No more bleating adverts, tugging at the weakened heartstrings. No more excruciating embarrassment as the gold medallist receives a poxy little Panasonic digital video recorder. No more one-eyed coverage of the one-eyed games.
In the mad rush for glory and medals, the bigger (less palatable picture) has been ignored. China's civil rights record has been swept underneath the Olympic carpet and the plight of the people of Tibet has been forgotten. The ham-fisted urgings of Apple inc. to get all the athletes to wear their i-pods as a symbol of solidarity at the closing ceremony almost beggared belief! There have been no protests from the athletes, no resistance from the media pack and with the bizarrely honourable exception of Prince Charles (who stayed away in protest) no political challenge to the Chinese position at all.
Yes, the Olympics have been a treat (they always are) and yes the Chinese have 'opened up' a little to the prying eyes of the west and I'm not sure that that is completely a good thing anyway. But now that the final fanfare has been played, the final anthem been sung and the final medals have been won. It is time for a little silent reflection for those whose battle for a peaceful victory still rages on.
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