The theme was One World One Dream. I got the “One World” part, that’s pretty straight forward. The part that’s still a little fuzzy is the “One Dream”. Exactly what was this dream, and who had it?  I've had a few dreams of my own. Allow me to list a few.

While the rest of the world was watching the global economy teeter on the brink of catastrophe, while more car bombs took the lives of innocent people, and while supermarkets spent the weekend clearing their shelves of anything that even rhymed with melamine, China’s media machine felt it was time for a ‘good news’ story.

Hugh J. puts together a handy list for visitors to Beijing:  Remember: It’s not smog - it’s ‘haze’. Despite the fact you may feel as though ten shot put competitors are standing on your chest at the same time, in Beijing, simply renaming something actually makes it so. In the case of smog, simply re-designating it ‘haze’ is said to actually change the chemical composition of the air. Don’t ask me how this works.

It’s time they started pulling their weight, or at least other people’s luggage up and down the stairs. Give them a mandatory daily quota of smokers whom they have to shame into butting out in no-smoking areas. And if that fails, the subway station toilets can always use a good scrub. Let’s face it. These clowns are never going to stop a real (or imaginary) terrorist threat. I’d be happy if they just stay out of my way.

The world's media has focused on the disaster area in Sichuan province. The Chinese public is desperate for news about the devastation and the story has even eclipsed the Myanmar disaster to become the lead item on most international newscasts, including CCTV International. Well, sort of. Credible news organizations instinctively lead with the latest video from the disaster areas.

The devastating earthquake in Sichuan is a classic example of the CCTV approach to covering such events. On a Monday evening newscast, the first couple of minutes of content did not actually provide any specifics of the catastrophe. By this point, the actual official death toll was around 8,000 and climbing, with thousands injured and an untold amount of damage done. But no one watching this particular newscast would get specific details about the massive scope of this emerging disaster till several minutes in.

Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was the booze and fatigue, but as we waited in line to check in at the Guangzhou airport, we started to muse and about this mysterious airline. We dubbed it "Crazy Mike's Discount Air" and we were soon imagining all kinds of ridiculous scenarios.

Credibility is something that takes a long time to earn, and, like trust, can be lost in an instant. But credibility, and having more of it than your adversary, comes in extremely handy in the court of public opinion. It can make the difference in swaying public opinion in your favor. The Dalai Lama, for instance, has for decades built up vast amounts of international credibility.