There is a great debate among Chinese Canadians living in Toronto on who should get the Olympics. The official decision on the Olympics is supposed to be made on July 13. Beijing is said to be the Front-Runner, whereas Toronto is a distant second. (Paris is the other significant competitor, running third).
Here are some of the facts gleaned from various newspaper sources.
Beijing
Why they would get the Olympics (not should, mind you). - China has never had the Olympics. They lost by a mere two votes for the Sydney Olympics, and so far, it appears that lightning won't strike twice. - People are suggesting that the Olympics would either promote human rights, or expose the Chinese Government's human rights record (also known as Backfiring), thus precipitating a big embarassment and repercussions to come. - Beijing's plan for the Olympics is more solid than Toronto's. With actual Hard Cash to back it up. - An intensive plan to clean up the environment. - It has lots of support from World Figures. More than you think.
Why they would not get the Olympics. - Tienammen Square. - Tibet. - Falun Gong. - Human Rights Record. Nuff said. - With lots of pollution in Beijing, cleaning up will be a Herculean task.
Toronto
Why they would get the Olympics. - A very sound Olympic Plan. Just as good as Beijing. (but with a big if) - Commitment from all three levels from government, including some Private Sector sources. (but with a big if) - Commitment to clean up the Port Lands and turn them into an Olympic Bonanza. (also with a big if) - Multicultural city, perfect setting for a multicultural Olympics. - Unfortunately for China, the people who oppose Beijing's bid for the Olympics live here. - Human Rights. Nuff Said. - Like Beijing, Toronto lost the '96 Olympics to Atlanta by a narrow margin. Someone's gonna get hit by Lightning twice. - More World Class than Beijing. - Currently trying to shore up its environmental image.
Why they would not get the Olympics. - The Only Canadian Representative on the IOC wants to vote for Beijing. - The "BIG IF": Money will only come if AND ONLY IF Toronto wins. If no go, no dough. (The IOC would really like it if the plans for the Port Lands proceed, with or without the Olympics.) And even if they do win, money does not appear "guaranteed", given the provincial government's broken promises on investment projects. - Mayor Lastman really screwed things up on a trip to Kenya thinking that he would be in a pot of water with all those dancing indians around him, an obvious racial slur. He has apologized about 200 times since, but as they say "Loose Lips Sink Ships", and perhaps the Olympics. - Premier Mike Harris (neo-conservative right-wing politician). Is only interested in taking money that Toronto earns, not reinvesting it. To him, the Olympics means a pot of gold, not international glory. He is even considering cutting on his intended share, and letting the city and the Federal government pick up the rest. - Montreal had the Olympics in 1976 and made such a mess out of it that Taxpayers are still paying its bills today. That's right, it created a great big money-swallowing pit. And most don't want the same thing to happen to Toronto. - Canada has hosted the Olympics twice, in Montreal in 1976, and Calgary in Winter, 1988.
So who will win? Place your bets, people.
[ July 10, 2001: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Posted by MIB (Member # 426) on :
My guess is Beijing. I just have a feeling that they are gonna get the 2008 summer olympics.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Toronto should. Beijing will.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Yes, Unfortunately.
All signs are pointing towards that possibility.
Posted by MIB (Member # 426) on :
Why do you say unfortunatly?
Posted by Jeff The Card (Member # 411) on :
Because the Chinese are evil cocksuckers bent on world domination and should be nuked like the cockroaches they are.
Or ...
Because Tahna lives near Toronto? (That last bit is a guess...)
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
I live in Toronto.
As for China, their human rights record doesn't speak too well for them. The Olympics should go to a place that welcomes, as well as respects the world.
When it comes to Tianammen Square, Falun Gong, and Tibet, China provides no such respect whatsoever.
But the awarding of the Olympics is more about politics than anything else. I myself wouldn't be surprised if Beijing gets the Olympics.
Let's hope all this blows up in their faces.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I hope you mean figuratively.
Coz I don't think Canadians make quality terrorists.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Actually, we are. We make great artery-clogging-super-fattening bacon and cheese.
All in an effort to incapacitate the Americans with the dubious "Heart Attack".
Posted by Jeff The Card (Member # 411) on :
So you guys are the bastards behind McD's.
Posted by MIB (Member # 426) on :
And all those popular Canadian bacon sandwhiches!!!
Posted by MC Infinity (Member # 531) on :
Damn Beijing Fucks!!! Toronto should get the olympics!!!!!! Why you ask???? Because my mom works for the biggest construction company and that means big bonus and lots of cool shite for me, and perhaps even a really nice car Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
I thought the whole point of the Olympics was to bypass political considerations. Everywhere that's had the Olympics has had some sort of questionable background. Sydney? Bunch of bloody convicts. Atlanta? Rednecks, don't let any of the athletes from Africa pop out for a walk round the block if at all possible. Barcelona? Basques. Seoul? Students. Los Angeles? Los Angeles. . .
You get the idea. All the way back, past Moscow, via Hitler's Berlin in 1936.
And besides, these days the Olympics are all about sponsorship. Which market is more valuable, Canada or China? Do you think Nike are gonna care about human rights in China? Hell, they're fucking dependent on Chinese slave labour to make their products.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
No, the only problem with Atlanta was how the locals were treated during it. The homeless people were whisked away. The good things that happened is that the cops got to get a good look at a lot of the criminals, thinking the cops weren't paying attention to what they were during while making drug deals on the streets. At one of my guard posts I was teamed up with a Atlanta PD officer that was part of the drug raid team, we were in a seedy section and he was watching them and making his notes....
A bonus for China is the size of the security force that they can have..... 1,200,000,000 people would keep nap-sacks with bombs in them from laying around.....
Posted by MC Infinity (Member # 531) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ritten: A bonus for China is the size of the security force that they can have..... 1,200,000,000 people would keep nap-sacks with bombs in them from laying around.....
Or go around planting bombs to further their own cause.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Er, what cause would that be?
Posted by MC Infinity (Member # 531) on :
How the fuck should I know? It sure as hell isn't making sure Toronto wins. Damn bastards!
Posted by Daryus Aden (Member # 12) on :
You'll note that when South Africa was at the 'super evil' stage of human rights they were banned from world sporting events.
China should suffer the same fate.
However, money talks, bullshit walks.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Yeah, but no one paid anything more than lip service to sanctions against South Africa. I'm sure the Afrikaners had all the Coke, Bud, Nike and Big Macs they needed.
Posted by Orion Syndicate (Member # 25) on :
China will get the Olympics, and they should in my opinion. No offence to the Canadians, but I think the Chinese will be able to run a better Olympics that your good selves - because if they don't then people will die - what better motivation do the organisers need?
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
I've always thought that pride in what you do was a better motivater, even than threat of death. Freedom helps, too.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Indeed.
[Link removed, no longer there]
[ July 11, 2001: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
"I've always thought that pride in what you do was a better motivater, even than threat of death. Freedom helps, too."
Omega, are you sure you didn't use to write those little moral messages at the end of He-Man episodes?
Posted by Jeff The Card (Member # 411) on :
China shouldn't get the Olympics. Why? Because they commit human rights violations.
Which is precisely why they SHOULD get the Olympics.
Think about it. To steal from James Lilley, "Beijing, in fact, is probably more like Seoul in 1988 than Berlin in 1936." Sure, the Chinese head-honchos'll get a PR boost for getting the Olympics ...
But they'll be constrained by the spotlight. "Like South Korea's generals, who were unable or unwilling to suppress a flowering democracy movement, Beijing will find itself less able to cursh its people's aspirations under the world's close scrutiny."
After Tiananmen Square, George Bush asked James Lilley, "[would] the Chinese authorities ... do anything if we asked them [to be lenient]?"
To which Lilley replied, "Yes, they'll probably deal with the prisoners in private instead of public."
Under the spotlight of the Olympics, that would prove very damn hard.
And that's why China should get the 2008 Olympics.
Posted by MC Infinity (Member # 531) on :
Dammit, this is no time to care about the lives of many people! It's money that's important! Toronto all the way!
Posted by Nimrod (Member # 205) on :
Wasn't the german olympics in '38? That would make it a nice round 70 years...
Anyhow, it can't get any worse than that.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
They could be held on the moon. Which I'm sure is much more hostile to people than China.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
Yeah, the moon. I'm sure that the Shot Put and High Jump would set new records. but those heavy spacesuits will make running a wee bit challenging.
I think china should get the olympics. because it will give them a chance to try to re-form. and show the world that they are trying to make china a better place to live. besides, i don't wanna watch the olympics under a hazy brown sky. the smog in toronto is deadly. however it would help canadians to feel better about Canada. nationalism and all that. sure they did some bad stuff in the past. they were communists, what do you expect!!
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
What heavy spacesuits? They'd wear what they normally wear.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
. . . just not for very long. *Badum-PISH*
Posted by targetemployee (Member # 217) on :
Aesthetics is an important consideration.
Beijing is seen as a very beautiful capital with a rich cultural and historical tradition that dates back to the 1200's.
Toronto is a modern, Americanized city with less culture and history.
On that criteria, Beijing will win.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
On that criteria, European cities would win every time, and American cities would never even get a look in.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
Um, Beijing, history? Um, Cultural Revolution?
Posted by Jeff The Card (Member # 411) on :
Depends on the American city.
Take a look at Boston. Or D.C. Sure, not as old as London. But much more history and culture then something on the West Coast.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Well, the announcement is in.
Beijing wins the Olympics.
I guess I have nothing more to say.
But Good Luck, Beijing. You are really going to need it.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
Indeed. But things are looking up for Vancouver/Whistler winning the 2010 Winters.
Yay BC!
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
If you do that, you'll kill any chance of a Toronto Olympics for the next 50 years.
PLEASE DON'T DO IT!!!!!!
Posted by MC Infinity (Member # 531) on :
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *fuck*
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
And TO-2008 would've been only twenty years after Calgary held the winters. So you'll only have to wait till 2032 to stand a similar chance again
Posted by BlueElectron (Member # 281) on :
IN YOUR FACE!!!!!!
WE GOT THE OLYMPIC!!!!!
CHINESE RULEZ!!!!!
.....just joking ^.^
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
I read a newspaper report on the announcement. The Chinese delegation were all overweight middle-aged men (and all Chinese, obviously), whereas Toronto's representatives had tried to be diverse in taerms of race, age and sex. Then, the Chinese party's "spontaneous" outburst of joy over the verdict was so regimented it was obvious they'd been practising. That, plus failing to commiserate the losers, has left them as less than flavour of the month with the IOC. Expect more amusing behaviour over the next 6 years.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
And if you believe that the Star is a Socialist Newspaper, then the article itself is pure hypocrisy.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I'm amused that anybody's actually surprised that the Chinese got the Olympics.
RE-ally.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
The_Tom
I'm pleased to encounter another BC-er. Which town do you hail from. I live in Richmond.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
BTW: wait until the Chi-Coms execute some athelete without just cause. Then we'll see the fur fly.
In my office, with the exception of myself, the workers are either moslem or chinese. And the tales of what life is like back there in China would make you think this was the 1940's. These guys make the Klan look democratic.
