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I don't use profanity in a title lightly.

This article sums up the latest with regards to Japan's (or is it the IOC's) determination that the Olympics must, must go on.

The absurdity of all this has nothing to do with one's views on the pandemic, vaccines, travel, or the Olympics. The absurdity arises from the impossible logistics required, logistics that are already showing signs of strain.

But there's more to it than that. Is Japan truly a sovereign country? One could question that given this article.

TOKYO (AP) — The IOC vice president in charge of the postponed Tokyo Olympics said Friday the games would open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan were under a state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 cases.

John Coates, speaking from Australia in a virtual news conference with Tokyo organizers at the end of three days of meetings, said this would be the case even if local medical experts advised against holding the Olympics.

So, we have the IOC spokesperson speaking for the people of Japan. Odd, given that Japan is a democratic country and he was never elected. And apparently what Japanese experts think or rule has no influence on this.

“The advice we have from the WHO (World Health Organization) and all other scientific and medical advice that we have is that — all the measures we have outlined, all of those measures that we are undertaking are satisfactory and will ensure a safe and secure games in terms of health,” Coates said. “And that’s the case whether there is a state of emergency or not.”

So again the WHO and some obscure body know as "all other scientific and medical advice" is making our decisions for us, without our input of course. On that note:

Public opinion is Japan has been running at 60-80% against opening the Olympics on July 23, depending on how the question is phrased. Coates suggested public opinion might improve as more Japanese get fully vaccinated. That figure is now about 2%.

Tough shit. The IOC doesn't care.

Coates left no doubt that the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee believes the Tokyo Games will happen. The IOC gets almost 75% of its income from selling broadcast rights, a key driver in pushing on. And Tokyo has officially spent $15.4 billion to organize the Olympics, though a government audit suggests the real number is much higher.

So that's it. Again.

There are already reports of arriving athletes complaining about all the restraints severely hampering their ability to acclimate and train. This isn't an Olympics. It's a farce.

That's an interesting analysis.

According to the IOC's website, John Coates has been involved with the AOC (Aus Olympic Com) then the IOC since 1982 - so that's 40 years.

I've mentioned before about my dear old Mum - she was by no means a political radical but she would rail against the IOC being a corrupt gravy train - that was 30-40 years ago.

If you're looking for a template for how world bodies like WHO or the UN went bad, then the IOC is it.

Highly-paid, privileged elites traveling the world - being wined and dined by government elites - doing mega-deals on TV rights.

You won't be surprised to know that Coates is currently the Delegate Member for Broadcast Rights. (2015-)

He's also:

Chair, Agenda 2020/New Normal Olympic Games Delivery Executive Steering Committee

New Normal Delivery Steering Committee!

I'm actually all for a 'new normal' (different from the new normal) - we need to break things down, weed out corruption, rebuild.

Coates 'new normal' is simply the 'old normal' - but with even more power centralized in their greedy hands.

Get a load of this:

Richard Phillips: Olympic officials previously claimed that Sydney was corruption free and the 2000 Games would rehabilitate the IOC's badly-tarnished reputation. However, ongoing reports .. alleging improper dealings .. eventually forced Coates .. to make public hundreds of pages of internal documents relating to the Sydney bid.

Coates admitted that the night before Sydney won the 2000 Games, he offered more than $A50,000 each to the national Olympic committees of Kenya and Uganda and provided their delegates .. with expensive hotel accommodation in London and other gifts.

Coates also organised a place for Swaziland IOC delegate, David Sibandze's daughter at Sydney's International Catering Institute.

John Coates: Well, we didn't win it (the Games) on the beauty of the city and the sporting facilities we had to offer on their own, and we were never going to. We were mindful of the support that was being directed in Africa .. through the Chinese Government.

That's a full admission of bribery and corruption. His only excuse is 'Well, the Chinese were doing it'.

How on earth does Coates not get charged and serve jail time for that? He didn't even lose his job - in fact his power has continued to increase to the point where he's now in the top echelons of the IOC.

Dick Pound: (vote buying was caused by) a few bad apples and we will get rid of them.

That's bullshit Dick. For a start the IOC didn't get rid of Coates - an admitted briber - it promoted him! Secondly, i don't buy the 'few bad apples' defense. As with Covid - the Lipkins, the Daszaks, the Dwyers - they didn't drop out of the sky and suddenly start behaving badly - they are the product of a culture that is corrupt to its core.

That's bullshit Dick. For a start the IOC didn't get rid of Coates - an admitted briber - it promoted him! Secondly, i don't buy the 'few bad apples' defense. As with Covid - the Lipkins, the Daszaks, the Dwyers - they didn't drop out of the sky and suddenly start behaving badly - they are the product of a culture that is corrupt to its core.

I think the thing the IOC, WHO, CDC, and savior-scientists have in common is that they're all somehow given a pass, at least initially, due to their profession, sort of like priests in the old days.

The Olympics have an aura of being Godlike, or somehow associated with the best that humanity has to show for itself. It's abominable to think that the people in charge could be just like everyone else, greedy as fuck, selfish, and corrupt when it's in their interest. Same goes for scientists in general but particularly with regards to medicine.

There are social and legal safeguards for the rest of us meant to keep us from doing the world too much damage as a result of our human impulses, and rightfully so, but those same safeguards are not in place or enforced for these super humans.

It's about time we're all held to the same standard.

In this case, this Olympics, it truly feels like the IOC is pimping the athletes. They just can't let the money go.

The competition could still be held remotely. For God's sake, the rest of the world has done everything remotely for the last 18 months, and so could the Olympics. The competition could be held from everyone's home countries. We're capable of pulling that off if we're capable of surviving in every other vital way remotely, be it education, commerce, and even health care.

So this arrogant announcement that the Olympics will happen from Japan is astounding in it's overreach. Not only is it unnecessary, it's quite literally a threat to world health. Japan just today renewed an emergency status for COVID. None of this makes any sense at all.

Looks like the Olympics are experiencing some Murphy's Law. Feels like this was always going to happen...

[image]

Dang. Seems pretty unusual for storms to be coming this far north this early. But last year they mostly came north as I recall.

Good luck social distancing under those flimsy, leaking tarps, Olympians. But it's OK, once you all get a bit of that Delta strain in your systems, you can take it back home and share the love.

I paraphrase this as, it may weaken before making landfall, but then it could stall, wobble, do a double take, and pull a Nari on you.

"THUS, SLIGHT WEAKENING
IS FORECAST PRIOR TO LANDFALL BETWEEN 72 AND 96 HOURS. THE TRACK
FORECAST BECOMES OF LOWER CONFIDENCE AFTER 72 HOURS, AS STEERING
CURRENTS WILL WEAKEN ONCE NEPARTAK IS STACKED BENEATH THE
UPPER-LEVEL LOW, MAROONED WELL TO THE SOUTH OF THE MID-LATITUDE
JET. NUMERICAL MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT A SLOW DRIFT ACROSS
HONSHU INTO THE SEA OF JAPAN IS CURRENTLY MOST LIKELY, AND THE JTWC
FORECAST FOLLOWS SUIT. "

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1121prog.txt

Hope this doesn't get me banned.

I was with you - and the majority of Japan - and watching initially i thought it's a pity they couldn't postpone one more year - these amazing athletes deserve a real audience. The Japanese deserve to be able to attend - they're paying for it.

But i've found myself enjoying it. Yes, the IOC is a diabolical den of corruption, but somehow the spirit does transcend even those dickheads. For sure whoever does well will be tough, as well as talented - it's not an olympics for prima donnas.

Taiwanese indigenous Tsou lifter Fang Wan-ling "could be awarded the bronze medal if the gold medal winner from China is found to have been doping." Got some ingredients i like.

Meanwhile the Goddess of Weightlifting, Kuo Hsing-chun, still rules the world with gold again.

Philippines won the first Olympic gold - Hidilyn Diaz, also in weightlifting - how symbolic is that? Wanted to post a youtube video of the moment but the IOC has banned that.

Aussies are smashing it in the pool. Dan - you were a champion swimmer as i recall - at college level? state? You've gotta be digging this... (not the Aussies kicking US butt part but as a swimmer)

The other thing i noticed was how there's so much crying. The winners are crying, the losers are crying - it's the crying games. I'm building a back porch - at the digging-post-holes-through-concrete stage - catching races on frequent breaks - now i'm almost tearing up - whilst operating a jackhammer. (Ian Thorpe comments that emotion sheds energy - hold it till it's over - so i man-up, carry on.)

We're living in tough times - the striving, the emotion of sport captures that - even in Covid - especially maybe (despite the IOC's best efforts).

Is this the cathartic outlet the world needed?

Disclaimer: If the olympics turns out to be a super-spreader of a super-variant - imported back into every country in the world, then i'm backflipping to the original posts.

But i've found myself enjoying it. Yes, the IOC is a diabolical den of corruption, but somehow the spirit does transcend even those dickheads. For sure whoever does well will be tough, as well as talented - it's not an olympics for prima donnas.

I haven't been watching mainly because we don't have a TV service, though I suppose I could watch online. I have been following somewhat though, and one thing that has struck me is indeed how tough this olympics must be for the athletes. In addition to all the covid weirdness, no crowds, and no fun, it has been hot here. The temp doesn't seem too bad for someone living in Taiwan. It's mostly been in the low thirties. But the humidity has been extreme.

Philippines won the first Olympic gold - Hidilyn Diaz, in weightlifting - how symbolic is that? Wanted to post a youtube video of the moment but the IOC has banned that.

Yeah, one thing I'm happy to see are some winners in events from countries that don't usually, or never, win those events. That's good to see. I'm also happy to see the refugee team.

Aussies are smashing it in the pool. Dan - you were a champion swimmer as i recall - at college level? You've gotta be digging this... (not Aussies kicking US butt part but as a swimmer)

High school, then I got way to interested in extracurricular activities to spend five hours a day in a pool.

The other thing i noticed was how there's so much crying. The winners are crying, the losers are crying - i'm building a back porch - at the jackhammer-post-holes-through-concrete stage - catching races on frequent breaks - now i'm crying.

We're living in tough times - the striving, the emotion of sport captures that - even in Covid - especially maybe (despite the IOC's best efforts).

Is this the emotional outlet the world needed?

Coincidentally, I was in an online meeting the other day of about 20 people or so from all over the world, and in the course of talking about some fairly mundane educational business, one participant started crying when talking about why she took a certain approach to her students... and that caused another participant to start crying... and earlier in the meeting (I just remembered this) another person was crying. There's definitely some pent up emotion in the world. I'd say crying is a healthy release. Certainly better than road rage.

So, yes, I think the olympics is serving as a release. It's certainly one for the books. It's right up there with the 1936 olympics in it's uniqueness and awkwardness.

Disclaimer: If the olympics turns out to be a super-spreader of a super-variant - imported back into every country in the world, then i'm backflipping to the original posts.

LOL! Well, yesterday Tokyo had it's worst day yet of the entire pandemic with 2800 cases. So, yeah, it seems likely that Japan will be sharing the love a little. But, you know, I'm to the point, like a lot of people I think, where I'm ready to just say fuck it. Let's just live, eat, drink, be merry, get sick, die, or get better. I mean, that's what we're doing anyway. School is starting back as normal even though nothing has changed from when it was completely virtual. Restaurants are opening, people are going about their lives and just saying to hell with it. Is that wise? I don't know. But we really don't have much choice.

We have vaccines that are fairly effective, though of questionable long term safety. So people have that option. I'm going back to school in three weeks just as this region is experience its worst outbreak yet. I'm OK with that.

Correction, the new record was hit today with 3,177, and that's just for Tokyo. And they day isn't even over yet!

But, you know, I'm to the point, like a lot of people I think, where I'm ready to just say fuck it. Let's just live, eat, drink, be merry, get sick, die, or get better. I mean, that's what we're doing anyway.

Me too. You'd think the world would have to reach that point in 6 mths time max - which would have been an argument for postponing the games until then.

As you say - the vaccines either work great, so-so, or they don't - but there are no more levers. So get everyone who wants it jabbed - then hang onto your respiratory systems - and hope we get through...

This is wild speculation but here's a hypothetical:

If you were the CCP, have decided that war is inevitable, you know Japan (which used bio-warfare on you in WW2) is a key in any battle, and you see that totalitarianism has a systemic advantage in controlling/exploiting Covid - would you be tempted to unleash a souped-up variant at the Olympics?

It would be impossible to pin on you cause it'd be seen as just the latest variant.

The closing ceremony would be the ideal place to seed it.

What a nightmare scenario. No one would ever suspect. And it would severely cripple Japan.

It looks like we're in for another year of full on covid regardless. So much for the hypothesis that this would be an 18-month long pandemic.

It looks like we're in for another year of full on covid regardless. So much for the hypothesis that this would be an 18-month long pandemic.

Guess that's meant to be for natural pandemics - not super-bug-cooked-up-in-a-lab ones.

Came across the term 'Precision Medicine' doing the genomics stuff. It's about designing drugs catering to a specific individual as opposed to the current kind where it's a designed for the general population.

Like all this stuff (the internet itself) - it opens up wondrous possibilities for good - a bespoke drug/therapy that you know will work for this individual (preferably rich) based on their genes.

Then there's the matter of the dark matter...

It also allows you to design viruses/drugs that you know will be adverse/lethal to an individual - and/or ethnic group.

It also allows you to design viruses/drugs that you know will be adverse/lethal to an individual - and/or ethnic group.

This is so frustrating. I'm sure we watched a movie or TV series a few years ago, I think from the BBC, but it wasn't American... and Robert Carlyle (Full Monty, etc.) was in it... He played an assassin.

Anyway, the premise of the movie/series was that a secretive group had designed a virus that would only kill Arabs.

It was a pretty good movie..or was it a series. Good storylines, characters, quite entertaining. But now I can't find the damn thing. I've looked on Carlyle's list of work on IMDB and can't find it. I'd like to find it because I want to watch it again from a different perspective.

In my search, I came across this movie with Carlyle, 28 Weeks Later, also about a virus. Nope, that's not the one.

The Last Enemy. That's what I saw him in.

If truth is indeed stranger than fiction, which I think it is, then we're fucked.

Funny, you don't hear too much about the Arabs as enemies anymore. US withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan after 20 years - with no discernible accomplishments in terms of 'letting freedom reign' - while continuing to snuggle up to totalitarian regimes like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait.

Here's another quote i thought was interesting but will probably end up on the cutting room floor:

Atlantic Council: For one thing, (Arab states signing peace deals with Israel) facilitates cooperation between two of China’s most important Middle East and North Africa (MENA) partners in its Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative. BGI signed an agreement in 2019 with Abu Dhabi’s Group 42 (G42), a firm that is central to the UAE’s growing AI ambitions. Little noticed at the time, the agreement came into the spotlight in March 2020 when the two companies were used to support the UAE’s COVID-19 response by providing tracking and tracing technology.

I wonder if they can find a 'rebellious gene' - probably exists - that would be something all the world's power elites could unite around.

You could then quietly weed out all those disruptive, dissenting voices with Precision Medicine - for the 'common good'.

BBC Lead Story: Covid-19 pandemic: Japan widens emergency over 'frightening' spike

Japan is extending a state of emergency in Tokyo and expanding it to new regions as the Olympic Games host faces a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Daily cases nationwide topped 10,000 for the first time on Thursday, more than a third of them in the capital.

This is the nightmare scenario of Dan (and most Japanese) - when you need to be on your game defending against Covid - you're holding the Olympic Games.

Interestingly, there's total radio-silence at the BBC about the Covid spike in the UK, where infections are averaging 30k cases per day and 80 deaths - way more than this time last year.

On a different note, watching the 5000 m running heats last night - half the field was collapsing with exhaustion on the finish line - a few didn't make it that far. That Asian humidity in summer is a serious beast. You look at the temp, it's 29-30C, sounds not too bad, but add in that humidity and it becomes dangerously hot.

I read an article today about, which city in Australia? Was it Sidney? Yes, here is is:

A Delta outbreak which began in June has produced nearly 3,000 infections and led to nine deaths.

I had to chuckle because Tokyo is getting over 3,000 cases every day now, and nobody gives a shit for the most part. Life goes on as normal and, oh yeah, they're hosting the Olympics.

These numbers are becoming meaningless. The hospitalization and death counts are very low. We're getting mixed messages. Is the Delta strain more or less deadly? Do the vaccines work or not?

We have over 3,000 cases a day in Tokyo, but life goes on as normal, so how bad can that be? And those are just the tested cases, which means the real numbers in Tokyo are, what, double that? Triple? Quadruple?

And yet, it isn't killing many people. So what's going on?

I read an article today about, which city in Australia? Was it Sidney? Yes, here is is:
We have over 3,000 cases a day in Tokyo, but life goes on as normal, so how bad can that be? And those are just the tested cases, which means the real numbers in Tokyo are, what, double that? Triple? Quadruple?

And yet, it isn't killing many people. So what's going on?

Welcome to the Australian media!

Zero stories about how the Covid catastrophe originated but never miss a chance to whip up people's fears about the latest cases/variants.

Sadly, lockdowns have become hugely popular for politicians so with even one or two cases a whole state will lockdown. Was it Huxley or Orwell who talked about enforcement of totalitarianism, although directed from above - it's driven by the enthusiastic compliance of the mob? That's pretty much the case in Australia. Get your 80% compliance then round-up the rest.

Interestingly, after the air was taken out of the campaign to vilify the 'conspiracy theorists' - the media/experts/politicians/public simply moved onto new targets. If we were expecting: 'Shit, we really fucked up by shouting down those trying to uncover the truth - what the hell's wrong with our society!!!!?' - forget about it - the anger just moved straight onto the next outlet for opprobrium.

Luckily, the new villains include some of the original 'others'. Anyone opposing lockdowns-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, is seen as a 'Covidiot' and a 'super-spreader', while questioning the wisdom of foisting experimental vaccines on humanity will get you labeled as a 'murderer'.

Noticed recently signs that the Delta variant is now being blamed on the vaccine hesitant (i like to call myself vaccine-neutral - not pro or anti - just keen to know the facts). Because they didn't get vaccinated this allowed a new super-variant to 'incubate' and emerge. The beauty of this is that it doubles as convenient 'arse-cover' if vaccines fail to provide lasting protection. And more reason to enforce compliance.

Taiwan has now won ten medals! Including weightlifting, archery, and gymnastics, with another assured in boxing - all those skills could be useful in any combat with China.

Also included this triumph in badminton:

Taiwan News: — Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) gave Taiwan its second gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics by defeating Liu Yuchen (劉雨辰) and Li Junhui (李俊慧) of China in the badminton men’s doubles final Saturday (July 31).

An Olympics medal ceremony would be a great place for a protest. Donning the flag, even just making some gesture that is clearly one of protest. China couldn't do shit to anybody, except the athlete. That athlete would be a hero at home.

Noticed with the golf medal - Pan Cheng-tsung won bronze in an exciting 6-way play-off - as he was celebrating - an official rushed out draped him with some kind of flag - the Chinese-Taipei flag maybe? He shrugged it off.

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