The Olympics Are Dead to Me

I haven't blogged in almost a year. It got to a point where I was blogging just for the sake of blogging and couldn't come up with anything I found important to 'get out there'. Even if "important" to me was just being my goofy-ass self and trying to amuse a few people for a few laughs and the attention it garnered. Besides, I ran out of tampon-related stories to pass along.

Today my blog is rising up from its ashes so that I can make my opinion of the Beijing XXIX Olympiad be known. And what is my opinion, you may ask? (ok, just pretend you're asking) My opinion is that they don't exist. In 2001 the IOC selection committee made a horrible mistake in choosing China as the host country. I believe that countries have the right to live within themselves and their own rules of self government.....so long as it does not impede upon basic human rights. China's position on freedom of speech, movement and religion do just that!

Did you know that China executes more people for committing capital crimes than any country in the world? I know, this might not seem like a shocking stat for the country that holds 1/4 of the world's population...especially if you are someone who is for the death penalty, unlike myself. But consider for a second that China has 68 crimes to which execution can be the sentence....included in those: tax fraud, and embezzlement. nice! Oh, by the way, they are not only the top execution country in terms of gross numbers, they are also in the top 7 in the world when you work the number down to per capita amounts.

Here's a few other things that weighed in on my decision to avoid this year's Olympic Games:

China's one-child policy, leading to many forced abortions, deserted children and infanticide...

China indirectly supports the atrocities in Darfur by supplying Sudanese troops with small arms, in exchange for oil....and has threatened to use UN security council veto rights to oppose stricter action in the area.

The "Chinese Apartheid" in Tibet

The government controlled media

The crackdown on the Falun Gong

etc. etc. etc.

There are literally a hundred other things I could list. I am actually somewhat appalled that governments around the globe did not withhold participation in the Olympics as a protest. Bush's comments during his 3-nation Asian tour leading up to the games are meaningless. They have no sting.

It might be of little interest to anyone, but I am taking it upon myself to boycott the Olympics this year. I am not going to watch a single minute of any competition nor read about it on-line, and if anyone brings it up in discussion, I will make it a point to start lecturing them on China's human rights violations.

It's a shame. As a sports fan, I love watching the Olympics and especially cheering for Canada. Oh well, see you at the next summer Olympics- London in 2012. Maybe I'll make it a point to go there and take in some events to make up for my 8 year withdrawal.

Oh, and don't even bother mentioning winter Olympics to me...those take place during prime drinking months (you have to drink more in cold months to keep warm), I barely even recognize that they're taking place.