Are You Boycotting The Beijing Oylmpics?

Tomorrow is the official kick-off of the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

But will you be watching? Here's one reason why you might to think twice before tuning in.

The Chinese government basically funds Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir. This is the leader who was recently indicted for genocide and war crimes in Darfur. Billions of dollars a year is invested in Sudan and China buys two-thirds of the country's oil. China's response is that the issues of Darfur is merely an 'internal affair'.

While I have never been one to partake in these kinds of boycotts thinking what possible impact will turning my TV set to another channel have on this issue, I stumbled on an NY PostOpinion article that breaks it down.

Here's an excerpt from that article:

Will a boycott make a difference? Maybe not this year. But down the road, it will. After all, NBC bid nearly $900 million to broadcast the Beijing Games. If its TV ratings suffer, you can bet that the International Olympic Committee - which gets the bulk of its revenue from broadcast fees - will think twice before awarding the games to another dictatorial government.

Here's a little more food for thought. While there seems to be controversy as of late over the exact figure, the death toll in Darfur estimates to be in the upwards of 400,000 since the violence broke in 2003 which means approximately 500 die each day.

So I ask again. Will you be boycotting the Beijing Olympics?