REPORT FROM BEIJING

The scale of Beijing is very surprising, kind of a cross between Paris, Moscow and Havana. Quickly liberated of notion that this was some sort of third world backwater joint. (It's probably a combination of third, second and first world). This has been kind of like being on the set of a Bob Hope "road" movie with a twist of Star Trek thrown in. I have taken millions of photos. We spent last night downloading them into Chris' computer and he's put a few of them on www.myspace.com/cmlovell.

The night life is amazingly sophisticated and then you just as quickly fall into a class sinkhole with horrific sights of beggars without arms and shit like that. There's obviously big money, big economy in swing here but the size of the population is humbling. Went out the first night but didn't last too long. Hadn't had the energy to go out at night as we had been going from sun up till late at night.

World Cup fever is rampant. Our first sojourn into the nightlife was at an expat bar called Brown's and it looked like Heroes. Everywhere we go there are giant (I'm talking billboard size) TV screens set up with throngs of folks looking on.

Have done more walking than I have ever done. There must be hundreds of univerities here. Visited a few. The food is tremendous with choices that are just astounding. Went yesterday to a Korean barbeque joint and cooked our own meal at a hibachi built into our table. Came back Thursday night exhausted. Then we went to the Summer Palace, rented a boat after walking around the tremendous grounds and just lazed for awhile. Rode another boat home and then a power boat through the channels in Beijing, way cool.

Avoid shopping at the Silk Market. What a nightmare. Tons and tons of knockoffs but through a gauntlet of aggressive Chinese salespeople. Didn't last too long, wasn't worth it. Noone expects to pay the price asked and they think you're a fool if you don't haggle. Makes for a pretty long time to buy an item and it's just too stressful and wasteful a price to pay for worthless crap. This really is the World Cup of barter. I can't stand it. The hostel is situated in a little area just below Tienemen and has plenty of shops so you can avoid that crap at Silk Market completely.

Went out for Peiking Duck that night with a Chinese friend of Chris'and it was really spectacular. This reminds me of my honeymoon trip to Paris, no bad meals. Get the pig ears.

Thursday (could this really be only our second day here?) was quite a day. Got up early and moved our stuff to a hostel as it was way cheaper. Went from a Holiday Inn type hotel to (CLICK HERE): 365 Inn (A hostel that is very close to Tienemen. Highly recommended.). It is in your classic Chinatown. Talk about a "road movie". Very very cool. Walked down the hutongs, ate, bickered with the locals. (film at eleven).

We went to see Chris' friends practice their martial arts and saw the damndest little 9-12 year old girls practicing gymnastics. so cute and accomplished. went to the Tienemen square as well as the Forbidden City and fooled around in a hutong eating dinner and looking at knickknacks.

Went to the high class mall that is on par with anything anywhere. Bought me a fancy designer chinese made shirt. China is a study in contradictions. (Even Mao said that all one can do is hope to minimize the contradictions.) Went from a glamorous mall to a "cd store" in someone's home in the hutong on the way back to the hostel and got a glimpse of working class chinese living arrangements.

Thursday we did very little but walk and gawk. Helped Chris look for an apartment (which he found) and just did a little shopping. Went out that night and ate at The Banana Leaf in the club district (near The Loft) a Thai place that was wonderful. The food has been such a heavenly surprise. It's like France, haven't had a shabby meal yet. Went to a Salsa bar and then to Passion one of the fanciest discos that I have ever seen. (lasers, computerized multi-media, hd tvs at the urinals, etc. saw an electronic billboard in a subway tunnel today, same thing, very high tech stuff I've never seen. went to an internet cafe and it was super modern with about 300 work areas, filled to the max.It seems that everyone in China is internet connected. Even this hostel has DSL.)

Since Passion really wasn't our bag, we ended up at a pickup bar where I was introduced (not in the literal sense) to the concept of Mongolian Whores. Stayed out way too late and ended up walking arm-in-arm with Chris down our little ghetto street at 4:30 next am, made for a late and sluggish start. Stayed in that night.

Today we went to the rental office to finish signing the contract and just spent the day doing that kind of crap. Big news, Beijing has a Wal-Mart so we stopped in there. Funny what you miss.

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY'RE CALLED "DEADHEADS"?
The latest danger in going to a Phil Lesh and Friends concert is the prospect of having some jerk fall on you from the balcony, something that has happened at two San Francisco shows. Ever nonconventional, deadheads have found two sides to the issue.Some people think the jumper should be arrested and jailed to learn his lesson. Others say life is but a dream and he should be forgiven for not realizing he was in another level of consciousness.
(TRIBE, unearthed by A&E INTERACTIVE)

DIXIE CHICKS NOW "NUMERO UNO"
For the "crime" of expressing disapproval of the President, the Dixie Chicks were hit with a full-frontal right-wing attack. Three years and a lot of hullabaloo later, their new release - Taking the Long Way - has shot to Number 1 on Billboard's country music chart and the overall Billboard 200 chart. In its first full week of availability, the latest release from the Dixie Chicks sold 526, 000 units.
(THE NATION, unearthed by Common Dreams)

I IN 136 CITIZENS NOW BEHIND BARS
"Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents, behind bars by last summer."
(AP, unearthed by Common Dreams)

RELIGION'S SLIPPERY SLOPE
"Not unlike families who choose the Jewish Star of David, the Christian cross and the Islamic crescent and star to honor their loved ones on headstones and markers, Sgt. Patrick Stewart's family's symbol of choice for his memorial plaque also was from his religion: the Wiccan pentacle. But of all the symbols and faiths recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Wicca and its emblem -- a circle around a five-pointed star -- are not among them."
(WASHINGTON POST)

FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT?
Next week the Senate is expected to vote on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would prohibit federal recognition of gay marriages even when approved by a state government. According to a study by the Cato Institute, the FMA is "Unnecessary, Anti-federalist, and Anti-democratic," and an unprecedented intrusion on our nation's historic commitment to federalism. It is unlike any other constitutional amendment in that it limits the ability of the democratic process to expand individual rights.
(CATO)

FAMILY ASKS FOR RETURN OF GERONIMO'S REMAINS
"The great grandson of the Apache leader Geronimo has appealed to the big chief in the White House to help recover the remains of his famous relative - purportedly stolen more than 90 years ago by a group of students - including the President's grandfather."
(COMMON DREAMS)

CHARITY'S BARRIER ISLAND
"The longstanding U.S. embargo against the island, designed to bring down Fidel Castro's government, has created a maze of rules limiting who can enter the country, how long they can stay, and the goods they can bring in."
(CHRONICLE OF PHILANTROPY, unearthed by LAWG)

WE'VE SEEN THIS HORROR MOVIE BEFORE: THE RETURN OF THE NIXON CLONES
"When he was asked about the National Security Agency's controversial domestic surveillance program last Monday, U.S. intelligence chief John D. Negroponte objected to the question and said the government was 'absolutely not' monitoring domestic calls without warrants."
(WASHINGTON POST)

WHO WOULD JESUS VOTE FOR?
"We have had small-scale theocracies in North America before - in Puritan New England and later in Mormon Utah. Today, a leading power such as the United States approaches theocracy when it meets the conditions currently on display: an elected leader who believes himself to speak for the Almighty, a ruling political party that represents religious true believers, the certainty of many Republican voters that government should be guided by religion and, on top of it all, a White House that adopts agendas seemingly animated by biblical worldviews."
(SEATTLE TIMES op/ed piece by Kevin Phillips)

BAD A BING
Continuing a string of off-screen run-ins with the law, two more fringe characters from 'The Sopranos' - the television mob boss's favorite chef and his muscle-bound bodyguard - have been charged in separate criminal cases.
(ATLANTA JOURNAL)

MEXICAN DRUG LAWS LIBERALIZED
"Mexico's Congress on Friday approved a bill decriminalizing possession of small quantities of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and even heroin for personal use.
(CNN, unearthed by Brent Gourley)

STUCK IN THE MOMENT WITH (A) FLUE
Police arrested a man who spent five hours naked and stuck in the chimney of his stepmother's California home.
(MSN, unearthed by Joel Sogol)

HEY, YOU! GET OFF OF MY CLOUD!
PRESIDENT George Bush can't get no satisfaction after Mick Jagger grabbed his hotel room.
(THE SUN, unearthed by AI Blitz)

COMPUTER GANG SLANG
Cyberbanging' -- gang members openly bragging about affiliations, skipping school, getting high and battling rival gangs."
(WASHINGTON POST)