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This is China

I’ve heard from two different sources that major ticketing companies have been re-selling opening ceremony tickets and continue to do so on the premise that there is no way the Chinese will actually be matching names with passports. They believe that as long as attendees have legitimate passports they should be okay. I wouldn’t bet [...]

Continue reading “Two Things To Watch For” »

The real “thugs and goons” out there are the IOC. They are an organization so driven by greed, money and corruption that all other considerations come second. They have been bribed easily and they sell out quickly on any issue regarding rights or dignity. Yet as much as I despise the IOC, an organization that [...]

Continue reading “For Mafioso IOC, Beijing Brilliant Choice” »

Today I feel good about myself. I know you’re probably thinking, “But Josh, you must wake up every morning with a superiority complex!” True, but today is especially good. No, not because my blog was recently ranked #17 in Beijing among expats aged 22-26.
Yesterday CoSport, the official ticketer for the 29th Summer Olympiad, put the [...]

Continue reading “Office Olympic Ticket Rush” »

Things are starting to come together for the Olympics: The air has cleared up, the venues and their surrounds have been spruced up, the outdoor decking at Q-Bar has been closed (glad they fixed that in time), volunteers are manning booths and the footpaths in front of hotels and the weather is summery.
The last two [...]

Continue reading “Beijing Olympic Ghosts” »

John McCain is the straight-talk express, letting the whole world see what a petulant, nasty person he is. There were glimpses during the primary when he could barely contain his contempt for Mitt Romney (the same one he might now choose for VP). But in the still-early stages of the general election, McNasty has managed [...]

Continue reading “In a Word: McNasty” »

The Beijing magazine City Weekend, until fairly recently, was considered the weakest of the three listings/English magazine in Beijing. But then Time Out got shut down and That’s Beijing became The Beijinger, confusing some during the adjustment period. So suddenly City Weekend had an opening to make it’s pitch for the top spot.
It’s a nice [...]

Continue reading “Day in the Life of…Lazy Expats” »

I love Beijing, but every city can improve somewhat, right? New York could have bigger apartments. Atlanta could have fewer strip clubs. Salt Lake City could have more. Every city is different. But here are a few public policy choices that could help Beijing:
1. Mandate that all restaurants have more than four copies of the [...]

Continue reading “Unique Improvements to Beijing” »

A funny thing happened after the traffic restrictions, designed to reduce air pollution, went into effect: air quality got much worse. In addition to the obvious negative change in visibility, even the government’s own numbers (which many suspect are manipulated anyway) back it up. Before July 20, when the restrictions went into effect, there were [...]

Continue reading “Pollution Worsens Following Traffic Restrictions (a lot)” »

Saturday marked the beginning of the last stage of ticket pick-ups for the Olympics. This is for tickets bought through the official American channel, Co-Sport. All I have to say is that picking up at the Bank of China was 1000 times easier. That’s right, the Chinese outlet was far superior to the foreign one.
At [...]

Continue reading “CoSport Olympic Ticket Pick-Up Hassle” »

Henry Sanderson of the Associated Press is reporting that China has stopped issuing all business visas into China until September 20. Terrorism concerns related to American lawyers were the cited reason. Just kidding, they’re worried businessmen might protest. That makes sense:
The visas restrictions are part of a massive security operation to ensure a trouble-free games, [...]

Continue reading “We Don’t Want No Stinkin’ Business” »