Boycott Olympics Sponsors and Advertisers

I do not think that the Olympics should be politicized. I really don't. I don't think any athletes should be denied the opportunity to go to Beijing and compete. But I do think that the IOC made a grave mistake in awarding the Olympics to China in the first place. China blundered badly by doing nothing to improve its human rights record in the period between being awarded the Games and now, and in its recent treatment of Tibetans. The Chinese paramilitary Blue Meanies accompanying the torch on its sad little warped journey across the world aren't helping, either. Japan did exactly the right thing by telling China that the Blue Meanies won't be allowed to supplant Japanese police when the torch arrives there.

Sadder still is that the advertisers and sponsors are, according to this Reuters article on NBC, unfazed by any of the furor. It seems that the only things these companies respond to is being hit in the pocketbook. So I urge everyone to boycott and, if it is within your abilities, to deny advertising space to Olympic sponsors and advertisers.

Here is a partial list of Olympic sponsors and some of the brands owned by them. I will add more as I find them.

Coca-Cola (Brands)
Adidas
Nike
McDonald's
Lenovo Group of China
General Electric (Product Guide)
Johnson & Johnson (Product Guide)
Visa
Samsung
ACC Bank
BT
British Airways
Volkswagen
UPS