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[LosingNow]

the one i use is made in indonesia
 
phew

ROFL.. that was a close one!!

[pipsqueak]

What is Pipsqueak's opinion on this issue?
I'll align myself accordingly..

I am happy that the Chinese are getting embarassed.

    

i just went to beijing on a holiday over easter. what does that make me, i wonder.

[inoc]

What is Pipsqueak's opinion on this issue?
I'll align myself accordingly..

I am happy that the Chinese are getting embarassed.

    

i just went to beijing on a holiday over easter. what does that make me, i wonder.

a normal person?

[RicePlateReddy]

There are smart ways to make a point that stings. Very few are advocating a boycott of the games; least of all the Dalai Lama himself.

As we all know, due to global trade and an open economy, China has been flooding the market with attractively priced consumer items. It will take a person with a certain degree of insensitivity to the price, and a lot of time on his/her hands to filter and purchase goods without a made in Chinabadge. Due to distribution advantages of large retail chains, in several places, it becomes very challenging to shop around for non-Chinese made goods. While one can validly criticize this as double standards/hypocrisy, the bottom line is the act of a paltry few (since it calls for a pretty challenging consumerist life-style change) will make no difference to Chinese manufacturing or worry China. It will not even garner media attention or the notice of Chinese authorities who wield some influence.

In contrast, a boycott of the opening ceremony even by a paltry few (if they are famous and make the headlines) has appreciable impact. The Olympics opening ceremony is a symbolic event, and a controversy surrounding it  will hurt a pristine image the country is falsely trying to portray. The Chinese have openly advertised their immense pride in the "cultural festivities", making sure that this somehow projects them being the land of milk and honey. Prominent people boycotting this ceremony and he ceremonial lead-up to the games (the global torch relay) is a peaceful and effective way of expressing displeasure at the patently false peace-loving image a country portrays.

As has been mentioned, Tendulkar is a major icon in a sport that has nothing to do with the Olympics. His going out of his way (he called up and asked to participate in the torch carrying) is an opportunity missed to express displeasure from a humanitarian standpoint -- Tendulkar is not the Govt of India who may have to bear other consequences with China for expressed displeasure. This is all the more pertinent because the Indian government even clamped down on protests by Tibetan refugees far away from the Chinese border. In the light of all this, sadly, Tendulkar's action helps lend an air of legitimacy to the false image being spun out by the Chinese. (No one is questioning Tendulkar's right to do what he wants; equally it remains fair game to criticize his act).

Steven Spielberg wisely relented to pressure and decided not to participate in the Olympics due to China's tacit relationship with the Sudanese. This Tibetan episode is an order of magnitude worse, considering the way China has obliterated the land of the most peaceful and evolved philosophy there ever has been.

[kban1]

As has been mentioned, Tendulkar is a major icon in a sport that has nothing to do with the Olympics. His going out of his way (he called up and asked to participate in the torch carrying) is an opportunity missed to express displeasure from a humanitarian standpoint

Apparently, this is not true --please see the other thread

[LosingNow]

the land of the most peaceful and evolved philosophy there ever has been.

 

[LosingNow]

As has been mentioned, Tendulkar is a major icon in a sport that has nothing to do with the Olympics. His going out of his way (he called up and asked to participate in the torch carrying) is an opportunity missed to express displeasure from a humanitarian standpoint

Apparently, this is not true --please see the other thread

this point notwithstanding... SSL's argument is still valid

[kban1]

As has been mentioned, Tendulkar is a major icon in a sport that has nothing to do with the Olympics. His going out of his way (he called up and asked to participate in the torch carrying) is an opportunity missed to express displeasure from a humanitarian standpoint

Apparently, this is not true --please see the other thread

this point notwithstanding... SSL's argument is still valid

It is. I was pinpointing from an accuracy standpoint not the import of the message

[ruchir]

Look, you all can say what you want about boycotting this or that. Nothing is going to have an effect on Chinese. That's the ultimate truth. Don't you see that people all across the world have been protesting against China for past 1 decade, and yet it's economy has been growing at 11-12% every year. How do you think that happens? Do you seriously think China gives a Shyte about who boycotts what ceremony or what people think about it? I don't think so. Whether a few world leaders come to the opening ceremony or not is not an issue for China. If Bush or Singh or Putin or whoever doesn't go to the opening ceremony, do you seriously think that China will start improving its human rights because it will feel shamed by it? Come on, guys. If you seriously think that will happen, you are Alice living in a Wonderland.

China is so gone far beyond any shame, that no symbolic gestures or postures or protests is going to make even a prick on its thick skin. It understands only one language - the language of money. Stop trading with it, if you have the guts. Stop trading with it, if you really want it to change itself. Stop trading with it and it will listen to you. If you keep giving China billions of dollars, despite what it does to its people, why the phuck should China give shyte to any protests or gesture? It shouldn't because it's not losing anything. It won't because it's not losing anything.

[Blwe_torch]

France criticises Chinese torch security
9 Apr 2008, 2213 hrs IST,REUTERS
 
PARIS: French government ministers criticised Chinese security staff on Wednesday for the way they handled the Olympic flame's passage through Paris earlier this week, during which they put out the Olympic torch several times.

Tracksuit-clad Chinese security operatives repeatedly cut short torch-bearers' runs on Monday and packed the torch onto a bus, apparently because they were concerned by the numerous pro-Tibet and human rights protests along the route.

"I am singularly surprised by the conduct of those who have the responsibility under the Olympic charter -- the Chinese -- by their conduct in the streets of Paris," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the lower house of parliament.

"And I was not the only one -- the athletes were as well, and they were more surprised than I was," he added.

French police have said the Chinese officials who accompanied the flame caused confusion that slowed the procession.

Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot said Beijing officials made a series of last-minute changes during the procession in Paris, making life more difficult for their French counterparts.

"The French public authorities had to adapt in real time to these modifications, which were outside their control," she told parliament's regular session of questions to the government.

Two-time Olympic judo champion David Douillet, whose run was interrupted several times before his torch was extinguished during his handover, said the tracksuit-wearing staff jogging alongside him were "robots or watchdogs", adding that he felt "as if someone had spat in my face".

The flame's Chinese security group has been strongly criticised before.

In London, Sebastian Coe, chairman of the 2012 Olympics organising committee and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, called them "thugs", British media reported.

The flame's passage through Paris also sparked criticism of the French police, who seized flags from some pro-Tibet demonstrators, prompting Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to order an internal investigation into what happened.

"Let us not go back on this dark day. There are administrative investigations that are being conducted by the interior minister on how this happened," Kouchner said.

The chaotic scenes in Paris, during which protesters threw themselves at the torch, booed its passage and hung banners from monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral, mirrored similar disruption in London on Sunday.

Protesters in San Francisco, also angry at China's handling of violence in the mountainous region of Tibet, marched ahead of the torch's arrival there on Wednesday. 
 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/France_criticises_Chinese_torch_security/articleshow/2939018.cms

[LosingNow]

Sachin not to run in Olympic torch relay
NDTV Correspondent
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 (New Delhi)

After footballer Baichung Bhutia, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has decided not to take part in the Olympic torch relay in New Delhi.

The torch is expected to arrive in the Capital from Islamabad later on Wednesday.

According to early reports, Sachin may have pulled out of the relay because of groin injury.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Suresh Kalmadi, however, said he has not received any information in this regard.

''IOA has not received any communication from Tendulkar withdrawing from the torch relay run. He told me a few days back that he will be arriving in Delhi on April 17 morning. I have not received any communication to the contrary. We have to wait and see,'' Kalmadi said.

''(There will be) no replacement if Sachin pulls out. It's an individual decision,'' said IOA general secretary Randhir Singh.

National football captain Baichung Bhutia and India's first IPS officer Kiran Bedi had earlier pulled out of the event.

While Bhutia decided to skip the event in support of the Tibetan cause, Bedi had cited ''scuffing'' security arrangement for her move.

In a related development, a group of Tibetans have managed to breach security to protest outside the Chinese Embassy.

The protests come just a day before the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics are to be held in Delhi.

Last time, the protesters had managed to storm the Chinese Embassy. After that security was beefed up.

It has been further tightened over the last few days because of the Thursday torch relay. (With PTI Inputs)

[cricinfo]

 
 
 
Sachin Tendulkar not to carry Olympic torch: Report
16 Apr 2008, 1026 hrs IST,INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK
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NEW DELHI: In a major blow to the Olympic torch relay preparations in the National Capital, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly announced that he will not participate in the event.

The announcement comes barely a day after Bollywood actor Soha Ali Khan said she would not be a part of the Olympic torch relay in New Delhi this week for "strong personal reasons."

"I fully support the Olympic relay and am saddened at the disruptions in its path in various parts of the world as well as the violence in Tibet. But I can't run due to strong personal reasons," Soha, who was initially a part of the relay with actor brother Saif Ali Khan and Rang de Basanti co-star Aamir Khan, had told reporters on Tuesday.

Sports fraternity had been demanding that only sportspersons should run the Olympic torch relay.
 
 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Sachin_Tendulkar_not_to_carry_Olympic_torch_Report/articleshow/2955440.cms