Earlier this week, when Haile Gebrselassie (the Ethiopian world record holder) announced that he won't be taking part in the Marathon race in the Olympics because the pollution would harm his health (he is asthmatic)...
...when the BBC broadcast the story, the Chinese government suspended BBC broadcast, because they didn't want locals from knowing about this story.
Gross levels of pollution
News censorship
Excessive use of teargas on protesters
No improvement on civil liberties or other human rights issues that China is meant to address...
Why haven't these Olympics been boycotted yet?
Why do you think that there's just been world-wide apathy regarding the Chines Olympics?|||Noooooo!
I was so hoping on seeing him on the track this year
How depressing...
Hopefully, Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopian distance runner holding as of 2008 the world records in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters.)
will take us to the Gold !!
Thank you for the info|||Why did American company move their factory to China, so they can make huge profit with hiring cheap labour.
The most people in Chinese are innocent just wanting a job and with so many to chose from.
And China has made improvements in making the city of Beijing more accessable to people with a disability.|||You could ask; why give it to them in the first place? It would be easier than individual countries or competitors deciding. For athletes, it comes around every 4 years, and is what they ultimately train, and make sacrifices for: 12 months a year, good times and bad. There have been boycotts by governments at past Olympics(i.e.Moscow), without anything being achieved politically. China is destined to be the No.1 world power some time in the future; too powerful to bully into submission. Small changes for the better have taken place, mainly benefiting people in the cities. The Government will never allow democracy/free speech, because they know it will be the beginning of the end for Communist one-party rule. So, maybe it is better to employ other ways to try to influence them.|||Honestly do most others care about China or any other country and its problems. Most people are only concerned about their own country and what directly affects them andonly care about niumber one. People basically are selfish.|||Phillip is right- it's all about money. I don't like the idea of the Olympics being in Bejing either, but it's too late to change things now. The IOC is an organization which is not immune to corruption or bribery, and now it looks like the world's athletes are paying the price for their stupidity and lack of vision. Bejing is the capital of a third world dictatorship, one in which even the most basic of human freedoms are restricted or repressed, and yet the IOC seemed to think that somehow they would miraculously change if they were awarded the Games. It hasn't happened, and a lot of people are upset about it. The one bright spot in all this that I can see is that at least the equestrian portion of the Games won't be in Bejing, because the city doesn't have the facilities for it. The horses will be in Hong Kong, which does, thanks to the British, who built the necessary infrastructure when Hong Kong was crown colony.
As for the apathy, or apparent apathy, that's easy to explain- there are too many other things going on for some people to pay much attention to what's happening there right now. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the presidential election in the US, sky rocketing oil prices, the credit and mortgage crunch, the weak dollar, the constant signs of global warming and climate change- these things are all occupying far bigger places in people's minds than the Games are right now. Plus, it's easy to be apathetic when what's happening in a place like that has no direct effect on your life. Most people I know could care less about what is happening over there- they have enough problems of their own right now. When we get closer to the start date, some may wake up and pay more attention, but I wouldn't count on it.|||I too wish that they would be boycotted to teach that damned Country a lesson. I can't see how I could possibly survive there.
But Malcolm Balaclava is right. They import SO MUCH that if we make them mad, they can stop all livelihood in America. So I just hope that the Chinese do terrible in the Olympics this year.
God Bless America!|||China is no less guilty than any other nation. It has 1.2 billion to look after give them a break.
China has accused the American government of even worse issues, what is this war business. Exactly.|||lol do you know how powerful china is and how they produce practically everything?
I think i may boycott it, nothing against China or chinese people in particular but the amoutn of coal stations being built to pollute more, no thanks.|||**** THEM.............SUCKERS......|||Money talks.....or stops people talking which ever way you want to look at it.|||because the British government is pathetic|||it all comes down to cash,how much can be made and how much can be stuffed into a suitcase
suck up as much gravy as you can,shove it into the poors faces
plus they dont want to annoy the chinese as yes lots of money to be made there|||Because the West cannot function these days without investment from the East.
拢, 拢 and more 拢|||Obvious, China is now a major power with incredible economic power....so none of the major countries would are to annoy them......|||Check the bank accounts of the I.O.C. members. Every reasonable person who knows about Chinese politics, human rights would disagree with it.
Money is the only important thing for this "communistic" country who was soo much against capitalism|||#1 The Olympics is a sporting competition not a political event.
#2 Athletes can each choose to go or not, but why should governments tell individuals they have to give up their Olympic dreams when in many cases these governments themselves have not had a perfect record on regards to human rights.
Gebrselassie said his decision about the marathon is a sporting decision and has nothing to do with politics. He did tell the BBC he plans on competing in the 10,000m and would not rule out running the marathon if air quality conditions would improve and the venue was changed.
Paula Radcliffe says that tough conditions suits her.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics鈥?/a>
#3 You make assumptions based on your view of the world what about Asian culture and values. Not every body sees eye to eye on such questions nothing would be solved by such a jester. Besides it would like like neo-colonial paternalism over those uncivilized Asians.
#4 China already hosts many major sporting and culture events such ATP TENNIS MASTER'S , F1, ASIAN GAMES, Major League Baseball, FIFA and the NBA hold sporting events in China. European PGA, and the WTA also hold sporting events in China.|||If the Olympics is a sporting competition and not a political event, then why have both the Soviet Block and the United States boycotted the games back in the 1980's?. The reason these games have not been boycotted is that now the world is smaller. Back then, it mad a huge difference. Now a days, not so much in a political sense. As for money, I can not think of a single Olympics in recent memory that has actually MADE money. Countries spend 30 billion to get ready and make 25 billion. That is alot, but to me, 5 billion short is HUGE!!!
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