IOC chief: Olympics in 'crisis' over torch chaos

[liberal N proud]

Source: Associate Press

BEIJING - IOC president Jacques Rogge said Thursday the turmoil surrounding the Beijing torch relay and the politically charged buildup to the Summer Games posed a "crisis'' for the Olympic movement.

Rogge urged China to respect its "moral engagement'' to improve human rights and to fulfill promises of greater media freedom. He reaffirmed the right of free speech for athletes at the Beijing Games.

At the same time, the International Olympic Committee expressed relief that the San Francisco leg of the torch relay passed off without major incident and declared that the rest of the international route would not be cut short or canceled.


Read more: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24043923/

[Clear Blue Sky]

1. Everything is political these days...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. Not everything.

If the Olympics were in, say, Santiago de Chile, no one would give a rat's ass.

[liberal N proud]

3. Correct, it's not the Olympics that are politicized but the location

[Clear Blue Sky]

13. Then why are the Olympics being held in China?

The IOC selected the site with input presumably from countries now boycotting the opening ceremony. China's human rights issues are old news, not a sudden revelation. The outrage wasn't on display during the site selection process.

[jimnasium]

4. I don't even know why I bother watching...

It's just a trainload of commercial crap anyway.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Actually, the competitions themselves aren't commercial

The TV coverage in your country may be, but when I watch Olympic stuff on the BBC, I don't get commercial stuff with it - unlike, say, soccer, in which there are billboards around the ground. From what I remember of the last Olympics, the sponsors don't actually get to put up billboards - they have to pay for the 'official XXX of the Olympics' adverts instead, which are tied in with each country's coverage - the commercial-free BBC doesn't get that.

[edhopper]

5. Maybe awarding the Olympics to

a repressive country that only wanted them as political propaganda without any guarantees for even freedom of press coverage was not such a great idea in the first place.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Whaaaaaaahhh! The IOC has their pretty little lace panties in a knot

over an Olympic torch relay that has its roots in the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany.

Cry me a river.

:nopity:

[natrat]

7. well maybe the stupid pos should not have let it happen in a place like china

[Robbien]

8. Let it happen?

The facts that China is cash rich and that politicos are getting more corruptible with each passing minute might have had a thing or two to do with it.

[hatrack]

9. Just imagine the damage this is doing to the corporate Olympic brand, and the price of sponsorships!

Tragic, I tell you, tragic!!!!

:eyes:

[maxsolomon]

11. the IOC made their bed years ago

now they must lie in it while the CCP throws BS in the rest of the planet's face. hell, the air pollution alone was reason enough to deny Beijing's bid.

they could start letting the CCP feel the heat currently roasting their asses, but that would take a spine.

my hope: with the eyes of the planet on it, and the planet demanding it as one, the CCP has no choice but to set Tibet free, & let the Dalai Lama return. do that, & it's the best olympics ever.

[lanlady]

12. and the American media--

--will say nary a word about the protests, or Tibet, or China's repressive government, prior to the opening ceremony or at any time during the Games. Mustn't disturb the cha-ching of those cash registers. So Mr Rogge need not worry. It's all about the money.