Monday, April 07, 2008
Olympic torch extinguished during Paris leg - CNN.com
It is somewhat politically correct these days to argue that politics and sports should not mix, thus one should not demonstrate against or boycott the Olympics. On the other hand, if one goes to the root of this argument, it would mean that it was wrong to boycott Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Basically, the argument about not mixing sports and politics does not hold water, particularly when China is turning the event into a self-glorifying Han Chinese event. The reason why every single country on the planet refuses to boycott the Olympics is that China is a tremendously important trading partner, and no one really cares too much about a Han Chinese dictatorship brutally suppressing a mainly Han Chinese population or China's role in Darfur, though we care a little bit about Tibet. If politicians could simply be honest and explain that a boycott of China potentially could have disastrous economic consequences, perhaps people would be less upset. Then again, if everyone tells the same lie at the same time, many people will eventually manage to fool themselves into believing their own folly.
On a related note, congrats to the French public for extinguishing the flame. I can't wait to see what will be the fall out of this event.
It is somewhat politically correct these days to argue that politics and sports should not mix, thus one should not demonstrate against or boycott the Olympics. On the other hand, if one goes to the root of this argument, it would mean that it was wrong to boycott Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Basically, the argument about not mixing sports and politics does not hold water, particularly when China is turning the event into a self-glorifying Han Chinese event. The reason why every single country on the planet refuses to boycott the Olympics is that China is a tremendously important trading partner, and no one really cares too much about a Han Chinese dictatorship brutally suppressing a mainly Han Chinese population or China's role in Darfur, though we care a little bit about Tibet. If politicians could simply be honest and explain that a boycott of China potentially could have disastrous economic consequences, perhaps people would be less upset. Then again, if everyone tells the same lie at the same time, many people will eventually manage to fool themselves into believing their own folly.
On a related note, congrats to the French public for extinguishing the flame. I can't wait to see what will be the fall out of this event.
Norsk Cafe is an interesting small restaurant located nearby Toritsudaigaku Station in Meguro ward, Tokyo. While the name means Norwegian cafe, the food is basically a mix of Western and Japanese food, and I think the Norwegian name was chosen pretty much at random. Anyway, we met some friends there for lunch today, and the food was ok. The furniture inside is all of wood, however, thus I recommend going there just to see the interesting design. Also, we were advised to go back once for dinner as both the food and wine collection apparently is much better than at lunch.
In the evening, we went to Spa Libur in Yokohama, which is a Bali style Japanese onsen (hot spring). There are several floors, and Yuka and I enjoyed some Indonesian food after spending some time in the onsen. The only problem about Spa Libur is that it is kind of out of the way, and I did not like that one has to go to a different floor before entering the hot bath. The changing room is on one floor, and after getting dressed in a Japanese bathrobe, one has to walk up two floors in order to enter the hot spring. Anyway, for us it is more convenient than going to La Qua in Korakuen, though I prefer the latter.
In the evening, we went to Spa Libur in Yokohama, which is a Bali style Japanese onsen (hot spring). There are several floors, and Yuka and I enjoyed some Indonesian food after spending some time in the onsen. The only problem about Spa Libur is that it is kind of out of the way, and I did not like that one has to go to a different floor before entering the hot bath. The changing room is on one floor, and after getting dressed in a Japanese bathrobe, one has to walk up two floors in order to enter the hot spring. Anyway, for us it is more convenient than going to La Qua in Korakuen, though I prefer the latter.
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