<p>"Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek '11 said his visa to attend the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing has been revoked by the Chinese government over his efforts urging China to help make peace in the war-torn region of Darfur.</p>
<p>"The 2006 speed skating champion co-founded Team Darfur, an organization of Olympic athletes who seek to draw attention to violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. China is a major consumer of oil produced in Sudan.</p>
<p>"Cheek had planned to travel to Beijing this week to support the hundreds of athletes from around the world who have signed on as supporters of Team Darfur.</p>
<p>tough break. in brighter news, according to the homepage, thirteen of cheek’s fellow tigers (alums included) are competing in this year’s olympics, tops among the ivies:</p>
<p>^^ So true. With all the restrictions on journalists, the pollution, and the other stories coming out of Beijing, I’m beginning to think the Olympics are going to be a disaster…</p>
<p>I don’t see any big deal out of this visa denial stuff. He plans to protest and make a scene there. The Chinese have every right to deny his visa. By analogy, It is unthinkable that we will allow Iraqi insurgents to get to our soil to demand the withdrawl of US troop from Iraq.</p>
<p>I heard that we just executed an Mexican in Texas for murder in violating international law. I guess that every country has the right to do their own thing.</p>
<p>Who started the violent act first? The Iraqis or us? If we are capable of using military force to conquer other countries to achieve democracy, we will do it. Violent or not is irrelevant. Please imagine granting a visa to al-Qaeda representative here to have a peaceful fund raising party here. Is it possible?</p>
<p>That analogy is still not the greatest. Even if funds are raised in a peaceable fashion, al Qaeda presumably still plans to use the money to sponsor terror. To the extent that Cheek planned to protest while in China, his actions would not have condoned violence. I’m not arguing that China doesn’t have the right to deny his visa. It’s a sovereign country, and it can do what it wants. I just think it’s sad that free speech is so restricted.</p>
<p>I think it’s gonna be horrible for a very small group of anti-Chinese activists, but in terms of sports it’s gonna be great in the usual Olympic style, bar the pollution.</p>
<p>bar the pollution? Lol I wouldn’t be surprised if half the runners had long-term breathing difficulties from all the smog. Face it, the only thing worth seeing this year is USA basketball taking back the gold…other than that, why bother?</p>
<p>The fairness of media depends on the objective presentation of facts to the audience. Present the facts with maximum truthfulness and accuracy and leave the audience to judge. However, the media generally consist of profit-seeking entities sometimes with political-related goals, news or reportage today are contaminated by variables that reach beyond the truthful domain. Deliberate bias and untrufulness have always been recognized as a risk of believing in one-sided media. Google a Chinese version of the visa revocation case if want to obtain a better view of it.</p>
<p>It is understandable that you drew such a biased conclusion based on what you hear and read from the media in the west. But if you had learned about China from other information sources (or had been to China before), I am sure you wouldnt have made a statement like this. Seeing is believing:)</p>
<p>I worked in Beijing as a volunteer of 08 Olympics for the past month and I watched the opening ceremony live in the Bird’s Nest (National Stadium). I am still in process of doing my documentary for my community service project which records Olympic volunteers life and a fraction of the Games as an outside observer and reporter. Just as what I said before, it is impossible for media to avoid being biased. My documentary is not ideally documentary in nature, but it is enough to prove the great efforts China has undertaken to hold the peaceful gathering that she dreamed and waited for so long. </p>
<p>BTW, a great book to suggest for those who want to know more about the world:
The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of World Order</p>
<p>“Just more incompetence from the Chinese. I’ve gotten used to it.”</p>
<p>"In any case, anyone who thinks the Olympics are going to be anything but horrible this year is either:</p>
<ol>
<li>Chinese and too patriotic</li>
</ol>
<p>or</p>
<ol>
<li>deluded"</li>
</ol>
<p>“bar the pollution? Lol I wouldn’t be surprised if half the runners had long-term breathing difficulties from all the smog. Face it, the only thing worth seeing this year is USA basketball taking back the gold…other than that, why bother?”</p>
<p>Wow: For someone who calls himself a piccolo, you seem very confident. However, I think I’ll venture that perhaps you are the piccolo in the orchestra who feels angry that he is always covered by the other instruments, leading to the need to make outrageous, unsubstantiated claims just to get attention?</p>
<p>I’m not in any band/orchestra lol. The great thing about my claims is that they evoke self-righteous bouts of anger from people like you. Calm down…I don’t want to be sued for inducing high blood pressure…</p>
<p>Don’t worry: I’m not angry, so my blood pressure is most likely fine and you won’t be sued.</p>
<p>However, you may be somewhat right in that it occasionally irks me when people completely miss my point, which I will state more bluntly than I did previously:</p>
<p>Please back up what you say with substantial evidence, not ad hominem or ad populum attacks.</p>
<p>When you do that, we can engage one another on an intellectual–as opposed to a simply rhetorical–level, and perhaps garner some respect for what the other says.</p>
<p>He’s a ■■■■■. All of his posts are meant to invoke outrage at the apparent morbid stupidity of their nature. He finds it amusing when others react to him in any way, so don’t play into his game.</p>
<p>^This man knows what he’s talking about, to an extent. I’ve been on CC a year longer than you, so it’s not right for you to call me a ■■■■■…noob. ;)</p>
<p>Anyway it’s good to see phelps dominating. That’s actually a more important reason for watching the games than just USA basketball reclaiming “dream team” status.</p>