The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who apparently is known more for having a sharp tongue than a silver tongue, was recently in China and said this:

"People in the West have the wrong impression of China. They think it is all police and soldiers and control, but in Beijing pedestrians didn't even get out of the way of the VIP cars."

Astute observation Ken. Well said.

If you'd like to read the full article, in which Mayor Livingstone says some pretty outlandish, but also some pretty coherent things about China, follow this link http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1754791,00.html?gusrc=rss

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/newspoint