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Is anyone watching the Closing Ceremonies? So far, I've seen a quite eclectic selection. I think so far, the highlight has been when Eric Idle, one of the Pythons, came out and sang "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life".

Irwin Cotler Urges IOC, Rogge Provide Minute of Silence at London Closing Ceremony, Honor Israel PetitionBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem, Israel --- August 10, 2012 ... One of Israel's closet friends, Canadian MP Irwin Cotler, a former Justice Minister of Canada has come out swinging at IOC President Jacques Rogge. Rogge has ignored the repeated pleas of the relatives of the murdered Olympians in Munich 1972 Games. In doing so, he has also refused to listen to the voices of over 100,000 people who signed an online petition created by the JCC in Rockland, New York, President Barack Obama,...

Still working hard to avoid mentioning an outrageous Obama super-PAC ad that basically accused Mitt Romney of being responsible for the cancer death of a woman, Thursday's NBC Nightly News had the gall to instead promote pro-Obama fluff, as anchor Brian Williams gushed: "Knowing a hot product when he sees one, the President today visited the U.S. Olympic training facility in Colorado." Williams made sure to inform viewers that Obama "Promptly took his shoes off, got on the mat, and said his grandmother would be proud there were no holes in his socks."

As an American, I am proud of Olympic Gold medalist Claressa Shields' feat in women's boxing at the Olympics -- but as a woman who has suffered traumatic brain injury, I am deeply concerned that her win will encourage other young women to pursue this dangerous, potentially life-altering sport. There is no question that repeated blows to the head cause changes in the brain -- even when the head is protected by gear meant to soften the blows. The NFL has come under fire recently because of the link between football-incurred concussions and greatly increased risk of Alzheimer's and other...

Israeli Olympics Widows To IOC: "Shame On You" - Petition Eyes London Closing CeremonyBy Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem, Israel --- August 6, 2012 ... The terrorism which marked the 1972 Munich Olympics as the "bloody Olympics" still has a grip on the London Olympics today. But rather than witnessing guns, knives and grenades by Palestinian terrorists, we now have a front row view of the IOC being held hostage by Arab political terrorism. Eleven Olympians were murdered in the 1972 Games but one would never know it by attending stadium events in London which are broadcast to billions worldwide....

An estimated two billion people around the world saw Jamaica's Usain Bolt thrash his rivals to win gold in the men's 100m final - but none of them were in the U.S., as NBC declined to broadcast the historic moment live. Bolt sailed through the semi-finals before successfully defending his Olympic title - against a field that included three Americans - at 4.50pm EDT. But, not for the first time this Games, NBC took the controversial decision to hold off broadcasting the hugely popular event until prime time, leaving millions of track and field fans outraged.

New Yorker - Israeli Starts Petition to Encourage IOC to Observe Moment of Silence During Olympic Closing CeremoniesBy Miranda Flint When the International Olympics Community (IOC) refused to honor the victims of the 1972 Munich massacre with a moment of silence, during the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics, many protested against the decision. In Greater New York, JCC Rockland began a petition, hoping to gain enough signatures to convince the IOC to reconsider its decision. Joel Leyden, President of Leyden Digital PR, noticed the petition, but, he told Jewocity, “At first I didn’t think much of it.” There was...

Is it just me? I was watching the Olympics tonight in a restaurant. There was no sound. Gabby Douglas was receiving the Gold medal for her all-around performance in gymnastics. She did wonderful from what I saw. BUT when she received the Gold, she did not put her hand over her heart when they played the National Anthem. She was holding flowers in the middle of her body with her right hand and had her left hand behind her back.. I blew it off, kinda. But hubby saw it too and we both went into shock. I have never seen...

Chaos struck the men's team gymnastics competition in London yesterday when the Japanese team was awarded the silver medal after originally coming in fourth. Here's what went down: Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura stumbled off the pommel horse in the last event of the competition, and the judges gave him a terrible score — leaving Japan in fourth place behind China, Great Britain, and Ukraine. But the Japanese team thought the judges mis-scored Uchimura's routine, so they appealed. And that's when things got interesting. There's a rule in Olympic gymnastics that says teams must pay a fee to make an appeal....

When Michelle Obama jetted off to Britain to instruct the US Olympic Team on what they need to do to come home with the gold, it became apparent that America's first lady had found a way to party hearty, regardless of the pledge to forgo her annual Martha's Vineyard vacation. Call me cynical, but just because Michelle Obama has well-cut biceps from doing 15-lb curls in the White House gym, trounced Ellen DeGeneres in a push-up contest, and kicked Jimmy Fallon's butt in a potato-sack race, that doesn't exactly qualify her to dole out pointers to seasoned Olympic athletes. But,...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...

London 2012 organisers promised an investigation after thousands of empty seats were visible at some of the most popular Olympic venues. Rows of vacant spots were seen at swimming heats, volleyball, gymnastics and dressage events on the opening day of the Games - with “no shows” by Olympic officials, athletes and members of the media blamed. The London 2012 organising committee (Locog) said most of the empty seats were not those sold to members of the public, but had been reserved for members of the “Olympic family.” Sports fans complained in the wake of the great difficulty members of the...

What better way to celebrate a dominant opening to group play at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London than with a hug from the first lady of the United States? After the final buzzer of their 98-71 win over France on Sunday, members of the U.S. men's national basketball team shook hands with their vanquished opposition, gathered at center court for a brief cheer, then walked off the court to a rousing ovation from the fans at the Basketball Arena in London. Before they headed back to the locker room, though, they took a quick left and headed straight for...

LONDON - Britain was forced to bring in military personnel at short notice to provide security for the London Olympics -- and has now done the same to help fill thousands of empty seats at several venues despite the massive public demand for tickets. Many ordinary people who applied for tickets -- in what was essentially a lottery – missed out and there were numerous complaints about the allocation process. But the first day saw rows of empty seats at events including swimming, dressage, tennis, gymnastics and volleyball -- according to reports in The Guardian and Telegraph newspapers -- to...

Olympics: Call For New Rules On Empty Seats The sight of rows of empty seats at some Olympic venues on the first full day of the Games prompts a fierce debate. The head of the British Olympic Association has called for new measures to avoid swathes of empty seats at some of the most popular events during the London Games. Lord Moynihan wants to bring in a 30-minute rule on ticketing so that people who fail to turn up on time lose their seats. "We need every seat filled," he said. "We owe it to the team, we owe it...

The major transitional element of today's London Olympics opening ceremony was a downtempo performance of adoptive sporting anthem "Abide With Me" by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé. The song and accompanying dance were a tribute to the victims of the 7/7 terror attacks in London that claimed 52 victims days after the 2012 Summer Olympic hosts were named. (It's also been suggested the performance was a memorial to the war dead.)

NBC wants viewers to know: The kickoff of the London Olympics was just too complicated to watch live. The network is fighting back against intense criticism of its decision to black out the opening ceremony on Friday, instead offering a taped version hours later in prime time. Viewers reacted with disgust when they tried to watch live coverage of the event on TV or online but could only find a few bootlegging sites carrying the feed in the U.S. "We are live streaming every sporting event, all 32 sports and 302 medals," an NBC spokesman wrote in an email to...

There are a few things presidential candidates shouldn’t do when they travel abroad, 1) Don’t bash the president, 2) don’t apologize for America, and 3) don’t insult the host country. Obama is an American apologist. Romney knows not to do the first two; but did Romney insult the host country? On Wednesday in a NBC interview when he said "“There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials". So which is worse? Obama's apologie's or Romney's insult? My vote is that...

As chief executive of a security firm, Nick Buckles ought to be used to hostile encounters. But the embattled head of G4S looked startled, and at times confused, as he faced questions before Parliament in London on Tuesday morning, in the aftermath of revelations that his company has failed to train sufficient security personnel for the London Olympics. Members of Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee didn’t attempt to bite their tongues. With just 10 days to go before the Olympics, they seemed to channel the embarrassment of millions of Britons and their leaders, who have had to call in 3,500...

A suspected terrorist who MI5 believe is a would-be suicide bomber was found repeatedly near the Olympic Games venue. The alleged al-Qaeda militant was caught crossing through the Olympic Park five times, breaking a ban imposed by the Home Secretary, The Sunday Telegraph has learned. The 24 year-old has previously tried to get to Afghanistan, allegedly for terrorist training, and is suspected of fighting for the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which has been responsible for thousands of deaths, including those of Western aid workers. He is accused of trying to recruit other Britons to its cause. A Home Office...