Written by Frank Li
The 2014 Sochi Olympics are over. I enjoyed watching them on TV. How about you?
I am big on the Olympics. The 2008 Beijing Olympics got me into writing on politics (My American Dream Has Come True). Moreover, because I wrote about the 2012 London Olympics twice (Swimming, Olympics, and More, Olympics, Economies, and The Next American President), I feel obligated to write about the 2014 Sochi Olympics once, at least.
I will briefly touch upon five subjects:
Russia
The U.S.
China
Russia, China and the U.S.
U.S. Women figure skating.
1. Russia
Congratulations to Russia for hosting the 2014 Sochi Olympics with great success (Popov expects Olympics to bolster Russia’s Image)!
Congratulations to Team Russia for winning the medal count, in both the gold and total! This is a huge improvement over the 2010 Olympics, as shown by the two charts below!
2014 Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
Russia | 13 | 11 | 9 | 33 |
The U.S. | 9 | 7 | 12 | 28 |
China | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
2010 Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
Russia | 3 | 5 | 7 | 15 |
The U.S. | 9 | 15 | 13 | 37 |
China | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
I have been relatively positive about Russia (e.g. Emerging Economies: An Overview from 30,000 Feet and Mikhail Gorbachev vs. Deng Xiaoping). This new success of Russia is a further proof that Russia is on the way back. Unfortunately, the West’s pre-Olympics treatment of Russia in 2014 was just as bad as that of China in 2008, with doubts (e.g. pollution in 2008 and terrorism in 2014) and politicization (e.g. human rights).
To the dismay of the West, both Russia and China proved them wrong! Not only were they able to pull the games off successfully, they pulled them off beyond all the expectations (Bach hails ‘amazing’ transformation of Sochi)!
2. The U.S.
Congratulations to Team USA for yet another great show!
What was the best part for the U.S.? Ice hockey – the U.S. men beat Russia, although it was in the preliminary. What was the worst part for the U.S.? Ice hockey – the U.S. women lost to Canada in the final minutes …
Yes, I am an avid fan of ice hockey, the real sport (Ice Hockey: Get Rid of the Goalie!)!
3. China
Team China performed poorly, with only nine medals in total. This is even worse than its performance in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when it won 11 medals.
I did see a promising Chinese figure skater this time …
Overall, Team China performs poorly in the winter Olympics when compared with its performances in the summer Olympics. Why is that? The winter games reflect a country’s standards of living more than the summer games, with many exotic and expensive sports for the rich only! Yes, China is still a very poor country, by all standards. While I already predicted that China will surpass the U.S. in the medal count in the summer Olympics by 2030, I will not make that prediction for the winter games before 2030.
4. Russia, China, and the U.S.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony (Xi Jinping in Sochi: Just how close are Russia-China ties?), while President Obama chose to stay home. What a stark contrast!
Is this really such a big deal? Yes, it is. Let me explain …
The U.S. must always understand the “threat” coming from the Russia-China alliance. President Nixon understood it very well (Barack Obama vs. Richard Nixon), while President Obama obviously does not. This is yet another example of The America That Can No Longer Think, Politically!
Russia and China are two great countries in human history (The Greatest Countries in Human History). They both fell victims to communism, and are trying to come back. They need each other to compete against the U.S. Specifically, Russia has what China needs most: natural resources, while China has what Russia needs most: the know-how for modernization from communism. Using the medal count in the Olympics as an analogy … neither China nor Russia can compete against the U.S. in both the summer and winter games. But together, they can, with China covering the summer (Olympics, Economies, and The Next American President) and Russia the winter!
For a profound worldview, read: An Erotic Oil Painting, With A Profound Worldview. It is my most popular publication with more than 10,000 page views already!
To my fellow Americans who are still confused, here is the bottom line: I believe both President Putin and President Xi will prove to be very good for their respective countries, while President Obama will prove, if not already has proven, to be very bad for America! In other words, both China and Russia are getting better, while we, America, are getting worse, as you read this article …
5. U.S. women figure skating
Read: US Olympic Figure Skating 2014: Breaking Down Team USA’s Women’s Team. Here is an excerpt:
The selection didn’t come without controversy. After finishing fourth in nationals, two-time U.S. champion Wagner ended up making the team due to her past successes and the strength of her international resume. This left bronze medalist Mirai Nagasu, who finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, off the team.
Here is a simple question for you: would the replacement of Wagner for Nagasu have happened if Nagasu, a Japanese-American, had been a black? No! Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and even Eric Holder would have jumped up and down, yelling “racism, racism”!
Oh, how did Wagner do in Sochi? She finished 7th in the individual event!
6. Closing
The 2014 Sochi Olympics were a huge success, both for the Olympic movement and for Russia. Congratulations to both of them!
Peace and prosperity, for the entire world!
I look forward to the next Olympics: Rio 2016!
