Olympics in Beijing.....A BIG mistake

I hope the International Olympic Committee comes to the realization that granting the 2008 Olympic games to China was a big mistake. China pledged in 2001 that the games would promote the development of "democracy and human rights." The Chinese government is miserably failing this pledge and is further abusing the rights of its citizens (if they have any) and those of the international community.

Many are blaming China for the problems in Darfur. Steven Spielberg resigned his advisory position in protest of their role in the crisis in Sudan. I don't blame China for the atrocities that are being committed in Darfur, but they are protecting the Sudanese government from any action by the United Nations. The Chinese government has blocked measures in the security council while it continues to buy oil and provide loads of military weapons to the Sudanese government.

China is, however, directly responsible for the complete disregard of the very principles that the Olympics are supposed to stand for. Rather than show the world that it can adhere to the “fundamental ethical values” outlined in the Olympic Charter, China has chosen to brutally crack down on freedom of expression under the auspice of security. Just recently the Chinese government announced that it would censor the Internet used by foreign media during the games. Par for the course if you ask me. I would expect more things like this to occur as opening day comes closer. It would not surprise me one bit if China was manufacturing this terrorist threat so they have an excuse to further abuse the human rights of its citizens and others. How will we ever know since China censors everything that comes out of their country?

While I hope that nothing bad happens at the Olympics, I do hope that the Chinese government ends up with egg on its face. I hope that athletes, sponsors, and attendees use this opportunity to highlight to the world the atrocities committed and facilitated by China.

No Real Change...Darfur still under siege

The Washington Post is reporting that while Sudanese President Bashir was visiting Darfur calling for peace and unity, his army was bombing villages in Darfur. You can read the whole article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072500627.html?referrer=emailarticle

The article states that "a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed reports of daily bombing in the past four or five days but could not give further details."

So is he really calling for peace or was this just a publicity stunt designed to ease the pressure from the international community?