Into the Wild Gray Chinese Yonder of Sulfur Dioxide

The chemical bake sale of gray scale particulates obscuring the futuristic skyline of China's ancient capital in the form of a fine and toxic summer mist, sets off the rugged yet pristine jade artifacts resounding with the historical significance of dynasties and emperors. Another type of cloud deftly hangs over Beijing, shrouding the capital not with any physical pollutant, but with an ideological vacuum which has persisted since the conclusion of World War II. The presence of European communism, first customized by Mao and brought to the foundation of the PRC, lays covered by a very thin layer of paint and deception. The celebration of the 2008 Olympic games and the rampart waves of building and cranes, proves as a tawdry effort in disguising the notion that China is still China and will always be, for that matter. If the world is not careful and continues to pour trillions of dollars into the Chinese economy while freely exchanging the secrets that comprise the capitalistic military industrial complex of the West, the Earth may be so renamed, "The People's Planet".

In the two days since the brilliant fireworks illuminated the birds nest of the Chinese Olympic Stadium, the US media has resorted to humor in an attempt to soften the images of the persistent Beijing smog, rivaling the smoky aftermath from a massive fire. Whether or not the cooked pollutants in the summer air are a bi-product of the IOC's perpetual moral meltdowns or simply the remnants of a new performance enhancing drug developed by Mennon and sprayed over the athletes in the Olympic village from deodorant cans, is a mystery within itself. However, the wonderful media continues to paint US corporations and certain politicians as enviro-villians. Select Hollywood celebrities posing as climate alarmists are given the pedestal to ramble into specious rants of idiocy and extremism. Even when faced with a clear view of reality from the vistas of their hotels.

From the blooms of mile-sized clumps of phosphorous green algae in the coastal waters to the constant bombardment of ozone and S02 in the air, China's pollution issues persist. The US faced similar waste management and discharge problems in the mid-20 century, but thorough regulations were adopted which have resulted in a high standard of clean water and safe air, rare on the stage of the modern globe. While EPA restrictions continue to preside over the local environment, industrial progress has fallen victim to extremism. This point is often overlooked, even when given the contrast of the wondrous Beijing gray skies to the pristine sunsets on the West coast. The once Olympic gem of Athens, Greece which shined brilliantly for the cameras in 2004, suffers from the symptoms of a permanent hangover which will have lasting effects on Greek culture and the health of the nation's economy. Fortunately for the Greeks, the loud and baseless sentiments have moved to Beijing. Over the next month, the history of the Chinese culture, the dichotomy between progress lineage and the alleged victimization of a thriving labor class can be carelessly summarized by the rhetoric of dolts. In other words, hypocrisy thrives amidst abundant contradiction based on the surreal.

There exists a plethora of public figures who possess the inclination to emigrate to all points on the globe, where life is real and the future is raw. Though basic human freedoms such as the right to make an ass of one's self with watered down cliches and senseless logic are not covered by any sort of binding document, the opportunity exists to study under the eaves of Confucius, Mencius or the wisdom of Mao. You can flourish in the tent of the polluted fog, flanked by 1.2 billion comrades and a fledgling military soaked with the memories of history's improprieties. Please, shout in unison "Free Tibet!" as the barrage from the firing line two hours later convulses your already mutilated body.

The indistinguishable haze permeating from above, beside and below every camera shot in Beijing, is a preview and an apt metaphor for the possibility of an unsettling future; the complete annihilation of individuality.