Absurdity, Allegory and China

One thing that has bothered me about the odd-even car usage rule in Beijing is that most people are claiming that it takes half the cars off the road, which is not true. Cabs, police, security of every stripe, special exemptions and Olympic vehicles ensure that the number falls well short of one-half. It has [...]

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The big news of the day is that China has broken the promise it made to hook the IOC and land the Olympics seven years ago. This is only news to those who believed that this could possibly have happened, though seven years out there was at least a modicum of hope that things might [...]

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The persistent pollution problem that has received so much press in the long run-up to the Olympics is claiming more and more press space as more and more press arrive in Beijing: “Where’s the sun? Where’re the mountains? Where’s the next building?” Don’t look for the assault to let up. It is after all, Huabei [...]

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From Networks Fight Shorter Olympic Leash in the NYT:
One I.O.C. commissioner, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid further complicating the situation, said matter-of-factly that Chinese officials had “put a tourniquet” on the Olympics.
“Had the I.O.C., and those vested with the decision to award the host city contract, known seven years ago that there would [...]

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“The ultimate would be to compete in a couple more Olympics, hopefully break some world records and wind up my sports career with a couple of years in the WNBA.”
–Marion Jones
So much for dreams, Olympic or otherwise. Instead of attending the Beijing Olympics as a competitor, Marion Jones is serving six months in a Texas [...]

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The airspace over my neighborhood is loud with helicopters. Haven’t seen so many in one place in a lot of years. Their mission is, as all things are here, not entirely clear. I live, literally, across the street from an Olympic venue, the Tianjin Olympic Center, a new purpose-built football (soccer) stadium that was christened [...]

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Though it is highly unlikely that anyone hasn’t yet heard, the latest issue of the New Yorker with it’s trademark cartoon cover shows the Obamas in the Oval Office kitted out as rad-Muslims, a burning flag in the fireplace and an Osama portrait hanging on the wall. The Obama camp has called it “tasteless,” and [...]

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From today’s NYT Nikolai Ouroussoff’s In Changing Face of Beijing, a Look at the New China highlights the gap between the ideals of the architects who are transforming the face of Beijing and their client, the Chinese government. Regarding some of the higher profile projects, namely the Bird’s Nest and the CCTV Headquarters Building:
Yet [...]

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If you want to go to Beida (Beijing [Peking] University), want something else. That, too, is now off-limits. Who’s next? Someone needs to come up with a list, start a pool and turn this into a contest. I’d do it, but my organizational skills are truly number ten. But I still think it’s a good [...]

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Back in China two days - Beijing and Tianjin - and have yet to see my shadow, though there seems to be a squint of hope this morning. I can see some blue skies peeking through, though it’s still quite early. I got a ride back to Tianjin yesterday on the Jingjintang Highway, and it [...]

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