I didn't catch the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics on Friday, but I've sure been reading about a whole lot today. A beautiful little girl, Lin Miaoke, performed "Ode to the Motherland" in a gorgeous, crystal-clear voice as China's flag was proudly displayed in the National Stadium. I could almost put aside the politics and conflicts around the Beijing Olympics for a second and enjoy this little girl singing for her country with such a sweet voice. Too bad that little girl wasn't singing at all!

The girl with the beautiful voice is actually Yang Peiyi, who Chinese officials decided at the last minute was not cute enough to represent China on the world stage. Seriously, China? You don't have enough drama going on right now, what with people protesting internationally against your human rights violations and media censorship? You have to add a little fuel to the fire by telling a 7-year-old girl she's ugly and fat? Maybe you should just steal an old lady's purse or kick a puppy or something. Then maybe your popularity will go up.

This little charade is just representative of the way China operates, trying to disguise reality with a glossy, pretty, dishonest facade. The world is already watching China to see if the Beijing Olympics will motivate any kind of social change-- even the slightest bit of sketchiness makes activists more unwilling to trust the Chinese government.

What do you guys think about this? (And for the record, Yang Peiyi, I think you're beautiful and you sing like an angel.)