Art And Culture In Vain?

"A fierce fire engulfed a major new building in Beijing that houses a luxury hotel and cultural center on Monday, the last day of celebrations for the lunar new year when the city was ablaze with fireworks.

The building was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and is part of China Central Television’s new headquarters, an angular wonder of modernist architecture that sits astride the city and was built to coincide with the Beijing Olympics last year."

Andrew Jacobs and Graham Bowley "Fire Engulfs Beijing Hotel Complex" New York Times February 9, 2009

Photo credit: (c) David Gray and Reuters. 2009. Copyright controlled.

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The U.S. Senate, during their consideration of the economic recovery bill, approved an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that stated “None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.”