i bet no one condones chinas human rights record, but the fact is that the games ARE there.

 

Here's something you totally fail to take on board though - the athletes were given really no choice, they were pretty much TOLD to keep their mouths shut or be disciplined, possibly be chucked off the squad... You say you you're watching the games to show respect the athletes, well I dont see how that is "respecting" them at all tbh, having their democratic rights pretty much taken away from them should be absolute anathema to any right-thinking person.... It's unacceptable to me to go along with this and "enjoy" these games knowing that such ridiculous strongarm tactics were used against athletes speaking out, which is their bloody RIGHT in a free, democratic society if they so choose to exercise it, and it should be equally unacceptable for someone who claims to have respect for these people as sportspeople and human beings as you claim.... So, there's more than China's human rights record on the table here for me....

 

I'm sorry, but I cannot respect your decision to watch these "games", not in the face of all this, the sheer disrespect shown by our Govt and our Sporting bodies to our own athletes is unnaccpetable and quite disgraceful in a supposedly 'free society', how DARE they censure them, thereby controlling their thoughts and actions. Let's face it, they were sh!t-scared of the likes of Paula Radcliffe and other high-profilers making very PUBLIC statements condemning Chinese oppression in Tibet, which, they probably would, because at the end of the day, our athletes are good human beings, humanitarians, most of whom have associations with charities, so that marks them our as having more decency in their little fingers than any fukkin' Politician you care to mention in my book, including the likes of Seb Coe, who's just a dirty Tory sell-out as far as I'm concerned....

 

Yes, you have the right to exercise your freedom, to make your choice, but I think you and the others who take enjoyment in this rather sad, pathetic "spectacle" are making the wrong choice....

 

 

 

Here's something you totally fail to take on board though - the athletes were given really no choice, they were pretty much TOLD to keep their mouths shut or be disciplined, possibly be chucked off the squad... You say you you're watching the games to show respect the athletes, well I dont see how that is "respecting" them at all tbh, having their democratic rights pretty much taken away from them should be absolute anathema to any right-thinking person.... It's unacceptable to me to go along with this and "enjoy" these games knowing that such ridiculous strongarm tactics were used against athletes speaking out, which is their bloody RIGHT in a free, democratic society if they so choose to exercise it, and it should be equally unacceptable for someone who claims to have respect for these people as sportspeople and human beings as you claim.... So, there's more than China's human rights record on the table here for me....

 

I'm sorry, but I cannot respect your decision to watch these "games", not in the face of all this, the sheer disrespect shown by our Govt and our Sporting bodies to our own athletes is unnaccpetable and quite disgraceful in a supposedly 'free society', how DARE they censure them, thereby controlling their thoughts and actions. Let's face it, they were sh!t-scared of the likes of Paula Radcliffe and other high-profilers making very PUBLIC statements condemning Chinese oppression in Tibet, which, they probably would, because at the end of the day, our athletes are good human beings, humanitarians, most of whom have associations with charities, so that marks them our as having more decency in their little fingers than any fukkin' Politician you care to mention in my book, including the likes of Seb Coe, who's just a dirty Tory sell-out as far as I'm concerned....

 

Yes, you have the right to exercise your freedom, to make your choice, but I think you and the others who take enjoyment in this rather sad, pathetic "spectacle" are making the wrong choice....

 

well i broadly agree with your sentiments there, the athletes should be allowed to express certain feelings and have been gagged.

 

anyway they finish tomorrow, and as a fan of athletics ive enjoyed the ups and downs. the programme ran smoothly and the bbc has been reporting the good will towards ordinary chinese citizens the games has brought.

 

i wasnt happy with the games being there... but without a well organised campaign to back, many like myself are left to either watch the games, or to ignore them. either way it makes no difference to the chinese authorities, the 'undesireables' or jo chinaman.

Because I thought you a bit more intelligent and thougthful than most of these stupid young kids on this site who frankly dont seem to give a flying fukk about anything political...

 

 

Well I'm not young or stupid and I couldn't care less about China's human rights. I don't live there and doubt my wife or daughter ever will so why should I care? I've watched some of the games and enjoyed them. Glad Team GB got lots of medals. That's all that matters as far as I'm concerned. Everyone I know feels the same and couldn't care less about what happens from day to day in China. We have our own lives to live and bills to pay Grimley without worrying about everyone else's thousands of miles away. Fuel prices are rising and it's said tonight that we're definitely heading for a recession so think maybe more Britons care more about that than China's human rights.

 

Oh and Paris should have got the 2012 games. Why should my Council Tax here in London go up? If Seb Coe wanted them so badly then he and his cohorts should have paid for them. I won't watch a second of London 2012.

Edited August 22, 200816 yr by Crazy Chris

Story going round that the Chinese gymnastics gold medal winners are under 16, which is against the rules of the sport.

The International Olympic Committee has instigated an investigation into the ages of several Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnasts.

 

China is being asked to hand over extra documents to confirm that five gymnasts were old enough to compete.

 

The BBC has seen one document on the internet that suggests gold medal winner He Kexin is only 14 years old, not 16 as the rules require.

 

Chinese officials have strenuously denied the allegations.

 

If true, they would tarnish the home nation's image.

 

Recurring issue

 

For several months, there have been rumours about the ages of a number of Chinese gymnasts.

 

The International Gymnastics Federation confirmed it was looking into the cases of Miss He, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan and Deng Linlin.

 

All five were awarded gold medals at this Olympics, as part of the Chinese female squad that won the women's team event.

 

The BBC has seen an internet document apparently from the website of China's General Administration of Sport, dated last year.

 

It lists China's gymnasts and records He Kexin's birthday as 1 January, 1994 - that would mean she is only 14.

 

But on the Beijing games official website, Miss He's birthday is given as 1 January, 1992, which would mean she is 16.

 

The age issue has already been investigated twice by the IOC, in the spring of this year and just before the games began.

 

But on Friday, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been quite a number of questions and apparent discrepancies on this case."

 

Ms Davies said she was confident that the gymnasts did meet Olympic age requirements. China was even more confident. Wang Wei, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said an investigation had already been held into the matter.

 

"If they had not been cleared, they would not have participated in the games," he said at a press conference.

 

'Indignant'

 

Lu Shanzhen, chief coach of China's women's gymnastics team, told the BBC that "relevant documents" belonging to He had been given to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation yesterday.

 

The items, including an old passport, a residency card and her current identity card, were issued by various departments of the Chinese government.

 

"It's only because there is a rivalry between the Chinese and American women's gymnastics teams that these questions have arisen," Mr Lu said.

 

The United States came second to China in the women's team event.

 

Mr Lu also told reporters that the parents of the gymnasts were "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages.

 

"They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry," he said.

 

"It is in the interests of all concerned, not least the athletes themselves, to resolve this issue once and for all," said the International Gymnastics Federation later in a statement.

 

The age rule was introduced in 1997 to protect the health of young gymnasts.

 

source: BBC news

Well I'm not young or stupid and I couldn't care less about China's human rights. I don't live there and doubt my wife or daughter ever will so why should I care? I've watched some of the games and enjoyed them. Glad Team GB got lots of medals. That's all that matters as far as I'm concerned. Everyone I know feels the same and couldn't care less about what happens from day to day in China. We have our own lives to live and bills to pay Grimley without worrying about everyone else's thousands of miles away. Fuel prices are rising and it's said tonight that we're definitely heading for a recession so think maybe more Britons care more about that than China's human rights.

 

Oh and Paris should have got the 2012 games. Why should my Council Tax here in London go up? If Seb Coe wanted them so badly then he and his cohorts should have paid for them. I won't watch a second of London 2012.

 

So, you dont care about our OWN athletes being gagged and prevented from answering questions put to them or making statements...? You should be concerned about the stuff being done in our name whether at home or abroad....

 

The second part I agree with... The lies that were told regarding the costs of the 2012 Games was utterly outrageous... People were broadly on board when it was 2 Billion, but then it just started going up and up (the estimate is over 10 or 12 billion now innit..?), and now more and more Londoners are getting seriously hacked off.... Coe's a posh git, but I doubt he's that minted.... :lol: Mayor Boris is putting on some kind of 'free concert' over the weekend, yeah, like that's gonna take people's minds off the huge costs of the thing.....

 

Story going round that the Chinese gymnastics gold medal winners are under 16, which is against the rules of the sport.

The International Olympic Committee has instigated an investigation into the ages of several Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnasts.

 

China is being asked to hand over extra documents to confirm that five gymnasts were old enough to compete.

 

The BBC has seen one document on the internet that suggests gold medal winner He Kexin is only 14 years old, not 16 as the rules require.

 

Chinese officials have strenuously denied the allegations.

 

If true, they would tarnish the home nation's image.

 

Recurring issue

 

For several months, there have been rumours about the ages of a number of Chinese gymnasts.

 

The International Gymnastics Federation confirmed it was looking into the cases of Miss He, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan and Deng Linlin.

 

All five were awarded gold medals at this Olympics, as part of the Chinese female squad that won the women's team event.

 

The BBC has seen an internet document apparently from the website of China's General Administration of Sport, dated last year.

 

It lists China's gymnasts and records He Kexin's birthday as 1 January, 1994 - that would mean she is only 14.

 

But on the Beijing games official website, Miss He's birthday is given as 1 January, 1992, which would mean she is 16.

 

The age issue has already been investigated twice by the IOC, in the spring of this year and just before the games began.

 

But on Friday, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been quite a number of questions and apparent discrepancies on this case."

 

Ms Davies said she was confident that the gymnasts did meet Olympic age requirements. China was even more confident. Wang Wei, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said an investigation had already been held into the matter.

 

"If they had not been cleared, they would not have participated in the games," he said at a press conference.

 

'Indignant'

 

Lu Shanzhen, chief coach of China's women's gymnastics team, told the BBC that "relevant documents" belonging to He had been given to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation yesterday.

 

The items, including an old passport, a residency card and her current identity card, were issued by various departments of the Chinese government.

 

"It's only because there is a rivalry between the Chinese and American women's gymnastics teams that these questions have arisen," Mr Lu said.

 

The United States came second to China in the women's team event.

 

Mr Lu also told reporters that the parents of the gymnasts were "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages.

 

"They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry," he said.

 

"It is in the interests of all concerned, not least the athletes themselves, to resolve this issue once and for all," said the International Gymnastics Federation later in a statement.

 

The age rule was introduced in 1997 to protect the health of young gymnasts.

 

source: BBC news

 

Dunno why people are shocked by this tbh... China cheating at the games and faking a few kids' ages is hardly beyond them now is it....? It's not even as if it's even that difficult to fake a birth certificate, find an expert forger serving time in one of their prisons, cut him a deal... It's probably easier to get away with something like this than it is to get away with performance enhancing drugs tbh....

king boris has pledged to keep an eye on the spending for 2012.

 

i dunno why you are still going on about the investment in the games that has generated funds to improve a derelict shytehole and give londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. the uk needs a proper athletics stadium, crystal palace and birmingham are just second rate.

king boris has pledged to keep an eye on the spending for 2012.

 

i dunno why you are still going on about the investment in the games that has generated funds to improve a derelict shytehole and give londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. the uk needs a proper athletics stadium, crystal palace and birmingham are just second rate.

 

And you expect anyone with a brain to trust a tw@t like Boris....? :lol: He only got in because people thought it would be a laugh..... Idiots.... <_<

 

Anyway, it's not the regeneration or even the stadium that's the problem, it's the bare-faced fukkin' LIES about the costs, the fact that the people doing this seem totally incapable of keeping things under control.... I was cynical about this from the start tbh, remembering the utter disasters that were the Millennium Dome and Wembley Stadium.... But everybody with their goldfish-like brains seemed to just totally forget about this, and actually believed the likes of Ken and Seb when they made pledges that this sort of thing wouldn't happen again.... :rolleyes:

 

Besisdes, I dunno exactly why it even took a bloody Olympic bid in the first place to actually get the necessary regeneration work in place..... The regeneration is summat that should have happened at least two decades ago....

 

And you expect anyone with a brain to trust a tw@t like Boris....? :lol: He only got in because people thought it would be a laugh..... Idiots.... <_<

 

Anyway, it's not the regeneration or even the stadium that's the problem, it's the bare-faced fukkin' LIES about the costs, the fact that the people doing this seem totally incapable of keeping things under control.... I was cynical about this from the start tbh, remembering the utter disasters that were the Millennium Dome and Wembley Stadium.... But everybody with their goldfish-like brains seemed to just totally forget about this, and actually believed the likes of Ken and Seb when they made pledges that this sort of thing wouldn't happen again.... :rolleyes:

 

Besisdes, I dunno exactly why it even took a bloody Olympic bid in the first place to actually get the necessary regeneration work in place..... The regeneration is summat that should have happened at least two decades ago....

 

im not so sure it was a case of bare faced lies so much as bad maths... not costing things correctly.

king boris has pledged to keep an eye on the spending for 2012.

 

i dunno why you are still going on about the investment in the games that has generated funds to improve a derelict shytehole and give londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. the uk needs a proper athletics stadium, crystal palace and birmingham are just second rate.

Hopefully that these facilities will actually be used in the future though, rather than in Athens where i read that is swamped with a gypsy camp now :unsure:

im not so sure it was a case of bare faced lies so much as bad maths... not costing things correctly.

 

So, incompetence as opposed to lying... Hardly any better is it....? :rolleyes: We were still given false information.... Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Dome and the NHS computer system were all originally costed at a fraction of their current spends also... So, er, anyone notice a pattern developing here.......? Nu Labor cant cost things for sh!t..... <_<

 

i dunno why you are still going on about the investment in the games that has generated funds to improve a derelict shytehole and give londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. the uk needs a proper athletics stadium, crystal palace and birmingham are just second rate.

 

You're right - it will give Londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. But for me in Wigan - I don't really give a toss - it ain't going to do me any good. Ooops - sorry I forgot - we've all been advised to uproot from our hovels and move down there! :lol:

 

The truth is - the UK needs a proper athletics stadium - has done for years now - but it should be a little more central than London.

 

Norma

 

The truth is - the UK needs a proper athletics stadium - has done for years now - but it should be a little more central than London.

 

Yeah, I agree, it should have been Manchester or Birmingham tbh.... But London is seen as being the "capital", so......

 

You're right - it will give Londoners a top class sports facility for generations to come. But for me in Wigan - I don't really give a toss - it ain't going to do me any good. Ooops - sorry I forgot - we've all been advised to uproot from our hovels and move down there! :lol:

 

The truth is - the UK needs a proper athletics stadium - has done for years now - but it should be a little more central than London.

 

Norma

 

the white stadium and crystal palace have both been our premiere athletics stadiums for years and are/were both in london. i think itll be easy enough to get to if you WANT to.. would it make that much difference to you in wigan if it was in the midlands?

... would it make that much difference to you in wigan if it was in the midlands?

 

Yes it would! Although to be fair to the whole country then somewhere around York would be most central. But, as the government (any government) would rather the 'north' would just go away and die ... we know that any funds, of any worth, will be London-bound!

 

Norma

Yes it would! Although to be fair to the whole country then somewhere around York would be most central. But, as the government (any government) would rather the 'north' would just go away and die ... we know that any funds, of any worth, will be London-bound!

 

Norma

 

york isnt central... id suggest leicester, easy to get too off the m1 and on major rail routs.

 

but the major athletics stadiums throughout europe are invariably at the capital, regardless of geography

york isnt central... id suggest leicester, easy to get too off the m1 and on major rail routs.

 

 

Out of interest! According to 'facts 'n figures' the geographical centre of Great Britain is actually a telephone kiosk at Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire!

 

Great duck pond and pub there too!

 

Norma

Out of interest! According to 'facts 'n figures' the geographical centre of Great Britain is actually a telephone kiosk at Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire!

 

Great duck pond and pub there too!

 

Norma

 

according to local tv its a village in leicestershire. .... i cant see how tf LANCASHIRE could in any way be the centre of the uk!

according to local tv its a village in leicestershire. .... i cant see how tf LANCASHIRE could in any way be the centre of the uk!

 

I bet you're not even including the possibility of travelling from the far north of Scotland and the far west of Northern Ireland though are you ... a glance at a map of the UK would tend to agree that the village in North Lancashire is nearer the mark.

 

Norma

 

I bet you're not even including the possibility of travelling from the far north of Scotland and the far west of Northern Ireland though are you ... a glance at a map of the UK would tend to agree that the village in North Lancashire is nearer the mark.

 

Norma

 

it isnt MY theory... im just going on what has been said.

 

it might be the centre of population as oposed to geography.