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Didn't Obscure China's Ugly Government  By Bill Peterson ·
August 27th, 2008 · Sports If we didn't learn anything about
China from the just-finished Olympic Games, it's because the
games confirmed our pre-existing suspicions. China spared no
expense or oppression to put on a dazzling show. We're supposed
to be impressed, but we're more like irritated and bemused.  We
were supposed to see the craft of a mighty nation, and if all
you know about the Olympics came from NBC's telecasts that's
basically what you saw. NBC paid $900 million to broadcast the
games, stuck to the games and made them widely available, even
if it meant showing the entire two or three hours of comically
dull walking races.  We can have political turmoil any time, and
the sources for learning about China's misdeeds during the games
were numerous. But the games come along only every four years,
and that rare chance to see the world's best in less popular
sports justifies a small ind