on February 7 in Sochi, Russia. In the lead up to this Olympics there has been no shortage of criticism in the U.S. media for Russias human rights abuses in Chechnya and Dagestan, the countrys crackdown on civil society, and most visibly Russias recent laws criminalizing gays and lesbians.
snip:
The Olympics serve the interests of the global wealthy in a number of important ways. To better understand the Olympics one should understand the organization behind the Olympics and take a critical look at some of the recent impacts the games have had on host cities.
snip:
The cost of hosting the Olympic games routinely runs over budget with no real way to determine the true cost. The total cost of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is estimated to be 7 billion dollars, and analysis done last August shows Vancouver taxpayers are taking a 300 million dollar loss on just the Olympic village project alone. The estimates of the London Olympics cost are between £13 and £24 billion. This incredible price tag demonstrates how serious David Cameron really was about the age of austerity and his commitment to cut excess government spending.
snip:
The Olympics sponsors (a whos who of criminal corporations) are given monopoly rights to vend (so much for Olympic competition), and in the true to the spirit of neoliberalism Londons Olympic bid even included tax haven status for Olympic sponsor corporations.
snip:
Though the major media prefer to criticize the human rights record of the Olympic hosts only when they take place in Russia or China, there are significant problems with all Olympic games.
The policies of the IOC, like those of other transnational organizations (G8, IMF, ect.), can be resisted through the creation of a strong grassroots movement. A number of the recent Olympic host cities were home to many devoted activists working on anti-Olympic actions. But hopefully if more people are aware of the similarities between the IOC and the G8/IMF visions of a better world, they may be called to work for an actual better world, one which benefits all the inhabitants of a city, not just the wealthy.
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A Critical History of the Olympics (Original Post)
JEB
Feb 2014
OP
JEB
(4,748 posts)1. Henry Fucking Kissinger on IOC.
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)2. The ancient olympics were ended for the same reasons of corruption.
Hestia
(3,818 posts)4. why would you say that?
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/faq11.html
One possible answer:
The Ancient Olympic Games were abolished in 393 A.D by order of the Roman emperor Theodosius II. The emperor was a Christian and he aimed at abolishing all pagan practices. At the time, only men who spoke Greek would participate in these games.
http://www.ask.com/question/why-did-the-ancient-olympics-stop
Had absolutely nothing to do with corruption but about scardy-cats and the Pagan religions - not unlike today.
Not sure if y'all have noticed but Paganism has been resurrected as the current bug-a-boo about the illnesses in current culture. As the discrimination rises, I wonder how many here will stand with us as we are decimated again?
Read some current news articles and see how many times Paganism is mentioned? Quite a bit actually after the first of the year.
One possible answer:
The Ancient Olympic Games were abolished in 393 A.D by order of the Roman emperor Theodosius II. The emperor was a Christian and he aimed at abolishing all pagan practices. At the time, only men who spoke Greek would participate in these games.
http://www.ask.com/question/why-did-the-ancient-olympics-stop
Had absolutely nothing to do with corruption but about scardy-cats and the Pagan religions - not unlike today.
Not sure if y'all have noticed but Paganism has been resurrected as the current bug-a-boo about the illnesses in current culture. As the discrimination rises, I wonder how many here will stand with us as we are decimated again?
Read some current news articles and see how many times Paganism is mentioned? Quite a bit actually after the first of the year.
malthaussen
(17,216 posts)5. Been quite a while since I read Classical history...
... but I do recall reading about quite a bit of corruption and gamesmanship in the Olympic games and the other cult athletic competitions. Different cities would put up ringers for competitors, the judges were sometimes of negotiable affection, and the competition among sites for the travelling games could get pretty sticky.
Quel surprise. Like human nature has changed so much in 3000 years?
-- Mal
rurallib
(62,448 posts)3. Since I grew up, I have seen them as
places where rich people can watch the poor performers.
And milk the taxpayers for magnificent sports stadiums that are used only a few times.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)6. Here is a list in terms of the estimated costs of the Olympic Games since 1976