Well I would hope too, but I would not have much confidence. America prides itself on Freedom of Expression, but not if you are 15 and a prisoner in Guantamino of course. Then it is not convenient to even stick with the basic Geneva Convention.
That's the thing, isn't it? Media and big-business concerns have hijacked Sport in most of its guises, leaving the rest of us to wail about the way it used to be! 'Greed, filthy greed!' as my dear old Mum often says.
Hmph! Hah, bumbug! I don't see the point to fireworks *at all*. Pointless. Money literally going up in smoke. For the small percentage of us who have good reason not to enjoy the noise and the stink (autistic kid, noise-sensitive animals and asthma) it's all just a big expensive PAIN. I'm finding it more and more annoying that all the hoopla around the opening and closing ceremonies is overshadowing what goes on in the competitions!
Exactly. Have a look some time at the kids waiting to be sponsored for craniofacial surgeries in Africa and south-east Asia. It would warm my heart a lot more if they sent those billions of dollars to repairing hare lips and crouzon syndrome etc. THAT would be an extravaganza worth watching!
ROTFL! Wouldn't it be nice if the next opening ceremony featured a simple march-in of the athletes and a welcoming address. The backdrop could be a video display of all the impoverished areas of the world who benefitted from the charity of the hosting country. That is, from the money that *might* have been sent up in smoke.
I'm with you, Victoria! Since the beginning of my mid-life crisis about ten years ago, I feel as though I'm looking at the world through new eyes. What I used to see as reasonable reward for hard toil, I now see as the grossest excesses in the developed world.
What's the point? Do a google image search on 'Wide Smiles' to see pics of some kids who could use some money for surgery in order to be able to eat and speak normally. (Warning: pics are pretty confronting and not for the faint of heart).
Expensive TVs, cars, enormous houses with labour-saving devices that cost, cost, cost in carbon fuel and money and the labour of other, poorer people - and for what? So that we, the pampered few, can have ever more leisure time to develop psychosocial illnesses!
Hm. Better shuddup now. I can feel a rant coming on.
Bottom line, though, is 'Are we all willing to give those perks up and donate Serious Money to folk who need it?'
That depends entirely on how much the US govt cares and how good the diplomatic officer assigned to get you out is. Would prolly not be the smartest thing the Chinese could do at the moment, however. Too much publicity.
Elizabeth
Hey - they added poison to dog food and I'll bet that was knowingly.
C
I really don't think they knowingly added poison to animal food. Think about how many factories there are supplying the food, the number is mind boggling, and to be fair, it would be hard to control. When I see the bloopers here, how much more difficult there must it be? It really was not in their interests to poison our pets, shit happens.
If you really want to know - I blame a lot of that on Wartmart that really pushed the limit on off shore goods. Now in a Canadian stupidmarket you are hard put to know what you are eating. We unfortunately have this idea that Produced in Canada means that shrimp came from our waters. Well it ain't so, it came from waters off Thailand but because the plastic bag that it was frozen in comes from Canada, they can put Produced in Canada on it. Would I eat shrimp from waters off Thailand, no, but then again, I would if I wasn't careful lol Wartmart has created this monster IMO.
You mean, like how graciously we accepted the French refusal to join us in invading Iraq? That kind of grace and freedom of expression?
Elizabeth
Nope. They added fillers to materials that were shipped to the US where they were used to produce dog food.
Elizabeth
Like my mother used to say, do as I say, not as I do. I did use the word "hope," didn't I?
Almost all the older surgeries I've seen were done with the vertical incision. I think that switch from horizontal to more vertical ones happened in the 60s or so. But, of course, it would depend on what's being done. I don't want to discuss the gore of why one versus the other....
ellice
Broad strokes there. Many people would accept criticism, many not. Same as any other place. The youth in Guantanemo is not quite the simple situation we'd probably all like it to be.
ellice
I think the carelessness and lack of concern for safety is intentional as it stems from profit motivation, and disregard for what other cultures may find acceptable or safe. There was definite lying in the factories. And has continued to be. Which is why the US has now put more stringent inspection requirements and restrictions on imports from China.
Not just them. Though, I try very hard to avoid shopping there on the basic human rights issues, etc. And we're picky about what supermarket, what foods we buy - what to get organic, what to juat be sure is "healthy" without nitrates, etc.
Ellice
Not quite as serious as the rest of this discussion, did you know Oscar Meyer makes hot dogs without nitrates? They're good too.
Lucille
>
I don't think the carelessness stemmed from any profit motive at all. It more likely stemmed from a fear of what happens when the factory doesn't meet its production targets for any given time period. That has nothing to do with profit and everything to do with staying out of prison. Now, the targets may have been set to make a certain profit trading with the West, but that happens at a different level of the planning procedure completely.
Elizabeth
That was exactly my concern. At some point in life, you're going to lose, and you'd better be able to handle it better than pouting and tantruming.
But the self-esteem movement won, and now we all have to deal with people who can't lose graciously because they grew up in a world where no one kept score so that everyone's itty-bitty self-esteem is preserved because no one ever loses.
Yes, dear, we are.
It's more than 30 years ago that my roomie got her knee done, so she was probably one of the last with the full-slash procedure.
Ditto, but then, the Chinese are far from being alone in this. With them in mind, I think they will never manage to suck HK and Taiwan back in now, even though the current generation in both of those are not so avidly anti-Chinese.
Last night I did an Angus Reid Poll and amongst the general questions they asked the kernel questions were about the Olympics, both in general and specifically in BC and Beijing. They seemed to have allowed very well for my type of reaction and I am looking forward to hearing the results of that poll. I want to know how many people are now feeling disenchanted about the Olympics.
No, but he was 15 at the time, no evidence shows he threw the grenade and he had an evil father and equally poisonous mother and sister. Whichever way one looks at it, he was a child soldier.
Personally I feel it is probably too late now, he has rotted in Guantanamo too long to be able to be saved. I am very critical of the US government AND our own for not working to free him far sooner, but of course we have a nut who spends his time kissing GWBs ass.
Carrying on with an even less serious note, is that the one with the big weiner ???
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