Consider it my own contribution in trying to reduce global warming….

It’s just a suggestion to cut down on some of the the trolling and other cyber-freakish behavior going on…hopefully more formalized measures will some day be implemented …
(no wonder Bill O Reilly encourages only short pithy comments)

Thanks for not posting no more than 3 comments under this particular post.

I think you ask me a fair question in this case …but I want you to know ..I will not respond to any further questions or comments towards me from you. I just prefer to basically make one comment under a post and move on. Thanks.

(Stop Comment Abuse – After 4 go out the door)
(Maybe I should unfurl this banner in China?)

(Help Stop Comment Abuse – 3 or less per post is sane.)

Is this rule in MM’s TOS? Otherwise, I don’t understand your point.

Simply scroll to those posts that interest you and ignore the rest.

OK – we all know China is a repressive state. I’ve heard better examples than the 2 cited – from just watching the fantastic NBC coverage.

Guo JingJing, China’s mega-star diver is one example. After Athens, she was getting numerous contracts for endorsements and other money making opportunities. The Chinese government essentially told her to stop it and get back to training – or she would not compete in 2008.

On more of a non-political, cultural observation – her Chinese fans are so crazy about her – they did not heed the warnings against taking flash pictures during her dives. This must have drove the Chinese security inside The Cube – nuts.

These hundreds of flashes going off as she dove, were worth more than a “thousand words”.

Tell me Olympic detractors, would these flashes of civil disobedience be occuring, if the Olympics were not being held in Beijing?

(Help Stop Comment Abuse – 3 or less per post is sane.)

BrianNy do you have a crush on me? It seems every forum I post on you follow me around. Are you a larry craig conservative?

My bad, nero, I thought you were a liberal representative of the fairer sex!

Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve judged a book by its cover.

Regardless, I’m drawn to your arguments in particular because I find them to be hastily drawn and easily assailable.

Take this thread for example. You previously asserted:

Coaches yell and cuss at players in other sports which is more harsh than a reporter shaming you.

In amateur sports (eg. Little League Baseball) this might be true, but our good hostess was addressing Olympic athletes in the context of China. You are obviously not familiar with the pressures brought down from a corrupt, centralized authoritarian government like Beijing, nor do you understand the corrupt and deadly tactics of the “police state” governments which control the majority of China’s rural areas, with Beijing’s permission of course.

I can assure you, the result of falling on the bad side of these government officials is not equatable with your examples of “harsh coaches” or “shaming reporters” here in the US. In fact, you can measure the fear of government reprisal by the majority of Chinese silence and in their reflex facial reactions whenever an honest question is asked.

You also asserted:

They are leading in golds, so the motivation must be working.

I didn’t understand your point here, so I just accepted it as an “ends justifies the means” defense on your part. I just think it’s important to remind you that, while motivation works in many countries like China, it is not always humane nor is it happy. For example, I could motivate you to do a lot of athletic things by threatening you and/or your family with a host of horrible outcomes, but that would hardly be in the Olympic spirit, would it?

You summarized by saying:

Michelle maybe you should take your own advice and “Suck it up” and quit being sensitive like a liberal.

This, by far, was your most absurd statement. To commingle the sorry human conditions of many within an authoritative system of government like China’s, no less their star athletes, with MM’s previous articles concerning irresponsible borrowing behavior on the part of some Americans…is not only mixed fruit, it is an underdeveloped way of trying to score an illegitimate point against our hostess.

nero, you seem like a hasty debater, but no less, you are probably a good natured person at heart. Take a note – you don’t always have to mention the first thing that comes to the top of your head. Read the entire thread, give it some thoughtful consideration, and then proffer your wisdom. You also don’t have to know everything in the world, but it helps to know a little bit. For instance, the first time I joined this site, I got hot-headed and ended up being schooled by a contributor called “chapoutier” over actual, reported, federal hate-crime statistics. I thanked him for the information and I moved on. We’re all friends here. Sometimes, it’s even nice to learn a thing or two.

Finally, to answer your question, I don’t have a crush on you. But I have learned to keep on my toes with you, because that “Larry Craig” rebuttal was a real zinger! Ouch!

Onward and upward, nero. You’ll got the hang of this soon.

因 為 神 差 他 的 兒 子 降 世 ， 不 是 要 定 世 人 的 罪 （ 或 作 ： 審 判 世 人 ； 下 同 ） ， 乃 是 要 叫 世 人 因 他 得 救 。

約 翰 福 音 3:16-17
Chinese Union Version (Traditional) (CUV)

is why they won. . . not because they were too young. They were the best in the world of any age because of practice. They should be celebrated instead of ridiculed for ‘being too young’. . . whether they are or not. They won.

This is not freedom. These children who start training at the age of 3 and who see their parents only once or twice a year are not in a free society. This should not be celebrated. It is as much of a labor camp as in the days of Mao. Watch this video of this gym that has trained 4 world champions in the last 10 years and you will see children between the ages of 3-9 being “trained”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NZ97gekZk

Anybody see how that American gymnast was hosed in the vault competition last night, giving the bronze to a Chinese girl who flubbed her routine? Bela Karolyi flat out declared it a ripoff. The good news is because the North Korean girl won, she and her family will get to eat! Yay!

I don’t see the big deal?

Judging from most of your comments, I’m not surprised.

Coaches yell and cuss at players in other sports which is more harsh than a reporter shaming you.

In free societies, one has the right and the ability to walk away from degradation. Under totalitarian regimes, it is amazing that these Chinese athletes were even allowed to give a glimpse into the irreversible hells that they are living in.

They are leading in golds, so the motivation must be working.

Unquestionably true. China is also leading in forced abortions, forced organ donations and forced imprisonment in labor camps for various personal beliefs. Care to give them a gold medal for that too?

Michelle maybe you should take your own advice and “Suck it up” and quit being sensitive like a liberal.

(Chuckle) Please learn to dissect your misplaced equivocation between free and oppressed societies before misusing one of MMs monikers (Suck it up) regarding matters of personal responsibility.

The funny part about your insertion into this topic is – through their limited and controlled comments, Tan Zongliang and Yang Yilin demonstrate a greater understanding of what freedom is than your entire diatribe here today.

I hope you understand this?