Former first lady and junior Senator from the great state of New York Hillary Clinton has officially entered the 2008 presidential race. Saturday, in a video on her website, Hillary told the American people, “I’m not just starting a campaign, though, I’m beginning a conversation with you, with America.” And the Hillary faithful screamed back at their computers, “Go ahead girl!” In launching a presidential exploration committee, Hillary has made her first real move toward running for president. And in doing so, Clinton represents the best chance in history for a female President of the United States. The AP calls Hillary “the most credible female candidate ever.” And while this is probably true, it is somewhat of a sad statement about the state of women in politics. Hillary is an intelligent and savvy politician with a knowledge of the presidency that far exceeds that of any other candidate. But she’s only served one six-year term in a position of any significant political importance. And I heard George Clooney say he likes Obama. However, as we learned from the 2000 Bush election, and our forefathers learned in the 1824 election of John Quincy Adams, when it comes to a presidential bid, a name goes a long way. And names might be all that matter in the 2008 Democratic primary. For instance, Bill Richardson, who formally announced his candidacy Sunday, has a Mexican mother and Nicaraguan father, but for some reason, has the name Richardson. Will his name cause voters to view him as disingenuous? Illinois Senator and Hillary’s most formidable opponent Barack Obama has the middle name Hussein. While for a U.S. candidate, this is unfortunate, will it be enough to cost him votes? Then there’s Hillary’s name, Clinton, a name Americans associate with power, a strong economy and getting blown at work. And finally, two candidates with the quintessential American names– John, as in Edwards or Q. Public, and Joe as in Biden or Average. In the 2008 Democratic primary, it won’t be about race like most people think. Because I’m not sure America cares whether the president is a woman, an African-American or a Latino with a non-Latino name. In 2008, names will be the name of the game.

•AP: ‘I’m In, and I’m in to Win’

Friday, McDonald’s opened its first drive-thru restaurant in Beijing as part of a deal with Sinopec, China’s largest operator of gas stations in China. While there are already 15 drive-thru McDonald’s restaurants in Shanghai and south China, the new Beijing outlet will be the first in which drivers can fill up on both gasoline and gassy food. The opening is part of a large-scale initiative by the Illinois-based fast food giant that will bring 30 new gas station drive-thrus to China in 2007. With thousands of cars added to China’s roads everyday, McDonald’s is betting that more Chinese drivers needing gas will translate into more burgers sold at the drive-thru windows. McDonald’s China CEO Jeffrey Schwartz said of the venture, “It’s huge. It’s a real priority for the global company because of the potential growth in China. We think drive-thrus are a big part of this.” Though McDonalds is the world’s largest restaurant chain, in China, Colonel Sanders, not Ronald McDonald, is the fast food king. KFC operates over 1,600 restaurants while McDonald’s has only 762. McDonald’s is hoping that drive-thrus at China’s gas stations will help the restaurant chain grow in the world’s most populated nation. Now that there’s Mickey D’s drive-thru, I have to start thinking about getting a car.

•AP: McD’s Preps for China Drive-Thru Boom

Clint Eastwood’s new movie, “Letters from Iwo Jima” has been widely considered by critics to be one of the best films of 2006. The film took home the award for best foreign film at this week’s Golden Globes and was named Best Film of 2006 by both Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. For a film that has yet to have its wide release in the U.S., there sure is a lot of buzz surrounding it. In his film, Eastwood tells the story of the of the invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II from the viewpoint of the Japanese using all Japanese actors speaking mostly Japanese. The film was released in Japan on December 9th and for limited release in the U.S. on December 20th, in order to be eligible for Oscars consideration.

So why am I telling you all of this? I don’t usually tout movies I haven’t seen and I don’t even like Clint Eastwood-directed movies with the exception of “Unforgiven.” That movie’s sweet. Most of the time, I find Eastwood movies to be melodramatic and kind of dumb. I’m willing to give this one a chance. But what is interesting to me about this film are those characters on the movie poster above. A blogger named Tian wrote Wednesday about the meaning of the characters in Chinese. I have also confirmed Tian’s definition from two different Chinese people I know. While the writing is in Japanese, the first three characters and the last two are Chinese characters (many of Japan’s characters are derived from Chinese language). The three characters in the middle are Japanese hiragana. In Japanese, the title means “Letters from Iwo Jima.” No problem there. However, if a Chinese person were to see the movie poster, he or she would read the title as “The Toilet Paper from Sulfur Island.” Both Chinese people to whom I showed the poster giggled and covered their mouths. And one of them was a dude. As Tian points out, before the film is released in China, they better fix this ad. Or else the Chinese might think this film is something to wipe their ass with.

•What Tian Has Learned: Toilet Paper From Sulfur Island

Welcome to the future. The international community has voiced its disapproval of China’s January 11th anti-satellite test in which the Chinese military fired a ballistic missile into an old Chinese weather satellite 537 miles above the earth. The satellite destroyed by the missile broke into 40,000 fragments, half of which are expected to orbit in space for more than a decade. Space debris has been proven to hinder all types of satellite communication. While Canada and Australia were the first nations to say, “Hey China, what are you doin’?” the U.S. National Security spokesperson said Thursday, “the U.S. believes China’s development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area. We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.” According to a MSNBC article Thursday, Britain, Japan and South Korea are expected to issue statements this week denouncing the test. Could we be headed for space warfare? Aviation Week and Space Technology was the first to break the story of the anti-satellite test. The journal reported that on January 11th at approximately 5:28 p.m. EST, the Chinese Feng Yun 1C (FY-1C) polar orbit weather satellite launched in 1999 was pulverized by an asat system launched from or near the Xichang Space Center in China’s Sichuan province. The emerging Chinese space program and capabilities have worried the world for years now, prompting U.S. President George Bush to initiate the first new U.S. space policy in ten years. As Aviation Week points out, the test demonstrates to the world that China now has the ability to disrupt the communication satellites and imaging reconnaissance satellites operated by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Israel and Western Europe. While the West has yet to confirm any details of China’s test, last week’s anti-satellite test will surely force space-enabled nations to arm themselves for what could be the world’s first international space war.

•MSNBC: Chinese Anti-Satellite Test Sparks Concern
•Aviation Week & Space Technology: Chinese Test Anti-Satellite Weapon

Jerry Seinfeld was forced to fork over $100,000 that he had refused to pay a real estate broker in the sale of a Manhattan town house. Jerry’s wife Jessica first visited the house with broker Tamara Cohen, a religious Jew who observes the Sabbath. When Jerry wanted to see the house, he called Cohen on a Saturday while the broker was home with her cell phone powered off enjoying her day of rest. The comedian then had the property owner show him the house and negotiated the sale directly with the owner. As reported by E!, since Cohen was unavailable “to show him the premises when he wanted to see it,” Jerry felt Cohen was not deserving of her commission or as E! put it, “check-worthy.” You’re so clever E! The Seinfelds denied any knowledge of Cohen’s religious observances, while Cohen claimed in court that she made it clear to the couple that like Walter Sobchak, she doesn’t roll on Shabbas. Earlier this month a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of Cohen saying that the Seinfelds were contractually obligated to pay her the commission. The Seinfelds moved into the Upper East Side $3.95 million townhouse two years ago. Jerry, a Jew himself , should know better than to try and cheat one of his own out of money.

•E!: Master of a More Expensive Domain

This place just gets better and better. This week, the Massachusetts-based donut chain Dunkin’ Donuts will open up shop in Taiwan as part of a large-scale entrance into the China market. As reported in a Wall Street Journal article Wednesday, which I can’t link to because they make you subscribe, Dunkin’ Donuts plans to open stores in all of China’s major cities within the next six months. I sincerely hope this means Shanghai. While in the U.S., Dunkin’ Donuts is all about the fresh donut and the coffee that’s always better than expected, in China, the menu will be tailored to the Chinese palate. Meaning tea drinks and strange Chinese donut varieties. Not glazed shrimp donuts or anything. For instance, instead of the apple ‘n’ spice or chocolate glazed, the Chinese stores will have pineapple, sweet potato and green tea flavors. Listen, as long as they have Boston Kreme and the jelly, I couldn’t care less what else they have. While the company didn’t specify as to how many chains would be opening in China, Dunkin’ Donuts CEO Jon Luther said the number would be “significant.” The more the merrier. I love this place. Always have. It’s a brand that has never changed its logo and a store that singlehandedly changed the way the world spells the word “doughnut.” And I love Fred the Baker. Although, I always thought that if he took his hat off, he would have a bit of a Hitler thing going on. As Dunkin’ Donuts moves into China, I’ll take this opportunity to say that this store is and always has been the preeminent donut chain. I said this even when everyone was crazy for Krispy Kreme for about a minute. As Fred the Baker went to donut heaven in 2005, he will not be able tell the Chinese that it’s “time to make the donuts.”

•People’s Daily: U.S. Dunkin’ Begins New Push Into China

Chinese basketball isn’t known so much for its flash and flare. The NBA fan pays for a ticket looking to see the trash-talking, the behind-the-back passes and above all, the dunks. The CBA fan goes to the games for…well…actually the Chinese don’t really go to the games. And while it’s been discussed by Chinese sportswriters and CBA fans that the game would be more popular in China if it had more of the NBA grit, the CBA has actively protected its game from the fights, the talk and the overall showiness of the NBA.
One aspect of the game that once was viewed as garish and gratuitous in the NBA is dunking. So much so that some coaches used to insist their players lay the ball in rather than jam. While obviously, the attitude towards dunking has changed and the dunk has become as much a part of the NBA game as, say, the bounce pass, in China, dunking is still somewhat of a treat. Though when you do see a dunk in Chinese basketball, it’s never a Baron Davis 360 or a Patrick Ewing reverse. It’s always the same understated two-hand jam that you see in the photo above.
With the inclusion of American players in the CBA and greater TV exposure to the NBA, dunking has become a bigger part of the Chinese game as well. Last week, Yao Ming’s longstanding CBA single-season dunk record by a Chinese player was broken by 19-year-old Guangdong Tiger Yi Jianlian. Two weeks ago, Yi threw down his 303rd dunk, one more than Yao’s previous record of 302. While the CBA does, in fact, track dunks as an official statistical category, the league has yet to recognize its new most prolific dunker. Yi, as of Thursday, has 314 dunks.
The broken record was announced this week by Sina.com, a Chinese site with, what AFP calls, “the best basketball coverage in China.” I wouldn’t know, it’s all in Chinese. Yi averages 24.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game and is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2007 NBA draft. If you haven’t heard of Yi Jianlian yet, you soon will. The 7-footer was dubbed “The Next Yao Ming” by TIME Magazine in 2003 and in China, is often compared to Kevin Garnett.
While Yi Jianlian claims to be 19 years old, the Houton Chronicle broke a story during the FIBA World Championship tournament in Japan that before a game against the U.S., Yi told NBA player Shane Battier that he was 24 years old. Yi later denied this, but China has a history of concealing the true age of its athletes. Whatever his age, Yi has dunked his way into Chinese basketball history and when he reaches the NBA, he will surely give Bill Walton reason to shout, “throw it down big man.”

•AFP: Yi Slams Yao’s China Dunk Record

I try to write about Canada as little as humanly possible. But today, I have good reason to. In Toronto, for the last year, the all-girl Pillow Fight League, which is like the WWF crossed with a slumber party, has become a big draw. The concept is very simple. Girls take on different personas and engage in unsimulated pillow fighting in front of large crowds. The league, created by musician Stacey Case, was conceived of when a pillow fight broke out at one of his concerts. The PFL features 22 fighters including Lynn Somnia, who comes to the ring in her sleep deprivation gown, Betty Clock’er who brings a plates of cookies to the ring with her and Boozy Suzie, a raging alcoholic. Unlike the WWF, all the action inside the ring is real. The girls are actually getting pummeled with pillows. According to a Reuters story Tuesday, the PFL has become so popular in Toronto, that the league is expanding to New York City. Stacey Case is also getting offers to televize the PFL and he’s even turned down a few because he didn’t feel they would capture the league’s commitment to Toronto’s art community. Art community? This is pillow fighting, guy, not the opera. I think I may have to check this out in New York.

•Reuters: No Softies in Canada’s PFL

Just my luck. The day I was going to unveil the new logo for Flumesday (pictured right), this has to happen. The legal affairs department for the Olympic Organizing Committee announced Tuesday that any “mischievous parody” of the Olympic emblem is subject to legal action. Like we’re in America or something. I know what you’re thinking. That my new logo is a total copy of the Beijing Olympic logo. And while I admit they do look similar, there are some major differences. First, there is no mention of “Beijing 2008″ in my new logo, only Flumesday.com. Second, in the Olympic logo, the stick figure is dancing. In my new logo, he’s power-walking. And those circles on the bottom aren’t Olympic rings at all, they are colored rubber bands like the ones people used to have on their braces. I tried to explain all of this to my “lawyer,” but he didn’t budge. So whatever, I won’t be using it. The world’s loss. And it’s all because of, what the China Daily calls, some “mischievous netizens” who altered the image to make men’s and women’s bathroom signs. I call that creative. But the Committee calls it copyright infringement. An officer for the Committee’s legal affairs team called such recreation of the logo “highly improper” and “a desecration of the Olympic spirit.” As someone who takes the Olympic spirit very seriously, I have decided to let this one go.

•China Daily: Infringers on Olympic Emblem Should Bear Legal Liability

A day after Martin Scorcese won the award for best director at the Golden Globes, the Chinese government ruled that his film, “The Departed” is not suitable for domestic cinematic release. A source close to the censorship police told Reuters Wednesday that “there is no chance ‘The Departed’ will be shown in mainland cinemas because the U.S. side declined to change a plot line describing how Beijing wanted to buy advanced military computer hardware.” For those who have seen “The Departed,” the role of China in the film is quite forgettable. Though to Chinese censors, the same group who banned “Mission Impossible 3″ because it failed to portray China’s modern architecture, the mere mention of China’s militarism was enough to push the censor button. According to the Reuters source, “That part of the plot is definitely unnecessary. The regulators just cannot understand why the movie wanted to involve China. They can talk about Iran or Iraq or whatever, but there’s no reason to get China in.” The film is a remake of a famous Hong Kong thriller called “Infernal Affairs” and the film’s Chinese distributor felt the movie would do well on the mainland. One has to remember though, for every movie theater in China that would have played “The Departed” there are about 1,000 DVD stores selling a high-quality pirated version. And while I’m not admitting to buying pirated movies, let’s just say I live in China and I loved the film.

•Reuters: China Blocks Entry to Scorcese’s ‘Departed’