The Prince and the Muller: the UK Torch Song

Prince Charles tempts all of us by being with the forces of the Dali Lama; and now Brown joins. This is a domino game and the boards are flying right at the cadre.

It is time to say that if you go to the Olympics -- if you go at all -- you are suspect as the worse sinner of all, not being cool.


Brown Will Skip Beijing Olympics Opening
By ALISTAIR MACDONALD
April 10, 2008
LONDON -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be on the growing list of world leaders absent at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.


In a sign of the heightened political sensitivities surrounding the Games, Mr. Brown's spokeswoman sought to quell suggestions that the absence was a protest, saying the prime minister wasn't boycotting the Olympics and would be at the closing. As the Olympic torch struggles to make its way through angry crowds objecting to China's policies in Tibet, human-rights campaigners have put increasing pressure on world leaders, including Mr. Brown, to avoid the ceremonies.

Several top politicians already have announced their intentions to skip the opening or have said they are considering doing so. The White House left open the possibility Wednesday that President Bush might miss it. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said late last month that he was debating whether to go. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he and Chancellor Angela Merkel won't be there.

Britain's stance carries a special significance, because London will be hosting the Olympics in 2012, and its officials were expected to be prominent throughout the Games. At a televised meeting with Mr. Sarkozy late last month, Mr. Brown said Britain would be present at the "ceremonies," though he didn't specify that he meant the opening. "I will certainly be there," he said.

The spokeswoman said Mr. Brown would attend the closing ceremonies and that his absence at the opening wasn't meant to send a message. "Nothing has changed," said the spokeswoman. "There is no element of protest in this. He never intended to go."

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell will represent the British government at the opening. Former British Sports Minister Kate Hoey urged Mr. Brown last month to follow the lead of Prince Charles -- who supports the Dalai Lama -- and not attend the opening ceremony.......