Another reason why China shouldn't have gotten the Olympics

[RadioFan]

Internet sites still blocked for Olympic reporters

By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING - Olympic organizers are backtracking on another promise about coverage of the Beijing Games, keeping in place blocks on Internet sites in the Main Press Center and venues where reporters will work.


The blocked sites will make it difficult for journalists to retrieve information, particularly on political and human rights stories the government dislikes. On Tuesday, sites such as Amnesty International or any search for a site with Tibet in the address could not be opened at the Main Press Center, which will house about 5,000 print journalists when the games open Aug. 8.

"This type of censorship would have been unthinkable in Athens, but China seems to have more formalities," said Mihai Mironica, a journalist with ProTV in Romania. "If journalists cannot fully access the Internet here, it will definitely be a problem."

The censored Internet is the latest broken promise on press freedoms. In bidding for the games seven years ago, Chinese officials said the media would have "complete freedom to report." And in April, Hein Verbruggen and Kevan Gosper — senior IOC members overseeing the games — said they'd received assurances from Chinese officials that Internet censorship would be lifted for journalists during the games.

China routinely blocks Internet access to its own citizens.

Gosper, however, issued a clarification Tuesday. He said the open Internet extended only to sites that related to "Olympic competitions."

"My preoccupation and responsibility is to ensure that the games competitions are reported openly to the world," Gosper said.

"The regulatory changes we negotiated with BOCOG and which required Chinese legislative changes were to do with reporting on the games," Gosper added, using the acronym for the Olympic organizers. "This didn't necessarily extend to free access and reporting on everything that relates to China."

Journalists trying to use the Internet on Tuesday expressed frustration, and some also complained about slow speeds. Several said it might be an intentional ploy to discourage use.

IOC officials have said the Internet would be operational by "games time," which began Sunday when the Olympic Village opened.

In a related event, Amnesty International released a report Tuesday accusing China of failing to improve its human rights record ahead of the Olympics.

The group said that in the last year, thousands of petitioners, reformists and others were arrested as part of a government campaign to "clean up" Beijing before the Olympics. It said many have been sentenced to manual labor without trial.

Beijing organizers have been backtracking on the freedom to report.

Rights holders such as NBC, which has paid about $900 million to broadcast the games, and non-rights holders have faced roadblocks, red tape and changing rules as they prepare to cover unexpected events away from the venues.

Broadcasters have complained about having permits rescinded, being forced to give notice a month ahead of time about the location of satellite trucks, and facing harassment from bureaucrats and police about renting office space or getting parking permits for their vehicles.

Earlier this month, broadcasters tried again to get Olympic organizers to lift restrictions on live broadcasts from Tiananmen Square. Alex Gilady, a senior IOC member and a senior vice president of NBC Sports, has pushed for more live time from the iconic venue — China is offering six hours daily, and no interviews. Others are pressing to lift the ban on live interviews.

"Don't push the issue," responded organizing committee executive vice president Wang Wei, according to an official who attended the meeting. It was Wang who led Beijing's 2001 bid, and who said after winning: "We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China."

NBC is promising to air 3,600 hours of coverage, and its owner, General Electric, is one of 12 top sponsors of the IOC. Some top sponsors have reportedly paid as much as $200 million.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, said he would like to see more "openness" from Chinese officials. But he seemed to play down the news value of the Olympics. He said NBC was ready to cover stories as they come up, but "we're not going to cavalierly ... blow out sporting events to show news."

Olympic historian David Wallechinsky has criticized the IOC for giving the games to China. He's visited the country more than a half-dozen times in 30 years, and said the IOC and its sponsors were distracted by China's booming economy.

"There is so much money being made that the IOC has just turned a blind eye," Wallechinsky said. "The IOC wanted to believe it was all going to go well, and they weren't there when they should have been. You know, the Communist Party wants to control everything."

The IOC has maintained the Olympics are a sports event, and it should not intervene in politics. However, others have faulted the Swiss-based body for failing to hold China to promises made seven years ago when it won the bid.

"It is truly sad to see the IOC fail in this regard," said Vincent Brossell, a a spokesman for Paris-based press rights group Reporters Without Borders.

Rioting in Tibet four months ago, which sparked protests on international legs of the torch relay, was followed by the mobilization of an army of security personnel in Beijing — 110,000 police, riot squads and special forces, augmented by more than 300,000 Olympic volunteers and neighborhood watch members.

Cuban reporter Joel Garcia Leon, with the magazine Trabajadores, said he expected the censorship. But he was overwhelmed by other red tape.

"I'm surprised how tightly controlled and complicated everything is here," he said. "To get a phone number from China Mobile, I have to give them a copy of my passport and my mother's maiden name. This seems quite excessive and abnormal."

------------------

I don't even know where to start with this shit, but a couple of thoughts come to mind:

A. The IOC makes FIFA (soccer's international governing body) look downright honorable.

B. We all have Yahoo, Sun Microsystems and a few other tech companies to thank for enabling China to censor the 'net. But then again, China's regulations to the Internets are what the Olympics are to "sports," so in a way, it's fitting.

C. You know it's bad when a fucking Cuban reporter is criticizing the rules.

The only thing I'm even contemplating watching during this debacle of an excuse for international "competition" is USA basketball, and even then it may not be until the medal rounds.

FUCK China, Fuck NBC and Fuck the Olympics. Out.

[orcinus]

Eat shit and die, RadioFan42.

[poptart]

The only times I've even casually viewed the Olympics over the past 25 yrs was the American summer games of '84 and '96.

I just don't give a shit.

And I most definitely don't give enough of a shit to read all of Bobby's post.


Like a worn-out leather-faced bar-hoppin' saggy-titted bleach-blonde on her 6th 29th birthday, the O's time has come and gone.

Cheating across the board.
Corruption across the board.
Gay events across the board.
Commercialism across the board.
Boredom across the board.

It'll never come correct and be what it's supposed to be.
Nevar evar.


Not IN.

[Nishlord]

The Olympics is in desperate need of another Cold War. So London 2012 is gonna be when it gets interesting again.

[Diogenes]

So London 2012 is gonna be when it gets interesting again.

Interesting is one word for it...

[War Wagon]

Eat shit and die, RadioFan42.

Doh!

That's gonna' leave a mark.

[Mister Bushice]

The only times I've even casually viewed the Olympics over the past 25 yrs was the American summer games of '84 and '96.

I just don't give a shit.

And I most definitely don't give enough of a shit to read all of Bobby's post.


Like a worn-out leather-faced bar-hoppin' saggy-titted bleach-blonde on her 6th 29th birthday, the O's time has come and gone.

Cheating across the board.
Corruption across the board.
Gay events across the board.
Commercialism across the board.
Boredom across the board.

It'll never come correct and be what it's supposed to be.
Nevar evar.


Not IN.

This could be the best train wreck olympics yet.

Think 1972 basketball, 1988 boxing, 1994 figure skating.

This one could top them all as the mother of all clusterfucks.

[fix]

The only times I've even casually viewed the Olympics over the past 25 yrs was the American summer games of '84 and '96.

I just don't give a shit.

And I most definitely don't give enough of a shit to read all of Bobby's post.


Like a worn-out leather-faced bar-hoppin' saggy-titted bleach-blonde on her 6th 29th birthday, the O's time has come and gone.

Cheating across the board.
Corruption across the board.
Gay events across the board.
Commercialism across the board.
Boredom across the board.

It'll never come correct and be what it's supposed to be.
Nevar evar.


Not IN.

This could be the best train wreck olympics yet.

Think 1972 basketball, 1988 boxing, 1994 figure skating.

This one could top them all as the mother of all clusterfucks.

Vancouver 2010's working its way up that list...

Here's the main road to get to the Olympic site from Vancouver..

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/i ... e_0807.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Mister Bushice]

Awesome, but still only a potential contender. China has gnarly sea algae, shitty air, undrinkable water, and massive media censorship already underway and the games have not yet begun.

[BSmack]

Vancouver 2010's working its way up that list...

Here's the main road to get to the Olympic site from Vancouver..

http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/i ... e_0807.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reminds me of the roads into Lake Placid. And they did a pretty decent job in 1980. Besides, almost all the Winter Games sites are in remote areas.

[RadioFan]

This could be the best train wreck olympics yet.

Think 1972 basketball, 1988 boxing, 1994 figure skating.

This one could top them all as the mother of all clusterfucks.

We can only hope.

NBC paid, what, $100 million per day to broadcast this "event?" Bob Costas apologizing for smog, Internet censorship and a plethora of other problems could bring a whole new meaning to "must see TV."

[Dr_Phibes]

Internet censorship

yeah, what the world needs is about a billion .5 more gibbering nobs banging on about britney spears, WMDs or some twats blog - or whatever else the conventional search engine leads you to as the top ten, no matter what word you key in.

Censorship my arse, they're relegating crap to the drainpipe.

[RadioFan]

Censorship my arse, they're relegating crap to the drainpipe.

Try the direct approach to trolling, next time. rhyme did it a lot more successfully, given that he's been forced to watch gymnastics and swimming, amid NFL tryouts.

[RadioFan]

OC admits Internet censorship deal with China

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some International Olympic Committee officials cut a deal to let China block sensitive websites despite promises of unrestricted access, a senior IOC official admitted on Wednesday.

Persistent pollution fears and China's concerns about security in Tibet also remained problems for organizers nine days before the Games begin.

China had committed to providing media with the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, but journalists have this week complained of finding access to sites deemed sensitive to its communist leadership blocked.

"I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on website access during Games time," IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said, referring to Beijing's Olympic organizers.

"I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related," he said.

----------------------------

At the risk of rhymenocerous making another "mark," I cut off the story just in time for Wags to suck more dick amid driving to get bargains at Wal-Mart.

[Mister Bushice]

This could be the best train wreck olympics yet.

Think 1972 basketball, 1988 boxing, 1994 figure skating.

This one could top them all as the mother of all clusterfucks.

We can only hope.

NBC paid, what, $100 million per day to broadcast this "event?" Bob Costas apologizing for smog, Internet censorship and a plethora of other problems could bring a whole new meaning to "must see TV."

I expect China to try anything and everything to cheat prove to the world they are dominant in everything important to them.

They've already fudged the age records of two gymnasts to show them to be old enough to qualify, despite evidence to the contrary from a couple years ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sport ... nasts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good times. I look forward to the chinese equivalent of the iraqi information minister telling us that the big yellow cloud swirling around the buildings in downtown beijing is just extra sunshine sent down to warm the games. :)

[LTS TRN 2]

And it's the running of the marathon! The great homage and culmination of the Games! The crowd, however, is being held back about two miles away, and the runners....have stopped...and are being transported in ambulances--after security clearance--to a hospital...


The one good thing in this astonishing circus is the tremendous effort--finally--being focused and excerted upon a specific pollution issue in such an unprecedented degree of fervid intensity. Never has any such effort been enjoined with such scope and directness. And that it's being spurred by pride--or the horror of losing face--is amusing (but not ironic). The fact that it still won't really work is tragic.

[Bobby42]

That about covers it.

[Bizzarofelice]

If China is forced to enact pollution standards, it might rise the price of DVD/VCR combos by $5. The people of America won't stand for it.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

"Waaahhh!!! Beijing is smoggy! Waaaahhhh!!!"

Remind me again, how many infants and mothers did you murder in Afghanistan and Iraq this week?

[Dr_Phibes]

Try the direct approach to trolling, next time.

I subscribe to all sorts of newsgroups, the FARC-EP ANNCOL was one, run out of Denmark but they've been chased off every server and finally shut down.
The day to day news wasn't anything particulary obnoxious or dangerous, just desciptive.

If you're trying to offer up some example that a government on one side of the idealogical spectrum does something you find offensive, that's one thing, but you can't claim any form of moral outrage unless you're innocent yourself.

[Diogenes]

If you're trying to offer up some example that a government on one side of the idealogical spectrum does something you find offensive, that's one thing, but you can't claim any form of moral outrage unless you're innocent yourself.

And if you live in Canada, just recognize your absolute irrelevance and STFU.

You're welcome.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

And if you live in Canada, just recognize your absolute irrelevance and STFU.

Why so grumpy? Nobody touching your ad on JDate this weekend?

[Mister Bushice]

Try the direct approach to trolling, next time.

I subscribe to all sorts of newsgroups, the FARC-EP ANNCOL was one, run out of Denmark but they've been chased off every server and finally shut down.
The day to day news wasn't anything particulary obnoxious or dangerous, just desciptive.

If you're trying to offer up some example that a government on one side of the idealogical spectrum does something you find offensive, that's one thing, but you can't claim any form of moral outrage unless you're innocent yourself.

Who gives a shit about moral outrage?

Just gimme some really stupid decisions by the Chinese that backfire horribly. Gimme a few events that end in controversy. Gimme some athletes who get tossed out for using drugs even if they didn't.

THAT's what I want out of these games. I won't watch a lick of it, until something bad, funny, or stupid happens.

[Diogenes]

And if you live in Canada, just recognize your absolute irrelevance and STFU.

Why so grumpy? Nobody touching your ad on JDate this weekend?

Pay attention.

And if you live in Canada, just recognize your absolute irrelevance and STFU.

[PSUFAN]

run out of Denmark

carry on...

[Left Seater]

Much ado about nothing. For those who thought that the Chinese would allow full access, I have bridge I would like to sell you. There was no way there were ever going to let you google Tibet or the like. Period.

While we were there in May, all US newspaper sites were blocked as were those from most western nations. RICEowls was also blocked, while Goallineblitz wasn't. Anything that was a blog no matter where it originated was blocked.

[RadioFan]

RICEowls was also blocked

Good thing the Chinese recognize the huge national security risk that is the RICEowls official Web site. The very mention of it will have counter-revolutionaries in the streets in a heartbeat.

[RumpleForeskin]

Fan or not of the Olympics, I have to tip my hat to the Chinese for putting on one of the greatest shows I've ever seen last night. That opening ceremony was rediculously good.

[mouse]

Fan or not of the Olympics, I have to tip my hat to the Chinese for putting on one of the greatest shows I've ever seen last night. That opening ceremony was rediculously good.

It should be it's your money.