Thread: Tibet and the Olympics
View Single Post
Unread 9 Apr 2008, 10:50   #4
All Systems Go
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 3,347
All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.All Systems Go has ascended to a higher existance and no longer needs rep points to prove the size of his e-penis.
Re: Tibet and the Olympics
Quote:
Originally Posted by dda
There are many in San Francisco who are planning to protest when the Olympic flame comes to town in the near future. They are protesting because the Olympics because of Chinese repression in Tibet.

Many are calling for a boycott of the China hosted Olympics because of what has gone on in Tibet.

Does it make any sense to any of you that a protest of a sporting event would in some way effect China's policy re Tibet?
Personally I would protest because the Olymic Games is shit and takes up TV for 23 hours a day. However, I do not have a TV atm so this doesn't bother me at all.

I think there are a number of things which the protestors might be trying to do.

1) Increase international awareness of the situation in Tibet in order to increase press coverage and therefore pressurise China to use less overt methods of repression.

2) Increase international pressure on China to stop ****ing with Tibet, using methods described above.

3) Piss off China.

Now, if any of these aims are even slightly realised then the protests would have been a success (sort of). There is no chance in hell that these protests are going to stop what is happening in Tibet, but may at least bring a slackening of things for a short while.

One problem is that it doesn't seem to be something the international community wants to bother with. There is no stategic reasons for using up a load of political capital on this area and no benefit to pissing off China.

Also, whilst it's a nice image to imagine a free Tibet, it's not really a vote winner. Once the games are over, Tibet will go back into obscurity. However, the other highlighted problem zones (Palestine, Iraq, Darfur etc) will still be in the news. I don't wish to suggest that these are vote winners, but I would argue that they are more deeply ingrained in the mind of the average person in the UK at the moment,* as well as having political relevence for their own sake.

*I don't know about the US, but I'd imagine it's pretty much the same
__________________
The 20th century has been characterised by three developments of great political importance. The growth of democracy; the growth of corporate power; and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
All Systems Go is offline   Reply With Quote