On May 11, 2:42=A0am, aozot...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/5r9tnb
>
> The fa=E7ade of Olympic progress
> Alonso Y=E1nez
>
> Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Opinion
> PrintEmail Article Tools
> Page 1 of 2 next >
> Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in
> effort, the educational value of good example and respect for
> universal fundamental ethical principles," says the first principle in
> the Olympic Charter, the set of rules adopted by the International
> Olympic Committee.
>
> Unfortunately, from the word to the deed, there is a great distance.
> Everything would be different if the most elemental rights mentioned
> in diverse legal systems were respected by the authorities who are
> supposed to defend and/or apply those codes for the people's sake.
>
> The recent protests in Tibet and the brutal force used by Chinese
> authorities to contain them
Photos don't lie. And photos show only the brutal use of force by the
thugs (or you call the freedom fighters) against innocent people and
their properties. Even the police sent to deal with the situation is
pulverized by stones thrown at them.
Do you have photos to show that the authority cracked down on the
'peaceful' monks? There were so many tourists in Lhasa on Mar 14.
How come there is not a single photo taken privately to show this is
true.
You have been posting the articles written by a bunch of home
economics majors.
have directed the world's attention to
> China and intensified boycott proposals against the Beijing 2008
> Olympic Games.
>
> Aside from the usual fanfare, the Olympics also produced an unusual
> level of accessibility for international media in China. The increased
> exposure has allowed the world to see the cruel repression by the
> authorities and the precarious situation endured by the Chinese
> people.
>
> It is clear that the brutality displayed in Tibet is not an isolated
> event.
>
> Just as Nazi Germany used pompous ceremonies in the Berlin 1936
> Olympics to brag about their society, the Chinese government embarked
> in costly projects designed to develop the infrastructure necessary to
> host an event of such magnitude and show the grandeur of the Chinese
> communist regime.
>
> Chinese developers hired to carry out the projects for the Olympics
> have displaced thousands of people and offered them peanuts for their
> property. This produced a domino effect of protests, more violence and
> clandestine jails, where people are detained indefinitely without a
> judicial process. It's unknown how many Guantanamos exist in China.
>
> If the bifocal philosophy of "if you're not with me, you're against
> me," implemented after 9/11, was applied reversely, how would we look
> before the Chinese families who lost their home because of a stadium
> or a freeway that in no way will benefit their community?
>
> Similarly, if a country prides itself on taking down dictators because
> of human rights violations, why sup****t the organization of the
> Beijing 2008 Olympics? Just as the Moscow 1980 Olympics were boycotted
> because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Beijing 2008 should be
> boycotted for China's awful human rights violations record.
>
> While the abuse and repression suffered by Cubans are used as reasons
> to maintain an embargo against the island, these requisites are
> conveniently forgotten when it's time to conduct business with China.
> Leaders who say they are promoting democracy and peace don't even
> bother China or Saudi Arabia.
>
> Perhaps the Cuban red government is more dangerous, or less im****tant
> financially, than the Chinese red government. Some are rewarded with
> the Olympics and others are rewarded with an embargo that has resulted
> in the separation of many families, more human rights violations and
> poverty.
>
> But who has the moral authority to judge if the American government
> details people without an explanation in Guantanamo, the Chinese
> government keeps clandestine jails to silence troublemakers and the
> Cuban government makes dissenters disappear? If cruel dictatorial
> regimes were taken down around the world, very few leaders would stay
> in power. The majority ignored international and domestic laws and
> tortured whomever they pleased.
>
> This smorgasbord of hypocrisy and political inconsistency not only
> sheds lights on the existing double standards, which accentuate the
> problem of extremism, but also invites us to think about what we
> sup****t, be it a government, an ideology or the organization of an
> event.
>
> Despite this, the Beijing 2008 Olympics will occur as planned. The
> world will be hypnotized by ****ny medals and most of the media will
> praise the meticulous organization, overlooking thousands of deaths
> and displaced people. The lives of poor people are not as im****tant as
> a good show for our polarized world.
>
> But the show doesn't have to go on and if it does, we can show our
> discontent, just as many Venezuelans did last year during the
> continent's most im****tant soccer competition. In numerous matches of
> the Copa Am=E9rica Venezuela 2007, an event used by the populist and
> bipolar Hugo Ch=E1vez to boast about his system, chants of "The
> dictator****p will fall!" reverberated through stadiums and exposed the
> frustration of the Venezuelan people.
>
> The Latin proverb, "Vox populi, vox dei" (The voice of the people is
> the voice of God), is tangible in very few, but significant, times in
> our lives. I have no doubt many Chinese citizens will manifest their
> frustration during the Olympics and when that happens I will get the
> goose bumps again, as I did during the Copa Am=E9rica 2007.
>
> I sup****t the boycott, in the name of those who are afraid to speak
> up, lost a loved one or were displaced, because no spectacle, s****t or
> ideology justify the atrocities that have been committed.
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