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Posts
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@sharongooner wrote:
@(f)politics? wrote:
well im a bit lost now as to the whys whats and wherefores of this torch, but what were the protesters actually protesting about as i have no clue as to what it is all about ?
The treatment the Chinese are using on the Tibetans Poli. And there bad human rights record.
ok shazza thx but whats the connection to the olympic torch in london being carried by a brit more than likely ,with the way the chinese are treating the tibetans ? is it just because the chinese are hosting the games ? and wouldnt they be better off in china protesting there when they are treating them badly than playing at protests in comfy ole london ? if thats the case
The torch is carried all around every country taking part in the games, and they are expecting protests of all different moderations in practically every one of these countries, because a lot believe that by competing in the games in China we are condoning what they do.
As Minim said, sport and politics are separate but used in the right way, it’s a great medium for spreading the word, and hopefully cause change rather than hamper the games.
ah i see shaz thx hunni was all over my head lol
lol your welcome, though I dont understand much about it all myself. Other than that China are very wrong in their treatment of the tibetans, yet nobody else in the world seems to be bothered, far to scared to condem and ruin political relations/business deals.
Well i dont know nothing much about it but im sure its the tibetan monks that were looking after the tigers out there rearing them and releasing them and building a tiger sanctuary and we all know how endangered tigers are,so on that strength alone i’ll go with anti china up the tibetans lol :) douse that bloody torch and save the tigers i protest :)
the olimpics are non political….HA !!!
he police were arresting people forwearing t shirts. with the folowing terrible slogan.
FREE TIBET.
STOP CHINA KILLING IN TIBET.
yep i can see why those slogans would realy offend someone.. NOT.
this is just another exercise in gordon browns facist agenda, to scare the public into believing, that if you dare to oppose his government you wil be locked up under terror laws and are likeley to stay locked up for a long time. yesterday a 74 year old man was run into a crash barrier by three police officers and had his collar bone broken, his crime.. ? he shouted free tibet at the torch bearer.
the polic yesterdaymade a dogs dinne of the fact that they were acting on behalf of thegovernment. this is justa taste of whats to come in the next year or two. isnt it fantastic that, you an call thepolice to reporta burglar in your house and the police ell yo to lock the door and wait for him to go. bu give em a eason to hrow their well trained weight around there is no end of volunteers. there was almost a copper for every protestor. and when you think that there is now as many police officers as there are soldiers, its just a tad un nerving.minim wrote:When countries have boycotted the games, it has actually helped result in major changes.Gosh mims, that notion’s so half-baked I don’t believe you even turned the oven on.
The African boycott in 1976 was carried out because the New Zealand rugby authorities rather fancied a lucrative tour of South Africa during the preceeding winter. It achieved nothing except to hurt the athletes concerned, and did not even begin to make a dent in the wall of apartheid. Third World peoples were deprived by their own governments of the chance to add some heroes to their fledgling national identities. Yet it is a sad fact that sports like cricket and rugby (and these old Empire activities aren’t exactly popular worldwide now are they ?) did not honour the concerted ban that South Africa faced from all Oympics for over thirty years until that ugly regime finally fell.
The partial western boycott of Moscow 1980 was led by the Carter administration in the USA, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A few brave American sportsmen questioned its right to do that as the Games are in essence non-political, and for that found themselves subject to IRS scrutinies and the like. Some even had their businesses shut down for speaking out. Here, Thatcher did not actually carry out her threat to withhold the passports of our sportsmen and women, but many who worked in the army, police or civil service found themselves put under a lot of pressure not to take part if they happened to value their careers. A real glorious chapter in our history that one.
The tit-for-tat Communist boycott of Los Angeles 1984 was expected and duly happened. Such were the antics of super-powers during those cold war years. This had the effect of giving, for all true sports fans, innumerable opportunities to hear the star-spangled banner in the most one-sided Games of modern times. Even yanks got sick of their own TV coverage. Who’s fighting in Afghanistan now ? And did you know that the number of countries making up the International Athletics Federation – which governs the chief olympic sport – far exceeds that of the United Nations, and nobody has veto options either.
Fortunately Olympic Games since then have been free of any such large scale political machinations. Those of 2008 do not belong to China – they are merely the appointed hosts this time round. Young sportsmen and women from all round the globe will gather during a festive occasion, and for many this is a once only chance; to meet their counterparts, to learn about other cultures and to make life-long friends. Because this is what happens when young people meet. I could no more take away their aspirations than I could from a promising musician or artist.
Politics must never interfere with sport unless it is to encourage participation, and when boycotts happen, it is only the athletes (and fans) who suffer.
I stand by my comment…. but you raise excellent points.
And I agree that politics shouldn’t interfere with sports events. But this is not an ideal world, and sports has often served to highlight problems in areas of the world that without an event and the media attention, may have not got the attention it deserved.
This current Olympic Games is being targetted by a country who wish to make a political statement. The games are continuing to be held in China, but the world is now aware of what has been going on, because of the Games.
Perhaps China will now clean up its act, perhaps not. But Tibet has been given a voice for a little while.
But, I am no authority on the subject, this is just my opinion.
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