Another proud moment in modern Olympic history. The pro-screw-human-rights protesters refuse to give in to anyone who dares question the heavy use of violence by the Beijing government. These protesters really need to look back at the American footage of the Freedom Fries campaign so they can take this to the next level. Just as Republicans told the lapdog media about the cozy conditions on a Caribbean island (Gitmo) with great meals, if the pro-Beijing supports want people to really buy their story - and they will, just as Americans did with Iraq - it's high time they explain how much better the Tibetan people are under Beijing rule.
After all, this is the new China where ancient cultures are meant to go away so people can worship at the alter of hyper-capitalism and feed the party. So a few million people are left behind, sheesh, what do they want? No matter what you do there will always be a few complainers, right? Just give them a solid beating and keep the Olympic flame moving. Human rights are sooooo overrated.
Great news. Gambling on the long term future of Robert Mugabe is a losing bet. China already is unpopular in Zimbabwe due to previous arms shipments so if they want anything to do with the new government, this was a smart move.
"The Chinese company has already decided to send the military goods back to China in the same vessel, the An Yue Jiang," said the spokeswoman, Jiang Yu.
China's decision will be welcomed as a victory by the dockworkers, trade unionists, religious leaders, western diplomats and human rights workers who have been campaigning since last week to block delivery of the weaponry to Zimbabwe – weaponry they said could be used to carry out an even more lethal crackdown on Zimbabwe's political opposition, which is allied with that country's unionized workers.
China's strategic retreat in delivering the weapons also allows it to avoid further inflaming yet another protest over its human rights record before it hosts the Olympic Games this summer.
Nothing says Olympic spirit quite like threats of violence. But of course, this is the Beijing Olympics that we're talking about and the rules have changed a bit different this time. Criticism is not allowed but blind approval will be gladly accepted if not encouraged.
Nepal has given its security personnel permission to shoot pro-Tibet demonstrators during China's Olympic flame climb to Mount Everest's summit early next month.
"About 25 soldiers and policemen have established camps on the mountain and they have been ordered to use force if necessary to stop any anti-Chinese activities," Mod Raj Dotel, spokesman for the home ministry, said Sunday. "This could mean shooting if necessary."
Nothing captures the Olympic spirit like controlling the press. Fortunately the American media is familiar with this routine, having given up their authority and independence to the Bush administration after 9/11 so this will be an easy process for them. Nobody, but nobody can provide government boot-licking like the US media. I'm smelling a few touching human interest stories about Hu Jintao and his love of puppy dogs and injured kittens. There is no low low enough for the American media when money is involved. Hooray for freedom and democracy! Hooray for GE, Nike and Coke!
Can yellow ribbons, lapel pins with the red flag and freedom fries be far away? While China and some in the West complain about unfair anti-China sentiment they always overlook the human rights issue and say "well what about the US and human rights?" Sure, it's an issue and yes, they ought to take notice that many Americans were and continue to be outspoken against US human rights abuses. They might also take note that when the US invaded Iraq and Bush's approval rating was still high, the rest of the world all criticized the US and rightly so. Was the world wrong to criticize the US? Absolutely.
Going back in history, British factory workers refused to work with American cotton from the south because they felt a moral obligation to rid the world of slavery. The issue of slavery was indeed an "internal issue" as China says of Tibet but it was also a moral issue for the world. During the apartheid years, the rest of the world viewed apartheid as morally repugnant and led boycotts against the former regime. Again, according to China that was an internal issue. The communist regime in Beijing needs to catch up with the rest of the world and show some flexibility if they want to be taken seriously. It's no skin off of my back if business abandons China and it's likely many Western businesses are looking at Plan B at the moment so go ahead and protest. Burn down more foreign businsses and attack more Western countries. Good luck with that strategy and let us know how it works out.
Oh the Olympic spirit! Nothing says 'Olympic spirit' quite like a massive new arsenal of guns and ammo for a dictator to repress a nation who just voted him out. All of the critics of communist China should just understand that Robert Mugabe has the full authority to kill and torture anyone and everyone because it's an internal matter and has nothing to do whatsoever with human rights or the world community. The world should ignore such violations and mind their own business. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Thabo Mbeki is also doing the right thing by allowing safe passage of weapons because after all, the papers are all in order. That's fair, right?
A Chinese cargo ship believed to be carrying 77 tonnes of small arms, including more than 3m rounds of ammunition, AK47 assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, has docked in the South African port of Durban for transportation of the weapons to Zimbabwe, the South African government confirmed yesterday. It claimed it was powerless to intervene as long as the ship's papers were in order.
Why do the protesters hate human rights violations? Another proud moment in Olympic history.
Demonstrators lit their own torch at the spot where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian pacifist, are buried, and they planned to mount a parallel, peaceful torch relay through the city's streets. Delhi police had granted permission for the protest but had warned that they would extinguish any torches being carried by protesters.
The communist regime is a bunch of absolute phonies but why stop now? They've been getting away with this for years and have everyone shaking in the boots, afraid of angering their discount business partners. Let China go ahead and cancel all of the European and US TV contracts for the Olympics and see how much money they make. Isn't it obvious that the Olympics mean much more to China than to others countries. (Nike, GE and Coke are another story.) Go ahead and cancel the whole thing. We'll survive.
CNN and other foreign satellite broadcasts can be seen only in hotels, offices and housing developments open to foreigners, meaning very few Chinese would have heard Cafferty's original comments.
Censors also block many foreign news sites on the Internet, pointing to an underlying irony of the ongoing protests — that they profess outrage over foreign media reports that their government does not permit them to view.
The entirely state-controlled media has joined in the vilification campaign, with the criticisms of CNN featuring prominently in Thursday's newspapers and TV shows.
How original. Oh no, France failed to protect the sacred flame of Nike, IBM, GE and Coke. Damn you French! Damn you! Oh the humanity!
Chinese internet blogs and chat-rooms are full of calls for a boycott of French goods and contracts since the raucous protests which forced the Olympic torch off the streets of Paris last Monday.
French businessmen in China say that they are worried by apparently spontaneous signs of anti-French feeling but say that there is no sign, so far, of any official willingness to "punish" Paris.
How about another series of violent street riots just like the government tolerated (if not more) against the Japanese a few years ago. Please riot against the rest of the world so everyone can re-think and re-locate manufacturing to another location. Heaven forbid. How will the west ever survive?
Playing to the home crowd and annoying the rest of the world. Hey, it worked for Bush a few years ago when he had most Americans believing Saddam was ready to attack the US at any minute. Of course, times have changed and that approach failed the test of time even with the US public who eventually woke up. Hu and his government have a major PR catastrophe with the rest of the world but instead of addressing that, they just keep telling everyone else to go to hell.
China has done an impressive job in recent years of growing their economy but the reality is that the average income in China is still only a few thousand dollars per year so they have a long way to go before they have a middle class on par with the west. If China wants to remain an insular country, great, go that route. With that approach they can watch all of the growth decline and the communist regime can have it's own little world to rule. If they want to be part of the global community, they are going to have to adjust and open up. Whining every day about how mean everyone else is when they're the ones busting heads is hardly a winning approach. If their goal is to scare aware investment, they should continue their current approach. When that happens and the money train ends, this regime will really be clinging on for dear life.
If only China was a small country that had oil, then Bush would be at the front of the line to pick a fight. What a complete fraud. Bush and the GOP are always up for big talk, telling people about freedom and democracy, but as soon as they face someone other than a 98 pound weakling they go running for the hills. Bush brings a whole new meaning to "shock and awe."
I'm sure the Japanese people were pretty outraged a couple of years ago when there were anti-Japanese riots in China that somehow (gosh, I wonder how?) were tolerated by the usually strict government. I'm also pretty sure that the people of Tibet are outraged that the communist government in Beijing doesn't respect human rights or cultural heritage. China has repeatedly criticized the US for it's bad policy and that's fine, that's how the game works. The government is in desperate need to figure out the whole global politics game because at the moment, they are failing miserably and only infuriating the rest of the world.
Is the communist government really that naive to think they will find sympathy for cracking heads and killing people? Do they know so little about their existing perception in western countries where manufacturing jobs have disappeared and moved to China? Really? Seriously? Someone please educate that government because real or not, people already perceived China to be a threat to their jobs and future, even before the recession. Instead of looking like an important world player, they just look silly and it's getting worse by the day. Save the outrage for people who care because that stops at the border.
What if China was to throw a party and the only people to show up were the 'Sacred Flame Protection Police', also known as street thugs with a badge? It's a great strategy to help show the world the 'new' China though it does suggest the communications team might need to be modernized. You can put a nice blue track suit on a hooligan but they're still a hooligan underneath.
But don't call it a boycott because then the communist government that gladly provides the world with cheap stuff might get angry and we would never want that. Only China can criticize other countries but we're not allowed to criticize them or else they will force western countries to go elsewhere to find cheap labor orchestrated by a wealthy dictatorship. S
o when did this big tradition of world leaders attending the Olympics actually start? I don't recall them tripping over each other to attend in the past but then again, the Olympics stopped being interesting to me when it became all about the corporate sponsorships and the doping and the every two years. Have this many presidents and prime ministers always attended?
This is the official emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. In addition to being murderous thugs, the Chinese government is also rather stupid. Take a good look at that logo, then at this video, and tell me that this wasn't obvious.
As thousands of pro-Tibet protesters cut short the Olympic torch relay Monday in Paris, a new Zogby Interactive poll finds 70% of likely voters believe the International Olympic Committee was wrong to award this year’s summer Olympic Games to China because of its poor record on human rights. Dissatisfaction with the IOC’s choice is strong across the political spectrum, with 70% of Democrats and Republicans, and 68% of political independents who said they disagree with the decision to have China host the summer games. A Zogby Interactive poll conducted in May 2007 found 44% had a favorable opinion of the IOC’s decision to award the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to China, while 39% viewed the decision unfavorably.
Good for them (or as they say in French, "chapeau!"):
Paris' Olympic torch relay descended into chaos Monday, with protesters scaling the Eiffel Tower, grabbing for the flame and forcing security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators yelling "Free Tibet!"
The relentless anti-Chinese demonstrations ignited across the capital with unexpected power and ingenuity, foiling 3,000 police officers deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and even inline skates.
Chinese organizers finally gave up on the relay, canceling the last third of what China had hoped would be a joyous jog by torch-bearing VIPs past some of Paris' most famous landmarks.
