Reply to: China, Olympics, Boycott?

[threaded]

Colonies are the outhouses of the European soul, where a fellow can let his pants down and relax, enjoy the smell of his own tulip. Where he can fall on his slender prey roaring as loud as he feels like, and guzzle her blood with open joy. Eh? Where he can just wallow and rut and let himself go in a softness, a receptive darkness of limbs, of hair as woolly as the hair on his own forbidden genitals. ... Out and down in the colonies, life can be indulged, life and sensuality in all its forms, with no harm done to the Metropolis, nothing to soil those cathedrals, white marble statues, noble thoughts... Tibet is a special case. Tibet was deliberately set aside by the Empire as free and neutral territory, a Switzerland for the spirit where there is no extradition, and Alp-Himalayas to draw the soul upward, and danger rare enough to tolerate...

[KathyWoolfe]

Close. All signing a petition does is make you feel like you've done something positive, without actually doing anything.

Yes, exactly what I would have said if I had the extra brain cell I'm entitled to.

[TheFaQQer]

The cheese-eating surrender monkeys have got as far as saying that their president might not attend the opening ceremony if it continues.

That will have them quaking.

[NotAllThere]

All signing the petition does is to make you feel better that you have actually bothered to react to something you feel sonething about.

Cynic,,,moi?...NON!!!

Close. All signing a petition does is make you feel like you've done something positive, without actually doing anything.

[rootsnall]

I think;

Whilst a precedent for using sport to a political end was set in the 80's, we should be above it now.

The Olympics is more about politics and money than about sport and was that way long before the 80s boycotts. What is going on in Tibet is a disgrace and I think it would be one of the more effective boycotts. Little or no chance of it happening.

[KathyWoolfe]

You mean to tell me that if I sign an on-line petition it will have no relevance or meaning at all? You cynic!

All signing the petition does is to make you feel better that you have actually bothered to react to something you feel sonething about.

Cynic,,,moi?...NON!!!

[oracleslave]

Even if the boycott went ahead I'm not sure that it would be enough to pressure the chinese.

Everyone thought that the pictures of the Tianenmen Square protest in 1989 would put pressure on the chinese Govt. to change things - and did they?

They don't respond to the same "triggers" that the rest of the international community does which is why it's so hard to persuade them to do things they don't want to do.
Plus the fact that the west is so dependent on chinese manufacturing that they don't really want to do anything to restrict the flow of goods from China into the rest of the world and you get a situation where nothing will be done on a national level.
Any sort of protest will have to come from individuals and that is easily ignored.

You mean to tell me that if I sign an on-line petition it will have no relevance or meaning at all? You cynic!

[KathyWoolfe]

Even if the boycott went ahead I'm not sure that it would be enough to pressure the chinese.

Everyone thought that the pictures of the Tianenmen Square protest in 1989 would put pressure on the chinese Govt. to change things - and did they?

They don't respond to the same "triggers" that the rest of the international community does which is why it's so hard to persuade them to do things they don't want to do.
Plus the fact that the west is so dependent on chinese manufacturing that they don't really want to do anything to restrict the flow of goods from China into the rest of the world and you get a situation where nothing will be done on a national level.
Any sort of protest will have to come from individuals and that is easily ignored.

[PAH]

It's not motors, it's all the scrap electrical wiring and electric motors, they are buying from Europe and setting fire to in open fields to burn off the insulation so they they can harvest the copper.
Thousands of tons a year.

Haven't they heard of wire strippers?

At the very least they should do it underground to heat the streets. Particularly useful in winter to stop ice forming!

[AlfredJPruffock]

Didnt we boycott the Soviet Olympics over the invasion of Afghanistan - deja vu anyone ?

Anyway this is a futile gesture - the US will not exert any real pressue on China because of the deep economic links between those countries - personally I find the Chinese Communist's occupation and treatment of Tibet nauseous - but thats just moi.

[HRH]

Im not eating chinese food anymore.

[Diver]

If I was an athlete I'd be boycotting simply because all that smog is a danger to the health.

How do they intend clearing it in time for the olympics? Ban all motorised transport from the city for a month beforehand?

It's not motors, it's all the scrap electrical wiring and electric motors, they are buying from Europe and setting fire to in open fields to burn off the insulation so they they can harvest the copper.
Thousands of tons a year.

[PAH]

If I was an athlete I'd be boycotting simply because all that smog is a danger to the health.

How do they intend clearing it in time for the olympics? Ban all motorised transport from the city for a month beforehand?

[Marina]

Whilst a precedent for using sport to a political end was set in the 80's [..]

Unless you count the Berlin olympics in 1936.

(Backfired a bit for Adolph though, when Jesse Owens won. )

[The Lone Gunman]

Difficult:
Considering the amount of produce we accept from China and the amount of goods we sell to China it would be extremely hipocritical to protest about our Olympians fulfilling their dream.