Pwned by the Podium

The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries

-International Olympic Committee

I don't like it one bit, it makes me feel somehow, I dunno ... unclean. Just as the Macbeths needed more than water to remove the blood from their hands, Monday's shower couldn't remove the stink from my hangover. The blood was symbolic of the stain left on the conscience of those royal usurpers by unchecked ambition while the stench of nationalism hangs in the air thanks to an all-out pursuit of medals and glory. I admit it, I'm proud that Canada won the most gold medals at this year's Winter Olympics; so why does it make me want to puke? Easy, as most foreign journalists have observed over the past couple of weeks it's just not Canadian, this kind of jingoistic flag-waving belongs to our neighbours to the south.

"Own the Podium". The program sponsored by the Canadian federal government at a cost of C$117 million is what got under the skin of most people. Seems that us canucks were fed up with coming in fourth place and seeing that as host nation, this would be Canada's chance to shine in the world's spotlight, funding was directed towards those events where we deemed our chances of winning to be greatest. Based on the results from the two previous times Canada hosted the Olympics, perhaps you can't really blame the Canadian Olympic organizers for wanting to improve on their past performance. You see, Canada failed to win a single gold in either Montreal in 1976 or Calgary in 1988, the only host nation in history who can claim such a dubious record. OK, Montreal was the summer Olympics, but Calgary? We couldn't even muster a gold in the winter games!

So, this time it would be different. Thanks to a $66 million infusion from the country's taxpayers, along with $51 million in sponsorship funds, the program offered Canadians who took home gold $20,000 apiece in a stated goal to take the overall medals title. While we may not have reached it, you can't argue with the result that was achieved as Canadians took home the most golds, 14. But hold on, it seems there is no agreed upon way of measuring who 'owned' the podium. Europeans generally tend to rank the countries by total golds won, while ironically North Americans usually rank by total medals. Both methods have their inherent weaknesses. Is a bronze really as valuable as a gold? Conversely, if a team wins only one gold while another country garners, say nine, but all of them silver and bronze, can you say the gold winners had a better Olympics? Such was the case in Turin in 2006 as the Japanese with a solitary medal, golden, were ranked ahead of the Fins with six silvers and three bronzes according to some tables.

But here's the rub: should it even matter? After all, the trappings of podiums and flag-raisings were not even part of the rebirth of the Olympics in the modern era. 1956 and Soviet domination brought it about as rivaling ideologies jockeyed for superiority any way they could. Those Italian Winter Games saw the Soviets come out ahead with seven gold and a total of 16 medals, but it wasn't until the Melbourne Summer Games that the world noticed politics taking over the event. The Hungarian Uprising and the Suez War combined to see multiple nations pull out of the games: Lichtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden boycotted due to the Soviet presence while Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon did likewise in response to the Israeli invasion of Egypt. The age of political boycotts was initiated, up to then no one had made such a political statement, not even of the Nazi games of 1936. Of course the fall of the Berlin Wall has brought with it the end of the age of politics, ushering in the age of economics which coincidentally hasn't seen a single boycott in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Sadly, 'Own the Podium' didn't begin and end with solely helping Canadians; it also hindered everyone else as non-Canadian athletes found their access to practice sites was strictly limited. It started last winter when speedskaters from several countries were denied access to the Richmond Olympic Oval. The benefits of familiarity vary by sport. It may be irrelevant for some sports, after all, an oval is an oval, but it is particularly important on one-of-a-kind new sites like the alpine skiing runs or the track for luge, bobsled and skeleton. At the Whistler downhill course, unfamiliar to most of the world’s best skiers, several medal contenders were left watching over a fence as the Canadian team trained. Meanwhile a gentlemen's agreement between the luge teams of the United States and Canada was ignored, cutting practice runs. Canadian athletes had hundreds of trips down what is widely considered the world’s most treacherous course while foreign athletes had a few dozen. Some have gone so far as to say that lack of access to the luge run was a factor in the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.

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But really, who won? Just as in Beijing, where the Chinese led in golds while the US led in total medals, the US repeated the overall medal victory while again losing in gold, this time to Canada in Vancouver. So depending on your view, optimists may see it as two winners, while pessimists may see none. It's all academic anyway as even winning 'only' nine golds in Vancouver, the Norwegians continued there medal per capita dominance at the Winter Olympics. In fact the nation of 4.7 million has won more medals than any other country at the Quadrennial Cold Weather Athletic Competition (thanks Stephen Colbert). Norway has 290 total medals to the USA's measly 237, with Canada lagging well back in 7th with 127. Well, at least the success of "Own the Podium" allowed the canucks to move past the Swedes who are now back in 8th and in fact if measured by gold, Canada is now tied with Finland for 6th with 42.

Yes, the maple leaf was in your face at these games, but that's the idea for the home team isn't it? To show the rest of the world you kick ass, like they did in Sydney and more recently at the Beijing coming out party for the aspiring G2 superpower. Every country that is awarded the Olympics immediately prioritizes the winning of more medals than ever to inflate its national ego and help justify the enormous expenditure and effort. China was guilty two years ago of favouring the home team and don't forget their Project 119, named for the number of additional gold medals it might contend for by focusing on medal intensive sports. Yes, I guess what's ok in China is ok in Canada. And don't forget Salt Lake City in 2002 which saw a nation desperate to prove to the world that it was still the world's superpower and therefore needn't fear anyone. What's a few maple leafs jerseys when the stars and stripes were just as ubiquitous eight years ago? Oh yeah, that was the fringe benefit to these Olympics for the host nation's government, it distracted the people's attention from that little political fiasco that saw democracy shut down for over three months in the true north strong and free. Canada's national fascist rag admitted as much and even claimed the strategy a success. Yeah, that's right, it's ok to torture, or it least be complicit to torture, like the Americans too.

So, unfortunately for Canada, it seems it's alright that they have a leader determined to turn their once distinct nation into a watered-down version of their southern neighbour so long as he's a hockey fan. Somehow Harper has missed who's winning the global race these days, but he better wake up quick as the thin-skinned response of the Canadian media to comparisons between 1936 Berlin and 2010 Vancouver won't be in evidence at the site of the next winter Olympics, Socchi, Russia in 2014. I'm sure they'll choose more dramatic nationalistic maneuvers, anyone remember the Arctic? Medvedev has already demanded officials responsible for Russia's abysmal medal performance step down so we know that one of the stories of 2014 will again be the home nation's drive to top the podium. As China has raced to lock up resources around the world to feed their growing economy, Canada (and the US, Denmark and Norway) better watch the Russians close. After all, they did take advantage of the distraction that the opening ceremonies in Beijing afforded them in 2008 as the Georgian conflict kicked off. Guess we'll have to wait and see what they have in store for the world.

And then there's hockey. Without the gold medal victory Sunday night against the American squad, the Canadian Olympics would've been deemed a bust by most no matter the other results. Again, I must admit that my nationalism gene was activated as I walked into my local bar here in Poznan and in my Polish-English garble inquired whether the game would be on TV there. After a moment of confusion the owner/bartender broke into a smile and said "Oh, your friends!" And so it was, as my Canadian brethren took the ice, I was settled in comfortably on a bar stool, beer in hand enjoying 'The Game' on the other side of the world. The win wrapped up Canada's 14th gold from 17 days of competition, moving them past the Norwegian team's 2002 performance for most ever. The glow of victory remained Monday as everyone seemed to have seen the game as well and made sure to tell me what a good game we played, on the street or in school. But when the hangover finally cleared on Tuesday, this dirty feeling crept back, nagging me, demanding to know: what comes next for Canada?

The first week of the Vancouver Olympics threatened to turn the games into the worst ever, but by the end of day 17, the city and Canadians had managed to turn this perception on its head. The city seems to have come out a big winner, but I fear it'll turn into a loss for the country. Politically rudderless, a wasteland with no credible opposition and a megalomaniacal leader intent on burning the Reichstag; economically dependent on her sickly neighbour to the south and the biggest environmental disaster in the world (which coincidentally just welcomed billions in investment from, you guessed it, China); and morally corrupt, where the Olympics sponsors can snow the public with a green campaign while being the dirtiest corporations on the planet (and no, I won't go into the irony of trucking in snow to a Winter Olympic site bereft of snow thanks to trucking). My hangover has passed, the world seems less foggy. Now that the Olympics are over, Canada gets to have a functioning government once again. I think I can deal with the new Canadian attitude so long as the energy from Own the Podium gets turned into Own Your Government.

What countries DO I like?

Awhile back I wrote a post about the best country to live in. I danced around the question, came up with subjective and objective measurements and in the end decided to go on vacation. Then the other day I was asked by someone who had enough of my US (and Canada) bashing and asked me what country I admire and why. Pause. Hmmm. Well, it's hard to give an answer...you see, um, there's lots of countries, uh, good and bad...so, well, er... So, without further ado, here's tonight's top ten list of countries I admire.

#10. Spain - Easy choice. They've done a little of everything in the past. From repressors to repressed, conquerors to conquered and all points in between. You gotta love the country responsible for financing Columbus' voyages to America, even if he didn't discover anything. Dominated by the muslims for 700 years, the reconquista, empire, Spanish Armada, Napoleon took his shots too. Don't forget the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing nearly 50 years of fascism under Franco. Now, we see the past and present being blended in a way unimaginable in the past, with South Americans flooding back in reverse colonialism.

#9. Denmark - Can't say too much about the place, only visited for a couple of weeks, and it was COLD, around Christmas time. It did come out as number one on the world map of happiness and Copenhagen is a beautful city, plus, good or bad, everyone speaks English. They've given us Hans Christian Anderson and Kierkegaard along with Kronborg Castle, dramatized as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark": Not anymore, with universal health care, low poverty and crime rates. They're also the world's largest producer of power-generating windmills.

#8. Poland - Gotta have them on my list, I do live here you know. Lovely cities such as Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdansk. Home of Solidarity and the prettiest girls on Earth. For centuries they've been the buffer between powers and at one time we're the largest country in Europe. They were wiped off the map for 123 years only to come back for the interwar period only to be dominated once again, this time by communism. They've shrugged off the bleak, grey image of those years and are working hard to get onto the world stage.

#7. Chile - First, take a look at the world map, Chile looks pretty cool down the Pacific coast all the way at the bottom, even has claim on some of Antartica. It'll be home to the world's early warning meteor device if Bill Gates has anything to say about it. They make some tasty wine. They've managed to move forward despite Pinochet, the CIA and Milton Friedman's 'economic miracle', building a fine democracy and even managed to sneak into the top 20 on the global peace index. This 'pais de poetas' has also produced Pablo Neruda and Gabriala Mistral.
Chile ranks high regionally in freedom of the press, human development and democratic development. It holds the status as the region's richest country in terms of gross domestic product per capita.

#6. Canada - The Great White North has only been around for 141 years but they've given us more than maple syrop and me. Somehow managed to carve out a seperate identity from their southern neighbour (by keeping some Britishness like the 'our' ending to words like neighbour and we've still got the Queen). Could also be the sense of humour, you need it when its so cold. Good standard of living, universal'ish' health care (the slow move towards privatization) and Pamela Anderson.

#5. Norway - Probably should rank higher, they seem to have it all. Natural resources, which they use responsibly, saving for the future have created one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. In 2007 they were at the top of the global peace index, 3rd for 2008. High taxes, but look at the quality of life.

#4. USA - Rock and roll, Hollywood, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Levi's, Microsoft and Google. You might think I'm trying to say something about evil corporations but I'm not! Really, where would we be without all these things? Hypocritical, maybe, but I eat Big Macs and drink Coke while railing against American hegemony because I can, which is partially due to the freedom I enjoy thanks to the USA.

#3. Czech Republic - It appears on many of the lists here as a country with high literacy rates and as one of the most secular countries, coincidence, hmmm. Great beers, great writers and great film directors. Again, coincidence? Kundera, Hrabel, are just so Czech, there must be something great about the culture.

#2. Iceland - One word, Bjork! Really, that girl is wacky. The entire nation in powered by geothermal energy, now that's thinking out of the box. They are the happiest people in the world too according to some surveys. Why? Again, the Scandinavian socialist system just seems to work despite those evil high taxes taking away everyones motivation to work (wink, wink, nudge). They replaced Norway at #1 in the global peace index for 2008.

Before you look down at number one, I'd like you to take a second a go back over the previous nine. Some pretty good arguments, but I'm sure you can think of a couple countries that are missing and why. So, after reading number one, be sure to click on the comment tab below and tell me what country or countries are missing and why, heck, give me your own top ten if you'd like. Now, without further ado...

#1. Mauritius - It has no standing army and was the only natural habitat of the dodo bird. Period.

Now, post your comments, tell me what countries you respect, admire or love and why, go on.

The Great White North

In case you missed it, there's a Canadian election around the corner. I know, it's easy to miss with the one happening down south, but Stephen Harper is doing his best to be seen, in the Great White North. The Canadian Prime Minister is in the middle of a trip to make sure the world (read Russia) hears about the new extension of Canada's jurisdiction over icy Arctic waters to 200 nautical miles off its coast. Territorial waters are usually defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea as a belt of coastal waters extending at MOST twelve nautical miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. At the same time as battling the Ruskies to the north he's fighting a legal battle against charges he's an authoritarian ruler at home.

The election call may come September 5th. Also known as the writ period, once the election is called it can take place anywhere from 36 days to infinity later. That's right, there's no maximum limit to the number of days from the call to the handing in of the writs (vote results), by the electoral officers in each district (currently 301 across Canada). The Prime Minister can ask the Governor General, the Queen's rep, for an election anytime he chooses. Just as Harper didn't go to the opening ceremony for the Olympics, the GG isn't going to be in Beijing for the para-lympics opener on September 6th, making him available for a visit. We don't have this whole complicated set date thing like in the US. Harper had been pushing a bill to fix the election for October of '09, but with the world's economy going in the tank, getting out sooner is better. This is a hidden danger for the Democrats and Liberals if elected, they could get holding the bill when the debts need to be paid.

Harper's Arctic adventure is all about Russia. The Russian's were down there (up there, but underwater) with a sub awhile back and have been busy re-asserting their geo-political power elsewhere in the world. Part of that aforementioned UN Convention on the Sea gives Canada, Russia, the US, Denmark, and Norway ten years to submit their map of the Arctic sea bed after ratifying. The economic rights of countries on the Arctic Ocean extend 320 kilometers from their shores. They can base claims on the reach of their continental shelf, creating the potential for overlapping stakes. The Canadians ratified in 2003 and are currently cooperating with the Danes in mapping, though we've disagreed about much of the Arctic in the past. Their technique? Setting explosives off Elsemere Island to seismically map the ground under the Lincoln Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. While the Americans haven't ratified the treaty yet (surprise!) they've been busy mapping the Chukchi Cap and elsewhere. Only a year ago the US was most concerned with the Canadians' inability to do the work, not about the Russians even as they planted that flag.

In order to change that perception, Harper's government has been trying to convey a new, tougher image. Since coming into office, Harper has visited the north seven times. This time while trying to talk about environmental concern, he said "Whether it is the thawing of the Northwest Passage or the suspected resource riches under the Arctic seabed, more and more countries are taking an interest in the waterways of the Canadian Arctic." Of late, Canada has: bought eight arctic patrol ships, decided to fast-track native land claims, announced a series of scientific and infrastructure projects such as building a scientific research base in Churchill and upgrading it's rail line and port, announced plans to develop a new deep water port at Nanisivik, on Baffin Island and a northern army training base at Resolute, and most recently launched a search for a lost ship?!

The tired sounding irony is that the rush for perhaps 25% of the Earth's resources is being precipitated by the melting of the north, and the opening of the Northwest Passage that sailing ships sought 500 years ago, so we can burn more oil to finish the job quicker. Earlier this year in May, the leaders of the five competing nations met on Greenland to discuss the looming problem of who gets what. There are many issues, such as the application Russia submitted to the UN for the right to own the 1.2 million square kilometres along the Lomonosov underwater mountain chain the same one which Denmark thinks is a continuation of Denmark, while Iceland whose not even part of the group, also claims it. The US Geological Service (USGS) thinks Greenland may have the largest crude and natural gas reserves in the Arctic region. Crude reserves in the north-eastern part of the island exceed 30 billion barrels. Yet, after the conference the countries said they did not see a need in elaborating the new international regime to administer the Arctic Ocean and the Russian representative Sergei Lavrov, was even more specific in his statements: “We do not share uneasy forecasts pertaining to the future clash of interests of Arctic and even non-Arctic states under global warming conditions, which lighten the access to natural resources and transport routes."

Even during the Georgian conflict Pravda was declaring "Arctic region likely to become the center of World War III". Sounds even more important that an election, Canadian at least. The image of a strong leader claiming and exerting strength buys votes in the sticks. Oh yeah, while this is all going on, Harper is fighting a legal battle over a Liberal expert claim that he is an authoritarian ruler. It's all part of a defamation suit against the party in which he is hoping to claim $3.5 million (Canadian I assume). The two North American claimants don't have a common front, they have disputing claims. One voice best be found as events in the North are already being compared to Georgia, and once again, the Russians seem to have the edge so far.

Guide to numbers for last picture:
1) North Pole: Russia leaves its flag on the seabed, 4,000m (13,100ft) beneath the surface, as part of its claims for oil and gas reserves
2) Lomonosov Ridge: Russia argues that this underwater feature is an extension of its continental territory and is looking for evidence
3) 200-nautical mile (370km) line: Shows how far countries' agreed economic area extends beyond their coastline. Often set from outlying islands
4) Russian-claimed territory: The bid to claim a vast area is being closely watched by other countries. Some could follow suit