Yes it has been a great NCAA tournament and my only complaint with CBS is coach's wifes. Why does the camera need to stare at a coach's wife? College ball has always had a problem rewarding defense and changes are needed. A change also need to be made to keep a defense from stopping the clock away from the ball. Send the offense to the line for two shots if the ball is not touched. Again, as always love to read your column.

JIM

www.atimes.com has an article that details the long relationship between the Lama and the CIA, a relationship that US admits up to around 1974. There are no CIA finger prints on the 1987 revolt or the current revolt, no evidence and plausible deniability are hallmarks of the CIA. Unfortunately the only way for China to deal with CIA covert activity is to purge and that means loss of lots of innocent life. The US kills a million Iraqis that had nothing to do with a terrorist attack on the US and Condi asks China to use restraint in dealing with a US sponsored attack on China.

I got Shanghai'd back in 1995 and now have a wonderful family in Shanghai and the place gets better every year. Our primary home is in Seattle and we go to our home in Shanghai twice a year. Just go back from seeing the eclipse in the Gobi dessert and we visited Urumqi, Dunhuang and, Jiayuguan in addition to our stay in Shanghai. The history of the silk road is awesome to see but I must admit I have become a Shanghai snob like my wife and there is no doubt in my mind that Shanghai has the best governance in China. The Chinese economy is now approaching 30 trillion yuan and the standard of living of my family and for that matter most Chinese is vastly improved over the past decade. Yes the planet is doomed because of the rise of China but who is going to tell China they cannot have AC, cars, bigger homes, travel, and as George Carlin would have said lots of stuff. The typical American bitch puts her 100 Kg ass in 4000 Kg of steel to go get a 1 Kg loaf of bread and we want to lecture the rest of the world on how to live?

I am fortunate to live in Seattle and have CBC. CBC covers a lot more of the Olympics and they follow the Americans as well as their Canadians and a broad spectrum of the rest of the world too. Canadians are such nice people and Bob Costa is such an a..... Oh well what can you say

What a great story, her Chinese coach came over to the US, started his own business that included an Olympic champion. I also liked the fact that Shawn only trains four hours a day and her coach believes you can have a life at the same time you are becoming a world class gymnast. She got the gold in my book. Don"t feel sorry for those young Chinese girls as they will be back in London a lot stonger than they are now. Why does everyone have to bash China.

Back to your comment the other day about too much beach volleyball, I have to agree on that one also. Just want to point out as someone who spends time in China a couple times a year there was a real ironic picture in the Peoples Daily today. Chinese bikini clad cheerleaders at the Olympic volleyball venue. This in a country where I can attest there is no sex whatsoever in Chinese TV or for that matter any Chinese advertising. I guess when it came to beach volleyball, if you can"t beat um, join um.

I am married to a Chinese but I am 100% Minnesotan American and have only gotten to know China in the last 12 years. China is putting on a world class show with the Olympics and they deserve nothing but applause. Come to the World Exhibition in Shanghai in 2010 and you will see something more spectacular.

Did I hear Liddy say only actions resulting in death are torture? This is the old catch 22 of the inquisition. G Liddy should have live 500 years ago, the guy is a medieval nut case.

I got Shanghaied 15 years ago and go to China twice a year for family and business. We have a home in Shanghai and just got back from three weeks in China. We went Yunnan for a 9 day vacation and Chinese touring their own country is the green industry that is going to make China self sustaining. Shanghai has advanced so fast it is almost unbelievable but the West of China is catching up fast. In Lijiang, Yunnan you have a World Heritage Old Town preservation along side of a new city of thousands of new condo buildings. There are 50+ minority groups in Yunnan all getting along great and prospering from rapid growth. Last summer we spent time in Xinjaing and Urumqi. The Islamic Uygers are not repressed by the Xinjaing minority government where they have majority representation. Minority groups in all of China get special education privileges and can have as many children as they desire. 20,000 tourist a day were going to Urumqi before the riot this summer and unfortunately the tourist dollars are going to take a while to come back but I believe they will recover quickly. The western press totally ignored the facts regarding what happened but the fact that tourism made a modern city out of Urumqi is less than a decade will win in the end. China has many problems, environmental the biggest, but hundreds of millions of Chinese have been lifted from poverty. They enjoy travel, have appliances of all kinds and, eat a much richer diet than the did a decade ago.