Weasels bow to China’s will. Weasels gave the Olympics to China’s dictators – so how lovely to see this deal now backfiring on both. And how especially nice to see the IOC’s chief spokesweasel, our own unctuous Kevan Gosper, squirm as he tries to explain just how the IOC sold out even free speech. — Andrew Bolt
Showcasing the evils of totalitarianism. As I pointed out in my ‘flame of shame’ piece back in April, the international Olympic brand is in real trouble… With Tibet, Darfur, human rights abuses, censorship, rancid pollution – China is not showcasing a great civilisation but the horrors of its backward and brutal regime. — Trevor Cook
Do it ourselves censorship. This report from Reporters Without Borders details the decision by European satellite company, Eutelsat, to stop broadcasts into Asia of an independent US based Chinese-language broadcaster NTDTV, using the dubious claim that the halt is due to a ‘technical problem’. — Andrew Bartlett
Add spying to Beijing’s crimes. Quoting an SMH story which says “China has installed Internet-spying equipment in all the major hotel chains serving the 2008 Summer Olympics, a US senator charged on Tuesday,” Trevor Cook writes: “Maybe he’s over-reacting but how would you know where they would stop in implementing ‘security’ for the games?” — Trevor Cook
The IOC is a despicable body of people, and the greedy, shameless and brazen Autralian, Kevan Gospar has about him the same sickening stench of corruption as did the John W. Howard’s coalition. This is the man who pushed forward his non-Olympian daughter to take part in the torch relay prior to the Sydney Olympics, and the man who now pretends lack of knowledge about China’s real intent to censor the internet, continuing to treat it’s minority peoples as sh*t and murdering dissidents by the hundred’s of thousands before, during and after the games in Beijing. Kevan Gospar not knowing about the communist government and its intent is about as believable as his grand children’s’ rubber ducky, floating in its bathwater and whistling the main arias from La Boheme.
Many others have written in to say that selling the games to China is as bad selling them to Germany in 1936, and subsequently to the USSR later on. To say that the Olympic games were ‘awarded to China, Germany and the USSR’ is a gross distortion of the truth. The countries with the worst and most corrupt governments simply pay the relevant officials with as much money as the traffic will bear. We are not all insanely stupid, Mr Gospar. And most Australians with any brain matter at all, seem to wince, and put up with it. The hard part is watching a brace of young athletes, many of them from moderately poor backgrounds, who want desperately to succeed. They wish to bring glory to themselves and their families, which is perfectly understandable. That they have been sold a monumental pup is a tragedy. The ‘pup’ I refer to is called commercial exploitation. They are not participating in a glorious test of strength, speed or courage for the sake of their country and the noble, and pious cant of bringing, the world together. They, by a series of lies, commercialism and the greed of the IOC officials, have been brought to the point of risking their lives, if necessary, (in order to cope with the pollution) and pushing themselves beyond all reason. For Olympic glory Mr Gospar? For commercial schlok. Also, I pity the horses having to go eventing in HGK, at least the athletes can protest.
‘Since reform began in1978, China’s extraordinary economic development has pulled more than half a Billion people above the World Bank’s poverty line of $US1 a day. [In most poor countries $1US is about what it costs to buy 2000 calories of nutrition a day and other basic necessities.] The World Bank estimates the proportion of the popn. In poverty fell from 60% to 10% in 25 years.’ – “China’s wealth Gap a growing Divide” John Garnaut, the Age 10/09/07
If we view Human Rights in terms of protecting the populace from poverty as well as tyranny then China has been the world’s best over the past few decades.
After all historically all humans have only 4 human ‘needs’ – water, food, shelter, clothing-; all else are ‘wants’ – respect, legal status, education, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion etc. and these are ‘oughts’ and tied into International Treaties or simply the laws or conventions of a country.
e.g people need food we don’t need validation we want validation. we don’t need love we want love, we don’t need respect we want respect. {Note that sex, health & security were added as human necessities in an essay in the May edition of the Monthly and arguments engendered for}
Hey that might not be std. stuff but when your rice bowl is empty, you’re knotted up by hunger andhave no energy lots of other thoughts go to the background