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How Olympic ideals were corrupted by capitalism
The motto of the games is 'faster, higher, stronger' underpinned by the values of 'excellence, respect and friendship' — but over time, money has eroded all these high-minded concepts, writes STEVEN WALKER
A man walks past the Olympic rings in Tokyo
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
Born on this day in 1931, the heroic revolutionary faces a dangerous new wave of White House aggression. We must treat his birthday as a rallying cry to resist the illegal siege of Cuba, writes ROGER McKENZIE
RAMZY BAROUD decries the rats of Gaza, the rodent and human type. Both abound as profiteering from tragedy reaches obscene levels
AS athletes and spectators prepare for the “festival of sport” in the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics it’s worth reflecting on the way capitalism exploits these international games which were first conceived as an embodiment of fair play.
The history of the games is littered with corruption and bribery by host countries, sex verification scandals, doping by athletes vying for post-Olympic commercial sponsorship deals and the influence of advertisers cashing in on a global television audience.
Craving prestige, governments back bids to host the Olympics spending unsustainable sums of money in the process, building contracts are awarded on the basis of bribery, venues are often left unused afterwards and vast debts left to be paid, in many cases by the poorest host country citizens.
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