Boycott the Olympics

[Bacchus88]

a capitalist china..........I don't know if the worlds ready for that yet

Trust me there hardliners running most of the country Mr Karl. You are right there is alot of Government officers that are more capitalist than the Americans. I know I deal with on weekly bases. Most of those factories are headed by people republic officers of high rank. My family has dealt with this said general for over 20 years. Chinese are fine business people, no doubt about that

[Lainnulka]

It's already in the making.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that he cannot rule out the possibility he might boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics if China continues its crackdown in Tibet.

He's not the only one. Apparently there have been several demonstrations and "threats" against the Chinese government from Australia, Germany and Greece, to mention a few.

I'm torn between hoping the best experience for the athletes(being an athlete myself) and wishing the boycott to be as succesful as possible...

[Velvet-Tongue]

Yea, and of course none of those people got offered any type of compensation.

Thats the problem with turning people into numbers. It's always easy to rationalize that by killing/destroying a few you can help the greater good out. It makes me sad when countries criticize America for the 47 executions we had in 2007 when China executes thousands a year for political dissent and other crimes we'd be horrified to see someone get a death sentence over. “Credible sources suggest that between 7,500 to 8,000 people were executed in 2006. The official statistics remain a state secret, making monitoring and analysis problematic.” http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-...8/?mod=WSJBlog

[Morning Glory]

Thats the problem with turning people into numbers. It's always easy to rationalize that by killing/destroying a few you can help the greater good out. It makes me sad when countries criticize America for the 47 executions we had in 2007 when China executes thousands a year for political dissent and other crimes we'd be horrified to see someone get a death sentence over. “Credible sources suggest that between 7,500 to 8,000 people were executed in 2006. The official statistics remain a state secret, making monitoring and analysis problematic.” http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-...8/?mod=WSJBlog

well, I don't really know what it's like in china... but we (USA) are supposed to be "the most free nation", a sentiment that is toted constantly. So are we better than china? yes, of course. totally. But using a dictatorship as a basis for comparison is a tricky technique. Because if you were to compare us to say, Sweden, then we would look a little bit more like the previous comparison, with the roles reversed. I'd like to think that Americans have higher standards of democracy and that they take advantage of our cultural tradition of dissent, and not just say "well, we aren't as bad as those other guys." We (should) say any injustice against liberty is too much.

[evilstonermonkey]

It's already in the making.
Apparently there have been several demonstrations and "threats" against the Chinese government from Australia...

whoa, were taking a stand... before america has?

but are those demonstrations and threats from the governments of those countries, or is it just that some people from those countries have had demonstraions/threats?

[helcyon]

just boycott the lame olympics anyway for any reason at all... like the fact that those unbelievably annoying brat tennis ass-holes are in it. I ask ... what kind of sport is that where spectators aren't allowed to make noise and abuse people... reminds me of fucking golf.

Another reason: here in Sydney one of the Australian olympic swimmers may be getting chucked off the team for completely smashing in the skull of another in a nightclub with a single punch. He should be awarded a medal immediately.

[Black Spiral Dancer]

When the Olympic Torch passed through London on Sunday, Gordon Brown refused to touch it. Just about anybody that is anybody in sports/showbiz in the UK that was anywhere near the torch ran with it. And Gordy decided not get involved.

[helcyon]

* Unavoidably sport and particularly Olympics will always be attemptedly politicised in any number of ways by the hosts, corporates, protesters, competitors, so-called terrorists etc.etc. all the way from Berlin to Munich by anyone from Hitler to Jimmy Carter.

* The US under Peanut Jimmy led a boycott which largely scuttled the 1980 Moscow Olympics ostensibly over the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This is kinda unavoidably ironic given the current Afghanistan. Very not surprising there was a retaliatory boycott of the L.A. 1984. Australia and New Zealand boycotted neither as far as I know. What was achieved? Well I suggest....

* Politicising Olympics works... though not always in expected ways (for the hosts especially.... Hitler! China!) Boycotters have really nothing to lose and much to gain. The Sydney 2000 Olympics was subject to some politicisation by the groups claiming representation of "indigenous" inhabitants.

* Boycott Beijing even if just for it's polluted atmosphere alone I say as I don't give much more than a rat's arse about Olympics anyway and generally tried to avoid the whole thing here in 2000. As I say nothing to lose heaps to gain.

* Athletes caught up in it will usually pay a price. Not always though... where would that medal podium black power salute be without the world stage and spotlight? (1968 Mexico City. The silver medallist white athlete on the podium that day was Aussie Peter Norman who wore an "Olympic Project for Human Rights" badge to show solidarity with the two Americans).

* I still hate those tennis players... but you don't have to like some-one to consider the act of bonking them if they are particularly hot tho haha