The 2018 Winter Para-Olympics: Closing Ceremony Pt. 5.

A continuation of Part 4; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/the-2018-winter-para-olympics-closing_22.html

Balhae School:

The second phase of this high culture sequence centred around classical music and classical opera.

The ballerina gave way to South Korean pianist Kim Ye-ji.

Kim Ye-ji is visually impaired. As she is everywhere she was accompanied on stage by her guide dog.

This created a scene reminiscent of  the Vienna Chamber Orchestra's June 2017 performance at the IKSEV festival in Epheus, Turkey.

A stray Labrador dog wandered onto the stage. Then just sat down in the middle of the stage, enjoying the performance while staring out across the audience.

The video of this became a massive viral Internet hit. The Para-Olympics wish it could produce viral hits like this. If only people were watching.

Although I think I should point out that no-one was that interested in the IKSEV festival. Until the stray dog turned up.

The success of the orchestra dog is another example of those things that are common to all. Wherever you go in the World people keep dogs as pets and much like elementary school aged children and find them adorable.

For many dog owners is hard to reconcile the fact that South Koreans keep dogs as pets with the fact they also farm them for food.

At the Olympic games US Skier Gus Kenworthy decided to make a big deal out of this. He frequently took to social media to condemn the South Koreans for eating dogs. He ended up buying some 90 dogs from a farm and taking them home with him to the US.

The US airline United then got involved.

On March 14th (14/3/18) America as a nation was appalled by the news that a French Bulldog had died after being placed in an overhead locker. The jokes about Koreans referring to that as a packed lunch were too obvious to resist.

This was followed up on March 15th (15/3/18) with the news that United had 'accidentially' shipped a Kansas bound German Shepherd to Japan. Again the jokes about the US' inability to tell the difference between Japan and the RoK really messing up someone's lunch order were too obvious to resist.

In a post games development in the story the boss of United has apologised on behalf of former US President Obama. For attempting to impose definite solutions onto existential questions.

Kim Ye-ji was joined by the countertenor Lee Hee-sang.

As he sang Lee Hee-sang was wearing a tunic very reminiscent of the tunic famously worn by Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong.

The death of Chairman Mao triggered a particular period of chaos within China. His style of one man rule left no clear plan of succession. In the absence of democratic elections Mao's death triggered a lot of destructive infighting within the Chinese Communist Party.

In response the Chinese Communist Party introduced a limit of two, ten year terms for its leaders. It also moved away from one man rule into government by committee. This created a clear line of succession.

The current Chinese Premier Xi Jinping has just scrapped all that. He has done away with term limits and the current Communist Party committee contains no obvious rivals or successors to him.

Lee Hee-sang's tunic was adorned with an open Lotus flower. A symbol of enlightenment in particularly Buddhism. In a sequence that invoked the issue of gender fluidity Lee Hee-sang also seemed a little feminine.

So the South Koreans seemed to be openly questioning Premier Xi's manhood. And urging him to choose the path of enlightenment.

The song Kim Ye-ji and Lee Hee-sang performed was entitled; "You Are The Flower." The dance performed by the ballerina was supposed represent the blossoming of a flower.

The sequence climaxed with the ballerina returning to emerge from a recessed portion of the stage's main platform. She was wearing a massive white dress.

This symbolised the Buddhist journey to enlightenment as shown through the Lotus flower emerging from the dark ignorance of its underwater roots to its bright full bloom.

This occurred at the centre of a stage resembling the internationally recognised symbol for Chemical Weapons agents. Which moments before had been overlaid by the internationally recognised symbol of MI6 assassins.

This gesture seemed to express confidence that the Chinese-led Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will fully enlighten us about the Skripal case.

Video Highlights:

The ceremony then cut to a video presentation showing the highlights of the games.

This began at the beginning. With a shot of the single, below the elbow amputee striking a Pungmul-buk drum at the start of the Opening Ceremony. It also included other sequences from the Opening Ceremony.

It then included a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the Alpenisa Ski Jumping Centre. However if unlike me you didn't freeze-frame this multiple times you could easily mistake the structure for a Ski-Lift.

The 2018 Winter Games of course pick up the baton from the 2014 Winter Games. Held in Sochi Russia.

The 2018 games also mark the Winter Para-Olympic debut of Georgia.

When it comes to Russia and the Olympics Georgia has a difficult history.

During the 2008 Summer Games held in Beijing, China the Georgia of then President Mikhail Saakashvili launched an attack on its neighbour Russia. The infamous Eight Days of War.

In doing this Saakashvili thought the NATO nations would leap to his aid and join a war that would eventually lead to the conquering of Russia.

The actual outcome was that Georgia became almost completely isolated within the international community. Any talk of them joining NATO or the EU ended there and then.

At the 2010 Winter Games held in Vancouver, Canada killed its Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Primarily as a way to garner sympathy for Georgia in protest at its international isolation.

In March 2010 still President Saakashvili entirely faked a Russian land invasion of Georgia. This was done to give Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM) party an advantage in an upcoming election.

That stunt has got to feature in any discussion about Fake News. Particularly the current ones about fake accusations of Russian interference by those trying to rig elections. It has certainly featured in discussions about the 2018 Cauldron.

Georgia's international isolation really peaked in 2012. Since then they've slowly been returning to the mainstream. Not least because Saakashvili was placed under investigation for corruption and banned from contesting the 2013 election.

In 2014 the US overthrew the Ukrainian government. During the Russian hosted games. Amongst other things this led to Saakashvili escaping justice in Georgia. By becoming Governor of Ukraine's Odessa Province.

During the 2018 games Ukraine has been making a point acknowledging the truth of the events of 2014.

This has included former hero of the 'revolution' Nadiya Savchenko admitting the US directed the shooting of people in Maidan Square. It has also seen Saakashvili expelled from Ukraine and barred from re-entering the country at least until 2021.

In the gap between the Olympics and the Para-Olympics the UK poisoned Russian MI6 agent Sergei Skripal in the city of Salisbury.

Left as a mystery this is an excellent conversation piece for the Para-Olympics. Those who wanted to blame Russia would blame Russia. Those who wanted to defend Russia would defend Russia. It is vital though this remains speculation - a sort of existential topic.

Unfortunately on March 12th (12/3/18) the UK Prime Minister Theresa May suffered some sort of mental breakdown, abandoned the script and definitively blamed Russia.

It was particularly unwise because the information Prime Minister May used to reach this conclusion can't even be described as; "Preliminary Analysis." British scientists working at Porton Down don't expect their preliminary analysis to be completed for at least another week.

On March 22nd (22/3/18) the usually highly secretive British Court of Protection (COP) took the barely precedented step of making its ruling in this case public.

It confirmed that the Chemical Weapons agent has not been identified as so-called "Novichok." It has merely been identified as a member of the Organophosphate class of chemicals. This includes G-Series, V-Series and industrial pesticides.

Novichok is merely a member of the V-Series. Which was invented at Porton Down.

By making a definitive accusation Prime Minister May forced other national leaders to reassert past statements about Russia's involvement in Ukraine which they know to be untrue.

For example there's the claim that Russia sent troops into Crimea.

As the 2014 Olympic Opening Ceremony pointed out Crimea has been the main base for Russia's Black Sea fleet since about the 18th Century. Russia didn't send troops into Crimea. Russian Marines - in their clearly identifiable green uniforms - were already in Crimea at the time.

Then there's the claim Russia annexed Crimea. By overthrowing Ukraine's government the US voided Ukraine's sovereignty. In the chaos a region held a referendum to rejoin Russia. As is their right. Russia itself was not exactly pleased by this.

There's also the claim that Russia shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

As was a huge talking point at the 2018 Olympics the Dutch investigation found no evidence Russia shot down MH17. It did though assign blame to Ukrainian Air Traffic Controllers - at the time under US command - for flying a civilian aircraft into an air combat zone.

To give you an idea of the chaos caused by Prime Minister May's malfunction you only need to look at this March 15th (15/3/18) footage of a Georgian Ski-Lift spiralling dangerously out of control;

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/16/europe/georgia-ski-lift-accident-intl/index.html

At around 18:10 on 24/3/18 (UK date) I'll pick this up after dinner.

Edited at around 20:15 on 24/3/18 (UK date) to add above and below;

If there was a main theme of the highlights video it was Para athletes falling over. Then getting up again amongst much warmth, hugs and sympathy.

On the surface this celebrated Para athletes overcoming disability to achieve. Amid lots of love and support.

This was actually quite condescending and bordering on the offensive.

Earlier on this Closing Ceremony referenced Brazilian Para athlete Marcia Malsar. Specifically the way that she, as a torch bearer, fell during the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Summer Games.

By promoting discussion about how you react when a disabled person falls that highlighted that disabled people don't want to be wrapped in cotton wool, fussed over and given sympathy.

Instead they just want the same things everyone wants. Equality and respect.

Fortunately being condescending to the cripples wasn't really what this highlights video was talking about.

If you watched it carefully you would notice that certain nations were given more prominence than others. Ukraine led the way with at least six appearances. Belarus came second with at least four appearances.

So this sequence was really talking about how Ukraine collectively stuffed up during the 2014 Winter Games. With the help of friends it now needs to pick itself up, dust itself down and move on from its collective failure.

It recommends the best way to do this is by Ukraine fully implementing the; "Minsk Protocol."

Rather than taking the US - under Obama - position that the Minsk Protocol only applies to ethnically Russian Ukrainians. Ethnically Slavic Ukrainians can continue using as many illegal Nazi militias formed of foreign mercenaries as they like.

The Minsk Protocol takes its name from the capital of Belarus where it was signed. Under former President Obama the US was notably excluded from the negotiations which led to the Minsk Protocol.

Even back then it was clear to all that Obama didn't care about Ukraine or Ukrainians one bit.

20:50 on 24/3/18 (UK date).