Boycott the Olympics I will

[hogboy]

I am going to boycott the Olympics 100%. I will close web pages
with any articles about Olympic events, and wait until they are over before being concerned with any world-class sporting event. I will not buy anything from anyone or any company that has 'Official XYZ of the Olympic games' either

stupid China

[FriedRys]

I'm gonna boycot the Dalai Lama, damn rabble rouser, causing all types of trouble for the Chinese who are being nice enough to subjugate those poor miserable people. Really, who gave that guy a Nobel?


BEIJING - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao accused supporters of the Dalai Lama on Tuesday of organizing violent clashes in Tibet in hopes of sabotaging the Beijing Olympics and bolstering their campaign for independence in the Himalayan territory.


The Dalai Lama urged his followers to remain peaceful, saying he would resign as head of the Tibetan government-in-exile if violence got out of control. But he also suggested China may have fomented unrest in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and nearby provinces to discredit him.

In striking an uncompromising line, Wen underscored the communist leadership's determination to restore order in Tibet and Tibetan areas of neighboring provinces.

"There is ample fact — and we also have plenty of evidence — proving that this incident was organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," he told reporters at his annual news conference at the end of China's national legislative session.

"By staging that incident, they want to undermine the Beijing Olympic Games, and they also try to serve their hidden agenda by inciting such incidents," said Wen.

He said Lhasa was returning to normal and "will be reopened to the rest of the world," but did not specify when.

Independent reporting from the region was impossible because of China's tight control over information and a ban on trips to the area by foreign reporters.

John Kenwood, a 19-year-old Canadian tourist who left Lhasa on Tuesday, said he saw street cleaners wearing orange vests emblazoned with the Beijing Olympics symbol.

"When the fighting began, you saw no Chinese," said Kenwood as he arrived in Nepal. "Now you see no Tibetans on the streets. The young Tibetans are probably hiding."

The Lhasa protests, led by Buddhist monks, began peacefully March 10, the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet had been effectively independent for decades before Chinese communist troops imposed Beijing's control in 1950.

The demonstrations took a violent turn Friday, leaving 16 people dead and dozens injured, according to the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama's government-in-exile in India contends 80 Tibetans died.

The protests have focused world attention on China's human rights record ahead of the Olympics. The government had hoped the Aug. 8-24 games would burnish its image as a modernizing nation.

The Dalai Lama, speaking in Dharmsala, India, seat of his government-in-exile, urged nonviolence.

"I say to China and the Tibetans: Don't commit violence," he told reporters. He suggested the Chinese themselves may have had a hand in the upheaval to discredit him.

"It's possible some Chinese agents are involved there," he said. "Sometimes totalitarian regimes are very clever, so it is important to investigate."

If violence spirals out of control, he said his "only option is to completely resign" as head of the government-in-exile. A top aide said later the Dalai Lama would not give up his role as spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists.

U.S. officials urged China to address Tibetans' grievances and to engage in direct talks with the Dalai Lama.

"I do think that his statements point out the fact that he is not arguing for independence or separation from China. Quite the opposite, he is arguing for dialogue with the Chinese," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

Chinese authorities pressed ahead with efforts to round up protesters in Lhasa. Witnesses said officials had been detaining people since the weekend.

Duoji Zeren, vice governor of Tibet, was quoted on state television as saying authorities "would take determined methods to capture the primary suspects," but no details were given.

Protests spilled over from Tibet into surrounding provinces in recent days, as police and soldiers set up checkpoints across a wide swath of western China. On Tuesday, thousands of Tibetans flooded the streets in Seda, in the southern Chinese province of Sichuan, according to the Tibet Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

Activist groups also circulated graphic photographs of protesters who they said were massacred Sunday by Chinese police at Kirti monastery in Sichuan province. The images showed several men who were apparently shot and bodies covered in blood. There was no way to verify the authenticity of the photographs.

[Mr_Cheeze]

How is boycotting watching the Olympics a legitimate form of protest? The games are about the athletes, not the host country. If the US teams pull out because of this, then you have a legitimate reason to stop watching. Those men and women have no control over what China did or does. They still deserve your support, especially considering that the Olympics go out of their way so assure the athletes are competing fairly, i.e. no usage of any performance enhancing substances.

I love the Olympics. No offense to the Tibetans, but as long as our people are there, I'm watching.

Beside, it is unfair to judge one way or the other considering nobody really knows what happened during those demonstrations to spark the violence. Just because the Dalai Lama is a man of peace in no way means that Tibetian demonstrators are necessarily non-violent. I'm not siding with China, here. Make no mistake. But neither you nor I know what really happened there.

[BG]

I choose to boycott this stupid boycott

[hogboy]

But neither you nor I know what really happened there.


incorrect

[Slappy]

How is boycotting watching the Olympics a legitimate form of protest?

Could be protesting the inconvenience that sincerely attempting to boycott Chinese-made goods would cause him?

:D

[CouchingTiger]

I've been passively boycotting China all year. What that means is that I check where a product is made and if I have an option, I buy products that are made elsewhere. No, I have not gone to the point of buying nothing made in China (as it is virtually impossible) but I'm at least trying. That said, I just bought a crappy Tiawanese bike frame last week. D'Oh!

We are also trying to recycle more, use less water (cutting out showers and only flushing every 3rd trip to the bathroom works great), using much less gas and electricity.

Whatever.

-Couch

[kernel crash]

I've been passively boycotting China all year. What that means is that I check where a product is made and if I have an option, I buy products that are made elsewhere. No, I have not gone to the point of buying nothing made in China (as it is virtually impossible) but I'm at least trying. That said, I just bought a crappy Tiawanese bike frame last week. D'Oh!

We are also trying to recycle more, use less water (cutting out showers and only flushing every 3rd trip to the bathroom works great), using much less gas and electricity.

Whatever.

-Couch

Now that frame from Taiwan, who don't consider themselves part of the Chinese mainline anyway, might be acceptable for someone boycotting Chinese products. (What was the brand.) I stopped buying all edible products from China. I look at the labels. You'd be surprise to see how much of the local stuff at the grocery store is coming from China. I've already had the maximum recommended allowance of lead as a child. China will be a big problem for us going forward. When they decide to take back Taiwan, will we / can we / should we stop them?

[kernel crash]

We are also trying to recycle more, use less water (cutting out showers and only flushing every 3rd trip to the bathroom works great), using much less gas and electricity.

Whatever.

-Couch

Cutting out showers might sound nice on paper but how realistic is it? Change the shower head. Put a empty plastic quart milk bottle filled with water in the toilet bowl tank. It will maintain the correct water level but you'll save a quart of water every time you flush.

[CouchingTiger]

Cutting out showers might sound nice on paper but how realistic is it? Change the shower head. Put a empty plastic quart milk bottle filled with water in the toilet bowl tank. It will maintain the correct water level but you'll save a quart of water every time you flush.

The shower and toilet parts were jokes :)

-Couch

[Mr_Cheeze]

incorrect

Then tell me what you know outside of what the media is reporting. And then tell me that you are unbiased in which accounts you choose to believe. All I'm saying is that stuff happens, and you don't know if those demonstrators may have overstepped their bounds in antagonizing the Chinese soldiers. You've heard of the Boston Massacre , right? Point is, it's happened before. You can't know how it really happened. Problem is, it's real hard taking the Chinese at their word. I realize that. You think of this and you can't help but think of Tianamen Square. Maybe history will prove that this is another circumstance of that, but it's way too soon judge, if you want to be fair.

[Mr_Cheeze]

Now that frame from Taiwan, who don't consider themselves part of the Chinese mainline anyway, might be acceptable for someone boycotting Chinese products. (What was the brand.) I stopped buying all edible products from China. I look at the labels. You'd be surprise to see how much of the local stuff at the grocery store is coming from China. I've already had the maximum recommended allowance of lead as a child. China will be a big problem for us going forward. When they decide to take back Taiwan, will we / can we / should we stop them?

The only thing that has stopped them at this point is their desire to not disrupt trade. I don't doubt that they already have plans in place to take the island once they feel they have a reason to flip off the international community. I'm not so sure we could stop them, either, or should even try to by using physical force. Thing is, they hold the world by the balls, especially us, with the amount of product they export. A product boycott seems good on the surface, but it's not very practical for an economy already on shaky ground.

Chinese officials do seem to take much pride in their hosting the Olympics. Perhaps boycotting the opening ceremony would be a huge symbolic slap in the face. I'm sure it won't change anything, but who knows.

[hogboy]

Then tell me what you know outside of what the media is reporting. And then tell me that you are unbiased in which accounts you choose to believe. All I'm saying is that stuff happens, and you don't know if those demonstrators may have overstepped their bounds in antagonizing the Chinese soldiers. You've heard of the Boston Massacre , right? Point is, it's happened before. You can't know how it really happened. Problem is, it's real hard taking the Chinese at their word. I realize that. You think of this and you can't help but think of Tianamen Square. Maybe history will prove that this is another circumstance of that, but it's way too soon judge, if you want to be fair.

my company co-workers, who are visiting from Shanghai and are here in Bedford for training right now, and who are in the next 10 cubicles, are filling in the blanks. So I asked them and they don't mind saying what they think is going on.

you wanna know what else sucks about China (and Shanghai) ?

most of these people have never seen the moon or stars except in books and movies. they were shocked to see the moon in the sky here in the USA. that is how polluted the air in Shanghai is....an entire lifetime of thick haze, no real sky.

[Slider]

Can't get myself riled up over this. The Tibetans are oppressed, for sure. So are lots of folks, everywhere.

I was pissed when the US boycotted the Games a few years ago. I see them as an oasis in a nasty world. Except for synchronized swimming, of course. Too violent for me.

Slider

[Mr_Cheeze]

my company co-workers, who are visiting from Shanghai and are here in Bedford for training right now, and who are in the next 10 cubicles, are filling in the blanks. So I asked them and they don't mind saying what they think is going on.

you wanna know what else sucks about China (and Shanghai) ?

most of these people have never seen the moon or stars except in books and movies. they were shocked to see the moon in the sky here in the USA. that is how polluted the air in Shanghai is....an entire lifetime of thick haze, no real sky.

What they think is going on. Yes. But they weren't there.

Unfortunately, China is a superpower that we have to tolerate, like that neighbor who refuses to clean up their yard. Boycotting a TV program isn't going to make one whit of a difference, and doesn't even make any sense when you think about it.

[hogboy]

I want ya'll to notice what is happening in the UK and France regarding this.....I am not the only one....

[Mr_Cheeze]

I want ya'll to notice what is happening in the UK and France regarding this.....I am not the only one....

Nobody is saying that there isn't some reason for concern. China's human rights record is deplorable, and they are arrogant in their dismissal of the west's general view. That said, there are ways to protest, but suggesting that we, as in our athletes, boycott the Olympics altogether goes too far. It's not fair to them. China is simply a venue.

Beside, China is going to have a very, very hard time controlling what is broadcast and reported, as much as they might try. There will be lots and lots of protests by athletes and visitors. I think you'll find in the end that China is going to regret, to some extent, at having the world's eyes cast upon them. They'll downplay it. In fact, they are already trying.

I just don't understand how you can think that not watching the games is a viable form of protest.

[hogboy]

Nobody is saying that there isn't some reason for concern. China's human rights record is deplorable, and they are arrogant in their dismissal of the west's general view. That said, there are ways to protest, but suggesting that we, as in our athletes, boycott the Olympics altogether goes too far. It's not fair to them. China is simply a venue.

Beside, China is going to have a very, very hard time controlling what is broadcast and reported, as much as they might try. There will be lots and lots of protests by athletes and visitors. I think you'll find in the end that China is going to regret, to some extent, at having the world's eyes cast upon them. They'll downplay it. In fact, they are already trying.

I just don't understand how you can think that not watching the games is a viable form of protest.

by not watching I am not seeing any ADVERTISEMENTS or SPONSORS, whose money, grants and donations fund the games. duh.

[catbbq]

by not watching I am not seeing any ADVERTISEMENTS or SPONSORS, whose money, grants and donations fund the games. duh.

Shouldn't you watch so you know what sponsors to boycott?

[Slappy]

Shouldn't you watch so you know what sponsors to boycott?

...without extending the 'boycott' to the athletes and contests themselves.

Now that there seems to make sense.

[Mr_Cheeze]

by not watching I am not seeing any ADVERTISEMENTS or SPONSORS, whose money, grants and donations fund the games. duh.

Sponsors fund the athletes. Advertisers fund NBC, and themselves.

I know that your heart is in the right place, but your anger is misdirected. Hey, don't watch it if it bothers you that much. It's your prerogative. They are just games. Not watching won't make a difference one way or the other as far as Tibet is concerned. There needs to be a concerted effort by as many nations as possible to boycott the opening ceremonies, and by the leaders of each nation to boycott attending. That will get China's attention more than low NBC viewer ratings.

Try boycotting Made In China. It won't be easy.

[hogboy]

screw the 2008 olympics. should have picked a smaller prison
to hold them in than China. someone else have the last word in the thread hogboy is done.

[bikdav]

Wow! Obviously there are some interesting points of view here. If this keeps up, we might end up being on the news about the olympics "issue". Regardless, I think the 2008 olympics issue is going to get very ugly. This bears watching.

[Mr_Cheeze]

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii260/Conauthority/BoycottChina.jpg

[hogboy]

well I wasn't gonna post again

but last week, I saw the above comic in the media
and predicted someone would slap it in the thread....

ok so while some of my bike stuff comes from Taiwan ROC...not the mainland..

clothes...all of my clothes...towels and bedding too...
here is where they are made

here is a list
---
Egypt
Slovakia
Armenia
Poland
Denmark
Germany
France
Iceland
US
Mexico
Israel
Italy
Ireland
Turkey

nothing from china I am aware of
especially footwear. all my footwear comes
from Denmark or Slovakia

........you lose

[bikdav]

O.K. Mr. Cheeze. I surrender. you made your point.

[Mr_Cheeze]

I need to tap into that Iceland clothing market, myself.

[hogboy]

I need to tap into that Iceland clothing market, myself.

Icelandic wool socks and beanie

[Mr_Cheeze]

Icelands greatest product:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Emmareeead/RtgO74Eza3I/AAAAAAAAAdE/vBtuiIDsmTM/DSC00792.JPG?imgmax=512