Political games

Here's a link to the piece I did for the Register's Sunday Commentary section on the politics of the Olympics. Quite frankly, even though I wrote that with the kind of security they've got in place any serious disruption seems unlikely, I've been a little surprised that there haven't been more political demonstrations or displays. There were a couple before the games opened -- nothing major -- but nothing I'm aware of since. Of course, insofar as I've stayed in touch -- it was another work-in-the-yard kind of day today -- it's been on the channels broadcasting the Games, not any of the news channels.

It's still worth thinking about the fact that the last two totalitarian regimes to host the Olympics -- Germany in 1936 and the Soviet Union in 1980 -- were gone in about a decade. I think the Chicoms are shrewder, but it's still an interesting thought.