Boycott Beijing Olympics?

Let China and IOC do whatever the hell they want

15 (39.5%)

Mild statements of condemnation

1 (2.6%)

Strong statements of condemnation, no boycotts

5 (13.2%)

Have U.S. boycott just the opening ceremony

4 (10.5%)

Have U.S. boycott the games altogether

7 (18.4%)

Pressure all U.S. allies (NATO, Japan, South Korea, etc) to boycott

3 (7.9%)

Take further steps to sabotage the games: media blackout, charges against athletes who participate, etc

0 (0%)

We have more nukes than they do, so ...

3 (7.9%)

Total Members Voted: 17

[Harry Tuttle]

I'm more worried about freedom from oppression in this land over here. When I get freedom for myself and my family I'll see what I can do for the Chinese.

[Taors]

Tibet has always been a part of China, yes, even before the 1950s.

Not quite true, and if it was, so what?

I don't support either side, and it's none of my god damn business.

Learn something. Make it your business.

I'm sure as hell not going to advocate the United States straining it's relationship even further with China by boycotting the Olympics over this silly shit.

So I won't be hearing any bitching about any western government from you for oh, about the next fifty years. It's more effective just to generally complain about 'bad stuff' and ask for 'world peace' like some god damn beauty queen.

No, I'm going to bitch about a western government (particularly the United States) because I FUCKING LIVE HERE! What is it that I'm supposed to learn, again? That the people of Tibet want to secede from China and create their own sovereign State, but China won't let them? Because that's the issue here, and I already know all about it. Why should I make it my business? Give me a good reason, because I'll stay neutral in the matter until you do.

[Andy]

No, I'm going to bitch about a western government (particularly the United States) because I FUCKING LIVE HERE!

So what? As you said:

China The U.S. sucks, but I'm not going to make a big song and dance about it, because compared to the wealth of other oppressive regimes, its small potatoes,

Why should I make it my business? Give me a good reason, because I'll stay neutral in the matter until you do.

Because it's difficult to convince people that voluntarily funded solutions to international relations are a good idea if you choose to remain willfully ignorant of them.

[dalebert]

all these protesters are likely marching around in their clothing, shoes, watches, jewelry, etc.. all goods made in China. in fact, if "Boycott China!!1!!" signs were manufactured in large quantities, my bet is that even those would be produced in China and the unknowing trendies would buy them right up without even thinking about it.

I doubt that you could get a critical mass for that enough to send a clear message to the Chinese government. All that would do is punish the Chinese people by hurting their economy, and probably not very much. In terms of sending a message, this can be a very powerful one. Maybe it can be tied to a boycott and help get info out about a boycott, but I still think the boycott hurts a bunch of innocent people. I guess you could argue that the our participation in the Olympics will have positive economic impact that we would be denying, but that's just a temporary boon compared to an attempt to destroy an existing economy.

[Bill Brasky]

No, I'm going to bitch about a western government (particularly the United States) because I FUCKING LIVE HERE!

So what? As you said:

China The U.S. sucks, but I'm not going to make a big song and dance about it, because compared to the wealth of other oppressive regimes, its small potatoes,

Why should I make it my business? Give me a good reason, because I'll stay neutral in the matter until you do.

Because it's difficult to convince people that voluntarily funded solutions to international relations are a good idea if you choose to remain willfully ignorant of them.

I think more westerners are aware of China's domestic problems than they are aware of their own.  The US gov has been spinning anti-chicom propaganda for half a century. 

We are currently embroiled in the restructuring of one totalitarian regime, and all across the South American continent, Africa, Western Europe, the Mid East, and Asia, there are various counterparts with their own indigenous populations being oppressed under their governments de' jour. 

The US is not the global police.  Boycotting products does very little because their governments and ours dictate the tariffs and restrictions.  Other industrialized nations operate independently of our importation laws, as they should. 

Theres nothing wrong with being independently aware of foreign situations and adjusting your spending habits to reflect your opinions.  However, in the global market, I am interested in one factor - me.  Given the choice, I will buy the cheap product if its not critically important to have quality.  My economy is my first priority.  If their products are available in the marketplace, I will buy them.  They are being sold all around the globe.  With that sort of volume, your purchase of a single unit doesn't matter to anyone but yourself. 

And, of course...  Anyone who would like to lend a hand to the oppressed needs only to buy a plane ticket, cash out their savings account, fly to wherever the trouble is, and hand out their cash to those in need.  That is the only real impact you could make as a single concerned citizen - to help elevate the conditions of the oppressed and be prepared to fight by their side when their civil war begins. 

[Taors]

No, I'm going to bitch about a western government (particularly the United States) because I FUCKING LIVE HERE!

So what? As you said:

China The U.S. sucks, but I'm not going to make a big song and dance about it, because compared to the wealth of other oppressive regimes, its small potatoes,

Why should I make it my business? Give me a good reason, because I'll stay neutral in the matter until you do.

Because it's difficult to convince people that voluntarily funded solutions to international relations are a good idea if you choose to remain willfully ignorant of them.

Their land, their problem. Same with Darfur.

[Alex Libman]

From CNN -- Protesters disrupt start of Seoul torch relay --

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The Olympic flame began the 17th leg of its protest-plagued global relay in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday -- with Chinese students vastly outnumbering demonstrators.

A North Korean defector tried to set himself on fire but was stopped by police. Sporadic scuffles broke out along the route between demonstrators and Chinese students as police tried to keep the two groups apart.

At least 8,000 riot police were deployed to guard the 15-mile (24 km) route, which started at Olympic Park, built when Seoul hosted the Summer Games in 1988, and winds down at City Hall in central Seoul.

"They will try their best to prevent any kind of intervention," said Gi Hyung Keum, spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

South Korea is no stranger to demonstrations. Police have successfully handled large crowds, such as recent protests against the country signing a free trade agreement with the United States.

After Seoul was granted the 1988 Games, massive pro-democracy demonstrations broke out, prompting the then-military government to enact sweeping reforms. Among them was the decision to hold direct presidential elections.

 "I respect people's rights to protest, to have their say. But this is not the venue for various people to express their political interests," said Kim Sang-Woo of the Korean Olympic Committee.

An hour before the start of the relay, thousands of Chinese students thronged the park plaza, singing songs and chanting "One China, One World" slogans.

About 30,000 Chinese students study in South Korea.

In other recent Asian legs of the relay, a large number of Chinese students have attended. In Bangkok, Thailand, students told CNN the Chinese Embassy there provided their transportation and gave them shirts to wear.

As in several past stops, demonstrators protesting China's policy toward Tibet turned out at the rally.

 They were joined by other demonstrators critical of how China forcefully deports North Korean refugees back to their impoverished country when they escape into China.

Under the North Korean penal code, leaving the country without state permission can be considered an act of treason, punishable by heavy penalties including imprisonment and forced labor, said Kay Seok of Seoul's Human Rights Watch.

"They will be invariably interrogated about what they did in China, why they went to China and who they met there," she said. "And depending on the result of the interrogation, they will be sent to labor camps for a few months or to prison for a few years."

The flame arrived shortly after midnight from another Olympic host city: Nagano, Japan, site of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. A few sideliners waved Tibetan flags, but those were outnumbered by those holding large Chinese flags. Despite some scuffles, the relay went off uninterrupted.

The torch has been shadowed on its journeys by pro-Tibet demonstrators who troubled the relay in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California. Stops in those cities attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators and prompted dozens of arrests.

Security concerns prompted Pakistani officials to close the relay to the public and hold it at a stadium in front of invited guests. India truncated the route and kept protesters at bay by lining the route with thousands of police officers and paramilitary troopers.

But stops in some countries, such as Argentina, Tanzania and Oman, have been trouble-free.

From Seoul, the torch heads to Pyongyang, North Korea. On Wednesday, it travels to Hong Kong.

Three human rights activists who planned on protesting the torch relay there said Sunday that they there were barred from entering the Chinese-ruled territory.

"We (were) finally told that we for 'immigration reasons' could not enter HK, and should take the next plane back," wrote Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot on the Web site of his group, Color Orange.

"Although repeatedly asking for the reason of being denied access, they would/could not explain it in more details than 'we do not live up to the requirements of immigration.'"

Galschiot sculpted 'The Pillar of Shame,' which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies to symbolize those who died in a Chinese crackdown on Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The torch relay ends its round-the-world jaunt of 21 cities in five continents in Beijing in August.

(See full article for photos and video)

[Alex Libman]

The commie-chinks seem to be pretty pissed that this opening ceremony rehearsal video got out.

I hereby proclaim the Korean journalist who leaked it the Coolest Person of The Month! 

Oh, the Wikipedia image I linked to in the above post I can't edit has moved (this is why it's stupid to link to Wikipedia images, or delete accounts for that matter), so here it is again, the Pillar of Shame as it stands in Hong Kong for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre:

[bakerbaker]

I boycott the olympics anyway.  It's all a bunch of ridiculous fanfare.  I would more readily watch a college basketball game...and I wouldn't even do that.

[Blackie]

considering the US went to the nazi olympics in 1936....

[atomiccat]

Lets buy some Boycott china bumper stickers that are made in china !

[trollfreezone]

The commie-chinks seem to be pretty pissed that this opening ceremony rehearsal video got out.

I hereby proclaim the Korean journalist who leaked it the Coolest Person of The Month! 

Oh, the Wikipedia image I linked to in the above post I can't edit has moved (this is why it's stupid to link to Wikipedia images, or delete accounts for that matter), so here it is again, the Pillar of Shame as it stands in Hong Kong for the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre:

That rocks!  BTW, China Lied about No Olympic Media Censorship.

[Incognitum]

Would someone who voted for boycott please give me a single example anywhere in history where isolating a nation from the world community lead to greater peace and prosperity for the citizens of that nation? 


...Didn't think so.


It's fun to play at 'holier then thou' and hold your nose, but that neither keeps us safer from the red menace nor enlightens them.

[zebraflood]

Sup.

[AntonLee]

Fuck Tibet. Why should I support a resistance movement that wants to reinstall some holier-than-thou asshole so he can live in his palace eating grapes and pussy all day, while his 'subjects' starve under an equally oppressive caste system?

Tibet has always been a part of China, yes, even before the 1950s. I don't support either side, and it's none of my god damn business. I'm sure as hell not going to advocate the United States straining it's relationship even further with China by boycotting the Olympics over this silly shit.

fuck China and the US.  Tibet can be whatever they fuckin' want who is anyone to tell them otherwise.  Tibet isn't owned by anyone.  Someone could say that NH is part of the United States, it falls within the imaginary lines. 

It's all ridiculous.  Tibet should be free. . . but so should China and the US.