What is worse is politicizing sports competition during the Olympics. I'm not naive... the Olympics have been used politically by the host nations (and those competing) for many decades. That doesn't mean a boycott is useful or desirable. I think it was a mistake for President Carter to boycott the Moscow Olympics. It would also be a mistake here. The Olympics should be used to open doors to dialogue, not close them. Impeach Bush.
honestly, i don't really care about who is going who is not. it's a sports event, if no one wants to go, we'll wait another 4 years. i don't get why they wanted the olympics at first place. and if you are not polite, why should we be polite with you. i wonder if we can ban those countries who boycott the opening.
Fine with me. Hell I'll throw in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas, American Samoa, Saipan, etc while we're at it. Hell the US has tried to get rid of Puerto Rico but they keep voting to stay attached. The U.S. has given up occupied territory before, see the Phillipines, etc. I got no problem with them doing it again.
Is it possible for Beijing to give up the Game? and say F it, we don't want it? That would be so funny and cool. And I have no problem with it.
I guess you don't live in Texas. It is easy for you to say that. What about the folks in Texas ? Do they want to be part of Mexico ? I am just curious.
I don't know. I don't care. Anyway - the people in Tibet have spoken as to what they would rather do. I find it a depressingly regular feature of this debate is that the primary justification that pro-PRC people have for the Chinese occupation of Tibet is to cite to colonial wars of occupation from almost 200 years ago. That doesn't exactly help your cause. The Tibetan Army invaded China and burned the Chinese capital to the ground a thousand years ago. That type of behavior would reallly not be acceptable today despite the fact that it happened once.
Texas was settled in the early 19th C. and left Mexico in 1836- that's 176+ years ago - I don't get it. Anyway why are we talking about Mexico anyway - Texas, or as I call it, Nueva Esapana, still belongs to the Hapsburg throne.
Yeah. It must be pleasant being able to ignore both present and history and to only take a span of time when Tibet had some de facto autonomous rule yet never achieved de jure independence then have a giant leap of faith. Or, is it depressing? I forget.
You seem to be the ignorant one here. I've read up on the issue, and posted on it, on this very BBS. Use the search function. I'm not really interested into getting into yet another pointless debate about the significance of nominal Qing dynasty suzerainty (whatever that means) despite the absence of chinese presence during the 18th and 19th centuries. As of the early 20th C, the Tibetans threw the Chinese out of Tibet - China re-invaded in the mid-20th Century, and remains in occupation utntil today. That's pretty much it. Now - I'm bracing myself about a post regarding the incredible significance of some puppet Lama back in the 16th Century who was coerced into signing a piece of paper that he had no authority to sign, giving up rights he had no authority to give, to some long-vanished chinese dynasty. And I'm bracing myself for this paper being waved around as some ultra-significant smoking gun. That's about as valuable as my promise to sell you the Brooklyn bridge. It brings to mind the spectacle of a cartoonish, robe-wearing Imperial Mandarin functionary/courtesan caricature, waving around a scroll of protocol uber alles.
Boycott or no boycott (my bet is on "no", but there will be a few T-shirts and banners here and there), this will be the most interesting Olympics in ages. Aside from a spectacular sports show, and believe me the Chinese knows how to put on a show just wait till you see the opening ceremonies, we will get the cat-and-mouse game between police and protesters. Maybe the Beijing citizens will get involved too and start a few fights with the protestors. Cann't ask anything more for entertainment.
