I usually pay about as much attention to them as I do my wife when
she's nagging - little to none. But did ya'll read news story this
morning about the American competitor who's visa has been revoked
by the Chinese govt. because dude has been active in the Darfur
situation? I say ALL Americans stay home, for my .02
The Chinese say it's supposed to be about the sport, not politics -
UNLESS they don't like YOURS I guess
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Shoals Area Crappie Association
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Olympic Gold Medalist Joey Cheek, co-founder of Team Darfur, will not attend the Beijing Olympics because China has revoked his visa, his organization said on Tuesday.
Cheek, a speedskater who competed in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, had planned to travel to Beijing on Wednesday, to support Olympic athletes who are members of Team Darfur.
The international coalition of athletes campaigns to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region where, according to international experts, some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes since rebels took up arms against the government five years ago.
China is a major investor in Sudan's oil industry and is its largest weapons supplier. In the runup to the Olympics, Beijing has come under international pressure to help end the conflict in Darfur.
Washington-based Team Darfur said the Chinese Embassy revoked Cheek's visa on Tuesday with no explanation.
Cheek said he was sad he would not be able to go.
"Despite the fact that I've always spoken positively of the Olympic ideal, and never called for a boycott or asked an athlete to break an IOC (International Olympic Committee) rule, my visa was revoked less than 24 hours before my scheduled departure," Cheek said.
"The denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur."
A representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington could not be immediately reached for comment.
Cheek announced in 2006 he would donate his Gold Medal bonuses to relief in Darfur and encouraged other athletes and sponsors to do the same. (Reporting by Joanne Allen, editing by Alan Elsner)
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Crappie! Its part of a balanced Dinner! NOW GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!!!!
I pray that I may live to fish until my dying day. And when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray. When in the Lord's great landing net and peacefully asleep. That in His mercy I be judged, BIG ENOUGH TO KEEP.
Wal-Mart and all others that fuel their economy, should have their visa's revoked, not a qualifying olympic athlete. Olympic games, not olympic politics.
Wal-Mart and all others that fuel their economy, should have their visa's revoked
Unfortunately, that would include a lot of fishing tackle manufacturers. Both BnM and Wally Marshall crappie poles are made in China, and they're not the only ones.
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Clinging to guns and religion since 1963.
I don't know about ya'll, but if need be I'd gladly fish with a cane pole
and homemade lures if that was the price for getting China out of our
pocketbooks. I've got a lot of China made tackle, but if we'd call 'em out,
I could live without it. Heck, I could even do without Wal-Mart if I had
to, and would probably be better off without it.
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Shoals Area Crappie Association
Perfect example of a country with a legitimate humanitarian crisis going on and our government along with most of the rest of the world's governments are kissing their a$$es. There was a very good article in Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year about China's "capitolistic experimant". It seems that they have developed a large metropolis that is completely inhabited by chinese citizens who live completely outside the lines of communism. They have 9-5 jobs , three cars, big house, family, the whole works. It is like a mini USA and the whole aim is to compete on a capitolist level with the USA. All this is going on while on the other side of the wall people live like slaves to the government. They have rigged the entire country with cameras and facial recognition software that allows them to literally track their citizens in real time and know what they are up to. Then the whole Darfur situation is another humanitarian crisis that they have their hands in. Apparently Saddam Hussein gassing a few thousand people ten years ago was a much greater risk to our way of life....Pity.
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