Canada and an Olympic Boycott

It's good to see that COC CEO Chris Rudge has said that Canada will NOT boycott the 2008 Olympic Games. Good for him.
I was in the room for the vote in the spring of 1980 when the COA voted to boycott the 1980 Games in Moscow. And I supported the boycott.
I have changed my mind. Boycotts don't do anything except kill the dream of so many athletes. I knew/know some Canadians who didn't get to go to Moscow because of the boycott. It broke their hearts.
I have believed for quite some time that boycotts do not work. They don't make a statement to the country that is the target, and they don't say anything to the country that decides to boycott.
In this case, does anyone really think that if Canada doesn't send its athletes, China will notice or change it's stance on human rights? Not likely.
I despise the idea that the Olympic Games can be used for political purposes. But I know that they are. Sports and politics are intertwined....starting with the IOC.
Let us support Canadian athletes who speak out against injustices wherever they may be; let us all speak out against injustice. But let's not ever again squash the dreams of any Canadian child to become an Olympian. THAT would be an injustice.