I agree with MG on this too. My solution would be for the Olympics to be held in Athens every 4 years, rather than being a commercial travelling circus it is today. Participating countries would all contribute financially to the running of the event, as would commercial sponsors, bringing it back to what it was intended to be - a celebration of sport, not the glorification of the host country.
The cost to host countries is immense - I believe Montreal is still paying a tax surcharge to service the debt incurred when they hosted the games in 1976! So to have a fixed venue seems a far more reasonable way of taking the politics out of this and making sure host countries don't bankrupt themselves in the process.
In terms of boycotting the China games, it is a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has been turned into cat meat. The voices of protest should have been louder and more frequent during the period leading up to the games being awarded to China - if the IOC realised then the extent to which people were opposed, it might well have influenced their decision. But now it is done, it is a bit late. None of the the "superpowers" will boycott in the same way as in 80 or 84, so it is all a bit silly now.
On another more serious note (imo
) :
Tibetan Monks held over "bomb plot".
What a complete load of bollocks. Buddhist monks don't go round killing people. They are simply being held hostage, imo.
