Spielberg boycotts Olympics

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EvaUnit02
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Spielberg boycotts Olympics

Post by EvaUnit02 »

Spielberg withdraws from Beijing as an artistic advisor over China's policy on the conflict in Sudan.

Game organisers' response:-
Games Organizers Respond to Spielberg
Thursday, February 14, 2008 7:49:03 AM
By CHRISTOPER BODEEN

China is blaming activists with "ulterior motives" for linking the Beijing Olympics to the nation's involvement in Sudan, with top officials saying they shared concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Games organizers and the Foreign Ministry responded Thursday to Steven Spielberg rejecting a role as an artistic adviser to the Olympics.

The film director withdrew on Tuesday on the grounds that China wasn't doing enough to pressure Sudan over the conflict in its western region of Darfur.

China is believed to have influence over the Islamic regime because it buys two-thirds of the country's oil exports while selling it weapons and defending it in the United Nations.

In their first response to Spielberg's announcement, Games organizers said his decision would not affect planning for the opening and closing ceremonies, adding: "We express our regret over his recent personal statement."

"The Chinese government has made unremitting efforts to resolve the Darfur issue, an obvious fact to the international community which holds unprejudiced opinions on this issue," the organizers, known as BOCOG, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

"Linking the Darfur issue to the Olympic Games will not help to resolve this issue and is not in line with the Olympic Spirit that separates sports from politics," BOCOG said.

China is on the defensive against critics using the Games to spotlight the communist regime's curbs on human rights, press freedoms, and religion.

"It is understandable if some people do not understand the Chinese government policy on Darfur," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "But I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept."

Liu said China was working with the United Nations to resolve the Darfur crisis.

"China is also concerned about the humanitarian crisis there, but we have been playing a positive and constructive role in promoting peace in Darfur," he said.

Liu said China supported a hybrid African Union and United Nations force to patrol Darfur.

"This did not come easily and our efforts have been applauded by the international community," Liu said.

Liu said 140 Chinese engineers helped prepare the hybrid force and Chinese companies in Sudan had helped dig wells and build small-scale power plants in Darfur.

"On the issue of Darfur, empty rhetoric will not help," Liu said. "What is more important is to do more things to help with the peace process there and alleviate the humanitarian crisis."

Fighting between government-backed militia and rebels in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people and left an estimated 2.5 million displaced since 2003.

source= mail.com news portal
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Post by thelostdragon »

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OMG, Spielberg will not interact as an artistic adviser in the Olypmpics. What a loss! :lol: :roll:
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tom2681
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Post by tom2681 »

We all know Spielberg's an asshole.
Let's just accept it and move on with our lives.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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Post by bradavon »

You guys are entirely missing the point!

Spielberg is well respected throughout the world and when someone with his status makes a point people listen. Personally I think it's great of him and more people need to do the same.

The Chinese government over the last 8 years have decided they want more and more power, they want more say in World decisions and want to become the next Empire but what they don't want is any of the responsibility that comes with it.

I don't know about you guys but I find it frightening that the next probable Empire will be a Communist country with no democracy whatsoever, no freedom of speech, a dreadful human rights record and a country that will not get involved with countries that really need international aid (i.e - Darfur and Burma). The amount they have helped in Darfur is minimal and they've not helped Burma at all, other than to line their own pockets.

p.s - He stuffed up War of the Worlds big time but he's far from an asshole!
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Post by thelostdragon »

bradavon wrote:Personally I think it's great of him and more people need to do the same.
Why?
I don't know about you guys but I find it frightening that the next probable Empire will be a Communist country
Welcome to the world of people who are still afraid of an empire that might be democratic, but nevertheless frightening.
with no democracy whatsoever
You aren't used to any other system. How do you know that the lack of being able to vote once a year is bad?
no freedom of speech
Which we don't really have either over here. It's just other things we aren't allowed to speak about.
a dreadful human rights record
We might have laws that are supposed to defend the human rights. But are they really respected?
and a country that will not get involved with countries that really need international aid (i.e - Darfur and Burma). The amount they have helped in Darfur is minimal
Your example of Africa is really ironic here, because the USA isn't much better concerning this continent. Helped how? Minimal in comparison to whom? In South Africa one million people are dying of AIDS each year. You can keep those people alive for a long time. You can't cure AIDS, but you can delay the actual outbreak for many, many years. The medicine exists. But they are so expensive that no African can afford them. So the South African government made a suggestion which was to produce the medicine on their own in order to give it away for the cost of production in order to save their people. It wouldn't have cost us anything, they just needed the licence. The permission to do it. You know what George W. Bush said during the WTO conference in Hong Kong? He said he was very sorry, but cheap medicine would be against the principles of free world trade. He probably said that in the name of the companies that bought his presidentship for him.

So much for the the USA, the paradigm of democracy.

Bombing Sudan surely helps.

Stop worrying about China being the new world leader. You won't have to switch with the negros in Africa, this I can assure you.
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Post by bradavon »

thelostdragon wrote:Why?
I've already said why.
thelostdragon wrote:Welcome to the world of people who are still afraid of an empire that might be democratic, but nevertheless frightening.
Funny the last time I checked China wasn't democratic. America is and I suppose you're twisting it around to have a bash at America's foreign policy, again. Which certainly isn't perfect but it's national human rights record is perfect compared against China's, not to mention it's freedom of speech is much better too.
thelostdragon wrote:You aren't used to any other system. How do you know that the lack of being able to vote once a year is bad?
Name me another system that has been proven to work again and again better?

I never said democracy is perfect but it's by far the best of a mixed bunch. I guess you'd prefer it if all your rights were taken away from you? I wouldn't. It's called Communism and whenever it's been tried throughout history it's never worked, nice idea on paper though.
Which we don't really have either over here. It's just other things we aren't allowed to speak about.
Compared to many other countries we're very lucky. To compare our freedom of speech rights to be on par with a country like China where you're actively locked up for even saying the slightest thing is just laughable.
We might have laws that are supposed to defend the human rights. But are they really respected?
Of course. I never said it was perfect but my many countries we're again very lucky.
thelostdragon wrote:Your example of Africa is really ironic here, because the USA isn't much better concerning this continent.
I don't believe I ever said it was. This topic is about China. You're the one who says you don't but clearly have a chip on your shoulder against America and before you say "no I don't, it's their government" take note of your language in the section I quoted.

It sounds like you're saying just because America (or any other Western government) isn't perfect that it immediately makes China as bad and therefore should get the same amount of flack. There are different levels of democracy, freedom or speech and human rights, and China is much worse in most of them.
thelostdragon wrote:Stop worrying about China being the new world leader. You won't have to switch with the negros in Africa, this I can assure you.
Right, thanks for your infinite wisdom on this one :roll:
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Post by tom2681 »

@Brad:
He stuffed up War of the Worlds big time but he's far from an asshole
Don't misunderstand.
I'm not criticizing Spielberg as a director (although I could).
I'm just saying he is a big asshole who is using his position to make political statements on subjects he plainly does not understand.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
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Post by bradavon »

Oh right fair enough then.

We don't know he's not looked into how much China are helping though.
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Post by Markgway »

I don't see how boycotting the Olympics helps bring China closer to the west... it'll just piss them off. Lots of countries do fucked up things, and China, though bad, is not alone. What if countries started to boycott the US over Israel? I agree that democracy, though imperfect, is the only viable form of government. Anything else is a sacrifice of human rights.
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Post by Yi-Long »

People need to understand that China isnt like the west. It's still in the midst of a industrial revolution and in the midst of extreme growth, which the west has already had 100 years ago.
And a 100 years ago, human rights in the west werent great either.

It's pretty easy for us to now point fingers at other countries who arent as 'evolved' and in our eyes 'civilised' yet, but that's just the proces EVERY country goes through in order to become succesfull and wealthy. Today's poor workers are working for a better future for their kids, just like our own great grandfathers did for us a 100 years ago in factories and mines etc.

That being said, China is obviously not great at human rights, especially when you do some research into the labourcamps for members of Falung Gong (sp?) etc.

So I can understand why people arent happy about having an olympic 'party' in the same country where hundreds-ofthousands, or even millions, are treated very poorly.

However, 'the west' shouldnt be pointing fingers. It isnt China that's been interfering with other countries politics, or have been starting wars, or is threatening with them. And maybe China isnt giving enough money to Africa, but why should they? They arent the ones who fucked that continet up in the first place: WE WERE! China needs all their money to take care of their own to be honest.

And about democracy. It doesnt work. It might be the best of all the systems out there, but it aint perfect. For China, the current system is working, AND they're learning from earlier mistakes. Most people in China were still uneducated not long ago, so when most people are dumb, democracy isnt a good system. You have to have at least a bunch of smart people to make a democracy works, and even than it will be a system full of faults. Democracy in many cases is just convincing as many people you can by lying to them, and making them vote for you. That's not right.

Also, and I use this example alot when explaining the difference between China and a country like England or Holland. When your a teacher, and you have a class of 25 kids... you treat that class differently, you have different rules and 'laws' etc, as when you have a class of 2500 kids.
With a less amount of people, it's easier to take everyone's opinions and what they need and want etc in account. When it's that many people, you really just have to make decisions which are good for the vast majority, and yeah it will hurt a small portion of the huge group, but it's the only way it will work out.

Dont get me wrong. China does have some seriously bad stuff going on. And I do want it to stop, as every sane person does. Innocents should never suffer from bad politics.
But people around the world suffer from bad politics. go to America and people are suffering there from bad politics, and losing all their rights and liberties etc with the new adjusted privacy laws etc...

Would America be a suitable country to hold olympics, with their illegal wars and lies and threats and torturing etc etc...?
Would Holland be a suitable country, with their support for these illegal wars?

Spielberg can say and do whatever he wants. If he feels he doesnt want to eb a part of the olympics because of those reasons, that's his own choice. I can respect that. It doesnt mean I will automatically agree with everything he says, or that I think everyone else should boycot the olympics as well.
I do feel though, that IF Spielberg is really a man of principles, and he doesnt agree with his OWN country's politics and warcrimes and lies etc, that he should keep those principles and also stop doing movies in Hollywood, thus making lots of money for that goverment (taxes).
If you're a man, you should also take a stance against your own goverment, when they are fucking up and causing hundreds-of-thousands of innocent deaths and millions of victims.
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Post by bradavon »

Markgway wrote:I don't see how boycotting the Olympics helps bring China closer to the west... it'll just piss them off.
Isn't that the intention?
Markgway wrote:Lots of countries do fucked up things, and China, though bad, is not alone.
Definitely but most countries aren't becoming as powerful as China, that accounts for a lot.
Markgway wrote:What if countries started to boycott the US over Israel?
Good point they should, the hypocrisy of the west I suppose.
Yi-Long wrote:Would America be a suitable country to hold olympics, with their illegal wars and lies and threats and torturing etc etc...?
That's an interesting point you raise there with the Iraq war and particularly Guantanamo Bay.
Yi-Long wrote:Would Holland be a suitable country, with their support for these illegal wars?
I thought like most of Europe the Dutch people weren't ever for the Iraq war?
Yi-Long wrote:And about democracy. It doesnt work. It might be the best of all the systems out there, but it aint perfect.
You guys are acting like we should ditch it and all become communists just because it's not perfect, please.
Yi-Long wrote:For China, the current system is working.
Tell that to all the billions of people on the poverty line, all those who're in prison for trying to speak out against their government.
Yi-Long wrote:Most people in China were still uneducated not long ago, so when most people are dumb, democracy isnt a good system. You have to have at least a bunch of smart people to make a democracy works, and even than it will be a system full of faults.
I know lots of people who're really educated well but have no intelligent and lots of people who have no formal qualifications but are very intelligence.
Yi-Long wrote:Democracy in many cases is just convincing as many people you can by lying to them, and making them vote for you. That's not right.
You don't vote for them again then, tell that to all those who live in a Communist country and don't even get to vote in the first place.
When it's that many people, you really just have to make decisions which are good for the vast majority, and yeah it will hurt a small portion of the huge group, but it's the only way it will work out.
China doesn't have classes with 2500 kids in them :D . I presume you're using that as an analogy to a country with millions instead of millions.

If so your point is ridiculous. It shouldn't make any difference if your population is 1 or 1 million. Besides England (to take your example) has roughly 6 times the amount of people living in it to Holland anyway.
Yi-Long wrote:Go to America and people are suffering there from bad politics, and losing all their rights and liberties etc with the new adjusted privacy laws etc...
Come on, it's not in the same league.

Why is everyone choosing this thread to twist things into yet another American bashing thread? We're bashing China here :D
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Post by Markgway »

bradavon wrote:Isn't that the intention?
No. The intention is to motivate them into changing. A boycott will just make them dig their heels in.
Definitely but most countries aren't becoming as powerful as China, that accounts for a lot.
America is one of the most powerful countries in the world. A land where the average citizen owns a gun, where torturing and humiliating terrorist suspects is routine, which has the death penalty, which starts wars in various corners of the globe on a regular basis.... It's one thing trying to encourage change and inprovement, but before one gets all high and mighty one needs to look at one's own backyard.
Good point they should, the hypocrisy of the west I suppose.
Hypocrisy, yes. But a boycott would be unworkable and pointless.
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Post by bradavon »

The last time I checked America wasn't my backyard :D , but point taken.
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Post by Yi-Long »

bradavon wrote:The last time I checked America wasn't my backyard :D , but point taken.
I think he was referring to Spielberg... ;)
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Post by bradavon »

Did any of you guys see the News footage of China sending The Torch through Kashkar and then Tibet?

It was a joke, the dictatorship military were so much in control there's no way they'd be able to speak out.

Kashkar for those who don't know is a City at the very West of China and is part of a bigger province, that like Tibet wants it's independence. The people are Muslim an don't look in the slightest big Chinese. They've probably got more in common with the people of South Asia.

During the Kaskar visit the Chinese government ordered everyone (except a select few, probably no more than one hundred) to stay inside and they weren't even allowed to open their windows. They literally had to watch the parade going on just below them on their TVs. The streets were deserted.

It's pretty scary that a dictatorship is setting itself up to be the next Empire. The Chinese government has a policy of not getting involved in other world crises such as Burma. Has control of at least 4 countries that want independence: Tibet, Kashkar (I cannot find the province name for this), Taiwanese and probably Hong Kong.
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