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Can Great Britain's Greatest Athletes Be 'Commanded' To Kow-Tow To China?
I suck. He sucks. She sucks. You suck. They suck. We suck.
And so it goes, and goes, and goes.
Such statements seem commonplace nowadays, especially in the states. And while we freely confess that we can cuss, curse & swear as well as anyone can, we don't - and never did - have much time at all for those particular expressions.
However, there's always an exception to every rule.
Kow-towing, most certainly sodding does suck!
As does this shocking snippet of a sad state of current affairs news item published in today's 'Mail on Sunday'.
Read the rest of this sorry story, if you've a strong enough stomach.Britain kow tows to China as athletes are forced to sign no criticism contracts
British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.
The move – which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938 – immediately provoked a storm of protest.
The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes' contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.
(snip)
From the moment they sign up, the competitors – likely to include the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and world record holder Paula Radcliffe – will be effectively gagged from commenting on China's politics, human rights abuses or illegal occupation of Tibet.
Prince Charles has already let it be known that he will not be going to China, even if he is invited by Games organisers.
His views on the Communist dictatorship are well known, after this newspaper revealed how he described China's leaders as “appalling old waxworks” in a journal written after he attended the handover of Hong Kong.
Shame?
Sadly, it seems there's no such thing as far as the stupid shitheads at the British Olympic Association (BOA) are concerned.
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Labels: Beijing, British Olympic Association, censorship, China, human rights, Olympic games, Paula Radcliffe, Prince Charles, Zara Phillips
posted by Richard at Sunday, February 10, 2008
8 Comments:
I don't see anything stopping the athletes from commenting AFTER the games, when they get back home. Well, maybe if they think they will be competing again in 4-yrs. Or maybe if some olympic committee will strip them of their medals. So, we will get comments from the non-medal winning athletes who know they won't be competing in 2012? I look forward to it.
Call it kow-towing or capitulating or whatever one wants to, the bottom line's the same - personal egos triumph over individual's principles.
This country has boycotted before and it could quite easily do the same again - if not for individual, unprincipled egos.
Whoever signs to agree to such a 'gagging order' contract, will lose my respect forever.
Does the 'spirit' of the Olympics no longer mean anything to those most closely involved?
It's going to be [doubly] interesting to see if the same rules are going to apply American participation. Especially since China now virtualy "owns" America. Remember those little ditties like "The piper must be payed." - and - "Who pays the piper, calls the tune."?
Phil, the same thought crossed my mind. Imagine the US kowtowing to China.
I read on a truth blog that Chicken Chow Mein is actually cat meat.
I am a vegitatian but believe that "sportspersons" are a triffle above bottom feeders in the IQ chain of carbon based life forms.
Perhaps we can now add sports whores to our media whores and politico whores list.
This is not the British Olympic Association's idea. This is the result of pressure from on high - political high.
The true cause of this rot began when pillocks agreed to stage the games in China in the first place. Hell, why not hold them in Burma, or North Korea, or perhaps Sudan? It was a political move to boost trade with China, and this latest crap is to ensure Wen Jiabao and his cronies aren't politically embarrassed and take their custom to Russia.
The British government is bowing the knee to China. Whether American athletes will be publicly given similar instructions is open to question, but if not, I would guess they'll be "strongly advised" in private.
I don't know about pressure being brought to bear on the Olympic officials, but someone has had the courage to rethink:
www.sott.net/articles/show/148707
'Olympic Chiefs back down...'
*sweetoldlady*
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