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A Disgrace Of Olympian Proportions |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Washington pressured the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International
Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban all Russian athletes from participating in
Rio 2016 - solely for political reasons, nothing else, a reprehensible example
of imperial arrogance. WADA bowed and scraped. Its commission member Canadian law professor Richard McLaren disgraced him, preparing a trumped up report, baselessly claiming systemic doping of Russian athletes “beyond a reasonable doubt,” without providing credible evidence proving it. IOC president Thomas Bach wouldn’t go along. Washington’s scheme fell short. Russia’s entire track and field team, its Paralympians and other athletes were unfairly banned from competition because of doping accusations against a few team members - a scandalous political stunt. Nearly 300 other Russian athletes were cleared to participate, in Rio competing for gold, silver and bronze medals. Washington never ceases to find ways to reach new lows, its imperial mindset even corrupting Olympism, making it more a political event than a sporting one. I’m boycotting the games. I refuse to watch any of the competition. I’m not sure what’s sport at its best or rigged events because of Russian athletes barred from participating solely for representing the wrong country in the eyes of US policymakers. I urge everyone to tune out. The whole sordid business warrants widespread boycott. Let sponsors anting up millions of dollars for commercial air time take the hindmost. Olympic Games came a long way from their ancient Greek origin and more modern late 19th century version to today’s corrupted system. It’s scandalous, prioritizing profiteering, exploitation, sticking taxpayers with huge expenses, harming the poor, other disenfranchised groups and affected communities, along with letting politicization override sport. The best of what it should be in Rio is absent, sham and spectacle not worth watching replacing it. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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