A gold medal in propaganda for Greece

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AchtungBono

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I'm surprised no one has commented about this, and I'm sorry it took ME so long to bring this up.

I was watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Athens and marvelling at the wonderous spectacle of 203 nations walking behind their national flags, beaming and smiling and waving to the crowd. My heart was filled with pride at the site of our wrestler Erik Zeevi who proudly carried our flag in front of the 30-something member delegation. It was a moment of triumph and reminded me of what the Olympics was all about - sportsmanship and countries gathering together in the spirirt of friendship and cooperation. I really was stupid enough to think that the world could put aside its differences for two weeks and forget that everyone is supposed to hate each other.

.......and then came the moment which brought me back to reality.

A lone figure, bearing a green, red and black flag, walking behind a sign that said "Palestine". I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and looked again, thinking that maybe I was having hallucinations but no....there it was in plain sight - a sportsman from "Palestine", entering the stadium to the roar and cheer of the crowd.

Now I'm no expert in geography but I think that any kindergarden student knows that there's no such country as Palestine. What I DON'T understand is how the IOC could agree to include a country that doesn't exist. I wonder what would happen if there would have been a delegation from a country called Northern Ireland. I'm pretty sure the British would have strong words for the IOC don't you think? And what do you think the Chinese would have done if there had been a delegation from Nepal?

Then I started to think, what sport could this "athlete" possibly participate in....hmmm....lets see, what is "Palestine" good at? Oh yes....actually SEVERAL events come to mind - bomb throwing, rock hurling, mine planting and missile launching, to name a few. And then (just in case they do win a medal) the highlight of their activity could be to stand on the podium, get the medal and then blow himself up together with those next to him....oh yes....the Palestinians are EXPERT at that.....

But the most burning question in my mind is why WE didn't say anything when we probably knew that there was going to be this kind of provocation. Why didn't Israel complain to the IOC about what was definitely a POLITICAL statement rather than a sporting one (cos obviously this "athlete" has as much a chance of getting a medal as I do). This is the first time that "Palestine" has participated in the Olympic games and one has to wonder what good it will do.

Oh sorry....my mistake....Palestinians HAVE participated in the Olympics before - it was at the Munich Olympics in 1972 when they participated in their favorite activity - resulting in the murder of 11 Israeli athletes.....sorry about that.

I don't know how many gold medals Greece will win in this olympics but one thing is certain - they already WON a gold medal in the art of propaganda.

Well done Greece....YASU!!!
 
I agree with you AchtungBono, when a "nation" of people will use mass murder to get their demands - and succeed it is very telling of the way the "international community" feels. The only group ever to attack the Olympic games and slaughter innocent Israeli Athletes is embraced by the IOC while they refuse to acknowledge Munich properly and do not allow any official memorial or reciognition to the victims - truly the world is Topsy Turvy.

I love the Greeks, I spent a few years learning Greek and have been over there but the thing you pickup is that Greece is quite anti-semitic, like most of Europe unfortunately. But the real crooks here are the IOC and the "international community". They have rewarded the terr- oh im sorry - PLO for their terrorist actions in the past and present. Arafat flagged the Munich Massacre personally, the Europeans capitualated to hijackers demands after to get the Black September terrorists off and within 5 years the Palestinians are given more internation reciognition and sympathy than any other nation without a state, through violence alone they pushed ahead of other groups with serious grievances, The Tibetans and Kurds dont get anywhere near as much foreign aid money, media attention or sympathy and ignoring them is wrong. I guess the worst thing is that the Palestinians havent abandoned terrorism and violence at all and they are given more and more sympathy - how is it that Islamist Terrorist organizations like Hamas are seen as freedom fighters while Israel, the most stable, free and open society in the Middle East is painted to be Juden Reich. Solidarity against terrorism will end it, not embracing terrorists with open arms like we do today (Lets all be thankful that Mossad does their job brilliantly, much more effective than the CIA, I really liked the operation against "The Engineer" where they placed explosives in his celluar phone, im glad their on our side, bloody brilliant.)

I myself was considering the Olympic events the Palestinians could stage.
- Shooting, only instead of aiming at targets with precision it is indiscrimate fire at a moving vehicle as it drives down a road, bonus points if you can shoot the targets inside at Point Blank range.
- Scavanger Hunt, one hundred frenzied compeditors, one blown up car and one corpse; the person with the most pieces of flesh in their hand after a minute wins.
- 200 Metre Dash, just like the run into Israel the compeditors must race over the border without accedentily tripping their bomb belts (this event may be cancelled due to the construction of security barrier, or Freedom Fence as I call it whenever I see someone scream out Aparteid Wall.)
- Shot put, well of course ideal sport because its all about throwing big heavy things around.

Wait a while before I come up with some tasteless jokes, however I dont know if they can even match the depravity displayed by the Palestinian Authority after seeing the Museum to a "Suicide" (read Homocide, mass murder is not suicide) Bombing where the PA setup a stage of the aftermath in an Israeli Pizzaria, blood, guts and pizza festooned over the walls to celebrate a great victory to them, I cannot comprehend why the Mass Media ignores this and parrots the old line of cycle of violence and nobodys fault; its very simple, Arabs disarm and then there will be no more violence - Israel disarms and there will be no more Israel. I tell you the shit that they do and the way that Palestinians treat these murderers should invalidate their grievances, they have taken enough from Israel they should just integrate the "Palestinians" back into Jordan, Egypt and Syria rather than become 4th Generation "Refugees" (since that term has no bloody meaning with the Arabs its all about full right of return by driving the Jews into the sea.) Roughly equal numbers of Jews were forcibly moved out of Arab countries after the formation of Israel, it should have been called an even draw even though the Arab "refugees" left by choice after being promised right of return by the Arab leaders when Israel was wiped off the planet, fortunately that hasnt eventuated but unfortunately they are still there acting like victims because they picked the wrong side.

I have sympathy to victims of any inustice, there are most certainly innocent people killed by the IDF, that is what happens in an urban combat environment, estimates place it at around 20% of Palestinians killed being civilian, this works out the be around 360 innocent people killed in self defence operations by Israel, in that same course of time however some 600 innocent Israeli civilians were killed in acts of terrorism, targeted directly and purposely while going about their business. There is no moral equivalence here, I think the responsible party is the one that shoots from behind their own civilians - using them as human shields and uses mass murder against civilians to achieve their ends. Terrorism and violence have removed any element of justice for the Palestinian cause in my eyes and there is no point in negotiating with people intent on wiping out the other side, disengagement and leaving the entire PA to crumble is probably the best option in the long run, less people will be killed on both sides (unless of course the Arab armies move in, they kill 20,000 Palestinians and the world doesn't care). Peace with Justice is the name of the game and it cannot happen when terrorists are at the negotiating table.

AchtungBono, a correction. You state China and Nepal, I think you mean a Tibetan delegation. However you can already see Chinese Taipae in there even though it is actually Taiwan.

For a proper breakdown of the casualites in the second intafada please visit this site, it takes the values as found in the media and compiles it to paint a picture of who dies and in what number, these are facts and they can be quite illuminating.
http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid=439
 
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AchtungBono said:
It was a moment of triumph and reminded me of what the Olympics was all about - sportsmanship and countries gathering together in the spirirt of friendship and cooperation.
 
A_Wanderer said:
AchtungBono, a correction. You state China and Nepal, I think you mean a Tibetan delegation. However you can already see Chinese Taipae in there even though it is actually Taiwan.

You're right Wanderer - I meant to say Tibet and I stand corrected.

Also, I realize that I was very wrong to make a generalization in my original post. I did not mean to imply that ALL Palestinians deal in the activities I described. It would be totally wrong of me to demonize an entire people based on the actions of fanatics whose sole aim is the destruction of Israel.
 
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I agree guys, that was unprecedented and out of line. There are a lot of other countries that do not or no longer exist but no one has ever marched them in the Olympics. Pure political statement, in a games dedicated to peace :down:

but what do you expect from a bunch of jerks who poisoned all the strays in town so they wouldn't look ugly on TV :mad:
 
AchtungBono said:
I did not mean to imply that ALL Palestinians deal in the activities I described. It would be totally wrong of me to demonize an entire people based on the actions of fanatics whose sole aim is the destruction of Israel.
you did one hell of a job implying that though

I haven't seen the opening ceremony myself
but from what you've posted I agree that it's a weird double standard
 
I think it is very plain from the statements of the Palestinian Authority as well as their media that many desire to see the complete and utter destruction of Israel and the extermination of the Jews. It ties in very closely with the fact the society is controlled using this hatred and the hatred is reflected in the way religion is practiced. It is no coincidence that you see Islamic terrorism in Gaza, it is Islamists using the hatred for Jews fostered by the PA to attract support for their cause, and through violent, coercion, apathy and hatred they get that support. The Palestinians are fed a diet of sheer propaganda, they are conditioned and brainwashed into it.
 
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How much did the Greeks have to do with this? It seems like it would have been an IOC decision, because they are the ones who decide which countries are allowed to compete in the Olympics. Remember, South Africa was barred from competing during the apartheid period, and was only allowed back in by vote of the IOC. It's true that the Greeks didn't stop the thing, but I doubt if they had any power over it. The outrage is on the IOC, not the Greeks.
 
It's indeed a double standard, but it's not such a big surprise. Without getting into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Olympic games involve a lot of politics for decades now, the kind of politics that just reflects what's going on in the world. It probably started with the games in 1936 (in nazi Germany), 1972 in Munich (the murder of 11 Israeli delegation members), 1976/1980/1984-the cold war that brought boycotts from the soviets and the Americans on each other, and so on and on?

I love watching the games, and there are some wonderful moments of victory, joy, and great moments overall. But usually they all include the athletes themselves, once politicians and governments (or dictators at times) are involved, it gets ugly.

I felt so sorry for the Iranian judoka who was forbidden by the Iranian government to compete against an Israeli in the first round. This guy is the world champion, he was almost sure to win the gold, but years of hard work went to the dumpster because of politics. I'm sure his frustration is just unimaginable right now.




BTW, Ian thorp rocks! Seriously, even my mother wanted him to win, and she usually couldn?t care less when it comes to sports. :)
 
OI?

I shamefully admit to lack any knowledge in Australian cheering up phrases (or whatever you might call it). I mean, I'm thousands of miles away from there?give me a break :)
 
Well that he is, especially with the stupid plastic cap and goggles off :drool:

But I couldn't believe no one even on TV had said 'damn the thorpedo' yet :p
 
*is considering the irony that the discussion is now about the sport the Palestine athlete was also competing in: swimming*
 
thompson.jpg
 
Repulsive, why?

Isnt it wrong that a bunch of terrorists (the Palestinian Leadership, not the Palestinian People) are rewarded for violence by becoming a reciognized group in the eyes of the international community, they havent even abandoned violence and they are given this - to me that is what is truly repulsive in this whole sorry affair.
 
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Please answer honestly, do you not see why some of the views expressed in this thread are not really fine and dandy? Please tell me if you at least understand where I might be coming from here.
 
The only thing I found not quite right was AchtungBono's views about Greeks, other than that I cannot see anything wrong with being appauled at the IOC for giving a place in the Olympics to the "Palestinians".

I think that you may be coming from the angle that its wrong to be against any particular nations right to be at an Olympics when they have suffered so much for it. That it underplays Palestinian rights of self-determination that have been undermined in the world by Israel and her allies and that it does nobody any good to get angry about it. Or possibly that this condemnation isnt in the spirit of the Olympics and it is about international peace and brotherhood, a celebration of humanity.

Im sorry in advance because I am pretty sure that most of that argument above doesn't fit you but I have talked to so many commited "anti-Zionists" it has made be quite jaded to those who are blindly (not that you necissarily are) pro-Palestinian. AchtungBono's statements may seem insensitive at first glance but I agree with the core arguments totally - this is rewarding terrorism and that is wrong. I would really like to hear where you are coming from on this part, I think that we are all mature enough to respect eachothers opinion even though there may be disagreement - but hey, thats what FYM is all about (that and an elaborate drinking game I have invented :hyper: - One Drink for every time Sting posts "verifiably disarmed", One For.....)
 
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Originally posted by ActhungBono
Then I started to think, what sport could this "athlete" possibly participate in....hmmm....lets see, what is "Palestine" good at? Oh yes....actually SEVERAL events come to mind - bomb throwing, rock hurling, mine planting and missile launching, to name a few. And then (just in case they do win a medal) the highlight of their activity could be to stand on the podium, get the medal and then blow himself up together with those next to him....oh yes....the Palestinians are EXPERT at that.....

Originally posted by A_Wanderer
I myself was considering the Olympic events the Palestinians could stage.
- Shooting, only instead of aiming at targets with precision it is indiscrimate fire at a moving vehicle as it drives down a road, bonus points if you can shoot the targets inside at Point Blank range.
- Scavanger Hunt, one hundred frenzied compeditors, one blown up car and one corpse; the person with the most pieces of flesh in their hand after a minute wins.
- 200 Metre Dash, just like the run into Israel the compeditors must race over the border without accedentily tripping their bomb belts (this event may be cancelled due to the construction of security barrier, or Freedom Fence as I call it whenever I see someone scream out Aparteid Wall.)
- Shot put, well of course ideal sport because its all about throwing big heavy things around.

I think it's statements like these that Angela (and I) might find repulsive. While the real meat of this issue should be why Palestine is being recognized as a country when it is in fact not one, statements like these suggest that all Palestinians are blood-thirsty and indiscriminantly murderous terrorists. I hope you can see the fault in that approach.
 
Actually, and while I appreciate you haven't assumed, it really has little to do with Palestine itself.

I'll try and keep my opinionated rambling as brief as possible and one point per paragraph (for once lol).

First off, this is sport. Elite sport where the whole point is for the best to be proud, for nations to be proud, for rivalry to involve the best tall poppy you have. Politics is never far away, because people can't let it go. But the whole point is to play at sport, forget our differences and have fun for 16 days.

As for the sole athlete from the alleged nation of Palestine, the reasons given for him not belonging there are not unique to his or the region's situation. If we want to bring up examples of terrorism or violence in backing up a belief, then by all means ban from participation, China, Israel, the USA, Australia, Rep. Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Papua New Guinea, Chile, etc etc etc. No country participating has a clean slate. We are not represented by the few who give terrorism a name or face. We are not entire nations of these groups.

As for the argument that Israel is going to have the shits and using N. Ireland and England as an example, is emotional and irrational. England does not decide who particpates any more than Israel does. It is the IOC like you say. As for ATHOC and their support, how much wrangling was there from SOCOG and the IOC? Did you hear about all the fights down your way?

The direct insult to this "athlete" was a cheap shot. What would he be good at? List examples of actions of terrorists. Maybe the American athletes are not only great swimmers and 100m sprinters, but perhaps they are great at pre-emptive strikes. Perhaps they are familiar with the bringing down of dictators. Surely you can accept how weak this particular argument is?

We all talk of how politics doesn't belong in sport, yet here we are. The pot meets the kettle. We're all black, right?

The only point with any benefit is the question of whether Palestine can be recognised as a nation on it's own. But frankly, this is about sport - this whole Olympics caper. Not whether Israel or Palestine is right, in this case.


Sport, people! Sport.
 
I take ages to type, and still make no sense, and also manage to post 3 posts after everyone else so all hope of sense is GAWN!

Woe is me. Diemen said it much more succinct.

/fantabulous grammar.

:reject:
 
But the thing is that these are actual things that occur on a regular basis and it is well documented for all to see. Shooting at the IDF during protests occurs, rock throwing happens, trying to sneak into Israel did occur until the fence was put up, people tore the bodies of those killed in a missile strike to pieces and held up the flesh in front of the cameras. This isnt just mindless statements without any basis in the real world, these are events that have happened and continue to hapen that as unsavoury as they are mustnt be overlooked.

Tale a good long look at the way they indocrinate children, using UNICEF assistance to drill them into the mantra of "I am willing to Martyr Myself", sending kids to go out and lob rocks at soldiers. They are victims here, I get angry that they are used like that, and my anger turns to those that pull the strings - Yassir Arafat and the PA terrorist crooks who are the ones that benefit the most from this IOC decision and the UN.

They may be in bad taste as jokes but they are factual things that are done by Palestinians, I would like to say that most Palestinians are really good people who stand up against terror but that simply isnt true, those that resist the terrorists are killed so people will either support the terrorists or simply let it slide out of fear. We have to stop rewarding terrorism and that is what this is about, this thread is politics and not sport and that is what we should be debating.
 
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Now all you're doing is listing actions the terrorists are known for. I dont think anyone is trying to say they're not really all that bad, and are infact a 'tops bunch of folk'.
Lumping the entire (still alleged?) nation of Palestine together is what I and I think others are questioning, and how what the actions of some, can lead to questions of the validity of this sole athlete participating.

If we want to debate again, the legitimacy of the Israeli/Palestine land, by all means do it. But what it has to do with sport and the Olympics is perhaps hatemongering of it's own.
 
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