this is the face of the Olympics. The ‘Brazilian Bottom’. Ok, for those really up to speed on bikini styles, its actually the Brazilian Bottoms, referring of course the (very) briefs and not what is contained therein. Generally, if swimwear is more swim-not-wearing, then its Brazilian in title if not origin. Brazilian used to be used to refer just to footballers and waxing, now it has many flavours.

The actual ‘face’ of the Olympics is that of Gisele, the apparent embodiment of the Girl from Ipanema. And that’s for the opening ceremony. Which is not so much a ‘ceremony’ these days as as a show. A very flamboyant and expansive show. And apparently the Brazilian take on this will involve a lot of beautiful girls and a lot of Brazilian Bottoms. They’re opting for a kind of soft-core porn approach. Which is the right spirit for the occasion. They want it to be fun. Even without the Russians. However hard that sounds.

And yet, after final consideration by the International Olympic Committee yesterday, giving the matter due consideration (receiving bribes), taking account of options (death threats to their families from the KGB) and using the even and fair hand of justice (capitulating, caving in, wimping out and acting like a bunch of tossers), they have given the Russians something of a reprieve. In fact they’ve let Russia off completely and changed the entire nature of the ‘punishment’ (what there is of it) to not fit the crime.

The whole point was that the drugging of Russian athletes was institutionalised and actually run as a state-organised program, like other countries have ‘feed the poor’ programs, Russia has ‘drug the athletes’ ones. In all likelihood the athletes themselves were at best ‘encouraged’ to take performance enhancing drugs. At worst they were simply told to take them or spend the rest of your career in Siberia. The state provided the drugs, it made/forced/encouraged the taking of them, it sorted out those pesky urine samples. This was never about individual athletes, cheats though they may be. It was about Russia. Who institutionalised that cheating, set up a separate polit-bureau for it, probably have a few ministers for drug-taking.

The IOC in their (fear? complicity?? wankiness???) ‘decision’ has implicitly exonerated Russia from all responsibility for this crime. They’ve made it about the athletes, the ones who are drug abusers, not about the country, for making it happen. Possibly forcing it to happen.

Of course I feel for the few honest, exceptionally hard-working Russian athletes who’ve given their lives to their sport just for the opportunity to represent their (rotten, foul, corrupt) country at the Olympics. Its every athlete’s dream. Yet it was Russia who committed the crime and the entire nation should have been banned.

The IOC is the new FIFA. Tossers.

Happy Monday

A xxxx