DL on Sofitel:

+ Sofitel may fit the high-end ambience of a romantic anniversary

+ Sofitel's western buffet has one of the most spectacular 360 degrees view of the entire city. (book the window tables facing Dianchi Lake, or Western "XiShan" Mountains for sunsets), though the view is obscured by window reflections after dusk.

+ 3 delicious selections of sauces for the crustacean crab legs/lobsters

+ Yummy and well-presented pastries, with New Zealand ice creams like Wyndham.

+ Masonry brick oven thin crust pizza.

+ Grilled to order cod, with a dab of lemon was sublime.

+ Lots of cheese and salamis in closed, low-humidity wine room.

- Expensive, 308rmb (same as Intercontinental I believe)

- Arrive early when dinner starts at 17:30 to pile up on the seafood as they are quickly ravaged after 6pm, but staffs are slow to refill the communal plates when emptied.

- The juice bar male attendant had a attitude problem (both times), many of the fruits on display are for adornments, not for blending.

- Attitudes of restaurant chefs/assistance need improving.

One need not be an English teacher to read the title of the NYT article:

"Commerce Secretary’s Offshore Ties to Putin ‘Cronies’

Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, retained investments in a shipping firm with business ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle."

And to your point Geezer, let us quote the first two paragraphs to minimize any quote mining scenarios:

"After becoming commerce secretary, Wilbur L. Ross Jr. retained investments in a shipping firm he once controlled that has significant business ties to a Russian oligarch subject to American sanctions and President Vladimir V. Putin’s son-in-law, according to newly disclosed documents.

The shipper, Navigator Holdings, earns millions of dollars a year transporting gas for one of its top clients, a giant Russian energy company called Sibur, whose owners include the oligarch and Mr. Putin’s family member. Despite selling off numerous other holdings to join the Trump administration and spearhead its “America first” trade policy, Mr. Ross kept an investment in Navigator, which increased its business dealings with Sibur even as the West sought to punish Russia’s energy sector over Mr. Putin’s incursions into Ukraine."

7. Or perhaps Todd just lacked the Russian ties required for Trump's DOC's secretary position...

"Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, retained investments in a shipping firm with business ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s inner circle."

www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/world/wilbur-ross-russia.html

That's American quid pro quo politics for you.

1. Ricketts donates 6M to anti-Trump super PAC.

2. Gets threatened by Trump.

3. About-face, Ricketts donates 15M to pro-Trump super PAC.

4. Son Tod Rickets gets nominated by then President-Elect Donald Trump to be the US Deputy Secretary of Commerce.

Shanghaiist blog has just been shut down!

From Telegraph.co.uk:

Expats in China have been mourning the loss of a popular offbeat news website and blog which was abruptly taken offline by its US parent company.

Shanghaiist, which was set up 12 years ago, was closed by New York-based Gothamist network, along with a string of websites which carry out street-level reporting in major cities across the world.

The decision came after reporters and editors in the combined Gothamist and DNAinfo newsroom in New York opted to unionize.

The company said that there were a range of factors which had caused it to “discontinue publishing”, while chief executive officer Joe Rickets blamed the general business environment.

“DNAinfo is, at the end of the day, a business, and businesses need to be economically successful if they are to endure,” he said in a statement that has been posted at the Shanghaiist’s web address.

Just realized the shuttering of DNAInfo also means the end of @shanghaiist, easily one of the best resources for China news & information

— Connor Sheets (@ConnorASheets) November 2, 2017

Mr Rickets also said that the company’s websites have 15 million visits each month by over nine million people.

Shanghaiist has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter. It also reportedly has four million views per month and more than five million fans on Facebook.

News of the website's demise prompted an outpouring of sorrow on social media.

We’d like to warmly welcome @shanghaiist to our sad club. It was the granddaddy of all #China blogs. Sad to see it go.

— The Nanfang (@thenanfang) November 3, 2017

Dan Washburn, who set up the website in 2005, said in a Twitter message: “In an instant, a huge, important, chunk of my life gone, vanished, erased. And what for? Heartbreaking.”

A former worker said: “When I worked at Shanghaiist, I assumed I'd eventually push it too far and taken offline or censored. Never imagined it would come from US.”

When I worked at Shanghaiist, I assumed I'd eventually push it too far and taken offline or censored. Never imagined it would come from US

— Erik Crouch (@erikcrouch) November 2, 2017

Fans of the website took to Facebook to express their sadness.

“The Shanghaiist isn't running anymore!!!!! This is so sad...I love reading this!!!! =(,” said one comment.

Another said: "Noo - we'll miss you! Really sad the site is down.”

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/[...]