ALL HAIL THE OLYMPIC $PIRIT.

Byline: JIM GORDON

The Olympics begin today, and for the next 16 days you'll hear a lot about the "Olympic Spirit," for while the Games are about sport, they're also said to transcend it.

According to the Olympic Charter, "the goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."

Anyone this side Hugo Chavez ever associate the People's Republic of China with the preservation of human dignity?

Yet the Chinese have these Games, and why? Well, in awarding them to Beijing seven years ago, the IOC said the Olympics would promote a more open and benevolent China. No fool, the communist government played along, saying the Games would "enhance all social conditions, including education, health and human rights." Added was a promise to respect the freedom of the press.

How has that worked out?

Well, Chinese dissidents have been silenced through imprisonment and intimidation, and some, including Tibetan monks, have been subject to labor-camp "re-education."

Hundreds of thousands of Beijing residents have been evicted and their homes torn down to help "beautify" the city for the world's eyes and TV cameras.

Foreign journalists have been harassed, spied upon and prevented from accessing Web sites that the "People's Republic" finds objectionable.

At least the journalists have been allowed into the country. Not so for former Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek, who had his visa revoked hours before he was to leave for Beijing. His offense? He intended to publicly urge China to do something to stop the violence in Darfur.

Ah, but we mustn't have protests; it mars the image that the host police state -- I mean host nation -- is trying to present. The IOC, while paying lip service to freedom of expression, even has rules against political protest that dovetail nicely with Chinese desires.

"I've been pretty unimpressed with the IOC's efforts in protecting athletes, for giving them any options (to speak out)," Cheek said.

But why hasn't the IOC done something to protect the athletes' freedom of expression, if Olympism is about "the preservation of human dignity"?

It's because the Olympic Games are not about human dignity; they're about money.

As Sally Jenkins pointed out in Wednesday's Washington Post, 12 major corporations -- six of them American -- are paying $7 billion to sponsor the Games and gain a foothold into a market of 1.3 billion consumers.

NBC, owned by General Electric -- one of the 12 -- is televising the Games, so expect little talk of commercialism. And expect minimal coverage of protests.

Instead, expect a lot of talk about the "Olympic Spirit," which means the air in Beijing will be filled with as much hypocrisy as particulate matter.

So, human rights be damned, freedom of the press be damned, promises of reform be damned. Let the Game$ begin.

Contact Jim Gordon at [e-mail].

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