Chen Guangcheng is an activist in China’s northern Shandong Province. He is blind and lives in the tiny rural village of Dongshigu, where he fought for the rights of peasants and especially women who faced forced sterilization and other abuses. He was imprisoned more than 4 years for his efforts and then placed under house […]
Beijing
In Defense of Piracy
Today’s NYT has a story about the Beijing Silk Market and the struggles between big names brands and the pirates that knock-em off and slang em to tourists. I was at the silk market every day last summer during the Olympics. The big brand names do have a point: China does need to “graduate from […]
The Security Establishment
Now that I have finished my stint in a semi-corporate setting in a security company, i can let you know a little bit about how things work. These companies do business here with the permssion of the Chinese government. This means that they are under the constant supervision of the Public Security Bureau. As such, […]
Dont Believe the Hype
So the Games are over and the Western media is tapping into the fear the American nation has for China’s rise. Its all smoke and mirrors, people. America is in the doldrums because the media tells us we are; China is gonna take over the planet because the media tells us they are. The reality […]
Penultimate Day: A couple pics
I will have a few pics here … i lost my camera and never really bought a new one. I know thats the main thing this blog lacks — besides wit — so i will do my best in the future to have some images. so for now:
Day 15 – Ending with a Bang
Today was quite a day. I watched Cuba whup up on the US in the baseball semifinal and then headed to a spa to wash my stankin sweaty body and watch the US whup up on Argentina in basketball. On the way to the baseball game, i shouted out GO USA! and told jokes in […]
Day ?? – Big Day for team finals
The last two days have been pretty fun, but i have not been able to watch anything. The women’s beach volleyball, men’s volleyball, water polo, softball, the track and field .. i get it offa blogs or Chinese TV. My ticket magic has run out. I have tix to the US-Cuba baseball semifinal tomorrow, but […]
Rage against the dying of the light
or just post some love on yer blog and send it through the underground. i remember telling some young Chinese friends about the Tank Man in Tiananmen and they all laughed at me and said it was a piece of CIA propaganda. I think for everybody who does not live in China, the image of […]
And of course: Dashed Hopes
Liu Xiang is injured and will not compete. He has been injured since at least May, when he had his last competition. In China, an athlete is property of the State and to a lesser extent the People. Perhaps Liu has had enough of being a slave to the system. Perhaps he wants to walk […]
Days 9, 10 and 11 … The Hustle Eclipsed
Its becoming somewhat of a blur for me these days, i had to ask if today was Day 12 or what. I am writing on the 12th day at noon, about the last three days. I suppose the theme of the past few days has been the death of the hustle. The scalpers are gone […]
And of course: the Man Fish
I bet this dude puffs mad herb. Now, if we find out that he does, will he be stripped for doping? “Once you reach the plateau, it becomes the norm.”
Days 7, 8 and going on 9 … Sleep Deprived
The last few days I have been running on fumes a bit. And for those of you who have done that, it means alternating between falling asleep while someone talks to you and being unable to shut your mouth at odd hours of the night. The Chinese look to have the Gold Medal count locked […]
Day 6 – The Calm Before the Storm
The second week is just around the corner and I felt the lull today. Indeed, the preliminaries and qualifying rounds are almost over. The Chinese blitz on the gold medals will have its Dunkirk in a couple days when athletics begins and “their” sports come to a close. On ticket sales, one noticed a slight […]
Day 5 – I Love China
What a difference a day makes. Today I went and watched the China-Spain B-Ball game and it was off the chains. The big difference between yesterday’s tennis and today’s hoops was that the Chinese know and love hoops. The guys in front of me loved Clyde “the Glide” Drexler and the old man in back […]
Day 4 – Chaos and Order
Welcome to China ya’ll. Today started off fine, I woke up and went and did some gong fu with my man Shifu Li Chuan cuz he’s back in town and we showed Yves and a few of his Dutch partners some moves. While chillin with Yves in his apt later, I realized I did not […]
Day 3 – Dank and Dreary … USA whoops China in B-Ball
Today I saw a one armed Cockney Englishman marching through the crowds around the water cube trying to sell swimming tix for 2000k US. The hustle continues … I’m getting deeper into the tix biz and its fun. Today it was hazy and dark all day and then it started to rain at about 4pm […]
Day 2 – The Hustleman
Yeah its always the same wherever I go. i become Red from the Shawshank Redemption. I am now in the ticket business and it is quite fruitful. I will be able to see beach volleyball, tennis, baseball, some basketball (no USA yet) and some girls field hockey. Ya’ll need tickets? holla at me. Ya’ll got […]
Day 1 – Opening Ceremony Ticket Scam
Today has been a very weird day so far. Last night I drank late late into the night with some security guys — old warhorses from Ireland and such — and they said i fit the profile of an “agency man.” This morning I was helping Jim Leprino, one of the richest men out there, […]
busy day
In this small blurb about a photo that made it into a tabloid about the Tiananmen protests in 1989, we see another example of the many people these days who don’t know about what happened and frankly don’t care, yet face the consequences for their ignorance. I wrote before about a couple of copy editors […]
A Smoggy day in Beijing
There is a situation going on right now at east gate in Beijing. About 100 people and are in the area. The issues is with the demolition of several apartment blocks to make way for a park. The residents have made a “last stand” in front of the last building. Anytime people actually get hifey […]
Picture me Laughing
china gives peeps designated “arrest me” zones to do their thing. “Chinese people know better than to go demonstrate in a {issue} zone during the Olympics, except maybe a few people with nothing to lose,” he said. “They know the risk of retribution is very high.” He added: “It is not a step toward allowing […]
Aint Nothing Changed
Things is hectic in this piece … for real. after the K’ming bombings the government made a few changes to security that are putting a crimp in everyone’s style. In the Metro lines the only security they have are cadres of fussy old women — the same people who yell at bicycles that cross the […]
Which sky will it be?
views from my window.
Beijing 2008
I am finally in Beijing. After several months of talking about it and changes to the plan on a weekly basis, I am now officially part of the whole “one world one dream” experience in Beijing. Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun shone all day, the sky was blue and white lazy clouds hung […]
Its goin down
it has struck me — and perhaps not only me — how intense things are becoming this year. The race in the US between the two democrats threatens to tire everyone out by the time the real election arrives and the protests in China threaten to cast a pallor over the games months before they […]