Perhaps it's the symbolic purity of fluffy snow and perfectly manicured ice, or maybe the physical grace of many of the winter sports, but -- superficially, at least -- there is something decidedly less combative about the Winter Olympics. This is a decidedly unscientific observation, but when thinking of intersections between the Olympics and politics, I sense that most of us default to the summer variety: the student protests and African-American activism of Mexico City in 1968 and the hostage crisis in Munich in 1972. But that would downplay the significant moments in the deceptively long history of the Winter Olympics. With the competition in South Korea in full swing, it's an opportune time to consider the Winter Games' somewhat controversial origins and highlight their biggest geopolitical moments....
