Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
Divorce, Maintenance, Personal Injury, Medical Negligence
After the ridiculous amount of money that Russia, who could hardly afford it, spent on the Winter Olympics, namely R50 billion, the IOC has decided to change how cities bid for Olympics. They will even help countries fit the bill by giving them money. Already four of the six cities that were competing to host the 2022 Winter Games have pulled out – some of them saying that the IOC’s demands on big cities were ridiculous. Right now, the only two cities bidding for the Winter Olympics are Beijing and Almaty. If you have not heard of Almaty, it is in Kazakstan. Amongst the new relaxed rules, they will allow joint bids, possibly even in different countries, as long as they were reasonably close to each other and they will also allow the host city to include a sport in their games which is popular with the local people but not already an Olympic sport. In other words, if you want cricket, you could have that or possibly Frisbee throwing too. It will be interesting to see how this pans out – and how they choose, for the host of the 2022 Olympics, between two countries which both have a poor human rights record. Whether that choice is Beijing with its additional pollution issues or Almaty – things certainly sound a little bit desperate for the Winter Games.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 08-Dec-14
Post a Comment
Comments
Elektra said:
on Wednesday 10-Dec-14 09:57 AM
I'm pretty sure Jade and Caron have covered most issues here.
I could not see myself going to Kazakhstan to watch the Olympics though.
Elektra said:
on Wednesday 10-Dec-14 09:57 AM
I'm pretty sure Jade and Caron have covered most issues here.
I could not see myself going to Kazakhstan to watch the Olympics though.
Safia said:
on Tuesday 09-Dec-14 02:01 PM
with the global warming stepping on our heels, soon there will be no cities to choose for Winter Olympics anyway,may be in Antarctica only.
I guess developed countries with democratic governments do not want to spend money on Olympics especially European countries. it will not go well with the EU as there are all on a budget right now.
so who is left out there with a democracy? they should have not given Winter Olympics to Russia either ,with a bully as a president.
i guess it is all about money....
Caron said:
on Tuesday 09-Dec-14 12:29 PM
Sorea, are you proposing that the "West" invade each and every country where there are allegations of human rights violations?
Sorea said:
on Tuesday 09-Dec-14 09:58 AM
Even though I can acknowledge some sense in your argument,Caron, I must say that maybe your idea of "citizens fighting for their own rights" might be a bit pie in the sky. If you look at how countries like for instance China have in the past dealt with the citizens fighting for rights, there is not much hope for an improved set of rights. No country should have their people brutalizing their fellow countrymen because the government is not even prepared to pretend to listen to what their people want. Not everybody's constitution starts with "We, the people of (insert name here) ..."
Sorea said:
on Monday 08-Dec-14 04:51 PM
Unfortunately, Jade, when you have a country that is so incredibly overpopulated you basically enforce peace by ensuring that the populance does not know any different from te regime they are under. Therefore, you restrict rights and freedoms to keep the population in the dark ... kind of like a mushroom.
So we see what is going on and gasp at the atrocities, but most of the popultion there don't know any different.
I do not agree that you must allow a country with a tainted human rights record to host something like the Olympics. And you also cannot say that there will be upliftment of the population. All that will happen is that already insufficient funds will be funneled away from the social security programs (if there are any to speak of) to fund the Games which will be at the expense of the poor. Because you never see that the wealthy folks offer to contribute to these events.
Jade said:
on Monday 08-Dec-14 04:32 PM
I just disagree with Caron...
1. It follows that is more likely that the Winter Olympics would be better if there is a bigger pool from which to choose. I think, as it is supposed to be an international event, the more cities that want to participate, the better as well. Thus one would need to reconsider strict rules that are perhaps deterring cities from bidding to host the games.
2. It is in my opinion, that one cannot reward cities in countries where there are gross human rights violations. One cannot give sweets to naughty children.
3. To highlight some statements from the Human Rights Watch 2014 report which is accessed easily on our uncensored web browsers...
The government (in China) censors the press, the internet, print publications, and academic research and justifies human rights abuses as necessary to preserve social stability. It carries out involuntary population relocation and repressive policies in ethnic minority areas in Tibet, Xinjiang and inner Mongolia&. Discriminates against children and young people with disabilities& land seizures, forced evictions, environmental degradation, miscarriages of justice .
4. Furthermore, if pollution is such a problem in Beijing, I do not see why we should encourage people to fly there, to drive around the city, to put pressure on their industries to create and supply products etc for the ever increased influx of tourists. This does not make sense.
5. I dont even think I need to go into the human rights abuses in Kazakhstan where torture is routinely carried out and restrictive laws on freedom of religion is commonplace.
6. I understand that Caron is perhaps questioning whether one should merely be allowed to be suddenly change the rules on countries bidding, but is that not how the international sphere works when it comes to sanctions and dealing with countries that refuse to co-operate with the international norms on Human rights? For example, South Africa participated in the Olympic games and in the rugby world cup, until one day, the world realised how atrocious Apartheid was and changed the rules to disallow SA to participate.
7. And Caron may now argue that the games may uplift these cities, but it will not. The cities, before the change of rules, will have to spend an exorbitant amount on preparation for hosting the games which will not necessarily improve the life of the everyman . It will be an international indication that the actions of these countries is okay. That it is accepted and even rewarded.
8. I actually think these countries should not be allowed to bid at all until they have proven sufficiently that they have made impressive changes to upholding human rights and in fact, welcome unbiased organisations such as human rights watch to conduct detailed reports on their new attitude towards human rights.
Sorea said:
on Monday 08-Dec-14 04:02 PM
Wait, Caron, are you saying that you would rather have cities host with horrible human rights or pollution issues? Would relaxing the rules not bring in a better candidate to host a prestigious event?
Caron said:
on Monday 08-Dec-14 03:11 PM
Basically, the IOC is relaxing their rules in order to encourage other cities to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games so that they will not have to choose either of the only two (2) cities currently bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. In light of these cities human rights atrocities and pollution.
In other words, lets put aside the rules so that others can play! I'm not sure I can support such a decision. Where does it end? Just because we don't like the current players in the pool to choose from, all we need to do is relax the rules so that we can bring others players into the pool to choose from them rather.
Jade said:
on Monday 08-Dec-14 12:44 PM
If so many cities pulled out and stated that the IOC's demands were too ridiculous, then it seems only reasonable that changes were necessary.
They certainly need more cities to make a bid, if they are to ensure that the Winter Olympics' standards do not drop. I do not think countries that cannot respect human rights should be rewarded with the prestige that comes with hosting international events.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
