Iraq banned from Beijing Olympics amid feud
- Thread starter gunslingingbird
- Start date
tartanterrier
Is somewhere outhere.
Perhaps with all the pollution over there,it's maybe a good thing they
don't go.This being the only positive you can take from it though
don't go.This being the only positive you can take from it though
dick van cock
Closed Account
That decision won't have an impact on the medal table. Yet a sahme!
Uday Hussein had the common decency to let the athletes compete before they were tortured...
{FYI they have some decent weightlifters. And their football team finished 4th in 2004...
plus: we're missing their volleyball girls
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00QT9w5fFk7uU/340x.jpg }
Uday Hussein had the common decency to let the athletes compete before they were tortured...
{FYI they have some decent weightlifters. And their football team finished 4th in 2004...
plus: we're missing their volleyball girls
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00QT9w5fFk7uU/340x.jpg }
Iraq already has a national soccer team; they took 4th place in the 2004 games. This has absolutely nothing to do with the US; it has to do with international bureaucracy and with the Iraqi government's decision to replace some members of its Olympic committee.
I've never understood the practical point of the. A plethora of countries comes together....to race? WTF? WOuldn't all this time and money be better spent by having the countries come together and end world hunger or something. I don't know, I just don't see sports competition as some that important.
Aces&Jacks
Retired Mod
Considering sports competition has been important to many nations, not just in modern times but throughout the history of civilization, your opinion is in the minority.
that is a good point. the reality is that they really aren't capable of doing anything worthwhile, so instead they toss a ball around and they are glad that they were able to accomplish that much after thousands of people working thousands of hours and spending millions of dollars.
I mean look at humanity, we have millions of years and it led to what? I can whack off without having to use my imagination. that's about it.
And how is it important to said nations. What practical, positive use does/did it serve? I see zero justification is millions of dollars and hours being spent to run around. If the olympics consisted of competition to see which nation could cure cancer first: fine. Which nation has the brightest students? Great. But as it is, it's to see which nation has the fastest citizens (running, swimming, wtc). In my opinion, it seems worthless and a waste of time, money, and effort.
In fairness to the spirit of competition itself they don't need a lot of money to do what they do. It's more the hype and advertisements that go into it. Countries spend too much time with construction projects that go into it and the media attention surrounding it, but the events themselves aren't responsible for most of it. In a way it's morphed into an excuse to spend money on things they don't need.
dick van cock
Closed Account
Surprisingly enough, the Olympics are highly important in underdeveloped nations. Should one of their athletes succeed to win a medal (niot necessarily gold), the entire country is going bonkers for weeks to come.
The Olympics are useful to boost these nations' self-esteem when they see that one of their own outruns, outswims or outjumps the big guys from Europe and the US.
It's just a psychological thing that cannot cure the ills of the world. The world is shit anyway. Why not celebrate the little (in your eyes: insignificant) things?
... and in rare instances, the Olympics even produce a lasting image that might help changing the world to better...
http://www.olympia-ausstellung.de/f..._TommieSmithundJohnCarlosOS1968MexicoCity.jpg
meesterperfect
Hiliary 2020
In the past, when Uday Hussein was in charge of the Olympic teams of Iraq, he would torture and sometimes kill those athletes and family members of them who failed to win.
At least they don't have that to deal with today.
A report released on March 20, 2003, by ABC news detailed several allegations against Uday:
As head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, Uday oversaw the imprisonment and torture of Iraqi athletes who were deemed not to have performed to expectations. According to widespread reports, torturers beat and caned the soles of the soccer players' feet — inflicting intense pain without leaving visible marks on the rest of their bodies. Uday reportedly kept scorecards with written instructions on how many times each player should be beaten after a poor showing.[8] One defector reported that jailed soccer players were forced to kick a concrete ball after failing to reach the 1994 World Cup finals. Another defector claimed that athletes were dragged through a gravel pit and subsequently immersed in a sewage tank to induce infection in the victims' wounds.
At least they don't have that to deal with today.
A report released on March 20, 2003, by ABC news detailed several allegations against Uday:
As head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, Uday oversaw the imprisonment and torture of Iraqi athletes who were deemed not to have performed to expectations. According to widespread reports, torturers beat and caned the soles of the soccer players' feet — inflicting intense pain without leaving visible marks on the rest of their bodies. Uday reportedly kept scorecards with written instructions on how many times each player should be beaten after a poor showing.[8] One defector reported that jailed soccer players were forced to kick a concrete ball after failing to reach the 1994 World Cup finals. Another defector claimed that athletes were dragged through a gravel pit and subsequently immersed in a sewage tank to induce infection in the victims' wounds.
That's nauseating. I'm glad that fuckbag was killed. I'm just sorry that he didn't suffer more.
The US invasion has resulted in this illegitmate govt that is currently installed in Iraq.This new govt is just a change from one ruling faction(the sunnis) to the shiites which is why the Olympic commitee banned them.And the shiites are much more aligned with Iran as well,wow GWB you really know how to make things better !:eek:
Aces&Jacks
Retired Mod
I always love that argument. It's the standard argument given when looking for a justification not to spend money on one thing but on something else. You could argue that we shouldn't spend billions on the space program when that money could be going to find a cure for cancer. You could argue that the millions of dollars spent on the ink used to print pretty pictures on a Twinkie box should be used to find a cure for cancer. The fact is, in all aspects of life, zillions of dollars are spent on things that have no altruistic value whatsoever. Money is not the end all to cure all.
I could then argue for the economic impact that the games have on the host country, nationally and in the local communities hosting the event. I could argue the entertainment value that competition provides those who watch and participate in the events. I could argue the good will resulting from the games that, at least for a short period of time, surpasses the tragedies of the current world we live in. I could argue a thousand positive things that result from countries spending money on the Olympic games. But then again, the Olympics is not always about money.
