Posted on 08/06/2008 2:20:34 AM PDT by Hi Heels
Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the speedskating champion was set to fly to China. And he wasn't even planning on wearing a mask when he got there. Chinese officials don't need a reason to revoke anyone's visa but, in their eyes, they had plenty of reasons to snatch Cheek's. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes whose goal it is to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan. China's military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan have been well-publicized in the lead-up to the Games. Said Cheek of his ban in a prepared statement: "I am saddened not to be able to attend the Games. The Olympic Games represent something powerful: that people can come together from around the world and do things that no one thought were possible. However, 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. Cheek was going to China to support the athletes on Team Darfur -- including soccer player Abby Wambach -- and to promote the cause, one that he has championed for years. After winning gold in the Torino Games, Cheek announced he was donating his $25,000 USOC bonus to Darfur and implored his sponsors to do the same. It seems that Joey Cheek is truly one of the good guys. And now he's out of China before he even got there. With the Games getting closer (just two days away now), the world seemed ready to forget about all the Chinese issues in order to focus on the Games themselves.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
Selecting China to host the Olympics is the biggest blunder by the IOC since holding the games in Berlin in 1936. But the IOC is the most corrupt organization in the world, with the possible exception of the UN.
Well, here we go...
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YmNkMjUwNjYwOGZmODA2ZDBmMWQ5OTg4MTM2ZDY2YmM=
And of course Bob Costas won’t mention this amongst all of the rest of his dramatic drivel. He doesn’t want his visa yanked and NBC doesn’t want their plug pulled.
Maybe President Jorge will give a speech denouncing the commies in between cheers.
No, he'll tell the Chinese leadership how deeply concerned we are about it, but he'll do it in private. It's more effective that way. </sarcasm>
China lost it’s opportunity to show the world true unity... but what else can be expected of a communist hell hole?
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