The Olympics in China?

[dianamt54]

I am getting on my speaker's corner box:

 

I was just wondering, what do you think about the controversary? I don't believe that the Olympics should have ever been awarded to China. I am not sure what China presented to the Olympic committee, but what ever the Chinese presented the committee was impressed. If certain countries or people want to protest, that is fine, but no violent. Not trying to grab the flame from the runners hand. The runners have been training for this day. They are honored to carry the flame. My mom told me that some where that the protesters turned their back when the person carrying the flame ran by. If China is being blamed for violence, what does that say about the protesters and violence?

I hope that everything goes well in China.

Can coutries really keep politics and sports separate?

[Primus Pilus]

I am getting on my speaker's corner box:

 

I was just wondering, what do you think about the controversary? I don't believe that the Olympics should have ever been awarded to China. I am not sure what China presented to the Olympic committee, but what ever the Chinese presented the committee was impressed. If certain countries or people want to protest, that is fine, but no violent. Not trying to grab the flame from the runners hand. The runners have been training for this day. They are honored to carry the flame. My mom told me that some where that the protesters turned their back when the person carrying the flame ran by. If China is being blamed for violence, what does that say about the protesters and violence?

I hope that everything goes well in China.

Can coutries really keep politics and sports separate?

 

I'm looking forward to the Jerusalem Israel/Palestine Games.

[Ursus]

I think there should be a new sporting event in honor of the Beijing Olympics - dodging tanks as they try to run over you.

[Nephele]

I vote for the Olympic addition of a Chinese pie-eating contest. Anyone who has survived the tainted Chinese food imports has had ample training for this event.

 

-- Nephele

P.S. Screw China. I'll tell them where to put their sodding Olympic torch.

[M. Porcius Cato]

One of the arguments made to the Olympic Committee by the Chinese themselves was that the Games would have a positive effect on political reform in China. To now say, "keep politics and sports separate" would be disingenuous.

[Horatius]

It's funny how China bashing has become so fashionable to both the right and left wing masses. The great international corporations have certainly made a fortune outsourcing their manufacturing there. Now southern China is starting to resemble the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rust belt as they pick up stakes and move to even cheaper labor in Vietnam,Thailand or Malaysia http://www.economist.com/business/displays...27&fsrc=RSS . Meanwhile the West is increasinly engaged in electronic money shell games and doing each others laundry. A big fuss is made of the romantic notion of a 'Free Tibet' but is the old Tibetan Theocracy really something to be admired or even yearned for by most Tibetans? http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html . The original Olympic Games lasted over a 1000 years and wars and political disputes were suspended for there duration. Maybe we could learn something here from the ancients for once.

[Ursus]

Maybe we could learn something here from the ancients for once.

 

 

I learn something from the Ancients every day. But if criticizing the Chinese government is bashing, so be it. The only thing that worries me more than the Beijing government are jihadist Islamic groups (whom I also bash frequently).

[Horatius]

Maybe we could learn something here from the ancients for once.

 

 

I learn something from the Ancients every day. But if criticizing the Chinese government is bashing, so be it. The only thing that worries me more than the Beijing government are jihadist Islamic groups (whom I also bash frequently).

Maybe I should have put ironic instead of funny in my first sentence. Destroying American labor unions in the later part of the 20'th century paved the way for this. Our manufacturing base is gone and will never return. China holds our debt and is the darling of the corporations, for now. You won't see Busch or business leaders 'bashing' China. It's guv'mit policy Ursus, get with the program. Bashing Muslims is perfectly acceptable until we find another more fearsome bogyman. Chicoms are old school.

[Northern Neil]

whether or not China should have been given the games is a very difficult question to answer, given that most of us on this forum live in countries whose governments themselves have cases to answer vis-a-vis the human rights debate. One thing is clear: Had China NOT been given the games, the free Tibet movement would not have been in the news over the past few weeks, and the Chinese human rights record would not be under the scrutiny it is at present. Many people are now aware of China's annexation of Tibet in 1949, who were not aware of it a few weeks ago.

 

It is not the fault of the individual athletes that China have been awarded the games, so they should not be called to account by the protesters. But, I salute the protesters all the same - China made efforts to get the games for utterly pragmatic and political reasons, so in this instance, yes, politics and sport should mix.

 

Personally, I think the Chinese have been made to look real fools, and they should have expected a fiasco to have been made out of the torch - carrying relay. The only thing that really gets me stirred up (apart from their continued occupation of Tibet itself) is the sight of Chinese paramilitary thugs parading through MY capital city, manhandling MY fellow citizens, and our elected government doing not one thing to prevent it.

 

Long may the business and trading interests of democratic governments have priority over the rights of their citizens, and the dignity of the nations they govern.

[spittle]

It should be a good year for the ping-pong.

 

I'm a little confused as to why I should care about Tibet (or Kashmir). They don't supply my countries shops with