Odd that I haven’t written about this sooner. Something I deal with almost daily, and something that in many ways makes my life easier. And saves me money. The HK subway system, known here as the MTR. (Mass Transit Railway.) Which is how most of us in the urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon […]

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Hong Kong is modern and progressive in many ways. A great system of public transport. Very little crime. A social safety network that seems to work well. HK is way behind the curve, though, on recycling and other topics environmental. This seems to be a generic “China” issue, in particular. The country seems to be […]

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I’ve noted that Hong Kong Island, the strip of it where everyone lives and works … is severely “challenged” when it comes to flora. (Never mind fauna.) And it’s just now dawning on me that the street I am now on, Thomson Road, may represent an extreme example of “nothing but humans and cockroaches” part […]

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I live on an island with 1.2 million other people, about 90 percent of whom are Chinese … And about 90 percent of them are skinny. OK, not all of them are stick-thin. But the overwhelming majority of Chinese here are not fat. Which is a rate of non-tubbiness we can only dream of, back […]

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I’ve been working on the sports pages, at the International Herald Tribune the past few days, and that means I’ve seen a lot of stories about the New York Yankees. And even the Mets. You know, teams actually doing something, trying to get better. Signing C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Francisco Rodriguez, for instance. The […]

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Remember Pat Haden? If you were a fan of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1970s, you probably do. He came out of USC and finagled his way into the starting quarterback’s job as a rookie in 1976, and pretty much held it until he suffered a broken thumb halfway through the 1979 season. When […]

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Yes, things are ugly and getting uglier. Somebody (usually dozens or even hundreds of somebodies) is being laid off in print journalism every day. And with Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, filing for bankruptcy on Monday, a batch of people I know who were hoping to have a cash bridge into some […]

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A stat that hasn’t really permeated the consciousness of the average American is this: Las Vegas no longer is the world’s biggest gambling spot, in terms of collective casino revenues. Macao is. And has been since 2006. And probably will be for years to come. Las Vegas hasn’t exactly been trumpeting its “we’re No. 2!” […]

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Yes, I know. While speaking to Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt actually said, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy …” Referring to the Japanese surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor that drew the United States into World War II. However, it was Dec. 8, 1941 that was the infamous date on this […]

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Most of you are not in Hong Kong. Most of you reading this are in the States, and have access to televisions, and have already seen this. But, the other day, I made such a fuss over USC and UCLA being able to wear their home jerseys for their game this year, that I feel […]

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