The IOC are a bunch of pussies.The IOC sells "lifestyle", in a way beer companies can only dream of.
To get the 2008 Olympics, the IOC had Beijing agree to certain conditions to protect its brand.
Cheating tarnishes the brand, so Beijing had to commit to a strong anti-doping initiative.
Support of human rights can get favourable press coverage, so Bejing signed the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
"Green washing" is also important to lifestyle branding, so Beijing committed to environmental priorities.
For many NGO's involved in social justice issues, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the IOC's awarding of the 2008 Olympics was controversial because of China's abysmal human rights record.
China's oppression of religious communities, political dissent, and involvement in Darfur and Sudan were supposed to be addressed in ways which upheld the Olympic ideals since the games were awarded to Beijing in 2001.
The disturbing issue is not that China has not worked in any meaningful way to alleviate concerns about its human rights policies, but that it has not been held to account by the IOC.
It has been up to the international community to decide how to respond to China's lack of progress on human rights issues, without a word of support, suggestion or input from the IOC.
In this way, the IOC has been derelict in the protection of its brand.
Or, to put it another way, they're a bunch of pussies.
Related Links
Bejing Olympics [Official site]
International Olympic Committee [Official site]
10 Reasons to Boycott the Beijing Olympics [Bejing Olympics Boycott]
China's Beijing Olympic Human Rights Promises [2008olympicsbeijing.org]
Human Rights in China [Official site]
China: Olympic Promises Are Not Being Kept [Human Rights Watch]
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