I (Clare) always love watching the Olympics but this year is different. Actually, I was not even sure what day they began. The travesty of the Putin Games has really been off-putting: the $50 billion cost, the impact on the environment, the anti-homophobia rants and  …. The cost of the games is staggering when you think of the millions of Russians living below the poverty line. Is this a good way to spend so much money? I saw a little feature on the Olympic Village that left me shaking my head. The beds for the athletes are only cots. The athletes have devoted years to preparing for the games and have sacrificed so much but they will not even have a proper bed. Sorry to sound so simplistic but I think the focus should be on the athletes. I watched a few minutes of the parade of athletes in the opening ceremonies that further cemented my view that the focus of the games seems a bit misplaced. The women leading in each contingent are dressed in skin-tight white outfits with a very revealing slit. I live in a cold climate and you do not see women parading around in such revealing outfits. Do we really need sexy, hot babes at the opening ceremony?  All that said, I hope these games go off without any incidents and each athlete has a personal best. Clare