Filed under: disinfo reporting, economy | Tags: china, haiti, human rights, media, tibet, u.s. debt
As you know, I’m all about the disclaimers…
*Disclaimer* – I’m not for human rights abuses, I’m against the television doing the thinking for us…
I’ve been having a real hard time with the coverage on the Beijing Olympics lately. I realize that it’s a “hot topic” and everyone is entitled to the view that CNN has given them, but I can’t take it anymore…
Of course, we all know that the coverage of China’s human rights abuses are in heavy rotation, and it’s probably not much of a stretch to suggest that it may be timed to coincide with the upcoming Olympic games in Beijing.
My question is: why are we supposed to care so much right now? The Olympics really aren’t a great vehicle for registering your discontent with a nation’s policies…I mean…how committed to the Tibetans plight will the at-home-viewing-public be after Spielberg unleashes the opening ceremony?
Forgive me, I’m sure there are a ton of reasons to care, but perhaps I should ask: why do we care specifically about how China conducts its business? I’ve been getting e-mail forwards and petitions for months now and I’m wondering, why China? Why now? Haven’t we figured out yet that our economy absolutely requires the Chinese government to conduct business exactly the way it has been?
You can’t produce cheaper-than-dirt-consumer-products without abusing someone’s rights…
Plus…(and this, to me, is the 800-pound gorilla sitting in the corner)…are we really sure that we want to stand up to a super-power like China (that has the death penalty and uses collagen from the dead in cosmetics!!), when we can’t even stand-up to our own governments and get *them* to enact policies that *actually* reflect our needs and wishes??
Why is Elvis Stojko leading a protest againt “the regime” in China? He says that “something needs to change”, but falls short of saying what that could/should be. (It should be noted that Elvis didn’t have any difficulty supporting the games in Salt Lake City after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan…I guess in fairness, we hadn’t heard about western soldiers or private military contractors torturing and killing innocent civilians yet).
Pacified, yes…peaceful???….I’m not so sure about that…
I suppose the idea that I have the hardest time wrapping my head around is this idea of Canada as a peace-loving nation. We always refer to ourselves as peaceful. Yet we’re a nation at war.
What is it about China at this time in history that makes people want to wear the same t-shirt at the same time?
Let’s put the “Big” in Bigoted!!
I can’t help but think that the anti-China campaign smacks of good ol’ racism. Yeah, I said it…racism.
Yes, they live differently than us. Yes, they look different than us. They eat different food and they speak different languages. But why the f*** are we marching in the streets, giving loads of press to the torch relay and talking about boycotting the Olympics based on Human Rights? What has changed in the last year? What is it precisely that the Chinese can do that will help us live our lives better over here (yoo hoo!! Over heeeeeere!!)…in Canada (the northern most part of the North American Union).
Even if you personally feel some Tibetan pain and want to send a message to the Chinese government….what would you do? What can you really do? (best of luck with your shopping…)
I sure as hell don’t know…I’m not even sure that boycotting Chinese goods makes any decent economic sense…
Oh….right…they’re the unofficial new economic super power that needs to be reckoned with. That’s why the media taps have been opened wide with stories about lead in the toys and human rights abuses against a group of people you don’t know anything about (Falun Gong…I’m heading right over to Wikipedia once I’ve finished posting…that’ll give me a reliable sense of what’s really happening…) and they’re all getting cars and wanting to get their hands on our oil. Chinese fuckers…..(sorry….I got whipped up in the anti-Chinese sentiment…)
“Hi, I’m the pot…you must be the kettle…”
It’s a wee bit of a double-standard, wouldn’t you agree?
The Dalai Lama himself has said that he supports the games. Of course, he doesn’t support the suppression of his people, but he’s not calling for a boycott of the games. He’s been dealing with this issue for his entire life. He’s doing well on the public relations front. I don’t personally know anyone who could describe the actual function of the Dalai Lama to me, (wikipedia….once I hit “post”, I’m telling you…), but he’s probably closer to Buddha than any of us, and that’s a good thing….(I’m assuming…)…
The Dalai Lama, by the way, was mentored by a former Nazi. This isn’t some kind of litigious statement, it’s a fact. I’m not saying that the Dalai Lama himself is a Nazi (he’s not, he’s Buddhist…which is the polar opposite of what Nazism is….at least the way I understand it…), but doesn’t it make you wonder why this fact doesn’t get any airplay, yet we’re paranoid about kids putting a Chinese-made toy in their mouth? (BTW, don’t buy anything anywhere if you’re afraid of Chinese-made goods).
I’m really not suggesting anything (don’t shoot the messenger if you hadn’t heard about the Dalai Lama’s mentor…played by Brad Pitt in the movie no less), but….I dunno….the Dalai Lama gets tutored by a former (we presume “former”, yes?….at least “former” by the time he was tutoring Tenzin Gyatso), a former sergeant in the SS. He was photographed with Hitler and everything. He’s says he was only there to teach skiing. It’s a difficult fact to come to terms with. The two just seem so….ideologically opposed to one another….you’d think that they’d never come in contact with each other. Ever. (weird shit happens I guess).
How do we know what we know?
The leaders of our countries won’t use the word “boycott”, because they understand that boycotting is an incredibly strong statement that draws a line in the sand. Usually, it’s a line between enemies. Elvis Stojko may say that he’s supporting the people of China, but I wonder….
I wonder….
Would the self-same people who are hoping against hope for nations around the world to boycott China, also support a boycott of the 2012 games in Vancouver?
Seriously, wouldn’t that be fair? We (Canada & the U.S.) boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Why? Because the Soviets had recently invaded Afghanistan and that’s a totally justifiable reason to boyco….wait a second…
We’re right, they’re wrong
…not only did the U.S. boycott those games in 1980, they were still counting Osama Bin Laden as an “ally”. Sure, the Soviets won all the gold medals that year, but we won Afghanistan from them.
A silver lining to every cloud, non?
If we’re going to get all hot under the collar about countries that violate human rights, employ the death penalty, suppress dissent and produce goods that aren’t fit for human consumption….do we really have to look on the other side of the planet to “deal with it”?
Really…if we want to “change something” about the way producers of cheap goods abuse the basic human rights of their labourers, or should we want to “send a message” to the governments that aid and abet (read: subsidize and protect) the businesses….if we really wanted to put an end to the persecution of the poor and disenfranchised, or the targeting those who have spiritual beliefs that differ from the power elite… couldn’t we look at the blood on our own hands in say…
Haiti?
I wonder if Elvis wears Gildan Activewear?
It’s not fair to expect that Elvis (or any of us for that fact), should know anything about the plight of Haitians (the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere), because it just doesn’t fit with the “optics” that those who control the press are looking for.
Ask a Canadian about their “responsibility to protect” Haiti, and you’ll probably get a confused stare.
Next time you’re standing in line at Wal-Mart, waiting for the 78-year old greeter to run a price check for the 18-year old clerk, ask yourself why you’re staging your own “mini boycott” of the Beijing Games and why exactly you’re going to start boycotting their products.
Unless of course the new issue of “In Touch” is in your aisle….in that case….just fuck it….read until that old bugger hobbles back with the *correct* price.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: burma, china, earthquake, humanitarian aid, weather modification, weather warfare
Good lord, I barely get one posting of paranoid bullshit up and look at what the freakin’ cat dragged in…
China’s survivors panic as reports of new
earthquake spread
Panic swept through China’s ravaged earthquake zone late Monday after television reports predicted a strong, new quake could soon rattle the region.
Tens of thousands of people streamed onto the streets of the Sichuan capital of Chengdu and nearby Mianyang, as cars streamed out of the city. It followed television and radio reports that an earthquake as strong as 8.0 magnitude, along with a powerful aftershock, would hit Sichuan overnight.
A report on the government’s website cited central government seismologists as saying there was a chance aftershocks as strong as magnitude 6.7 could hit Monday or Tuesday, although the notice provided no further explanation.
People fled to the streets, where many say they will spend the night. Some people in Chengdu went into public squares.
The Mianyang Women and Children’s Hospital moved patients to the square outside the railway station, setting up beds, medicines trays and tents.
Mourning period begins
Earlier Monday, raid sirens wailed and car horns blared as people across the country began three days of mourning for last week’s earthquake victims.
China’s busy streets came to a standstill at 2:28 p.m. local time, exactly one week after the magnitude 7.9 quake hit central China. Rescuers briefly halted their work in the disaster zone, where some survivors are still being pulled from the rubble.
People paused for three minutes to bow their heads in silence. Flags across the country will fly at half-mast for three days.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top Communist party leaders were shown on state TV bowing their heads, white flowers pinned to the lapels of their dark suits. Hu had spent three days touring the worst-hit areas of Sichuan province.
In Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, thousands of people bowed their heads and began shouting “Long Live China!” thrusting their fists in the air.
The government death toll stands at 34,073, officials said Monday, with roughly 245,000 people injured. More than 29,000 people are missing. 
Beijing motorists on the six-lane Jianguomenwai Avenue stand beside their cars Monday, honking their horns for three minutes to honour earthquake victims. (Robert F. Bukaty/ Associated Press)
Chinese officials have issued an international appeal for more tents and offered to accept foreign medical teams.
“China requests the international community donate tents as a priority when they donate materials because many houses were toppled in the quake and because it is the rainy season,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement Monday, also thanking the international community for its help so far.
More potential landslides were predicted by China’s Central Meteorological Observatory, with heavy rains forecast this week for some areas close to the epicentre.
The appeal came as more than 200 rescue workers were reported buried by mudslides in Sichuan, said China’s state news agency Xinhua.
The report said some of the workers had died, but didn’t provide any numbers.
In another part of Sichuan, two women were pulled alive from a coal mine, said Xinhua.
Gaming sites, theatres closed
The government-ordered mourning period is an outpouring of state sympathy on a level normally reserved for dead leaders.
Officials said all internet gaming and entertainment sites have been blocked for the three-day period, while China’s National Grand Theatre will cancel or postpone all performances.
Reports said numerous bars, nightclubs, karaoke parlours and movie theatres had shut down beginning at midnight in major cities such as Beijing, Shenyang and Changsha.
Newspapers across China printed their logos in black and some ran entirely without colour. Several front pages were covered in black, with simple messages in white text across the middle: “The nation mourns,” “Pray for life” and “National tragedy.”
With files from the Associated Press
