Olympic tickets selling for $2,000

Politicians toying with the idea of boycotting the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games should think twice before calling to cancel.
Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel have already said they won't be at the opening night extravaganza, but if they had any sense they'd have politely accepted their tickets, flogged them on e-bay and made up a lame last-minute excuse. 'Ich bin washing my hair.'
Olympic tickets are offered online for $1,999 plus postage right now and such insanity will surely be heightened as the eighth of the eight, zero eight approaches.
While it's fun to laugh at eejits willing to part with such sickening sums, it makes me worry that as the camera pans across the crowd in the Bird's Nest stadium next August there won't be many Chinese faces.
The Chinese government ran a lottery system whereby some affordable tickets were allocated to locals, but anyone hoping to pick one up on the street can forget about it.
$2,000 is 14,000 Yuan - which is well in excess of the average Beijinger's salary.
The security guy who mans the security desk at my apartment building for 84 hours is paid 800 Yuan per month.
I can't wait to see his face when I give him the tickets...