Diplomatic marathon

When back in 1992 Catalunya got busy denominating the olympic games as local Jocs Olimpics rather than Juegos Olimpicos, the rest of Castilliano speaking Spain was enjoying the festivities on the 500 years of Columbus' discovery of what became Latin America.

On the Aztec, Maia and Inca side of the ocean, however, governmental leaders and popular activists saw no reason for any joyful celebration, commemorating self invited conquerers as the causers of centuries of war, murder and slavery.  Either way, the world had irreversably become a smaller place.

In 2012 we see nationalisation of Spain's Repsol's subsidiary in Argentina, a presidential decree from Morales for Coca Cola and McDonalds to abandon Bolivia by mid December, all in the name of financial, civil and/or cultural sovereignty, adding up to other contemporary Bolivarian sentiment in Venezuela, Columbia ...

I am not sure if anyone knows why Julian Assange picked the Embassy of Ecuador, among the dozens on that side of Hyde Park, but then again he has obvioulsy demonstrated before to know things most of us do not, yet.

The UNASUR ministers for foreign affairs, some of whom met only a few days ago on the occasion of celebrating Ecuador's speerheading liberation from Spain, will have an urgent meeting this Sunday with the "British threat" as the sole item on the agenda.

This may very well be(come) a bit more than another north-south political divide.

Αρχαίο Πνεύμα αθάνατο, αγνέ πατέρα .......

Besides a desire for digging up some records or maybe borrow Jacques Rogge's or Boris Johnson's personal i-pod, I would have to recognize that very few nations could pull off a show like Brittania did at the closure of the London summer olympics.   A window to the world, smoothly mixing domestic tradition with rebellion, portions of nearly popular bad taste, sarcasm and without arrogance, reminding us of British branding with the appropriate contemporarian twist to the olympic message.  Neither too little nor too many ingredients, like a typical masala dish.

Like his predecessors, Jacques Rogge is well on the way in presiding over the sustainable construction of something greater and evidently more so than, for instance, his fellow countryman Herman van Rompuy backed by other Brussels based nationally delegated waged politicians.

The comité international olympique has seen its share of intercontinental armed confllicts, propaganda, terrorism and boycots threatening its fundamentals.  Like any large organization it does not portray a perfect transparent democracy in its functioning and decisionmaking, but has managed to be the undisputed speerhead of by now more than 200 national committees made up of countries' many private of government controlled sportsfederations composed by sportsclubs and corporations many of which represent the type of egos and stars we do not see, yet, at the olympic games. 

Yet the mission and values toned at the top of the IOC seem to be at such a short distance from a single potential sportsperson somewhere in the world.  Ask athletes from South-Sudan, East Timor or Yugoslavia what the IOC did for them when their countries were still overwhelmed with smoking guns, or check with disabled warveterans who set the stage for paralympics.  Then there are the youth olympics or the Truce Foundation.

If sports and athletism are to be given the significance what popmusic meant in the last few decades, than this obese world may actually get a bit fitter. 

onto 2020

A few more hours and the eternal olympic flame will symbolically be relayed from London to Rio and 20 000 high level sportspeople a third of which retired into trainers and olympic committee rep's, along with a few million visitors, not too mention impressive numbers of volunteers, will return to their homes, leaving 3 500 low budget homes for the people of London to occupy along newly constructed sports venues and infrastructure.

What an event. 

Not as many broken world records but many personal ones, generally athletes are faster, higher, stronger and at younger and older ages. 

The United Kingdom will have disbursed a very debated UK£ 3.5 billion to make it all happen and soon discussions will rise again whether it was all worth it.  If back in the initial stages of the industrial revolution - so wonderfully portrayed in the opening ceremony - politicians and investors would have made a real cost-benefit analysis of railroad construction, no one would have made the advancement then.  The benefits will show for decades and far beyond the construction site, many of which difficult to express in a monetary return on the financial investment.

Unfortunately olympic athletes do not trigger an as widespread national pride (or shame) as professional footballplayers do for many countries, but I sense positive evolutions and I think Darwin would agree. 

Between 2014 and 2018 we will see olympic (summer and winter) games and world football championships in Russia and Brasil.  No (financial) worries there. 

Already before that, in 2013, the world will come to know the winning candidate which will have the privilige to invest in hosting the 2020 summer olympics.

Rome cancelled their bid and several other cities in the US, Canada did not advance in formalising candidacies, all due to current financial restraints. Apparently Madrid is and has been the strongest candidate, coming from several prior bids, over Istanbul and Tokyo.  

Hm ... let the games continue, please.  More volunteers wanted.