China is the shit (olympics thread)

[Bioture]

I just saw the closing ceremonies and it was some hardcore stuff. Now, if everyone could just stop hating for a second, you have to admit that the amount of preparation and money that went into making this has truly paid off. I mean my GOD. This officially made Athens 2004 look like a high school performance.

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

First off, yes, it looked pretty damn nice.

Then again, if I had a nearly-endless pool of money to draw from and a nation of lock-stepping citizens, I bet I could do it too. Let's not detract from the fact that there was still a lot of stuff that was extremely suspect, if not downright in opposition to what they were promising: the pollution issue, the net censorship issue, etc etc etc.

Of course there's also the matter of US bloggers and famed graffiti artist, James Powderly (internet-watching people may know him as the guy who "paints" graffiti on the sides of buildings with what amounts to a laser pointer, or the inventor of the throwie).

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/us-...262526208.html

... thrown in jail, and nothing's been heard from him since. Nice Gitmo you guys have there.

Again, these games were technically nice, but jesus--I can only hope that the UK will be a little more friendly.

[Capital Knockers]

First off, yes, it looked pretty damn nice.

Then again, if I had a nearly-endless pool of money to draw from and a nation of lock-stepping citizens, I bet I could do it too. Let's not detract from the fact that there was still a lot of stuff that was extremely suspect, if not downright in opposition to what they were promising: the pollution issue, the net censorship issue, etc etc etc.

Of course there's also the matter of US bloggers and famed graffiti artist, James Powderly (internet-watching people may know him as the guy who "paints" graffiti on the sides of buildings with what amounts to a laser pointer, or the inventor of the throwie).

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/us-...262526208.html

... thrown in jail, and nothing's been heard from him since. Nice Gitmo you guys have there.

Again, these games were technically nice, but jesus--I can only hope that the UK will be a little more friendly.

Cent and I had a very long talk about this China stuff. I like graffiti and know alot of people in it, I really hope they find out where this guy is and get him back - and whoever else China decided to 'arrest' during these games.

[TagMor]

I really hope they find out where this guy is

Probably in a bath of ice.. minus 1 kidney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcXzMQ7j3K8

[Cylor]

pra
bub
lee

[TagMor]

it was a joke you stupid fuk

[castromarx]

A spokesperson for Students for a Free Tibet tells Boing Boing that the 6 US citizens who were detained last week by Chinese authorities for participating in pro-Tibet protests around the site of the Olympics have been released. The group included videobloggers and artists whose work has previously been featured on Boing Boing. All were sentenced to 10 or more days in jail.
"James Powderly, Brian from Alive in Baghdad, and everyone else all arrive at LAX around 6 or 7pm tonight," says the SFT rep. A group of Tibetan expatriates and pro-Tibet activists plan to greet them at the airport and welcome them home.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/24...itizens-d.html

yep.

[Vykromond]

... thrown in jail, and nothing's been heard from him since. Nice Gitmo you guys have there.

Look, it's not that I don't sympathize, but he had to know what would happen. And it's not like they memory holed him or anything since he's been released since.

[404 Not Found]

Cent and I had a very long talk about this China stuff. I like graffiti and know alot of people in it, I really hope they find out where this guy is and get him back - and whoever else China decided to 'arrest' during these games.

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

Look, it's not that I don't sympathize, but he had to know what would happen. And it's not like they memory holed him or anything since he's been released since.

I agree that he probably knew what he was getting into, but I just can't stand by as someone says "wow, look at how great these games were," when there was a noticable amount of shadiness that went on behind the glossy veneer. I'm just trying to give concrete examples outside of the "OMG preteen gymnasts!1!!" that people seem to be gravitating towards.

[DankNuggets]

i have to question the nation that spends more money in a show of power to other countries in a world theater than it does to help its own people. I shutter to think what all the money they spent on fireworks and such could've done to help starvation and other problems.






please, please take that seriously. What we do in Iraq isn't anything like that.

[Cops]

i have to question the nation that spends more money in a war than it does to help its own people. I shutter to think what all the money they spent on bombs and such could've done to help starvation and other problems.

roflz

I agree that he probably knew what he was getting into, but I just can't stand by as someone says "wow, look at how great these games were," when there was a noticable amount of shadiness that went on behind the glossy veneer. I'm just trying to give concrete examples outside of the "OMG preteen gymnasts!1!!" that people seem to be gravitating towards.

It was a neatly-tied facade to try and dupe the world into viewing China differently, they can spend as much money as they want on fireworks but it won't change the fact that they need to change, not our perceptions of them.

Bio - Abusing people to make your countries opening and closing ceremonies look visually stimulating is nothing to boast about. Like other people have said, anyone with the money and lack of labor laws in place could have pulled this off.

[Dameon Angell]

This thread reminded me of this picture



Those silly Chinese!

[Squeezer]

If nothing else these Olympics are going to make Americans scared shitless to step off a plane in China without a gas mask on.

I overheard two girls at our school talking the other day.

Girl 1: It was so gross there. What's with all the smog anyway?
Girl 2: I don't know. I think the Chinese pollute a lot.
Girl 1: Why are we in Iraq? We should be stopping them before they fuck up the Earth.

I facepalmed. The only reason they're polluting is so we can all wear awesome shoes and shop at Wal-Mart. But my school is kinda hippy-enviornmentalist to the max, so...

edit: my friend *cough* dealer *cough* just spent the last month in China at the Olympics. He gets back on Thursday, but he says that the pollution problem is worse than we were going to see on TV. Still it's not as toxic as our panic-stricken culture will make it.

[Cops]

I used to be a hippy, shit fuck i still get called one but unless you're willing to be an isolationist then you have to accept a few things about our society and how things are run, you also can't knock capitalism and genetically modified food when it's the reason we can feed mass amounts of people. Girls like that at college and university are full of shit, I think most people think they need to hold a picket sign in every god damn protest to feel self involved.

I've been there, and I've found that the people who say they're on the cutting edge of movements are generally the people who do it for themselves and their image, deep down no one cares that much, and how could you care about every insignificant thing in this world? Maybe I've turned into an asshole but the world exists and you can either drop from the game or play by the rules, don't get me wrong the rules can and will always change. I'd like to think I live in a free and democratic society and that the real fights take place thousands of miles away. When's the last time my government did something irresponsible and didn't get sacked? The west doesn't really have much to bitch about.