... isn't it clear that Chinese calculations re Olympics were: if democracies don't make a fuss about our nasty way of doing business we reap huge PR benefits, both domestic and international; if the so called free world [US lackeys we'll call them] do make a fuss the domestic benefits, centered around stoking of nationalism rallied in opposition to foreign chauvinism, may prove an even greater compensation?
The bastards have shown themselves to be quite cunning here - and the west has shown itself to be quite naive. Still, to have denied the Chinese the idiotic games would have given them similar rhetorical ammunition, which moves one to wonder if there's not another less obvious but more relevant dynamic at work...
