France, China, and America

Why can't the Olympics last forever?

France, China, and America are the three essential nations of the global community. The three official languages of this year's Olympics are Chinese, English, and French.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe flew all the way to Hong Kong, but the Chinese gov't. refused his request to attend the Olympic Games, so Mugabe got in his plane and flew all the way back to Zimbabwe.

At the opening ceremony, the Arab and Muslim nations made a pathetic display. Their women were banned or hidden like nuns.

In America, men liked watching women's beach volleyball. But the gay men liked watching men's synchronized diving.

London will host the 2012 Olympics. Chicago is competing for the 2016 spot, and Capetown, South Africa, is aiming for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympics have never been held in Africa, and it's about time.

We saw George Bush and Vladimir Putin sharing the same bleacher seats at the Olympics, while the President of Georgia was planning to move his troops into South Ossetia.

Putin took off immediately for Moscow to stage his vigorous military response to the Georgian move.

President Bush continued to watch the Olympics -- he loves sports after all. Barack Obama was body surfing in Hawaii, and John McCain was uttering bellicose oaths while the Russian tanks invaded Georgian territory.

Obama, emerging from his vacation, advocated restraint.He was thinking along these lines -- We belong to NATO which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Then Obama looked at the map, and realized that Georgia was a very long way from the North Atlantic, and so it is not a direct American concern.

Meanwhile, right wing radio is thundering, calling Obama spineless.

My own opinion is that Obama is right. The principle opponents to Russian expansion are the neighboring countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Ukraine. It is their problem and their fight. The European community, led by French President Sarkozy, are the neighboring allies who can back up the stance of the small "frontline" nations.

And we, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, are the backup to the backup.

Bush and McCain are fools looking for a fight if we were to initiate any kind of military response. We can help, but this is not a situation for American leadership.