Rehearsing the Coming Out Party Called Olympics

When the capital of the Middle Kingdom hosts the summer Olympics next year, nothing will be left to chance or spontaneity. Image-conscious and averse to PR gaffes, Chinese leaders are staging a grand rehearsal to fine-tune a coming out party into the world.

While the auspicious moment would arrive at eight minutes past eight on Aug. 8, 2008 the date of Wednesday’s rehearsal is short by only one digit against the “lucky” eight numbers on D-day. A televised gala, featuring speeches by Chinese leaders and International Olympic Committee officials, would mark the opening of a “mini-Olympics”, consisting of ten international sporting events.

Beijing Olympics is reckoned as the costliest in the long history of the games — the city has already spent 10 times the four billion US dollars that Athens did on infrastructure for the 2004 games. Officials speak of a “once in a lifetime opportunity’’ for China to showcase its modernised capital and its cultural and economic advances.

In Beijing, the ascent of modern China is symbolically reflected in the seemingly overnight rise of brand-new and thoroughly futuristic buildings, like the “bird’s nest” national stadium and the “water cube” indoor swimming centre, that aim to place the city in the ranks of the world’s avant-garde architectural capitals.

BIRD’S NEST NATIONAL STADIUM

WATER CUBE SWIMMING CENTER

more . . . (it does indeed get ridiculouser and ridiculouser

1.25 million people have so far been displaced in Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Games

god help us when capitalism meets human perfection through physical competition….

this tradition will never die, it will only grow worse and worse, because it transcends the pettiness of all the behind the scenes chicanery that does so much harm.

As the homeless were being bussed out of Atlanta in ’96 for the games, people were still denying it was actually happening.

Well they can be homeless anywhere now can’t they?

plus, the people who watch and cash in on the athletics are all couch potatoes.

Yesterday two Free Tibet Activists were detained by Chinese Authorities and are still missing now.

You can read about this ongoing issue here

Here’s another interesting approach to The Big Bad China

Uncle Sam, Your Banker Will See You Now …In the Hole to China

OPEN QUOTE

The US was able to attack Afghanistan and Iraq only because China provided the largest part of the financing for Bush’s wars.

It is China’s decision whether it calls in the US ambassador, and delivers the message that there will be no attack on Iran or further war unless the US is prepared to buy back $900 billion in US Treasury bonds and other dollar assets.

The US, of course, has no foreign reserves with which to make the purchase.

Interesting article micro. I think, however, that it is missing one salient point. As Al Capone pointed out in the 20’s and 30’s, funds transfer can be easily expedited by means of weaponry.

As this Shazam special pointed out last year Pentagon strategy has the coming conflict with China at the heart of its strategy.

Any more uppity nonsense from that quarter and there will be border incidents for the U.S. military to police etc.

It is perhaps also more true that China’s “Wealth” is in very large part co-dependent with the “Wealth” of the United States. If one goes over the cliff, they both go over the cliff.

Or, perhaps more to the point, as one goes over the cliff, so shall we watch both of them go over the cliff.

Believe you me, they’re trying to help each other as much as they’re trying to thwart each other. China’s flouting of fripperies in conjunction with their sponsorship of the Olympics is a good indication of just how addicted they are to whatever it is that’s turned all these people into screaming genocidal maniacs.