Article

2008-08-25 Caribbean-Latin America

Castro defends athlete who kicked judge in face

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by tu3031 2008-08-25 14:47|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 Aweful Olympics indeed.

Anyone else out there watch the closing ceremonies? Wife and I watched for about 5 minutes until it became so goofy we couldn't keep the laughter down from waking the baby.

Posted by swksvolFF 2008-08-25 16:59|| 2008-08-25 16:59|| Front Page Top

#2 swksvolFF,
Would you describe the ending ceremony to us happy cretins who didn't get a chance to watch it, por favor?

>:)

Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg 2008-08-25 17:24|| 2008-08-25 17:24|| Front Page Top

#3 Red Dawg, I did watch... my first impression --- they started with hundreds of guys on drums, then over a thousand women walking in... all lit up with lights.

Then, these two enormous drums, with drummers on each side, began coming down from on high.

All of I could think of, "I don't want to go to war with these people."

The women moved into different formations, looked like battalions forming.

I thought, "Are they sending us a message?"

The precision, the masses -- to me, the first part looked like it could have been scenes from an old movie, where 1000's of years ago, preparations for war were beginning.

Then, I thought about that scene in Lord of the Rings (last movie, I think) where by the thousands, the sides line up.

Then, it got really silly --

Just my opinion. I have PIP -- so the Food Network got most of the attention.

Posted by Sherry">Sherry 2008-08-25 17:34|| 2008-08-25 17:34|| Front Page Top

#4 Sherry, the precision was maintained even by the little girls, maybe 8 or 10 years old (i.e. the gymnastics team).

Posted by Scott R 2008-08-25 18:47|| 2008-08-25 18:47|| Front Page Top

#5 Oh, and the British float at the end with Jimmy Page and Beckham was just an embarrassment.

Posted by Scott R 2008-08-25 18:49|| 2008-08-25 18:49|| Front Page Top

#6 Sherry, that kind of thing is just high school marching band formations writ large. I cannot imagine it translating into military ability, else the U.S. is in very good shape, if the trailing daughter's school band is any indication. Anyway, totalitarian dictatorships love group spectacles with mass exercises -- think of the North Koreans or the Nazis.

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2008-08-25 18:51|| 2008-08-25 18:51|| Front Page Top

#7 think of the North Koreans or the Nazis.

At least the closing didn't have any PLA goose-stepping (or NBC didn't show it). Seeing that in the opening just creeped me out.

Posted by SteveS 2008-08-25 19:13|| 2008-08-25 19:13|| Front Page Top

#8 TW -- I understand the marching band stuff -- I did that in high school.

For some reason, there was this foreboding feeling as I watched those first 15 minutes. It was just a feeling....

To me, some of the formations, well, just my thoughts as I watched it. You had to marvel.

My high-school marching band story? Before we went to the all lined up on the same yard-line formation, we marched the blocked formation. I had a problem with left and right! Plus, my shortness is in my legs, they just aren't as long as they need to be!

So, bless Mr. Steele's heart, during a practice session, he placed me at the pivotal, left hand corner of that formation, and told everyone, just turn the way she turns! With the trombones behind my, giving me clues when turning was about to happen!

It worked, I kept the spot! Now about those 8 steps through those 10 yards, that was another story!

It was a small school, only 32 in our grad class -- big reunion this weekend!

Posted by Sherry">Sherry 2008-08-25 19:20|| 2008-08-25 19:20|| Front Page Top

#9 I think North Korea has thousands-strong syncronized marching done every year at some festival they have. (Ariana or something like that). I've seen websites from a couple of people who 'toured' North Korea mention it.

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-08-25 19:26|| 2008-08-25 19:26|| Front Page Top

#10 Phew

So that taekwondo guy will only be sent to labor camp a month upon arrival in Cuba.

Btw baseball will no longer be an Olympic sport. Thank God they didn't touch "walking" and synchronized swimming or whatever they call it.

Posted by European Conservative 2008-08-25 19:50|| 2008-08-25 19:50|| Front Page Top

#11 Sherry I think you're right that the Chicoms wanted to leave the impression of a huge disciplined army.

They've aborted themselves into a massive gender imbalance and now have millions of young men who have no hope of finding a wife. The historic outcome of such imbalances is armed aggression.

I think we'll see a Chinese army move into some territory in my lifetime. Unless of course they collapse economically and due to social unrest as a result of being unable to block out information about the outside world entirely.

Posted by lotp 2008-08-25 20:06|| 2008-08-25 20:06|| Front Page Top

#12 Or the Americans get tired of China and stops sending a net $300/year their way.

Posted by ed 2008-08-25 20:10|| 2008-08-25 20:10|| Front Page Top

#13 They've aborted themselves into a massive gender imbalance and now have millions of young men who have no hope of finding a wife. The historic outcome of such imbalances is armed aggression.

You're right, Lotp. They've dug themselves into a heck of a hole with that one. Remember this line from that immortal cinematic pasterpiece, "D.C. Cab."

"Women have half the money and all the p***y!"

Actually, it's probably considerably more than half. Pretty important people to have been trying to eliminate...

Posted by Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-08-25 20:52|| 2008-08-25 20:52|| Front Page Top

#14 pasterpiece=masterpiece. PIMF...

Posted by Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-08-25 20:53|| 2008-08-25 20:53|| Front Page Top

#15 net $300 Billion

Posted by ed 2008-08-25 21:01|| 2008-08-25 21:01|| Front Page Top

23:41 Andy Hupising8050
23:39 trailing wife
23:38 JosephMendiola
23:36 JosephMendiola
23:25 JosephMendiola
23:09 JosephMendiola
23:00 JosephMendiola
22:56 Sgt. Mom
22:55 trailing wife
22:54 trailing wife
22:48 JosephMendiola
22:38 JosephMendiola
22:32 JosephMendiola
22:28 JosephMendiola
22:18 Anonymoose
22:16 JosephMendiola
22:14 Anguper Hupomosing9418
22:14 Anonymoose
22:07 DarthVader
22:02 trailing wife
22:02 Anonymoose
21:56 Steve White
21:55 Steve White
21:45 Besoeker