tibet

Weird experience:

Watching the film Chicago 10, in which the power of the police state in 1968 is all too apparent and the courage (and some stupidity, but they're young, hey) of the Mobe folks and the Yippies is also apparent ...

AND in the same evening

... reading this article in the NY Times about WIMP-ASS athletes who don't want to protest China's support of the government in Darfur. (To be fair, the articles also concerns athletes who HAVE courage — they're the ones who support Team Darfur.)

Here's a quote from the article, featuring one of the athletes: “'There’s a time and place for the issues and causes,' he said. 'The Olympic Games and politics don’t go together well.'"

That's Gary Hall Jr. of the United States (you know, bastion of democracy, etc. etc. etc.), a 10-medal winner in swimming.

(The photo, of course, is of Tommy Smith [gold] and John Carlos [bronze], who in 1968 raised their fists in the Black Power salute at the Mexico City Games. After this, they were banned from Olympic Village. Their families received death threats. Now they're honored for their courage and willingness to speak out. But lord knows there's no place for politics at the Olympics or anything.)

On the other hand (and from another country, which could shame Mr. Gary Medal Winner Hall), here's Emanuel Neto, a hopeful for the Angolan national basketball team: "'I’ve seen what those kids are going through and it’s really, really bad,' said Mr. Neto, 23, a senior at Stony Brook University and a member of Team Darfur. 'It doesn’t matter at this point what will happen to me. What matters to me the most is that something has to be done.'”

All this (there's a lot more), and these athletes aren't even mentioning Tibet, which is preeeeettty likely to come up soon with a fair number of athletes.

I will say one thing — and probably one thing only, this one time — in Nike's favor: Good for them for this: "A Nike spokesman said that the company does not limit or censor athletes’ comments. 'Over the years, Nike athletes have spoken their mind on issues, and we support our athletes’ right to do so,' KeJuan Wilkins, a Nike spokesman, said in a statement." Nice.

If the pictures in this week's cover story weren't enough, check out this video of one of the Salween rafters going through what they called "Landslide Rapid" on the first descent of the river.