Ahead of his first visit to China as prime minister of Australia, books on Kevin Rudd are selling like hot cakes in book stores everywhere. Speaking in Mandarin to students at Peking University yesterday, Rudd pointed out to "significant" human rights problems in Tibet, but reiterated his opposition to an Olympic boycott:"Australia, like most other countries, recognises Chinese sovereignty over Tibet but we also believe it is necessary to recognise there are significant human rights......

From AP: The Olympic torch arrived in San Francisco for its only North American stop amid heavy security Tuesday, one day after its visit to Paris descended into chaos.From what we see in the video, looks like things are pretty calm so far in San Francisco! With disruptions in the Olympic torch relay in Athens, Istanbul, London and Paris, and more expected to dog the event everywhere it goes, the IOC is having such a......

She's just jealous Baidu didn't choose her. From ESPN.com: "The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for Presidential leadership," Clinton said in a statement. "These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I......

Photograph of investigation at Times Square recruiting center by kerfuffle & zeitgeist on Flickr Gothamist found that an explosive set off outside the Times Square army recruiting center may be similar to five past bombings in New York City.Seattlest worried when severed right feet and bottles of rat poison started washing up on local beaches.Shanghaiist was surprised by Bjork's rooting for Tibetan independence at her concert (see video), and the political fallout has only......

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliot Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

Photo by Peijin Chen Sexually transmitted diseases on the rise Reuters: China reports rise in sexually transmitted diseases Independent: China admits that cases of HIV/Aids have risen 45 per cent AFP: China launches first anti-AIDS drive for gay men: state media Religion AP: China Official Explains Religion Policy The Hindu: China for conditional constructive dialogue with Vatican Christian Today: Miliband should raise religious freedom in China visit – CSW The environment Reuters: Top China......

Photo credit: sniderscion Torontoist spent its week uncovering who was behind mysterious ads for a drug called "Obay" that popped up across the country (Scientology? Frank Shepard Fairey?), first tracing them to an advocacy group called Colleges Ontario and then confirming their suspicions a few days later.Phillyist learned how to put on a puppet show – it's not as easy as you might think!Shanghaiist discovers that the average starting monthly pay for fresh graduates......

In Paris, New York City and the Hague: In Singapore, Manila and London: In Honolulu, San Francisco and Melbourne:......

Steve Buscemi and Southern Barbarian owner Feng Jianwen (Credit: Southern Barbarian) Next time, Steve, stay for some Grandma's Mashed Potatoes. Trust us. It's not every day that a Golden Globe and Emmy award nominated actor shows up unexpectedly at the launch party for a small photo exhibit at a Yunnan restaurant in Shanghai, China, but that's what happened yesterday when Steve Buscemi stepped in from the rain to check out Ying Tang's "Balance" at......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

The propaganda department is definitely going into overdrive this week. First, if you still didn't know that China has political parties other than the CCP, the People's Daily has an interesting backgrounder of the eight parties, with short descriptions of the history of the parties and their membership size and make-up. These parties are namely: the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK), China Democratic League (CDL), China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA), China Association......

Chinese investors came off of the October golden week in a buying mood. The A share market gapped higher and never looked back. At mid day break, the Shanghai Composite Index is up 3 percent, or 166 points at 5718, yet another record high. Speaking of buying, over the weekend, China Minsheng Bank agreed to acquire a 10 percent stake of San Francisco based United Commercial Bank. The term only calls for a slight premium,......

China Construction Bank’s A share began trading yesterday. The ￥6.45 IPO closed at ￥8.53 , a whopping 32 percent gain, eye popping in any Western markets, but here in China, a big yawn. Two other smaller companies went public on the same day, both advanced 200 percent plus, cha-ching! CCB was the largest China IPO to date(￥58 billion), but that title will soon belong to Shenhua Energy, the nation’s largest coal miner. The offering attracted......

OK, we all know about the Great Wall, the Great Firewall and the Great Green Wall. All that is old news now. Get this: China is now building a 6 million yuan, 40-kilometer (25-mile) long, 1 meter (3.3 feet) high wall around Dongting Lake in Hunan Province to guard against the 2 billion field mice that have been on the run from the flooded Yangtse River. Already, the mice have destroyed about 520,000 hectares (1.3......

Following a successful flight from Shanghai to San Francisco, a body was discovered in the nose wheel well of United Airlines flight 858. Mechanics discovered the body during a routine post-flight inspection after the plane landed at 7:42am, Thursday morning. According to investigators, the man was of Chinese Asian descent and in his 50s. To add intrigue, the man was also found wearing "several layers of clothes" and appeared to have a few "obvious injuries".......

OK, we've never heard of East Star Airlines before, but it has just become the first private airline in China to be authorized to operate international flights. A Xinhua report tells us that under Civil Aviation Administration of China regulations, new airlines may apply to operate international flights only after three years of operations. East Star has been in business less than two years, but it beat rivals Okair, Ueair, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines......

We were taking an afternoon stroll down Xiangyang Lu today in our pajamas when we had our first ever encounter with Shanghai's high-tech parking meters. The meters aren't exactly new; according to the Shanghai Municipality website the first were installed in 2005. There were 141 meters at the beginning of the year installed across 22 road sections, but that number is now up to 555. Yes, we don't get out much, but we were still......

Fox: Read My Tattoos, No Prison Break In China "News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS.A) Fox Television denied that it has licensed Beijing based media company Zonbo Media to remake American TV series Prison Break or any related online activities in China, reports Beijing Youth Daily." Lawsuit says Ark. company selling counterfeit Budweiser in China "Anheuser-Busch Inc. sued USA Bai Wei Group Inc. in Arkansas' Pulaski County Circuit Court, seeking an injunction to revoke Bai Wei's......

We never thought we would ever see The Slits appear on a poster promoting a Shanghai event, but that day has arrived thanks to 88 New Wave who have been quietly putting on offbeat punk parties at Cs Bar. We like their eclectic and open take on punk, enjoying everything from Gang of Four to Salt 'n Pepa. Tomorrow night is themed around feminine punk grrrl power so it's time to get out your favourite......

For most of the day yesterday, we here at Shanghaiist were wondering if we should post anything about the horrific mass shooting at Virginia Tech, a university in the United States. On the surface, the answer should have been an easy "no" — Blacksburg, Virginia, is nowhere near Shanghai. But news started to trickle in about the suspected killer: He was Asian, possibly Chinese. And then, yesterday morning, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed posted a......

Gunman kills 32 in Virginia Tech rampage "She said the gunman 'was just a normal-looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout-type outfit. He wore a tan button-up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something.'" Gunman may have been in U.S. on visa "The 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on Aug. 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai, the source said. Investigators have......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur, the......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

We just came across a report about foreign inmates in a Shanghai prison taking the HSK test, commonly known as the Chinese TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Many of Shanghai's foreign prisoners are kept in Qingpu, which has now become the first prison in Shanghai, and probably China, where the foreign inmates are allowed to take Chinese classes and then participate in the test. This time around, the inmates that took the......

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to......

With visions of sugar plum fairies dancing through their heads, the -Ists began to get into that holiday mood. Well, some did. Austinist wasn't as the NY Times dissed them and a local Tex-Mex institution sold out. Making them feel better was music, sweet music and the local theater getting name checked on "Heroes" Chicagoist tried to wrap their heads around a religious movie being banned from a Christmas themed park. To wash that down,......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor parking......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of Handmade......

Tomorrow marks the arrival of the Shanghai Creative Bazaar, which as dutifully reported in our local English-language rags, is a celebration of those brave souls who flout conventional wisdom and revel in offbeatedness. (Otherwise known as artisans.) Forty designers and 30 shops of handcrafted zaniness, y'all. We’d be amiss, however, if we didn’t mention that in addition to sartorial sizzle, there’s plenty of sizzling food to be had as well. The luncheon, which runs in......