Free Republic

Opening Ceremony now underway in Pyeonchang. Beginning of XXIII Winter Olympic Games.y

NBC is interrupting the coverage of the opening ceremonies ever few minutes for at least three minutes of really BAD advertisements. But then the opening ceremonies are pretty bad themselves. . . among the worst of the modern era. How many of our Fellow Freepers are finding this as off-putting as I am? Then the Brazilians used it for a huge propaganda push for the dire consequences of Global Warming, not even "Climate Change!" Good Grief. . . Comments?

The emergence of Twitter as a social media goliath has unleashed gossip and speculation as a media force. The long term consequences are unknowable, but in the meantime, with a far left president with a dicey past, it is producing some highly amusing results. Last night, President Obama explained to Bob Costas of NBC Sports why he wasn’t attending the Sochi Olympics, but the substance of what he had to say was lost in the controversy that erupted on Twitter over whether or not he was stoned. Yahoo writer Mike Oz took the high road, as would nearly any journalist,...

Hey, the president’s an athlete too. He’s golfed with Tiger Woods, is an avid skeet shooter and knows a thing or 22 about shooting free throws. Tonight, though, in an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, President Obama looked like he just wanted to go to sleep....

President Barack Obama said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a "tough guy" schtick he uses to appeal to his native countrymen while on the world's stage.

I just watched President Obama's taped interview with Bob Costas on NBC. He looked stoned. I'm not the only one who has that impression after seeing his droopy eyelids, bloodshot eyes and droopy mouth. Twitter lit up with comments about Obama's stoned appearance.

President Obama says part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "shtick" is to look like the tough guy in Russia. "I think that’s where some of these perceptions come up," Mr. Obama said. "My sense is that’s part of his shtick back home politically as wanting to look like the tough guy. U.S. politicians have a different style. We tend to smile once in a while. ..." ...""There is no doubt we wanted to make it very clear that we do not abide by discrimination in anything, including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,..."

**SNIP** The Salt Lake Games were held less than five months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Bush prefaced his declaration with a few non-scripted patriotic words: "On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation, I declare open the games of Salt Lake City, celebrating the Winter Games." Said Bach: "All the other heads of state respected the charter and I'm absolutely sure the charter will be respected tonight." Putin stayed true to the text, saying in Russian: "I declare open the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in Sochi."

Earlier today, Garry Kasparov accused NBC Sports of pushing Putin propaganda. This latest downplay of decades of communism probably won’t make Kasparov change his mind about the network that’s airing the Sochi Olympics. Many viewers of the opening ceremony couldn’t believe their ears when the narrator referred to decades of Soviet-era communism as a “pivotal experiment”:

Live Discussion of the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Olympics

The 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, officially kicked off Friday with a massive ceremony celebrating the host country’s storied history. From Peter the Great to “Swan Lake,” many of Russia’s finest figures and achievements were given a chance in the spotlight. But the Russians also paid tribute to the country’s reigning political doctrine of the 20th century: communism.

(Update: Obama Applauds!) This photo came across Twitter today, thanks to Jonah Goldberg. It’s from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia. (snip) Rachel Bachman ✔ @Bachscore Follow Russia in the house. #Sochi 1:02 PM - 7 Feb 2014 Update: And more. Look who’s applauding. John Ekdahl @JohnEkdahl Follow 1:28 PM - 7 Feb 2014

Locals who have had a sneak peek at the Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony claim there is a separate section to celebrate Russia's industrial revolution during Joseph Stalin's era, which cost millions of lives. Although the exact details of the ceremony have been kept under wraps, some likely features are emerging, and it appears Russia will ape the homage to industrial history which underpinned the opening of London 2012. The opening ceremony is being orchestrated by Russia's high-profile director at the country's Channel One Konstantin Ernst and millions of dollars are being splurged on the event. However, despite the glamour...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...

The major transitional element of today's London Olympics opening ceremony was a downtempo performance of adoptive sporting anthem "Abide With Me" by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé. The song and accompanying dance were a tribute to the victims of the 7/7 terror attacks in London that claimed 52 victims days after the 2012 Summer Olympic hosts were named. (It's also been suggested the performance was a memorial to the war dead.)

NBC wants viewers to know: The kickoff of the London Olympics was just too complicated to watch live. The network is fighting back against intense criticism of its decision to black out the opening ceremony on Friday, instead offering a taped version hours later in prime time. Viewers reacted with disgust when they tried to watch live coverage of the event on TV or online but could only find a few bootlegging sites carrying the feed in the U.S. "We are live streaming every sporting event, all 32 sports and 302 medals," an NBC spokesman wrote in an email to...

Watching the start of the Olympics in London......Anyone else?

Opening ceremony held for gold mine By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS

Beijing Olympics: 'Ethnic' children exposed as fakes in opening ceremony Another section of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony has been exposed as faked - the children supposedly representing the country's 56 ethnic groups were in fact all from the same one, the majority Han Chinese race. By Richard Spencer in Beijing Last Updated: 7:27AM BST 15 Aug 2008 The children accompanied the soldiers carrying in the national flag at the most solemn moment of the ceremony. They were dressed in costumes associated with the country's ethnic minorities, including those from troubled areas such as Tibet and the muslim province of...

China bans child singer with crooked teeth from singing at opening ceremony Jane Macartney and Ashling O'Connor in Beijing The cute little girl whose sweet-voiced rendition of one of China’s favourite revolutionary anthems started off the Olympic opening ceremony performance may not have been all that she seemed. Little Lin Miaoke, it has been revealed, was only lip-synching. Officials have now admitted that the voice that rang out through the vast Bird’s Nest stadium was really that of seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, who may have had the voice of an angel but whose crooked teeth made her unsuitable for the opening...