Can the IOC be serious?

According to the International Olympic Committee’s myopic view of the world, everything is in “gold medal” shape (IOC’s terrible pun, not ours) for the Beijing Olympics:

The chief of the operations team, Hein Verbruggen, headed to a podium to assure the world that Beijing was on the right track, capable of a “gold medal performance” on everything from providing Internet access and media services to protecting the Olympics brand from piracy.

Meanwhile back in the real world, where China is carrying out a brutal crackdown in Tibet behind the curtain of a military lock-down:

But almost every single question at a news conference Thursday was about China’s human rights record. Or possible boycotts by politicians or activists. Or protests by athletes competing in the Games or the Olympic torch relay.

“A lot of things have happened . . . that have caught the headlines,” one reporter said, asking whether director Steven Spielberg’s resignation as artistic director over China’s relationship with Darfur, the unrest in Tibet, or disruptions to the Olympic torch relay had soured or changed the way the Games are viewed.

The IOC’s response was to pretend that the Beijing Olympics has nothing to do with politics, and that the IOC has not conciously chosen to continue its ill-advised partnership with the Chinese government:

In an indication of how the Olympics have been overshadowed by political concerns, Verbruggen’s comments at the news conference were both forceful and slightly weary.

“It’s not the first time that I’m saying this. It’s not up to us to comment on those cases,” he said. “It’s a matter of Chinese law, and it’s not a matter of sport nor a matter for the Olympic Games or the IOC. . . . We are not a political organization.”

We’re so tired of listing all the reasons that giving the Olympics to Beijing, and continuing to stand by the Chinese government, is inherently political.  If Mr. Verbruggen can’t see that, then he should talk with Hu Jia, a Chinese writer who was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison today as part of China’s efforts to silence dissent before the Olympics.  Hello?