This is from the live blog of the opening ceremony over at the Guardian. Note the post in the middle there.

Apparently, it’s totally acceptable to pay tribute to the victims of the 2005 terrorist attack in London but not acceptable to commemorate the 11 Israeli Olympic athletes murdered in Munich in 1972.

It will be interesting to hear the IOC explain how that works, since they’re certainly not going to just come out and say that they’re anti-Semites.

UPDATE: Apparently, everyone got it wrong that the tribute was for those who died in the 2005 terrorist attack. As this column points out, it was instead a “tribute to the deceased friends and family of spectators, who had been asked to send in photos.” Nonetheless, my point stands: If it’s appropriate to reflect on the deaths of spectators’ friends and family at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, why is it inappropriate to reflect on the deaths of Olympic athletes at the opening ceremony of the Olympics?

FURTHER UPDATE: Perhaps it was a tribute for those who died in the 2005 terrorist attack, as I originally thought. There’s really not much clarity about what was intended.