Rio Olympic Games kick off under cloud of insecurity.

[forest444]

2. The '80 Olympics were before my time. But you're right: they all seem to have one issue or another.

I do remember reading about the disappointment the U.S. Olympic teams felt when Carter ordered a boycott in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

There was apparently considerable diplomatic effort for and against the boycott; even Muhammad Ali was enlisted, acting as Carter's emissary to Africa on behalf of the push to boycott Moscow (with only partial success). In all, 50 countries boycotted the games - including China.

Personally, and while I think I understand Carter's point of view at the time, I've always felt it was a mistake in that it dashed so many athletes' hopes without really accomplishing anything. It also led the Soviet bloc to boycott the L.A. Olympics in '84, which must have been painful for their athletes as well.

The Argentine dictatorship at the time had a very duplicitous role, as you might imagine. They were among the first to join Carter's Olympic boycott; but they also took full advantage of Carter's agricultural boycott by promptly signing a trade agreement that for a few years made Argentina the leading foreign grains supplier to the USSR. At its height in 1981, over one-third of Argentine exports - and 70% of its grain exports - went to the Soviet Union (which they paid for in hard currency, not Rubles).

Many Argentines at the time, who were always taught that "what's good for agriculture is good for the country," mistakenly believed that this bonanza would "save the country" from the looming financial crisis brought about by all the banking deregulation. It was indeed a real windfall for the landowning elites - but did very little for the economy because "pro-business" policies made it all too easy to transfer that money to offshore accounts just as quickly as it came in.

Almost none of the windfall stayed in Argentina, which was instead left with the $30 billion in bad debts (over $100 billion in today's money) left over from financial speculators. Fast-forwarding to Macri, I can't help but think wryly as to how history repeats itself.

Two great-aunts of mine, incidentally, visited Moscow during the '80 Olympics. They had been born in what was then Czarist Russia, you see, and at the time the USSR consulates offered a deeply-discounted travel package for anyone living overseas but born in Soviet territory.

It must have been nice to see the old country after 70 years or so; I understand they had a nice, wolf-free visit.

Thanks as always for your insights, Judi.