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London 2012
Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island -- Olympic moments happen across this country on a daily basis. The participants may not be going for gold medals like the competitors at the London 2012 Summer Games, but they are striving to achieve ultimate success. Although they do it in obscurity, the spirit with which these entrepreneurs pursue their goals is similar to the dedication elite athletes have for their disciplines.
The people's network, CBC, has won the rights to broadcast the next Olympics. Maybe the broadcaster will do what CTV didn't: bring us stories, instead of running those interminable heats and quarter finals which brought us numbers and statistics.
It's been called the Games for everybody. But, this is not true. Women are not equal to men in the Olympics, and it needs to be fixed. It can't be lied about, or glorified for what it isn't. The Olympics are not equal, and to insist they are is insulting to equality and women. We've made strides, but not enough. If it's only a good start, then it should only be reported as a good start.
Far away from the headlines of this headline-grabbing Olympics is an important lesson that can bring solace to almost every germaphobe. Unlike any other Olympics before, these Games have shown that preventing infection is not only possible, but also relatively easily accomplished.
The Olympics have ended, but there's still a competition on for who can sport a nude bodysuit best. British singer Jessie
Monday's Canada vs. the States soccer game was so good it made you forget you were watching women's soccer, or care (if you did). Too often, female athletes have to fight for airtime, and for recognition. It shouldn't be like that, but sports are sexist in nature. We're all guilty of slighting female athletes. So, thank God for Monday, because we can't now. Compared to this, Usain Bolt's thrilling 9.63 seconds was like a warmup to something better.
There has been one more bombshell occurring in London -- though it hasn't quiet made the same kind of headlines as Ye Shiwen . In contrast to all the prognostication of infectious diseases outbreaks and epidemics that could potentially lead to a pandemic, including my own, the reality is that germs have played almost no role at the Games.
#NBCFail isn't the only Olympic hashtag flying around Twitter. This morning, tweeters have been suggesting their own #RejectedOlympicEvents
NBC has continued to delay all of their Olympic coverage so far -- the opening ceremonies, Michael Phelps' race. Do they not know about the Internet? In only three days, NBC has single-handedly shown all of us why folks are turning off their TVs and turning on their computers. They wonder why their ratings are dropping and why the money is fleeing. Maybe they should watch their own shows.
Does this make me a bad person? I was sitting in the HuffPost newsroom on Friday afternoon when the noise of the overhead televisions -- and the funny, running commentary of the news team -- drew me over. I watched as the surreal montage of industrial smokestacks, dancing chimney sweeps, the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," nationalized health care, Voldemort, top-hatted marching men etc. etc. exploded over multiple screens.
"Who do we have to blame for this?" I asked one of the news editors.
"China."