*New: Team Tibet - Campaign to have a genuine Tibetan team in the Olympics, as opposed to Tibetan athletes competing under the Chinese flag.

There can be no doubt in most people's minds that the over-riding factor in this very controversial  decision must have been trading relations with China, and the bonanza that this could represent for western businesses.
The UK's main independent news channel (ITN) ran a lengthy feature on the night of the announcement. This went into the relevant issues in considerable depth, especially those relating to human rights,  and it became clear that the newscasters were firmly of the opinion that a wrong decision had been made, so  it seems we're not alone in that view.

A frequently-touted justification for the decision is that hosting the Olympics could open-up China to the outside world, and lead to a liberalisation of that regime. Unfortunately, history tends to indicate that the opposite may happen. Whenever  any major sporting event  has been hosted by a despotic regime, the event has invariably been used to publicise, indoctrinate, and strengthen the regime's own dogma. The classic example of this must surely be the 1936 Olympics,  which were shamelessly used as a propaganda-vehicle for militarism, racial discrimination and elitism.

The facts that are emerging now confirm the worst. The Olympics are self-evidently viewed mainly as a propaganda-vehicle by the CCP, and only secondarily as a sporting event. In the interests of presenting a suitable image to the rest of the world on TV,  the destruction of housing in the environs of the stadium continues apace.  What is worse, those made homeless by this politically-motivated destruction are not offered any alternative housing.  Those who try to oppose the bulldozers risk a violent encounter with the special government forces overseeing the Olympic preparations.  For a real eye-opener on just what is going-on in Beijing during the run-up to the Games, watch this astounding, almost unbelievable  video clip  (100MB, requires broadband and Flash player)

So, is it too late to act? No, definitely not. There is still time in which to to persuade all those involved to think again. It is unlikely the venue will be changed now that the stadium is under construction, but of course that does not necessarily imply that all nations, or all athletes, are willing to attend. A boycott by even a few major figures would send a very powerful message to the CCP. Our best policy is to keep up the pressure on governments and athletics bodies, right-up to the opening date. The more people we can get to thinking about the issues, the more people in whom we can raise a few nagging doubts about the questionable ethics of their involvement, the better.

When all is considered,  perhaps the worst nightmare for the Beijing leaders would be the fiasco of hosting the Olympics in a near-empty stadium, with only a handful of athletes competing, and nearly all of them Chinese. In some ways this might be a far more positive statement of the World's stand on human rights, rather than simply having a committee refuse the Games outright.

Somehow, I don't think it would actually come to that, the Beijing games WILL go ahead, mainly because the degree of commitment is now too great to turn back. Nevertheless, the Games represent a tremendous opportunity for human-rights exposure. Let's make the most of that opportunity.