The Potemkin Olympics

Speaking of the Olympics, while the sheer dedication of the athletes from all over almost redeems them, there are aspects of China's effort to create the impression of a Perfect Olympics in the Perfect Country that simply grate on you. Here's the Register's editorial on the lip-synching, phony fireworks, Tiananmen memory hole and stuff. Sometimes totalitarians just try too hard and reveal the skull beneath the mask. Here's a lengthy piece TNR ran in early July that lays out in great detail some of the outrages the regime pulled in the run-up. And news about an attempt at protest that got five Americans arrested.