1) We have our own little 'war on drugs'. This has so far involved arresting (and, probably, shaking down) anyone African showing their face in the bar district. (I hear that one of the guys they arrested in a recent crackdown was the son of one of the African ambassadors, so they may have to lighten up a little on this.) Apparently, the next step is to make it next-to-impossible for Africans to get visas. (I wonder if they'll make an exception for the athletes? Or is this part of The Great Masterplan to try to ensure that China snaffles all the medals??)
2) News management is ramped up; more journalists are arrested. (Check out this article on the Committee to Protect Journalists website about the recent detention of freelancer Lü Gengsong - which is being widely described as part of "a pre-Olympic crackdown". Just what we need! It really is high time that the IOC took its blinkers off and started throwing its weight around a little on issues like this.)
3) All social problems mysteriously disappear, as the government resiles from its half-hearted progressiveness and lapses back into its more traditional cult of denial. For example, I have just learned through a friend that virtually all AIDS awareness programmes are being cut this year. No programme, no problem.
It's a depressing old world.
1 comment:
No. 3 makes me sad. What do they call it again an epidemic.
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