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Monday, July 28, 2008

China worse not better


Media find set-up slow going
Internet connection is proving to be a major problem at the Beijing Games, despite Olympic organisers promising uncensored access. Slow connection speed and apparent restricted access to news websites have riled many of the media outlets already in Beijing 12 days out from the opening ceremony. The Chinese ruling party is widely known to monitor and limit all internet access within China. However, two years ago BOCOG media services head Li Jingbo promised in the official China Daily newspaper that there would be uncensored access during the Games, which begin on August 8.

China promised when it got the Olympics that it would clean up its act on human rights, pollution and censorship but the reality has been a bigger crack down on human rights, the pollution problem has not gone away and air quality is still severe despite ordering cars off roads and shutting down industry and censorship is making itself felt in the very face of the worlds media. The opportunity to turn China away from its totalitarian brutality and take the worlds stage as a genuine super power with the mana that goes with that has been missed and we haven’t even started the games yet.

How terribly disappointing.

3 Comments:

At 28/7/08 1:04 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"super power" ... "mana" ... how can you possibly use those two terms in the same sentence???

NS

 
At 28/7/08 8:21 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's something you kiddies probably aren't aware of: The price of steel has gone up by 130% so far this year.

So I don't but steel, I hear you say, well sorry but a shit load of what you buy has steel components in it and if you don't use it then you can bet that the people who sell you stuff do and they will have to pass those costs on or go under.

Prices rising in steel means prices rising for everyone.

Why is it going up?

China.

Just so they can reduce polution for a couple of weeks, they have shut down a lot of their own indusrty - including steel manufacture - but their construction demeand is still rising so they are decreasing supply while increasing demand and pushing the prices up for everyone.

Think about that when some excitable commentator marvels at the "birds nest".

 
At 28/7/08 11:23 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with everything Bomber has said in this post!

Very very disappointing!

 

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