chi fan le ma?

the BBC has created a list of “dos and don’ts” for foreigners while in beijing for this summer’s olympic games. learning the phrase “chi fan le ma?” tops the list. it’s translated as “have you eaten?” and is important to know, cause if you just shake your head “yes” all the time you ain’t gettin’ no food son. the list also says to be prepared for locals attempting to practice their english with you. don’t get confused if you hear a beijing local constantly talking about “CHIN-ER” or “CHIN-OR”. that’s just their ridiculous heavy beijing accent. it has a strong RRRRRRR on most words and can sound like they are growling at you. the dude is just talking about CHINA. took us a while to figure that out. HI SAM! i GUESS the most important tip is not calling you waitress a whore. “xiaojie” means “miss” but can be misinterpreted to mean lady friend. a better term to use is “fuwuyuan” which is close to “garcon”. now if you call someone that and she whips out a cell phone or calculator, she definitely is a lady caller and is ready to negotiate a price! might i suggest finding one of these nice ladies at night in “sanlitun”, which is a popular bar area near worker’s stadium (SOCCER!). during the day, the starbucks at the holiday inn in the “lido” area is probably as sure thing as well. LAST, but not least. don’t be surprised if you see security guards will large guns in fine establishments like mcdonald’s or KFC. they are just protecting the chicken type product they serve there!

china continues to block internet for olympic media

chinese officials assured that internet censorship would be lifted for journalists during the olympic games. turns out, the open internet would only be extended to sites related about the “olympic competitions”. reporters are going to have a hell of a time trying to report on anything related to politics, human rights, and distaste for the PRC government. as of tuesday, the amnesty international site was still blocked along with any site with “tibet” in the address.

china’s censorship spreads way beyond sites regarding human rights and politics. THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY website has been blocked since 2002. let’s not forget, all WORDPRESS sites are also blocked! that means MR. GREG SHAPIRO, who is currently in beijing, cannot read this post!

iraqi olympic team kicked out of sandbox

the international olympic committee announced today that the iraqi olympic team would be banned from 08.08.08 (clever huh? oh, those chinese). APPARENTLY your politicians are not suppose to run your country’s olympic committe. so the IOC says they are sorry and sad, but i think they really just didn’t want a fist fight to explode during the opening ceremony. iraq WAS going to send some rower dudes, a dude that lifts stuff, a dude that runs, a dude that throws a heavy frisbee, and a JUDOKA dude. awesome.

7/30/08 UPDATE: IOC allows iraq to compete in games after last minute talks.