March 24, 2008
WE KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT; WILL WE DO IT?:
Chinese intellectuals condemn Tibet crackdown (Howard W. French, March 24, 2008, IHT)
A group of prominent Chinese intellectuals has circulated a petition urging the government to stop what it calls a "one-sided" propaganda campaign on Tibet and initiate dialogue with the Dalai Lama.The petition, signed by more than two dozen writers, journalists and scholars, contains 12 recommendations. Taken together, they represent a sharp break from the government's response to the wave of demonstrations that swept Tibetan areas of the country in recent weeks.
Most of the signers are Han Chinese, China's dominant ethnic group.
Their petition accused the government of "fanning racial hatred" in China by blaming ethnic Tibetans for the violence and seeking to inflame passions among the Han to support the crackdown.
If the Olympics were being held in Zimbabwe ... (Andrew Bartlett, 25 March 2008, Online Opinion)
The Chinese government’s oppression and suppression of its own people extends to much more than its actions in Tibet. There are more executions carried out in China than every other country combined, with the organs of executed people sometimes used in transplants. The use of torture and forced labour - often after seriously flawed judicial processes - is also well documented. Constraints on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of belief and freedom of information are severe. Human rights and pro-democracy activists, Uighurs and especially Falun Gong practitioners are subjected to serious persecution.Posted by Orrin Judd at March 24, 2008 8:49 PMI fully recognise that boycotting the Beijing Olympics will not stop all the human rights abuses of the Chinese government. I know that a boycott is a blunt and very imperfect instrument and is in many ways extremely unfair on athletes who have often made enormous personal sacrifices. I also recognise the view expressed by the Dalai Lama not supporting a boycott of the Games and suggesting it would unfairly affect ordinary Chinese citizens who do not engage in human rights abuse. But I can’t stop thinking that the Beijing Olympics presents a very rare opportunity for the people of the world to send a message that is so strong that even an enormously powerful government like the Chinese regime will be unable to ignore it or dismiss it. I am sure most Chinese people would choose freedom and human rights over the Olympic Games.
Bush the Manchurian candidate has deliberately laid the country low.
Bush delivered a one two punch. First he sold out our energy
independence to Saudi Arabia. Second he got us in to a protracted
and costly and needless war which necessitated our selling debt
to China. On top of all tha Bush created the largest entitlement
program in history. He has been pissing away our money, our
freedoms and our sovereignty. Even though we were attacked
on Sept 11th by Saudis, Osama is Saudi, and the homicide bombers
in Iraq are Saudis, Bush's only response is to get on his
knees and beg the Saudi princes to have mercy. And now that
China is brutalizing Tibet, Bush who was so quick to
criticize a worthless dictator in Iraq and begin a war
over things such has Hussein's civil right record, is
scared crapless to say "boo" to China. Why? Well the
fall of Bear Stearn nearly toppled the economy. If we threatened
to boycott the Olympics over Tibet, China could threaten to
call in all their markers on our debt. There would
literally be a run on the bank as other nations followed the
Chinese lead, and we would have the great depression. In
my personal opinion Bush and Cheney can assert Mission
Accomplished in two areas. One: their oil and corporate
buddies have record profits. Two: the foreign masters
who have purchased Bush and Cheney's souls have the US on the brink
of ruin. Heckuva job Dubya. In my opinion.
So the evil plutocratic conspiracy wants a Depression? You're peggin' the incoherent meter there, pal.
Posted by: oj at March 25, 2008 11:19 AM