BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — In reality, the Summer Olympics that open Friday create three different categories of events. It's important to understand this.
The first event is the one that observers on the ground in China will see, the second is the event that the rest of the world will see, and the third is the event or events no one may ever see.
On the mainland of China itself, there are the actual competitive sporting events taking place in real time. Some will unfold in the architecturally magnificent "Bird's Nest" stadium, others in various spanking-new venues in greater metropolitan Beijing and the environs. Many people — and multinational corporations — have already bought tickets to see these events with their own eyes, assuming the region's onerous smog blankets and summer temperature inversions don't effectively blur their vision.