Greek comedy...or tragedy?

I suspect both the International Olympic Committee and the Chinese government may come to wish the games had never been awarded to Beijing. For the first part, the IOC is already complaining about Beijing's failure to live up to the spirit of open coverage they committed to in order to smooth over concerns prior to being given the games. But they can't help it -- they're so obsessed with controlling information they're even willing to play games with the White House Press Corps (...it's not that I mind that self-important bunch being inconvenienced once in a while, but rather, the principle of the thing).

For China's part, the whole runup to the Games has been an embarrassment more than an international coming of age celebration. The facade of the economic giant that supposedly got the right mix of control and capitalism has slipped, revealing a regime still very paranoid about controlling its image, and anything or anyone it deems a threat. (Kind of like a certain administration on this side of the Pacific...) Having asked for the world's attention, Mao's heirs have had to cringe as Tibetans put that spotlight on their plight, and the control-freak response of the Forbidden City to everything from pollution to protesters hasn't done much to soften their image.

But never fear, for the games start today and the international media will largely do what they can to smooth things over in the name of ratings and ad dollars. Even Google, who can't be bothered to celebrate Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, has a cute widdle Beijing Games logo on their site today. Considering the concessions they've made to China in order to operate there, I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise.

The Olympics were born in Greece, which also germinated ideas that would help give rise to republican government in the West. Inviting others to participate in order to foster those ideas is one thing. Bestowing prestige on authoritarian nations by allowing them to host shows the vast gulf that still exists. Remember that during the next week or so of "kum-ba-ya, we-are-the-world" claptrap on NBC. As for me, I've got better things to do with my time.