So apparently the IOC is run by people who choose to ignore the real world. When China was given the 2008 Olympics it promised to clean up its image. This meant cleaning up pollution, as well as humanitarian problems. Its now 2008, how are they doing on all of that?
Earlier this year China put down protests over Tibet in a most violent manner. They still limit freedoms in numerous ways. Taxis found in Beijing during the Olympics are bugged and can be used for surveillance at any time. US Olympians and other visitors have been warned to take the battery out of their phones to prevent China from turning them on and listening without their knowledge. So it sounds like the humanitarian and other problems are still there.
I recently heard people from the US EPA measured pollution in Beijing on a scale they use in the US. 50 is considered the maximum safe reading for people. Houston for example gets up to 30 at times when it is bad. Beijing was measuring a 90. But according to the Chinese government the air is safe for the athletes. The scary thing is this reading is after having a lot of cars kept of the road and many plants completely shut down for weeks. Sounds like the pollution cleanup is a failure too.
The Chinese gymnasts just won the female team gold medal with a team that has caused a lot of controversy. Apparently the minimum age for competition is 16. Looking at the Chinese team they sure don’t look that old. According to records the New York Times found they aren’t that old. Heck, at least one of the little girls was missing teeth. Generally all permanent teeth have grown in by age 12. Now I’m sure she could have lost a tooth some other way and it was a permanent one, but I’m betting that’s not the case. So this means China has cheated, in an organized way. After all, their passports say they’re older than records from competitions and the human eye would imply. Next we’ll find out they’ve got labs researching new steroids to help them win all those weight lifting gold medals.
So on many fronts it seems like China has failed to live up to expectations, both in their hosting and in competition. The IOC doesn’t seem to care, as they’ve done nothing about any of it. After all, they’re still getting their publicity and attention, so who cares. I guess it doesn’t matter what the host nation does as long as the IOC benefits. Maybe the 2016 Olympics will go somewhere even more exciting, since the 2012 ones are going to the relatively tame Londoners. Lets see, who can we have to top China. Iran? North Korea? How about Sudan, I hear they’re working on improving just like China right? I suppose they aren’t a very wealthy country though, and they lack the power of China, but they can make it work, at least using IOC logic.
Update: Just saw this great comic on ESPN page 2.
Leave a Reply