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I was watching the opening ceremony on TV, and by the time it reached the end, I was so fed up with the constant every-5-minutes commercial breaks that I wondered if I was just watching one big commercial, with the Olympics shoved in here and there.
Then I realized that I was right - the main purpose of the Olympics these days is NOT to showcase the cream of the crop in human competition, but to attract sponsors and advertisers with lots of money to spend. It is in the interest of the host country, and the cable channels to whore out everything they have, to maximize profits, Olympic tradition or not (especially the biggest whore of all, NBC, who has exclusive license to skip over all the really interesting bits, and air the ever-annoying commentary of Katie Couric and Bob Costas).
This is no surprize - its all about money, and when lots and lots of money is involved, people will gladly and selflessly sacrifice some liberties (namely, yours - not theirs) in order to beef up their bottom line. I'm not saying its wrong - this is the way business works - but I don't exactly feel joy getting screwed out of the REAL Olympics...
Maybe in a few decades, we won't be seeing teams like Portugal vs. Italy anymore, but rather ADIDAS vs. Sony. All about profit...
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You do not use a Macintosh, instead you use a Tandy
Kompressor break your glowstick, Kompressor eat your candy
Kompressor open jaws, Kompressor release ants
Kompressor watch you scream, Because Kompressor does not dance
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