- Plans to cleanse Beijing of smog not working despite previous closure of thousands of factories and banning automobiles.

- Water diverted from needy regions to prettify Beijing. Electricity too. Oh heck, no foreigners will see those rural peasants, so who cares if they go thirsty in the dark.

- China reneges on pledge to allow open Internet access during Olympics. If you can’t find bad things on the net while in Beijing then they must not exist, apparently.

Wikipedia: “‘Potemkin village‘ has come to mean, especially in a political context, any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation.”

Of course, every dissident in the region would like to do something spectacular while the whole world is watching. These Olympics could get real lively.

No Comments »

The torch was extinguished three times by pro-Tibet protesters. Authorities finally put the torch on a bus, canceling the rest of the route.

Doubtless the sclerotic government of China has no clue how to deal with this and will most assuredly do the wrong thing, making things even worse for themselves.

A major protest is planned on April 8-9 in San Francisco, when the torch arrives.

No Comments »

Dozens of arrests with attempts to extinguish and snatch torch. Chinese media showed none of it. The pro-Tibet meme has gone viral and worldwide.

No Comments »