When John Carlos raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympics, it changed 20th-century history – and his own life – for ever. How does he feel about it now?
posted by flapjax at midnite on Apr 5, 2012 - 46 comments

An Olympic Tent Village has opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, on an empty lot currently being leased by the Vancouver Olympic Committee, in response to increasing homelessness in "Canada's most livable city", in spite of spending more than $6 billion on the 2010 Olympic Games. Mayor Gregor Robertson has stated that they won't be evicted - for now. [more inside]
posted by dinsdale on Feb 17, 2010 - 42 comments

An American in Beijing's Detention Facilities (via kottke) [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Sep 3, 2008 - 69 comments

Protestor grabs the Olympic torch in London. (SLYTP)
posted by allkindsoftime on Apr 7, 2008 - 109 comments

Björk, in Shanghai, on Tibet: Declare Independence! [YouTube] [more inside]
posted by finite on Mar 6, 2008 - 80 comments

China Praises Its Progress Toward Olympics. With one year to go before the 2008 Olympics, China still has many challenges ahead, like dealing with Beijing's terrible air pollution. There is still much criticism over China's record on human rights and freedom of the press, and some protests. But perhaps the most embarrassing public relations setback is that one of the official mascots, Yingsel (aka Yingying) the Tibetan Antelope, has defected from China's Olympic team and gone underground to campaign for a free Tibet. [Some links via BB and MoFi.]
posted by homunculus on Aug 9, 2007 - 43 comments

Protesters threaten to target homes of Olympic officials Anti-poverty protesters in B.C. are threatening to take their protest against the 2010 Olympics to the homes of Vancouver Olympic officials. Protest organizer David Cunningham says members of the Anti-Poverty Committee know where officials from the Vancouver Organizing Committee live and work and protesters will take their demonstration directly to them. The Anti-Poverty Committee has a controversial presence in Vancouver currently. Among other things, they throw urine at people they don't like. Anti-Poverty Committee spokesman David Cunningham said these tactics (well, maybe not the urine) are the only way to get the attention of politicians.
posted by KokuRyu on May 17, 2007 - 25 comments

A statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos was recently unveiled at San Jose State University. Smith and Carlos were (in)famous for their raised fist protest on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics, for which they paid a heavy price.
posted by rocket88 on Oct 26, 2005 - 50 comments