Angela Merkel to boycott Olympic opening ceremonies.

TheMightyFavog

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Mon Mar-31-08 02:11 AM
Original message

Angela Merkel to boycott Olympic opening ceremonies.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/03/merkel_to_boycott_olympic_cere.html

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, yesterday became the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing.

As pressure built for concerted western protests to China over the crackdown in Tibet, EU leaders prepared to discuss the crisis for the first time today, amid a rift over whether to boycott the Olympics.

The disclosure that Germany is to stay away from the games' opening ceremonies in August could encourage President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to join in a gesture of defiance and complicate Gordon Brown's determination to attend the Olympics.

Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, became the first EU head of government to announce a boycott on Thursday and he was promptly joined by President V�clav Klaus of the Czech Republic, who had previously promised to travel to Beijing.

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TheMightyFavog

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Mon Mar-31-08 05:09 AM
Response to Original message

1. Three recs so far and no kick?

Edited on Mon Mar-31-08 05:10 AM by JonathanChance

:kick:

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BlueIris

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Mon Mar-31-08 05:20 AM
Response to Original message

2. This is...going to get interesting.

I don't have a good feeling about the Olympics this year.

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elleng

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Mon Mar-31-08 07:36 AM
Response to Reply #2

7. Ditto

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eilen

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Mon Mar-31-08 05:32 AM
Response to Original message

3. My dh commented this am on

the news discussing Beijing preparing for the Olympics. He said something to the effect of how hypocritical we are to hold them in China and to participate, "I guess it's okay now to run your citizens down in streets with tanks and open fire on clergy."

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MissHoneychurch

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Mon Mar-31-08 05:45 AM
Response to Original message

4. As far as I know

she never planned on actually going herself.

... The decision to stay away was not a boycott in protest to China's crackdown on Tibet or its wider human right record, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Friday.

Steinmeier said that neither the chancellor, Interior and Sports Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble nor he had plans in place to attend even before the People's Republic's recent crushing of pro-independence protestors in Lhasa ...

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3223990,00.html

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Smith_3

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Mon Mar-31-08 05:51 AM
Response to Original message

5. Good for her. Doesn't make her a good politician though. nt

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BB1

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Mon Mar-31-08 06:00 AM
Response to Original message

6. I'll do the honors for the 5th rec!

Angela Merkel not going would put pressure on the neighbors as well. Please let Balkenende lose his head over this one:)

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