Fuck Beijing

[aquaphase]

Behold, the great equality of the Olympics.

Is there any reason we haven't nuked them from space and paved the mainland?

[mr_j]

Is there any reason we haven't nuked them from space and paved the mainland?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfgrj_62-Y[/youtube]

any questions?

[James]

This was reported on the news here last night.

I would say a boycott is in order, but the US and UK do this to people all the time as well. Should be interesting to hear the stories about the "restoration" of the east end, and how many people are undersold in the name of big development.

Ja"boycotting anyway"mes

[Sybil]

Should be interesting to hear the stories about the "restoration" of the east end, and how many people are undersold in the name of big development.

Ja"boycotting anyway"mes

Yes, I recently heard a feature on NPR about people with these "allotments" where they garden, and socialize apparently, who have already been thrown out of land held for generations in order to make way for some Olympic construction. It was quite outrageous. They were given other land in compensation, but it's a bog where they can't really grow anything. It seems to have destroyed a lifestyle that's been around for ages - very sad. Call me naive, but I was a bit shocked to hear this kind of thing happening in England, but I guess I shouldn't be.

Sybil

[James]

Call me naive, but I was a bit shocked to hear this kind of thing happening in England, but I guess I shouldn't be.

Sybil

"Don't fool yourself. We're living in a dictatorship".

Not really, but if there's a profit to be had, you lose. That, and the cost of the Olympic games has nearly tripled I believe...so the more "peons" they can shove out of the way, the better



Ja"misses the Constitution and Separation of Powers"mes

EDIT: more than tripled, possibly to quadruple

[squeezle]

I would say a boycott is in order

i'm really torn on the idea of a boycott - on one hand, the human right violations alone make me think we definitely should not support china or contribute to their economy by attending the olymipcs, but on the other hand i feel that the individual athletes have worked and trained so hard to be in the olympics and a boycott would deprive them of the opportunity they have earned.

[James]

I would say a boycott is in order

i'm really torn on the idea of a boycott - on one hand, the human right violations alone make me think we definitely should not support china or contribute to their economy by attending the olymipcs, but on the other hand i feel that the individual athletes have worked and trained so hard to be in the olympics and a boycott would deprive them of the opportunity they have earned.

For me, it's a brutal equation. The way I see it is:

People Getting Screwed/Violated/Killed > Some Athlete's Feelings

I agree with you that most of these athletes (not including the professionals moonlighting as amateurs for the sake of world bragging rights) have put a lifetime's effort for that moment, and they'll get it because there's no way the games will be officially boycotted.

I'm talking about a personal boycott. They can compete; I don't watch or care. It's a win/win, except for the people getting their houses bulldozed or cracked down on for the sake of profit.

[monet2u]

how did China even win the right to host? I still can't figure that one out.

[ifihadahifi]

how did China even win the right to host? I still can't figure that one out.

$

[sam]

None (or almost none) of us would be talking about China and civil rights unless the Olympics were there. They thought they could handle that spotlight without looking like thugs. It seems crazy to me that they think they can still act like this without people noticing, or they don't understand how the rest of the world perceives this kind of crap.

[sam]

Apparently, China is just trying to hold up some lesser known traditions:

http://www.counterpunch.org/zirin03252008.html

With the exception of 1968, it sounds to me like this isn't a fair comparison, though.