Beijing business

...Most disgraceful of all is the fact that six of the 12 worldwide Olympic partners are American companies. This has to heart-sicken any patriot. These companies will reap the full exposure of the Summer Games, swathing themselves in the flag, and rationalizing that their business is helping uplift the Chinese people. Don't buy it -- or them. You should know exactly who they are: General Electric (which owns NBC), Coca-Cola, Visa, McDonald's, Kodak, and Johnson & Johnson.
******* Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post

Read more at janinsanfran's place, Happening Here, and see a picture of Beijing's air.

Gratuitous Red Sox photo

Because it's spring.

This photo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez is from several weeks ago, at the beginning of the baseball season.

Italy and Turkey and "R and R"

No, not that kind of R&R. Alas. But a very interesting article by my Mediterranean brother, once again a comparative piece on Turkey and Italy. An earlier Turkey-Italy piece is linked here. The latest, just in, is here. Don't blame my brother for the wiggy punctuation, I think they have a bad copyeditor at the Turkish Daily News.


In case you've forgotten where all those Mediterranean countries are, here is a map.

For more instructive and fun geography, visit my buddy Paul, the Byzigenous Buddhapalian.