That is one question the International Olympic Committee might want to ponder before July 12, when it is to decide which of five cities - Osaka, Paris, Toronto, Beijing, or Istanbul - will host the 2008 Games.

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Earlier this week, RIM said it fired two employees who a Canadian court fined the week before for disrupting a Toronto-to-Beijing flight, causing it to turn around after hours in the air and return to Canada.

WSJ: RIM Drops BBX Name After Copyright Spat

Beijing is tipped as a front-runner, though so are Paris and Toronto.

ECONOMIST: The Olympics

Coming ahead of the Toronto G-20 meeting this was excellent timing from Beijing, and will allow a positive mood to emerge from that meeting.

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Although SARS occurred a decade ago, an inordinate number of people and businesses declined comment for this article -- including all four international airports in the SARS hub cities of Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Toronto.

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