The Genocide Olympics, Brought to You by Western Corporations Without Scruples

No amount of crimes against nature or humanity by a corrupt government against its own people or the rest of the world could now mute the roar of approval by the multinational corporations lined up at the trough to cash in on the upcoming Genocide Olympics.

Forgotten are the schools made of sand where thousands of children were buried from earthquakes, forgotten is the continuing history of support for African governments that allow genocide within their own countries, forgotten are the worker exploitation and slave labor to produce poisonous products to line the shelves of Walmarts around the world, forgotten are the children of Tianamen Square where tens of thousands were mowed down for their dreams of democracy, and forgotten are the tens of milliions of tons of pollutants spewed into the environment to produce the easy profits for international corporations and the oligarchs who own them.

So even th0ugh all the ads from Macdonald's, Coke, Verizon, Adidas, and the rest or the corporate sharks will be cheering on the Chinese people to win the medals, we may remain assured the billion-dollar Madison Avenue boosterism offers nothing more than a tissue of cover for the naked greed of those who will really take home the gold from the most polished exploitation on Earth.

The story in the NYTimes:

BEIJING — It is becoming increasingly clear which nation global corporations will be rooting for at this summer’s Olympics: China.

Or at least that’s what it looks like from advertisements here. McDonald’s is running a “Cheer for China” television ad. Nike ads feature China’s star hurdler, Liu Xiang, and other Chinese athletes besting foreign competitors. Earlier this year, Pepsi even painted its familiar blue cans red for a limited edition “Go Red for China” promotion.

The campaigns for Western companies are part of an advertising blitz the likes of which this ostensibly communist nation has never seen. Ads are papered over bus shelters, projected on giant outdoor television screens and plastered on billboards. Commercials even flicker at commuters as they zoom through subway tunnels.

China, already the world’s second-largest advertising market, after the United States, is a dream for consumer product companies. “For most international brands here, China is the growth market for the next 10 years,” said Jonathan Chajet, strategic director at Interbrand, which consults on brands.

A record 63 companies have become sponsors or partners of the Beijing Olympics. Olympic-related advertising in China could reach $4 billion to $6 billion this year, according to CSM, a Beijing marketing research firm. . . .