I'm coughing up my pleura

One of my favorite movies, Amelie, has a hypochondriac character and she says something that just cracks me up: "I'm coughing up my pleura". I laugh every time I hear that!

The Olympics in China remind me of this. The Australian Olympic Committee president, also a senior member of the International Olympic Committee, said today (the day the Olympics start) that there is still significant pollution in the host city. He is the first Olympic member to criticize the outcome of China's immense efforts at reducing the terrible smog from which they suffer. Australia's athletes, as of today's air testing, will suffer more than 26 times the pollutants in the air than their native homeland.

Good thing they have lots and lots of pyrotechnics planned. I bet that will help a lot.

But I guess the IOC feels enlightened and progressive by awarding these games of brotherhood and peace to one of the boldest human-rights squashing developed countries in the world. And China has not minced words about their rules for the games. Everyone is walking on eggshells so as not to offend this super-power-of-the-future. Here are a few of the rules:

Restricted articles include hard-packed drink and food; fragile articles; musical instruments; carry-on bags, suitcases and handbags which are too big to carry to the seats; flags of countries and regions not participating either in the Beijing Olympic Games or Paralympic Games and other flags over two meters in length or over one meter in width; banners, leaflets, or posters; unauthorized walky-talkies, loudspeakers, radios, laser devices or wireless devices that interfere with the electronic signals of the Olympic Games. It also prohibits the entry of materials "that are harmful to China's politics, economics, culture and morals". The detailed document is titled: "A guide to Chinese law for Foreigners coming to, leaving or staying in China during the Olympics." This appears under the slogan of the Beijing Olympics: "One World, One Dream."

The fact that I type that in read is my own little slant of humor.

So, I guess I will skip the Olympics this year. I will not be found surfing the internet to find out where I can get cool "Root" Olympic gear (I loved that Root stuff at the winter Olympics, didn't you?), I won't see any of the hard-spent dollars from advertisers, and I won't cheer on my fellow countrymen who are in this terribly inhospitable city, trying to fulfill their lifelong dream of Olympic gold. Instead, I will just pray they all make it home as healthy as they were when they left.

"One World, One Dream" indeed.