The Cat is Almost out of the Bag

Last night South Korean television leaked footage they got filming one of the dress rehearsals for the opening ceremonies on August 8.

It shows some fantastic scenes that you can see here, including a giant scroll unfolding, acrobats flying in the air, masses of martial arts practitioners and people under boxes that move up and down to great effect.

The best part so far seems to be giant images of whales that float around the rim of the National Stadium or Bird's Nest.

Apparently this crew just walked in without any security hassles and filmed not just on one occasion.

This has left Beijing officials red-faced despite trying to give the semblance of tight security, and everyone involved signing confidentiality agreements promising to keep the event secret.

The less than three-minute snippet is only a brief taste of the three-and-a-half hour extravaganza that will surely be nothing short of amazing.

As far as I know, leaking a part of the opening ceremonies is unprecedented -- and some heads are probably going to roll for this one.

Media 1, Chinese government 0.

But then the media was outraged to find out the International Olympic Committee did strike a deal with the Chinese government about blocking certain sites.

This goes contrary to what Wang Wei promised when he headed Beijing's bid for the Games. "We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China."

The hoopla happened after Amnesty International released a report about China's human rights abuses worsening as the Games approaches.

And reporters at the International Broadcast Center couldn't access it online.

Neither could they find out more information about Falun Gong. Those web pages went blank.

It turns out reporters can freely report on anything related to the Games. Someone forgot to put a caveat there.

Welcome to China.

Media 1, BOCOG 1.

Sounds like it's even.