Throughout the Olympics, there will be Beijing broadcasts not just of "The Today Show, " but "NBC Nightly News" and "Meet the Press, " as well.

NPR: Olympics Put NBC News In Difficult Position

In China, one of the most spirited today is Beijing versus Shanghai.

FORBES: Beijing's Latest Pollution Woes Underscore Shanghai's Enduring Appeal

Yet people see no shortage of reasons to demand better: Beijing spends more today on domestic security, protecting the state from a daily parade of public grievances and unrest, than it does on foreign defense.

NEWYORKER: Boss Rail

More due diligence might have included a review of the close journalistic coverage over the years of Al Jazeera's Arabic and English broadcasts, which discloses the unsurprising fact that the network reflects the interests of the government that runs it making it akin to Vladimir Putin's Russia Today and Beijing's Xinhua.

WSJ: Crovitz: Inconvenient Truths About Al Jazeera

Now the situation has a new wrinkle: the Chinese language publication Beijing Business Today is reporting that Qihoo has launched a version of its So.com search engine optimized for mobile device, according to the Marbridge Daily newsletter.

FORBES: Qihoo Reportedly Launches Mobile Search; Baidu Slides

Rather as today's organisers are fending off references to the splendour of Beijing, their predecessors faced comparisons with the ugly ostentation of Berlin in 1936 and the glamour of Los Angeles in 1932.

ECONOMIST: Echoes and lessons of London��s previous Olympic games

Today, Beijing actively intervenes in its market so that the renminbi hits a target in the middle of a tight band, and it does so to give an advantage to its exporters.

FORBES: Magazine Article