great wall

An earlier reference to the Great Wall of China here.

Glory

I just bought this attractive Russian "Slava" brand wristwatch with Chinese mechanism for $15 on eBay.

Given recent Russian atrocities in Georgia and ongoing Chinese offenses in Tibet and Darfur [about which Richard Just writes here], what am I enabling? 

When I bought the watch, I was motivated by the fact that the cyrillic alphabet was not invented by Russians but by Bulgarians and that Chinese culture extends back 5000 years.

NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony garnered 34 million television viewers; attendees included American President Bush, Russian Prime Minister Putin and French President Sarkozy among others. 

Great Wall Of China

LOS ANGELES [July 11, 2005]- Skateboarder Danny Way rolled down a massive ramp at nearly 50 mph and jumped across the Great Wall of China on Saturday, becoming the first person to clear the wall without motorized aid.
Way botched the landing on his first attempt but then successfully completed the jump across the 61-foot gap four times, adding 360 degree spins on his last three tries, according to sponsor Quiksilver Inc.
“I was aware of the dangers and my heart was pumping in my chest the whole time, but I managed to pull it off with the help of my team, and I’m honored to have my visions embraced by the people of China,” Way said in a statement.
Several thousand people, including China’s ministers of extreme sports and culture, gathered at the Ju Yong Guan Gate, about a 40-minute drive from Beijing.
Way made the jump on an adaptation of the so-called mega ramp, a gigantic structure that he helped create near his home in the Southern California desert.