Some of you emailed me asking where Mr. Z's China Olympics article went...it had to go when we were checking to see what had caused all that inaccessibility yesterday; we thought a link might have been causing some problem. SO, since some of you emailed, I thought I'd run it again! I hope to hear a good discussion because it's a worthwhile subject, don't you think?
Why are the Olympics in China?
Although getting little attention in the U.S., the Olympic Games will start in about one week in Beijing. The question is: Why there?
I couldn't understand when the decision was made about six years ago why they had approved Beijing for this year's venue. I don’t have anything against the Chinese people, quite the contrary, but I did believe at that time that the Chinese Government's handling of freedom issues were deplorable and would not change.
Unfortunately, I was right. The government is a totalitarian communist government, and even with the openings in terms of commerce, this country's still the same oppressive state on most levels. The people are still suppressed and have very little freedom. The handling of the Tibet incident several months ago made that very clear to everybody, or so I thought. Many in the West, particularly those in the crowd occupying some of the corruption-prone posts at the International Olympics Committee, don't seem to care what's going on in China as long as they have their job and prestige.
All promises made by the Chinese to the IOC (and the world) were lies. Nothing has changed, and the IOC keeps quiet instead of protesting. Shame on them, and particularly on Jacques Rogge who went in saying he'd be different than the champion of corruption, Senor Samaranch, the last shameless president of the IOC.
Here is a good link to the facts about what's going on in China during these Olympics: (this link has a number of excellent articles on various aspects of this situation..and this will be about the last time I tout a NYTimes article!)
Here is my list of major points which should be addressed...and fixed!:
- Despite all assurances, the internet in the hotels and and the press internet centers will be as censored as normal households are. There are 30,000 censors! HERE IS AN UPDATE; good and bad censorship news from Monday.
-Freedom of the press does not exist. Remember how the journalists were chased out of Tibet when the uprising started? The "Germany House", a hospitality/press center like most countries have at the Olympics will not be allowed to get German newspapers delivered there because they're not censored
- The environmental sins of China have all come to the forefront, recognizable by thick smog and algae at the rowing venue. We can expect serious problems for athletes performing outside.
- Doping is freely available in China, and widespread abuse is expected.
Also, there have been terrorism threats for the Olympics.
On the positive side, the facilities are ready and probably well built.
I wished the situation were different. I believe that China has a great future, but only once the government philosophy/behavior changes, and after they clean up their act in terms of the environment. In terms of the latter, they are at a status where the industrialized nations were 100 years ago. (and, of course, the Kyoto fans think America should pay for China's pollution, even the 15% of the pollution the tradewinds bring here).And, Friday, the President of China asked that the world "not politicize these Olympics!" Today, Jacques Rogge is saying that the Chinese are allowing access to the extent possible. That's their definition for free access to the internet.
"don't politicize!"? Isn't censorship "political"?
TO BE FAIR, HERE IS AN UPDATE FROM MONDAY A.M. .......maybe there's hope!?
Also..to be even FAIRER....please know that articles leading up to this one, discussing how they were going to manage pollution, said THE GOVERNMENT HAD CLOSED THE FACTORIES DOWN...this link says only "factories have closed down".....yes, but the government closed them. We feel that's an important distinction.
Mr. Z
26 comments:
yeah, but where'd the comments go?
comments can't get saved. Sorry, nanc :-(
Sadly, there's no way to save comments when an article's deleted...as it is I had to edit this whole thing and add the links again, etc. It was worth it to see if that Friday/Sat. problem could be alleviated; before we all figured out what was happening!
Come on, you guys who emailed me asking for it back! Sorry the comments disappeared.........
you don't have them sent to your gmail? so you can restore them? i have all mine sent there.
just.
in.
case.
Well done Herr Z! For what it's worth, I agree that NO Totalitarian country should EVER be allowed to host the Olympics. Ever! Having said that we know what's happened here. Pockets were lined with ChiCom cash and that buys silence from the IOC.
Morgan
why indeed Z!..dont ya hate politics sometimes?..lol
nanc, yes, they're in Gmail, come to think of it (i have 1500 of them there..Elbro had me check that when we were trying to check things out Friday with the problem...I didn't even know they're there...)
So, you're saying I could dig them out individually and post them here? Let me try. Honestly, If Z can figure THIS out, it'll be a RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE!!
thanks!!!
I CAN"T IMAGINE THERE ISN"T AN EASIER WAY TO DO THIS, BUT AT NANC'S SUGGESTION, I"M TRYING TO DIG OUT ALL THE COMMENTS TO THIS ARTICLE THAT YOU"D MADE AND I HAD TO DELETE WHEN WE WERE HAVING COMPUTER PROBLEMS..HERE GOES:
FROM MUSTANG:
I do not disagree with anything you’ve said, Mr. Z … but I would argue that the government you see in China today is not substantially different from the government in China 2,000 years ago. They may have adopted the political philosophy of Marx and Lenin, but they continue to behave as they did under the imperial regimes. As a student of Asian History, I do not foresee any likelihood of substantial changes in Chinese government behavior … it is part of their cultural mosaic.
I can only observe their political behavior appears to serve them well. For our part, we should be concerned about China’s heavy investment in the modernization of naval forces, the expansion of military advisory/assistance missions in South and Central America, their exploration and oil drilling enterprises within 120 miles of the US mainland, and their investment interests within the United States. You may recall several years ago, China caused the mid-air collision with one of our Navy surveillance aircraft and held those people hostage for a few weeks … an indication that China has no fear of US reaction to Chinese aggression.
Sadly, we do not have many bright people working in the State Department (or current administration) who understand the likely consequences of Chinese behavior, their long-term intentions, or how these might affect our relations with other nations such as Japan and Vietnam. This may be a good time for all of us to become proficient in the use of chopsticks.
Semper Fi
WomanHonorThyself:
I did believe the Chinese Government would not change in its handling of issues of freedom...of course u were right Z!
Brooke said:
I think China holds so many pink slips over our heads we'll pretty much do anything they say. Period.
Gayle said:
Yep! Censoring is indeed political! Good post, Mr. Z. I also did a post on this because I feel the same way you do about it, but Mrs. Z knows about it as she commented on it. I hadn't thought about the pink slip angle Brooke commented on, but that's too true.
EDGE SAID:
Z,
I hope our guys whip some Chinese a$$ over there and bring home enough gold to start another Fort Knox!
Have you seen the trailer to the Oliver Stone movie about Bush?
http://conservativemovies.blogspot.com
NANC SAID:
i only watch the olympics when the jamaican bobsled team is in it...in other words, i'd rather watch paint dry...or get to the grocer because lettuce is on sale that week. at my age, fighting couchbutt is more important than anything on the tube. that and if i want to sit, i do it at the p.c. where i can at least exercise my thoughts, hands and wrists.
I think there were nine that got deleted and I can't find them all...
here are what I saw...thanks to nanc for teaching me more about this blogging business and to all of you for having commented..
nanc..Jamaican bobsled is my FAVORITE.
Edge...that W. film's trailer is nauseating and ugly, isn't it. Funny, half of debauched America behaves like Bush did when he was a young man but they're still doing it ; he got over it on his own, which I think's a feat in and of itself, but he doesn't get a bit of credit for it, right?
I'm going to go get back on the pole dance pole now...see ya!!
It's Mr. Z who was write, ANGEL!!....as for PINK SLIPS...scary.
One of the cheerier comments I left at American Interest is this;
If China wants to have America in its clutches, maybe it won't do the cyber terrorism some are suggesting...and maybe it'll stop killing us softly through dangerous products, after all, that wouldn't be in THEIR best interests....Like Muslims....if you knew your town was going to have a dirty bomb tomorrow set off by other muslims, wouldn't you get the H out? SO far, they're still everywhere! (Smile)
MUSTANG: Is the State Dept full of less than intelligent people, or just full of America haters?
The US and China have developed what psychobabblists like to call a CO-DEPENDENT relationship.
It may be bad, but the economic symbiosis (developed ironically by ardent capitalist entrepreneurs) makes a continued relationship with this despotic regime a necessary evil.
Personally, I think it is disgraceful that President and Mrs. Bush are attending this event.
Were I in charge, I would have boycotted the event and prohibited American Athletes from participating, while making it abundantly clear that this policy is in and of itself a protest against China's form of government and the millions upon millions of murders and persecution it has wrought.
One remark, however, stands out in Mr. Z's article, even though it's tangential to main thrust of the piece:
••• " ... (and, of course, the Kyoto fans think America should pay for China's pollution, even the 15% of the pollution the tradewinds bring here)." •••
That's so true–––and a buttburner if ever there was one.
~ FreeThinke
China will be in the background making sure that the medias of the world don't say too much about them as well. They have a way of twisting arms. France is one country that learned that well. And Sharon Stone may be facing lawsuits totaling one billion for her thoughtless and dumb remarks.
The countries of the world need to band together and pressure this center of brutality, but will they? Of course not. The trade is far too lucrative and Chinese goods are just so cheap!
FROM A FRIEND (sent me via email after reading this post): An OPPOSITE OPINION WE ALSO SHOULD CONSIDER:
"I was in China in April and May. I have a slightly different take on their actions. We tend to judge China by Democratic standards and so are appalled by government actions like mandatory factory shut downs and censorship.But, China is a Communist country and doesn't pretend to be anything else. Censoring is quite acceptable as it is done for "for the greater good" of the people. With so many special interest groups, building the massive Three Gorgers Dam would have been impossible in our Democratic America.My hope is that the Olympics will be a start in bringing China to Democracy. Meanwhile, we have to be careful about judging them by our standards. One could argue that they shouldn't have been given the Olympics. That may be true"
The standards by which we are SUPPOSED to live under the terms of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and of the Christian principles upon which all the finest fruits of Western Civilization are based are the ONLY standards worth upholding.
Why show any respect for what we KNOW to be markedly inferior, depressing, and basically counter-productive?
This does not mean that we ought not to respect the Chinese PEOPLE–––or any other peoples trapped in repressive totalitarian regimes–––but we should show NO respect, and NO support for the systems that enslave them at ALL.
~ FreeThinke
FT..well said.
Sad that this regime seems to be oppressing US right now. I'm so tired of seeing MADE IN CHINA even on lovely things I buy, not just the quick-buy cheaper stuff we kind of expect it on!
Would that we could set up factories here where Americans could work and produce our OWN products. I wonder how much lowering taxes would affect that; if more and more factories would be built here. I believe it would. Simplistic solution, but part of a bigger solution that had BETTER start working soon.
We've sold our souls to the company store, and the company store's in China.
Off topic: What's all this about The Dark Knight... here's the big surprise, I thought it was mediocre. I'll lay the fault to poor acting (Bale, Gyllenhaal miserable), an unfocused script and poor direction.
I think there was an intended theme here but it's pretty muddled. Why doesn't Batman go after the Joker the same way he goes after the mob? Really, he has Morgan Freeman plant a device that apparently shorts out half of Hong Kong and he can't whack the Joker who's big advantage seems to be access to a lot of oil. Joker must know Nancy Pelosi and had her legislate access to the strategic petroleum reserve. So all that confused soul searching in this film just doesn't work.
It's a surprisingly dialog driven film and the dialog is truly tedious. Nolan's idea of direction is simple reversals generally with a rather neutral boring background which helps make the monotony worse. How often do you see a two shot? Is that because Nolan has no sense of the dramatic unless something's being blown up, some of his actors suck so badly that he doesn't want them straining themselves reacting or both? The Joker wasn't meant to be subtle but did someone tell the others they should also chew the scenery (Freeman and Caine excepted and unfortunately wasted).
What was the mobs role in all this? Other than having a stiff who can't get the damn job done with eight rounds from a gauge guarding their bank what was their purpose? It wasn't clear.
Through all this the camera is absolutely straight on. There is virtually no variation and it compounds the problem of the very basic reversals in the uninspired dialog. Why was the director even there? The cinematographer should have asked for something in addition to the 50mm lens, certainly the film had a large enough budget.
The chases were ok. The Batpod was a star and the truck tipping was original. If you like the Joker's (how come he could just walk in anywhere with no troubles?) pencil stunt, well it's done with a chopstick and style by Beat Takeshi in Hana-bi, much more violent. And the Joker had a coat full of grenades to aid his escape. Never seen that device used before, wow.
Joker in the nurses uniform, hilarious. The inept Nolan doesn't do anything with it, just have him walk away and of course blow up something. Missed a great opportunity to turn the exit into a great scene.
I get back to trying to dig out a theme and it seems to have something to do with choices and terrorism. That theme is close to The Third Man which is a far superior film. Graham Greene also highlights American naivete in the script and as Nolan tries to treat the terrorism theme "seriously" I'd go back to The Third Man for a good cautionary treatment rather than depending on hack directors pumping out junk to indoctrinate the uncritical mall crowd .
Duckster, I hear everyone raving about it...it IS surprising this film would be dialog driven, isn't it.
Have you seen Edge's Conservative films? (on my blogroll)..he should hear this, too.
Thanks for the review. I love having different comments here. Thanks, Ducky, sincerely.
I'm not a fan of this type of film so I probably wouldn't see it, ...
let me know what film that's out there now you'd really recommend.
I hear BRIDESHEAD's out in a film now?
I have been pondering the same question for months, and posted twice about it. One of those posts (on a different blog service) received many comments (many from pakistan, india and china) and half were in agreement, that China did not deserve the honour, the other half believed that they did. That this was about sports and shouldn't be politicized, but how can you not, given their track record on human rights.
And, as long as there are a few with all the power (as with the communist system)they will never relinquish it. Look at all the other communist countries. Until the people have the courage and strength and will to revolt, those countries will always remain so.
Incog, I keep wondering the same thing.
One hears Iranian students and other citizens are protesting every week (i saw that weekly living in Paris until 5 years ago...we don't get THAT news for some reason, but believe me..) and they never WIN! And I just heard they still ARE trying to overcome the gov't!
You'd THINK these oppressive regimes, Communist or muslim, would crumble under the pressure / OUR country's crumbling from OUR masses now, in a way. Our MASSES are destroying our country because they'll vote for an AMerica we don't recognize, just for the goodies, right?
They don't march in the streets, but their vote will topple us.
The victims of oppressive regimes in Iran, China, N Korea, can't VOTE (really, let's face it...they're rigged from all we hear) and so they can't win that way. WOULD that they'd MARCH UP in big enough numbers to topple the police/military which these oppressive regime leaders use to terrorize them and keep them down.
I think there might be a post in there somewhere but I can't quite even figure out what I said! hmmm
anyway....maybe you get my drift!?
Well incidents like Tianamen Square scare off those courageous ones who think they change the system.
Then again, the masses managed to change things in the former Yugoslavia. so... who knows. All i know is that I will go down fighting.. :-)
why are the olympics in china?... dare i say becuase the government was willing to pay for it.......
For those at home keeping score, Ducky didn't like the new Batman movie as much as he liked that portrait of Mary made from elephant turds.
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