The nationalist genie？caustic attack

又是晕头转向整理资料的一天，郁闷

刚刚看economist有感而发，发篇博

The Beijing OlympicsOn your marks (and Lenin)

The stadiums, transport, ticketing, air pollution and even the weather are under control; shame about the people

With exactly a year to go, the organisers of next year’s Beijing Olympic games on August 8th set their countdown clock ticking in earnest—and in grand style, with a three-hour, nationally televised song-and-dance extravaganza in Tiananmen Square. Lest there were any doubt at all as to the intended message, the glitzy show featured a purpose-written anthem entitled “We are ready!”

In discussing their readiness, Chinese officials seem most keen to talk about the impressive collection of new and renovated sports venues that will house the competitions, such as the National Stadium (above), and the equally impressive array of new roads, railways, and metro lines that will ferry the massive crush of spectators and athletes around the chronically congested city. Other logistics seem likewise well in hand. The ticketing programme, organisers say, is proceeding smoothly. And although officials think they will need 100,000 volunteers to help run the games, they have already received more than 560,000 applications.

On the hardware side of the ledger, and especially when it comes to the venues themselves, it would seem every detail has indeed been attended to. Not only will all 37 venues be completed well in advance, officials promise, but they will be ready for any contingency. What if, for example, rain threatens to turn the Olympic beach-volleyball court into a mud pit? Never fear: after scouring the nation and testing different sand varieties for their water drainage properties, planners have located the very finest grains on distant Hainan island, and shipped 17,000 tonnes to Beijing.

Despite the choking, hazy, smog-laden pall that has hung over Beijing for much of this summer, planners are also likely to succeed in bringing Beijing’s notorious air pollution down to more bearable levels during the games. If, to achieve this or ease road congestion, they have to impose draconian restrictions on traffic and industrial activity in the weeks before the games, they will have the authority they need to do so. Even the weather is taken care of. Officials at Beijing’s municipal Weather Modification Office say the timely launching of chemicals into the atmosphere will allow them to dispel clouds and largely control the time and place of rainfall.

……. ……

一开始是被（and Lenin）吸引，想中国开奥运和列宁有啥关系，后来看了不禁哑然失笑，虽然不够友好，但也只把它当作美国式幽默

后来接着看其他文章，发现这个杂志对中国govern－ment是有很深敌意

“…..pest prostitutes and prospective political protesters should consider themselves forewarned. The Chinese authorities, doggedly determined to ensure asafe environment for the Beijing Olympics in August, and to avoid surprises or embarrassments, have them in their sights…..residents have been told they may walk their dogs only at certain, strictly limited, times of day—and the dogs must carry their papers at all times…..”

奥运也就罢了，地震也有得说“he scramble through earthquake debris, he weeps, he hugs children. If China’s Communist Party allowed popularity polls, the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, would probably do better than any politician since the days Red Guard fanatics swarmed to Tiananmen Square for a glimpse of their idol, Mao Zedong. Some who suffered in last month’s disastrous earthquake in Sichuan grumble, but party leaders are making political gains.”

对国内抗议“Manage that anger–The nationalist genie is out of the bottle”

不止这些，对8G峰会、对中国和日本台湾西藏之间的会谈、对春晚、对电信重组、对入境规则、甚至对北京市的禁烟规定、对中国官方媒体的遣词造句（“气象用语”，这倒是形容的很贴切）….so unfriendly and cautic attack.

一个经济类的杂志，管得真是宽，比起TIME一类的媒体来，实在是刻薄多了。

很多事情，站在你们的立场上可能的确如此，但是在我们看来却是符合习惯和国情的，“神秘而古老的东方”有自己特定的文化底蕴、历史背景、民族特点。也许新加坡总理说得对，这样刻薄的媒体应该试着理解“the strength of these gut emotions in Chinese society and in the collective psyche”，即使不能理解，再说哪个民族没有一些局限和缺点，何必非要颠来倒去的喋喋不休呢，我们有问过你意见吗。

过度批评下隐藏的只是过度关注而已。

可是，干嘛这么关注我们？吃力不讨好罢了。
还不如把你们用来关注和批评我们的精力和智慧用在好好思考一下你们自己发明的那些很好笑的中国威胁论吧。