But won't you think of the poor athletes? This is their one moment to shine, and get a lucrative contract to offset the years of toil and training.

Boycotting the Olympics is not good for business or athletes.

But I see your point, nonetheless.

Sorry to be cranky, Temujin, but if the 1936 Olympics were being held today I would hope we would boycott it. Jesse Owens stands as an example of how <i>not</i> boycotting such an event can be turned to the Lord's work. But the good of business or athletes' careers does not enter into the argument for me.

Who the heck cares about some freak show "athletic" event any more? My drug-crazed monster can run faster than yours? Ugh.

People need to remember something when we go dumping all sorts of public money into supporting something like this: it's run by a private corporation answerable to nobody.

Oh, Al, you know just the way to get my irish up and my vitriol to spew forth.

Don't get me wrong. I love sports. But the Olympics, in general, are a joke. The Olympic movement allows the world's super-wealthy former arch-dukes, totalitarian leftovers and pocket-lining arse-kissing eurocrats to continue to feel powerful and interesting. Athletes are the last thing on their minds, so why should the rest of us give a shit? The main beneficiaries of the Olympics are corruptible municipal politicians, multi-national corporations, pharmaceutical innovators and, apparently, Dick Pound. But don't get me started on that self-promoting self-righteous dork.

As for the Beijing Olympics specifically, I find it impossible to celebrate the pursuit of excellence through sport against the backdrop of Orwellian societal control, mindless totalitarian dogma, poverty, governmental hypocrisy, general oppression, breaching of human rights and valuing baby girls at a level of near zero such that orphanages are brimming. That is what China represents to me and we (people of the world) should be encouraging them to stop the insanity rather than going to a party at their place.

Thanks for the opportunity to vent.

Anyone who needs their eyes opened about the Olympics needs to read "The Lords of the Rings: Power, Money and Drugs in the Modern Olympics" and "The New Lords of the Rings: Olympic Corruption and How to Buy Gold Medals" ... Simply amazing stuff. Review of the second book is here.

I care for the Olympics only for the show of the Opening and Closing ceremonies and keep track of how our Canadians are doing.
Otherwise, I could care less of the competition, where it's being held, or what the government is or anything else.

A boycott solves nothing other than to screw the athlete.
Go over there and kick their butts!

Go Canada!

Just another expensive patriotism exercise, then. Excellent.

The country, as a whole, would be much better off if we dumped this sham and put the billions of $ into getting more regular people active and healthy. We can all be that phoney Swede that Participaction trumpeted in the 70's. We just have to get beyond the bit of ego massage we get from watching "our" athletes compete in rigged competitions run solely for the commercial benefit of a few individuals.

"A boycott solves nothing other than to screw the athlete."

Aren't we frequently told how the athletes do it for the love of the sport and really have the frame of mind not to compete against others but compete against themselves? Can't they do that at home? Don't the athletes get to compete yearly at various world championships, national championships and regional events?

"The country, as a whole, would be much better off if we dumped this sham and put the billions of $ into getting more regular people active and healthy."

hear, hear.

If it were 1936, I'd hope we boycott as well. Realistically though, it will not happen in 2008. There would be too many pissed off people (re: business and athletes).

<i>Aren't we frequently told how the athletes do it for the love of the sport and really have the frame of mind not to compete against others but compete against themselves?</i>

Well, the mainstream media (read: CBC) loves to paint that heart-wrenching picture, but it's complete bullshit. Competing at the Olympics is a spotlight bonanza for athletes, and its supposed to be a global event with the best competition. A gold medal win is fifteen minutes of fame that can be parlayed into book sales!

Just for continuity though: I have no financial stake in the Olympics, and I think China's despicable record on human rights is certainly reason to boycott the whole country. I certainly support sending that strong message to China. Nonetheless, I bet there are plenty of things in my home that were built there, plenty of goods on the store shelves that our nation has imported from them, and plenty of financial transactions tacking place daily that between Canada and China that would boggle my mind.

Boycotting the Olympics would be a bit of a contradiction, it seems to me.

You have bumped into my thoughts on hypocrisy there, Temujin. How firm are we actually in relation to our values? Do our acts or our words matter - and, more importantly, do the acts or words of our leaders when referring to "important Canadian values"?

The words of ou leaders matter not a whit while we continue to pour billions into China in return for the cheap goods that power our economy. Three cheers for the Chinese gulag!

The honest truth is that the West would almost immediatey collapse if we weren't able to buy Chinese sweatshop goods. We're hypocrites, plain and simple. The Chinese know it and know they have nothing to fear from us.

"The honest truth is that the West would almost immediatey collapse if we weren't able to buy Chinese sweatshop goods. We're hypocrites, plain and simple. The Chinese know it and know they have nothing to fear from us."

Wow. I hadn't really thought of "the China question" that way i.e. we are reliant on the cheap labour there in order that consumer goods remain inexpensive. That certainly explains alot about our political position and how committed our government to them.

I also agree that a boycott in 2008 is as likely as a snowball in Hell.

Just so we are clear, I believe Canada should declare war on the ChiComs. My policy aims are mostly unlikely.

Mostly.

Alot of athletes do it for the love of the sport and will never come anywhere near a medal. But they trained for the olympic experience. You may see on the "Canadian Trail" that an athlete finished 67th in a race but just to be in that race representing Canada is a achievement none of us will ever come close to.
World Championships are one thing, but the Olympics still have that special spirit, dispite the obvious commercialism.
A boycott takes this dream away.

Lots of dreams are taken away from people who work very hard. Why is this one different and why should it supersede a reasonable position to take on a giving money and PR to a tyrany...as well as China?

My dream is to be the best rec. soccer player in my league. I believe I am very close to achieving this goal. I am accepting applications for sponsorship.

For what casus belli, Flea? The time to beat the stuffing out of the PRC came and went about 57 years ago, I think...

Hindsight is always 20/20... you are right Chris, we really should have done something about Mao half a century ago.

Alan you make a great point though about giving the money to China. At least when I buy something that was "made in China" there is a reasonable chance that someone in a sweatshop somewhere received his day's pay (as meager as that may be). With the Olympics, I see the Chinese government getting kerbillions of dollars that will not be spend on improving the lives of their citizens.

One can hope that as China continues dealing with the west the general populace there will see the obvious advantages of free and open societies.

Although I suspect the ChiComs will indoctrinate their people regarding the features of communism every time one of their athletes wins a gold medal.

Yeah, no better time to start getting all high and mighty on human rights than right before you have to host the Winter games in 2010. Great move. Are you sure you didn't go to Mount Allison business school, Alan?

All the better to make it a showcase for freedom.

Hans, I'll sponsor you. Is it tax-deductible?