Google Takes a Stand Against Chinese Censorship

In what hopefully will be the first in a cascade of reactions to the usual threats and intiminations of China's ruling class, Google is firmly placing its logo on the side of liberty, and I say Right ON!!! The International Campaign for Tibet reports the following:

13 January, 2010
International Campaign for Tibet

Google decision a "crack in the wall of censorship" that sets new standard

Google's decision to halt censorship on its search engine in China and its threat to pull out of the Chinese market in response to cyber-attacks that seek to access the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists sets a new standard for other companies operating in China. A Google blog this morning (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/) announcing the decision was front page news worldwide.
[...]  The latest news from Google comes in the context of stepped-up efforts by Chinese government authorities to criminalize information-sharing and pursue charges of "subversion" for online, email or phone discussions with the outside world about the situation in Tibet. Beijing has set up a new task force within the Public Security Bureau specifically targeted at the "fabrication and spreading of rumors," according to an official press report (Tibet Daily, December 26, 2008). This initiative has led to numerous detentions, and supports the trend identified by ICT of harsher punishments meted out for Tibetans who receive and impart information and opinions than for some Tibetans who actually take part in demonstrations.
Kunchok Tsephel, an official in a Chinese government environmental department and founder of the influential Tibetan literary website, Chodme ('Butter-Lamp,' www.tibetcm.com), was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2009 on charges believed to relate to content on his website, which aims to protect Tibetan culture, and to passing on information about protests in Tibet in 2008. (http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/founder-tibetan-cultural-website-sentenced-15-years-closed-door-trial-freedom-expression-c).

Norzin Wangmo, a Tibetan woman and Communist Party member, is serving a five-year prison sentence for passing on news over the phone and Internet about the situation in Tibet to the outside world (http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/disappearances-continue-across-tibet-tibetan-woman-sentenced-talking-telephone).[...] 
Google's announcement comes one day before a scheduled speech by Google CEO Eric Schmidt to a meeting of Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives tonight (January 13).
Mary Beth Markey concluded: "For 20 years, we've battled against putting profits in the China market ahead of human rights. It's impossible for us not to see Google's decision as anything but a real victory for the people and those who support their struggle for greater freedoms. It is fitting that Mr. Schmidt is meeting with members of the House this evening, many of whom, including Nancy Pelosi and, of course, the late Tom Lantos, have cautioned U.S. companies that it is in their self-interest to take on a stronger role in the development of both more progressive economic and political systems in China."[...]

http://savetibet.org/media-center/ict-press-releases/google-decision-crack-wall-censorship-sets-new-standard
The Epoch Times reported the story of Kunchok Tsephel on Nov. 9:
Tibetan Web Site Founder Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
By Matthew Robertson
Epoch Times Staff
The founder of an influential Tibetan literary Web site was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a closed-door trial on Nov. 12.
Kunchok Tsephel, 39, is accused of “divulging state secrets,” a vague charge used by the Chinese authorities to punish dissidents of all stripes. Under such laws, the Chinese authorities are not required to explain which state secrets the defendant is alleged to have divulged.
The charges probably relate to content posted on his Web site, Chodme (butter lamp), which seeks to protect Tibetan culture. He is also accused of passing on information about last year’s protests in Tibet, according to the activist group which released the news.[...]
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/25317/

Journalist Disappeared While Investigating Nun's Murder

Tsering Tsomo was bound, beaten and tossed from a truck for posting pictures of the Dalai Lama. The journalist trying to report it disappears. Can we really afford to not be outraged by this? Please let friends and loved ones know that this could be the future of American news. China owns us. We must wake up to help those who cannot help themselves. The good deed will benefit US as well.
Tibetan TV Journalist Arrested, Nun Dead
Phayul[Thursday, September 18, 2008 00:03]
Phayul Bureau report
New Delhi, September 17 – A Tibetan journalist was arrested around midnight on September 11, reports Voice of Tibet radio service. Voice of Tibet reported that Rangjhung who was working for the Sertha television station as a news reporter and a newscaster was picked up from his home in Amdo Golok. The whereabouts and the exact reason for his arrest are unknown at the moment.
Sertha Tsuiltrim Woser, a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, told the radio service that Rangjhung is an employee at the Sertha Television station, and was responsible for gathering news and reading news for the TV. Tsuiltrim further said that it is not clear where the Tibetan journalist is detained. “I heard that the officials who arrested him were not local but from the Kardze Prefecture or Sichuan. No one knows where he has been held at the moment”, Tsultrim told the VOT.
Rangjhung is 25 years old, and worked as a teacher for a year before becoming a TV journalist. He is man of many talents, says Tsuiltrim. “He composed 2 books, and also wrote a book of lyrics”.
With China putting a tight lid on the flow of information from inside Tibet, news have emerged from Tibet that one nun died of beatings and 2 others were sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment in June. Geshe Monlam Tharchin, a member of the TPIE told the VOT that on 8 June, a Tibetan nun named Tsering from Samtenling Nunnery in Draggo county pasted posters and distributed leaflets calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. The nuns of Samtenling Nunnery marched towards the town to stage protests in support with Tsering but were stopped on the way by the Chinese security officials. The radio service reported that the Chinese soldiers stopped the nuns and tortured them.

Tsering Tsomo

One nun named Guru was hit on the head with iron baton. Her hands tied, she was thrown from a moving vehicle which caused her head to hit the hard surface of the ground. [my bold] She was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries. “The Chinese authorities told her family that she committed suicide but her family later found out that the cause of her death was not suicide but head injury.” Monlam also said that 2 other nuns, Tsering Tso, 27 and her sister Ugen Lhamo, 32, were sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment.
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22819&article=Tibetan+TV+Journalist+Arrested%2c+Nun+Dead
On June 6 the Tibet Center for Human Rights and Dignity reported this about the initial incident: http://www.tchrd.org/press/2008/pr20080609.html

Tibetan Filmmaker Imprisoned Before Olympics is Still Missing in China

Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen and his cameraman Golog Jigme have been in prison somewhere in China for who knows why and who knows how long. His film, Leaving Fear Behind can and should be seen at www.leavingfearbehind.com. His mission (crime?) was to interview Tibetans on their thoughts about the Olympics. His timing was amazing, because he wrapped up just before the March 10 uprising. Although created just a few short months ago, this story would be poignant if the truth weren't so horrific. Here's info about their plight, then the update on the release.
All stills are from Leaving Fear Behind. Here is Dhondup Wangchen, the director.
Wife of arrested Tibetan Filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen appeals to IOC President Jacques Rogge
NOC Tibet[Monday, August 25, 2008 09:56]
London/Beijing, August 24 - A letter was sent today to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge asking once more for his support to free Dhondup Wangchen and Golog Jigme, the two Tibetan filmmakers who made the documentary film "Leaving fear Behind" *. Thousands of people around the world have joined this appeal. So far, there has been no response by the IOC concerning this matter.
Lhamo-Tso, wife of Dhondup Wangchen, appealed to Rogge to help her to free her husband. Dhondup Wangchen was arrested with his friend Golog Jigme in March 2008 for filming a documentary that contains critical remarks about the Olympics and Chinese rule in Tibet.
About the film: "Leaving Fear Behind" (www.leavingfearbehind.com) is a 25 minute documentary made by a Tibetan filmmaker inside Tibet. The self-taught filmmmaker, Dhondup Wangchen, and his monk cameraman, Golog Jigme, filmed testimonies of a range of people in Eastern Tibet, about their views on the Dalai Lama, the Beijing Olympics and Chinese rule. Each interviewee knew the risks they were taking in being filmed but were adamant that their faces be shown. Dhondup Wangchen managed to send his footage out of Tibet but was subsequently arrested. Both he and his cameraman are currently in Chinese custody.
Contact: Dechen Pemba, for Filming for Tibet: +44 778 482 3907
* The full text of Lhamo-Tso's letter reads:
Dear Mr. Rogge:
My name is Lhamotso and I am the wife of Dhondup Wangchen. It is with desperation and sorrow over the fate of my husband and Golog Jigme, who has been detained by Chinese authorities since March 2008. Their crime was to film Tibetans’ peaceful expression of their views on the XXIX Olympic Games.
My husband, Dhondup Wangchen, from Hualong, Haidong (Qinghai) was detained by authorities on or about March 26, 2008. He was held in Ershilipu Detention Center in Xining (Qinghai), and was last seen in Guangsheng Binguan on or about July 12, 2008.
Dhondup Wangchen spent most of his time helping the needy and serving the community. He’s a very good husband and also a good father to our four children. I appeal to the Chinese Government to release Dhondup. I urge you and the IOC to use your influence on China so that the host of the Olympic Games remains true to its promises of freedom of expression to the people.
Tomorrow, the Games in Beijing will be over, the people from all over the world will return home taking away the spot light from China. I beg you on behalf of my children and Dhondup’s family to use the last day and opportunity to speak out on behalf of my husband.
Lhamotso
Dhondup Wangchen in Leaving Fear Behind
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22618
You can take action by writing letters via the following:
http://leavingfearbehind.com/take-action.html
Contact the IOC
CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE LETTER
President of the IOC
Jacques Rogge
Chateau de Vidy
Lausanne, 1003
Switzerland
Email: jacques.rogge@ioc.olympic.org
Phone 1: +41 21 621 67 46 (w) Phone 2: +41 79 43 31 022 (cell)
Fax: +41 21 621 63 53
Contact the Chinese government:
CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE LETTER
President of the People’s Republic of China
Hu Jintao Guojia Zhuxi
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China
[Salutation: Your Excellency]
Premier of the People’s Republic of China
Wen Jiabao
The State Council General Office
9 Xihuangcheng Genbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People’s Republic of China
Email: gazette@mail.gov.cn
[Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]
Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China
Meng Jiangzhu Buzhang
Gong’anbu
14 Dongchang’anjie
Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741
People’s Republic of China
Fax: 011 86 10 63099216
[Salutation: Your Excellency]
Send copies of your correspondence to the Chinese Embassy in your country.
CHINESE EMBASSIES:
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490/default.htm
Contact your embassy in China and ask them to express concern.
FOREIGN EMBASSIES IN CHINA:
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/chn/lbfw/namelist/embassy%20list/
SUPPORT Filming for Tibet

China Releases 8 Americans

It's good to rejoice in the release of these 8 Americans. They achieved a lot with good actions. Whatever hardship they had will be overcome by these good deeds.
China returns detained activists to NYC
AP[Tuesday, August 26, 2008 10:30]
By SARA KUGLER
NEW YORK, August 25 — Eight American activists jailed by the Chinese for protesting during the Olympics said Monday after being sent home from Beijing that they were interrogated for hours, deprived of sleep and accused of having ties to the U.S. government.
The activists were sent home late Sunday during the closing ceremony. Some were activists and artists who demonstrated against China's occupation of Tibet; others were bloggers who photographed the protests.
Speaking outside City Hall in New York, the detainees said they were kept in cells and were allowed to leave only for interrogations, which sometimes lasted for hours. Some said they emerged more dedicated than ever to their cause.
"Our conditions were uncomfortable, but because we're Westerners, we suffered absolutely nothing compared to what the Tibetan people suffer," said John Watterberg, a 30-year-old musician who lives in New York.
The U.S. government expressed disappointment Sunday that the Olympics did not bring more "openness and tolerance" in China.
China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that "the protesters participated in 'Tibet independence' activities and that is against China's law."
The statement said China hoped "the relevant countries will teach their citizens to abide and respect China's laws."
Watterberg and another New Yorker, Jeremy Wells, said they were tackled and detained the evening of Aug. 20 while staging a demonstration with two other activists outside the National Stadium, one of the main Olympics venues.
During an initial interrogation, they were told they had broken Chinese law and would be held for 10 days. They were then moved to a detention center, where they were locked in a cell and allowed to leave for interrogations that lasted between four and 16 hours.
With lights shining on them, prisoners were locked into high-backed metal chairs with bars across their laps. [This behavior would have been condemned as torture before George W. Bush took the presidency]
Interrogators, sometimes speaking through interpreters, would not let them sleep and accused them at times of working for state-funded groups and organizations that had ties to the U.S. government, the activists said.
"They asked about our actions, our roles, about our lives — everything from where I went to high school to everything I ate in China," Wells said.
Detainees said they wore dirty uniforms of red T-shirts and black shorts. Drinking water was turned on for only 15 minutes a day, so prisoners would scramble to fill old soda bottles or other containers."It was the scariest — it was beyond anything I could imagine in a movie," said Jeff Rae, a 28-year-old photojournalist from New York. Rae said he was videotaping a demonstration when he was detained Aug. 18.
Some of the detainees said they asked daily to speak with the U.S. Embassy but were not allowed to do so until a day or two after they were imprisoned.They said they were given no warning about their release and were not told why they were being let go. Once the prisoners were rounded up and put into vans, possessions that had been seized days earlier were returned to them. The luggage the detainees had left at their hotel rooms was also rounded up and given back.
Many detainees said the Chinese officials kept some of their electronics, like cameras, laptops and media cards. [my bold] http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=22641&article=China+returns+detained+activists+to+NYC&t=1&c=1

Free the Bejing 6! Others Still Missing

Useless US bureaucrats wring their hands while who knows what is happening to our citizens!
US urges free speech after China detains
six foreigners
22 hours ago
BEIJING (AFP) — The United States called on China Thursday to allow peaceful protests, after Beijing police detained six foreigners amid a wave of demonstrations by pro-Tibet activists during the Olympics.
"We are concerned by recent reports that the Chinese have detained protesters," the embassy said in a statement.
"We call on China to respect the fundamental and universally recognised right of all persons to peacefully express their views, including Chinese citizens, and we urge the Chinese to put their best face forward during these Olympic Games."
The US statement came shortly after Beijing police said it had handed out 10-day detention terms to six foreigners believed by an overseas activist group to be pro-Tibet campaigners involved in Olympic protests this week.
In a brief faxed statement, the city police information department said "Thomas" and five other foreigners had been apprehended on Tuesday for "upsetting public order", without identifying the six people any further.
"Beijing police decided to give Thomas and the five others 10 days of administrative detention," the faxed statement said.
Administrative detention is a punishment that can be meted out by Chinese police without having to go through the courts.
A US embassy spokeswoman declined to comment on the report of the detention of the six and emphasised the statement was not in direct response to those cases.
But Students For a Free Tibet said it assumed the six were American pro-Tibet activists who police detained in Beijing on Tuesday.
"These young men were in Beijing to amplify Tibetan voices calling for freedom and human rights and the right of all people to freedom of expression," Students For a Free Tibet executive director Lhadon Tethong said.
"They are no more guilty of a crime than Tibetans or Chinese who speak out for justice.
"For the Chinese authorities to sentence them at all shows the government's paranoia and intolerance of even the most peaceful challenges to its control."
Students For a Free Tibet has orchestrated a series of protests in Beijing to coincide with the Olympics in an effort to highlight what it says is China's repressive 57-year rule of Tibet.
In comments published by French newspaper Le Monde on Thursday, exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said more than 400 people had been killed since Chinese security forces cracked down on unrest in Tibet in March.
At least eight pro-Tibet protests have taken place in Beijing since early August to coincide with the Olympics, which end on Sunday.
Most of the previous protesters were deported from the country after being held by police for a short time, with a total of 10 foreign activists currently still believed in police custody.
Aside from the six Americans picked up on Tuesday, two other Americans, a Tibetan-German and a Briton have been missing since trying to stage a protest near the Olympic venues just after midnight on Thursday.
Among the six detained on Tuesday was James Powderly, an American artist who planned to project a giant laser beam onto a Beijing building with a message in support of a free Tibet.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jQq9z1M3x4oIQlFKsfPaHGx2qGvg

SFT’s Statement on the Sentencing
These individuals were in Beijing to amplify Tibetan voices calling for freedom and human rights and the right of all people to freedom of expression. They are no more guilty of a crime than Tibetans or Chinese who speak out for justice and for the Chinese authorities to sentence them at all shows the government’s paranoia and intolerance of even the most peaceful challenges to its control. (continues below…)
SFT WILL FIGHT THIS UNTIL THEY ARE HOME - MORE HERE SOON ON WHAT YOU CAN DO: Remember why they went, and keep in mind - Americans get 10 days jail, Chinese grannies get one year forced labor, and Tibetans get shot.

http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/citizenjournalists/update0821/

The People's Heroes Demand The Right to Protest

When people ask why I’m so passionate about Tibet, I feel confused by the question. I don’t understand why the Tibetan struggle isn’t apparent to all liberty loving people. Their struggle is exactly the same as the desire for Sicilians to remain Sicilian in nature and practice. Sicilians are (so far) lucky to not be persecuted for practicing cultural activities or demeaned (at least in public and with government support) for cuisine, clothes, live styles, etc. Unfortunately for their cousins the Roma, Northern League fascists have signaled them out as scapegoats for all that’s wrong with Italy today. But be sure that the heat can come down on any other group that does not see exactly the same world as il imperatore Napolesconi. But in Tibet today people are afraid to display their ethnic pride. It is also not the case for the 56 “recognized” ethnic minorities that make up part of the Han dynasty, such as the Zhuang, Uyghurs, Mongols, Taiwanese, etc.
But I digress…
Two women in China are sentenced to one year at a labor camp because they asked, A S K E D permission to publicly protest the loss of their homes due to the Olympics! Are you shocked? Wait, there’s more … THEY’RE IN THEIR SEVENTIES AND ONE IS LEGALLY BLIND! Tell me more about how fabulous China is, please!
Chinese Woman, 79 with Disabilities, Sentenced to Labor Camp
As we draw nearer to the close of the Summer Olympics and the wall-to-wall coverage of the various events, stories of the toll these games have taken on the Chinese people continue to leak out, despite incredible efforts by the government of that nation to hide the reality of life in China. Now we read of two women in their late 70's and how they have been sentenced to a year in a labor camp as part of what the chinese government refers to as a re-education program. While you pause and wonder what threat two little old ladies could pose to China, know also that one of them is blind and has other disabilities.
Perhaps you caught the NBC Nightly News Report earlier this week that examined the process that China established through which citizens could petition for the right to protest at three specially appointed locations during the Olympics. It turns out that of 77 requests filed by citizens that none of them were granted. [my bold] Further, it appears that some who have made these requests have been arrested or, as in this case, sentenced to re-education programs which appear to be nothing more than a quick and convenient way to punish people without allowing the individuals any rights or chance to defend themselves.
Wu Dianyuan, 79, and her neighbor Wang Xiuying, 77, [right on, sisters!] were notified Sunday that they were to serve a yearlong term of re-education through labour, said Wang’s son, Li Xuehui. Officials did not specify a reason and still had not acted on the order, he said.
Instead, the pair were under the observation of a neighbourhood watch group and it was unclear if they would be sent to prison, he said.
The order followed the pair’s repeated attempts to apply for permission to protest their forced eviction from their homes. China agreed to allow demonstrations in three designated areas during the games, which end Sunday. So far, there have been no protests in any of the official areas.
The re-education system, in place since 1957, allows police to sidestep the need for a criminal trial or a formal charge and send people to prison for up to four years to perform penal labour.
Beijing has pointed to the special zones — public parks far away from Olympics venues — to defend its promise to improve human rights in China that was crucial to its bid to host the games.
Obviously China never had intentions of allowing citizens or foreigners for that matter any right to voice or exhibit opposition to their way of rule, especially during the Olympic games. Unfortunately, while the world is being treated to one of the finest exhibitions of sport and athletics ever to have taken place at the summer games, many of the people of China have been moved from their homes, lost their jobs and been displaced so that we don't see their reality.
I don't expect that NBC will revisit this story and report to the average American that people wanted to protest but have been sentenced to hard labor and prison for daring to consider the possibility. The average person will only remember Michael Phelps and is incredible gold metal performances. However, at least for the next year and perhaps longer, a blind chinese woman will pay for wishing for the right to express her views while the world moves on to other issues.

http://www.disabilitynation.net/blog/chinese-woman-79-disabilities-sentenced-labor-camp

Olympian Ideals Support Tibet

China can’t block the music! If the bureaucrats think people won't buy this CD because THEY tell them not to, then they're going to be disappointed. Remember: use your freedom to help others without it. Peace can only exist when we are all free to express ourselves.
Over 40 Olympic athletes in Beijing download Tibet solidarity album 'Songs for Tibet'
International Campaign for Tibet and the Art of Peace Foundation
August 18th, 2008

Washington DC, (August 18, 2008) - The album 'Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace,' a top-selling rock download in the US, Canada, several European countries and Japan - which reached #4 on the Billboard album download charts in its first week of sales - has been downloaded by more than 40 Olympic athletes competing at the Beijing Games. China's official media published a provocative online article that reported many "angry" Chinese 'netizens' are "denouncing" the project and that some have called for a boycott on companies that make the pro-peace album available for sale on the web, and a ban on those involved in making the album from entering China. Over a hundred download sites and on-line retailers sell the album worldwide. Twenty musicians contributed tracks, including Sting, Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette, John Mayer and Moby. [my bold]
Michael Wohl, Executive Director of the Art of Peace Foundation which initiated the project, said today: "We are delighted that Olympics athletes took the opportunity to download this unique album, which conveys a message of hope and solidarity with the Tibetan people, as well as a commitment to freedom of expression that cannot be suppressed."
Over 40 Olympic athletes in North America, Europe and even Beijing contacted The Art of Peace Foundation by email and through the Foundation's website. Athletes downloaded the album as an act of solidarity with Tibet. International organizations including the International Campaign for Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet, and Team Darfur helped contact the athletes. Several of the athletes, who were assured anonymity, thanked the Art of Peace Foundation. In one case, an Olympian commended the Foundation's "efforts, music and passion for peace."
Following international media coverage of the album and its success, an article about the album - which referred to "angry netizens" who "are rallying together to denounce internet retailers that offer 'Songs for Tibet' for purchase" was published on two Chinese websites, china.org.cn - the authorized government portal site to China, managed by the Information Office of the State Council (http://www.china.org.cn/china/national/2008-08/08/content_16161481.htm) - and http://www.chinanews.com, a semi-official internet news portal which operates under close scrutiny and control of the Communist Party. This follows demonstrations by overseas Chinese against some companies (such as the French supermarket chain Carrefour) and broadcasters (CNN and the BBC) that have occurred since the international community has criticized China for its crackdown in Tibet, and in the buildup to the Olympics. The demonstrations and outpouring of Chinese nationalism, particularly linked to protests against Chinese government policies at the time of the Olympic torch relay, have been fueled by misinformation and propaganda from the Chinese authorities.
"The predictably hostile response to the album from Chinese internet users and an official website at this time reflects continued attempts to suppress any support for Tibet at a time of crisis for the Tibetan people, as well as the level of entrenched misinformation about Tibet propagated by the Beijing government among the Chinese public," said Kate Saunders from the International Campaign for Tibet, which is supporting the project.
The double album, 'Songs for Tibet' celebrates peace, the Dalai Lama and Tibet. Twenty artists, including Sting, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and Moby contributed songs for the release.
Proceeds that the foundation receives will support initiatives for promoting peace and Tibetan cultural preservation projects. Details at http://www.artofpeacefoundation.org. The video for the album, 'Songs for Tibet - Freedom is Expression,' is available on YouTube. http://www.savetibet.org/

Tibetan American Reporter Denied Entrance to Bejing Olympics

Hello, State Department? Condo Sleeza, are you there? Just imagine the howls of protest if this reporter was German American or Italian American. And just look at this photo of goose-stepping Chinese cops!!! But I forgot--we can't criticise China because a) they own us, and b) CRITICISM OF THE PARTY IS NOT ALLOWED!

RFA reporter unable to enter China to cover Games
Hong Kong, August 8, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Dhondup Gonsar, an American citizen of Tibetan ethnicity [my bold] who works for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA), has not yet received press accreditation from Olympic organizers that would allow him to enter China to cover the Olympic Games, which begin Friday.
Gonsar and Radio Free Asia officials in Washington have told CPJ that RFA was informed in writing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2007 that RFA had been allocated two sets of press credentials by the IOC, but only received one, for RFA’s Mandarin-service reporter. The RFA Mandarin reporter, Jill Ku Martin, has been allowed to enter the country, RFA officials said.
They said that even though the IOC has said it has passed along Gonsar’s credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, neither have followed through on issuing the Olympic Identity and Accreditation Card that serves as both an identity card and an entry visa.
“We call upon the IOC and China to resolve this issue quickly so that Dhondup Gonsar can travel to Beijing to cover the Games,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.
Gonsar is currently in a hotel in Hong Kong, waiting for his papers to enter China. “The IOC has promised RFA that two of our reporters could cover the Games. I don’t understand why I have not gotten my IOC accreditation and am not allowed to cover the Games,” Gonsar told CPJ. “Maybe it has something to do with my ethnicity as a Tibetan.”
http://cpj.org/news/2008/asia/china07aug08na.html

No US Soldiers Dead in Falllujah???

IRAQ: Journalist Charges Censorship by
U.S. Military in Fallujah
Sunday, 13 July 2008
by Dahr Jamail
(IPS) - U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing. On Jun. 26, a suicide bomber attacked a city council meeting in Fallujah, 69 kms west of Baghdad, between local tribal sheikhs and military officials. [...] Miller ran with the Marines he was with to the scene of the attack. "As I ran I saw human pieces...a skull cap with hair, bone shards," he told IPS during a telephone interview from the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. "When we arrived at the building it was chaotic. [...] "I went in and there were over 20 people's remains all over the place," Miller continued, Of the Marines I jogged in with, someone started to vomit. Others were standing around, not knowing what to do. It was completely surreal." [...] "I thought, 'Nobody in the U.S. has any idea what it means when they hear that 20 people died in a suicide bombing.' I want people to be able to associate those numbers with the scene and the actual loss of human life. And to show why soldiers are suffering from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]," Miller told IPS.
[...] In an Iraqi Police station in Karmah, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was brought in to investigate the bombing. Millers' photos were the only ones of the scene, so the NCIS team asked for them. "I made them copies, but then one of the Marines came in and told me to delete my memory card after I give them the photos, and I refused," Miller told IPS, "I told the NCIS that if they forced me to delete them, I would stop sharing them. So they stopped pressing that issue." [...] Miller explained to IPS that he meticulously showed his photos to the Marines he was with to make sure he was not going to show any photos that would upset the family members of the deceased Marines. "They were all okay with them, so then about 96 hours after the bombing I published the photos on my blog." [...] "Tuesday [Jul. 1] I awoke to a call in their combat operations centre, and the person on the phone told me they were a PAO (Public Affairs Officer) at Camp Fallujah, and he wanted me to take my blog down right away," Miller told IPS. "I asked them why, and was told then called back after five minutes by a higher ranking PAO who claimed I had broken my contract by showing photos of dead Americans with U.S. uniforms and boots." [my bold] Miller said the PAO claimed he was not allowed, by the embed contract, to show dead or wounded U.S. citizens or soldiers in the field. "I never signed any contract for that," Miller said. He was called back after another five minutes and told his embed was terminated and they would send him back to Baghdad on the next flight. He was then taken back to Camp Fallujah where he said, "Everyone was extremely angry and fired up at me."
[...] Miller explained that he grew nervous when the flight was cancelled due to a sandstorm, and then a security guard was assigned to him.
"I started to feel uncomfortable with this," Miller explained. "The next day, Gen. Kelly, [Major General John Kelly, who is the Commanding General of the I Marine Expeditionary Force] wanted to have some words with me. I was to meet with him at 3 pm, and we sat outside in the sun for two hours and he never showed."
Miller was told he would be flown out that night, but he was deleted from the flight and told that General Kelly wanted to see him, so he waited again until Thursday, Jul. 3. Again the general did not appear, so Miller was given an official letter about the grounds for the termination of his embed, signed by Gen. Kelly, and flown to Baghdad.
"Now, as I think about it, I think they needed the extra time to figure out what they were going to say about my dismissal," Miller said. "Their original reason ended up being bogus, so they had to figure something else out." [...] Miller was given an official letter about the grounds for the termination of his embed, signed by Gen. Kelly, and flown to Baghdad.
[...] The letter he was given stated reasons for his dismissal as "you photographed the remains of U.S. soldiers", "you posted these images along with detailed commentary", and "by posting the images and your commentary you violated 14 H and O of the news media agreement you signed".
In addition, the letter, which Miller read to IPS, stated, "By providing detailed information of the effectiveness of the attack and the response of U.S. forces to it, you have put all U.S. forces in Iraq at greater risk for harm." [my bold] [...] The Pentagon would not comment on the story when contacted by IPS, saying they had no information on Miller's case beyond what Central Command had already posted.
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4280&Itemid=81

See his work here: http://www.zoriah.com/

Gagging Truth on Google

I knew something was up. The interruptions were too frequent and now my paranoia is confirmed. However, I'm not quite ready to jump into the "zionist inspired policies" rant until more info is available. There are lots of reasons why certain powers wouldn't want Uruknet on line, and lots going on behind the scenes. Flee speach! Flee speach!

GOOGLE GAGGING AGAIN ~~ URUKNET REMOVED COMPLETELY
June 19, 2008 at 7:33 am
One of my Associates, Uruknet.Info, is once again the victim of Google’s zionist inspired polices. Just a month ago, the co-founder of Google was in Israel to ‘celebrate’ its 60 years as an occupying power… he obviously was inspired by his visit as his Company’s policies seem to have shifted even more to the right than they were before his trip.
Uruknet has been hacked, taken of Google News indexing and now, the latest… taken off Google completely. How can this be done? We really don’t know, but we do know that Google has refused to respond to the thousands of requests by readers to reinstate Uruknet on Google News. They came up with a response after weeks only to the site itself where it “reasoned” that Uruknet was “only” an aggregator. All of us know that it is an exceptionally important aggregator, but it is far more than that! It contains original material, has editorial choices and space for commentary and it presents for an international public much material that otherwise would not be translated or disseminated.
Without being listed on Google, as much as we detest Google for its arbitrary blocking that many of us have had to undergo, losing readership in the meantime, we are able to admit that for a news site to not be listed AT ALL on Google means that NO ONE at all findstheir articles on a simple search. This includes archived material. This is something that we find unacceptable and it demands that all of us try to do our best to take action to change this situation as soon as possible. Uruknet serves an important role on the Internet, it is one of the few sites where the truth can be found about the Iraqi War and the occupation of Palestine.
Friends in our Blogging Community are presently discussing plans on how to combat Google’s policies. I will keep you all posted on what those plans are. In the meantime, this post is just to make you aware of the situation in general. If anyone has ideas, please post them in the comments, anything that can help us will be appreciated. You can also email me at the address found in my links (About DesertPeace). I also urge my readers to cross post this message so that a real campaign can get underway to stop censorship at Google.
Thanks.
Mary Rizzo contributed to this post.

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/google-gagging-again-uruknet-removed-completely/

Give Me Security at What Cost?

Since Benito Berlusconi (sorry, I know his name is Frederick) came back to power, I haven't given myself time to process the horror or what it will mean for the future of Italy. At least Vicenza held up against the lurch to the right. Perhaps the Italian people were constantly berated (via media, which is controlled by, hmmm?) by the fear card, causing them to vote for "stability" over those hoards of immigrants from Africa and the Balkans. But this is about two old buddies, sharing laughs and good times as they push their boots deeper into our backs.
George Bush Lauded By Berlusconi For Time 100
Mark @ 2:43 pm
Time Magazine has published it’s fifth annual list of the World’s Most Influential People. It’s a mixed collection with a few standouts for hilarity.
Rupert Murdoch made the list as a “Builder and Titan,” an honor he shares with Radiohead. Thom Yorke would make a great media mogul, and they could keep the band’s name as their corporate brand. Disney temptress Miley Cyrus is listed in a category where she challenges Tim Russert, the only “journalist” of the group. They are both listed under “Artists and Entertainers.” Which of these Russert is supposed to be, I don’t know. But Russert is apparently quite influential, as he has reportedly had Arianna Huffington banned from promoting her new book, Right Is Wrong, on any NBC program. [my bold]
Also on the list is George W. Bush under “Leaders and Revolutionaries.” I can’t see where he’d place in either group. But the truly creepy aspect of this is that the essay accompanying his inclusion was written by the Italian Murdoch, Sylvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi, media baron and Prime Minister, related his impressions of Bush as a leader who knows that…

“…justice, freedom and democracy can flourish only if there is security.”

Spoken like a true totalitarian fascist. He is, however, right about Bush, who has shown that he will sacrifice any Constitutional principle, civil liberty, or democratic process, in the pursuit of a false security predicated on fear and lies.
Having Berlusconi pen Bush’s bio for the Time 100 holds a unique significance in light of Berlusconi’s recent electoral successes in Italy. He declared after the election that “We are the new Falange.” The original Falange was the Spanish fascist party of Francisco Franco. [my bold]
Berlusconi’s supporters also hailed the victory of his party’s candidate for mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, a former neo-fascist youth leader, with Hitlerian straight-arm salutes and chants of “Duce, Duce…”, Mussolini’s version of “Fuhrer.” Bush must be proud to have his friend Berlusconi compose this touching tribute.
http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=891

Pay No Attention to Your Feelings

Why Can’t “Lefty” Ideologues Comprehend
China’s Human Rights Failures?
My reaction to this:
CNN MARCH 13 REPORT ON INDIA

Western Media Fabrications regarding the Tibet Riots
Fake Videotape used by CNN, by Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, April 16, 2008

"On the day of the Lhasa Riots (March 14, 2008), there is evidence of media fabrication by CNN,"[...]

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8697

Michel Chossudovsky is an intensely credentialed individual with books published and tenure at a big time Canadian university and a terrific blog, which I read several times a week. However, the hysteria he has displayed over how western media has represented the story of the second Tibetan uprising is disconcerting, to say the least. At times in the past, my inclination has been to grant the professor the benefit of the doubt, for all the above reasons as well as having enjoyed several of his articles at globalreasearch.ca. The difficulty comes in trying to get a handle on what he wants to accomplish vis-à-vis his articles on US/China/Tibet affairs.
It seems the professor has sufficient time to hunt and peck for ulterior motives behind what clearly was the natural development of people deciding to take their smoldering rage and fling it outward, elsewhere, anywhere. There’s just so much occupation and exile a person can tolerate before the idea of death at the hands of ATTEMPTING liberation seems better than daily compliance with being conquered.
CNN broadcasts over televisions and requires visuals to accompany their news reports. But you had to report CNN had no footage, only photographs. Why? “… the Chinese government has refused to allow CNN to even enter Tibet.”
What to do? Like many other news outlets, show footage that is related, if not precise. CNN then picks up the narrative from the reporter in Beijing:

John Vause in Bejing: "And what could be worrying here to Beijing is that these demonstrations are being joined by ordinary Tibetan civilians, lay Tibetans." [my bold]

In his report Mr. Vause declared there was a complete crackdown on transportation, communication, etc. Did the Tibetans do this to themselves? Why does the Chinese government continue to keep Tibet isolated? More pertinent to this discussion, why don’t you, Professor, care about the Tibetans? Perhaps CNN used bad judgment but it would be much more reprehensible if they were presenting an outright falsehood. People don’t expect hard news from CNN. We get the headlines and photos, then we all go to the Internet and read Michel Chossudovsky who tells us we’re idiots for caring about people who’s lives are so controlled their own government absolutely won’t let us look at their daily lives!
The real story here was that Beijing, enraged that their carefully crafted image of harmony was smeared by their own bad behavior, sent the entire nation of Tibet into a virtual prison by cutting them off from all communication. That is the story, Professor Chossudovsky, not the obvious fact that CNN mishandled the story by using the wrong footage. The story began on March 13, when the people of Tibet, within and in exile all over the world rose as one to be heard. And their story was heard and will continue to be heard, despite misinformation and misrepresentation, wherever it comes from.

Dueling Press Releases

It's a mixed bag, a tossed salad, as it were of radio operatics ("ga ga"'s been done) as our heroine, Randi gets tossed overboard for using her First Amendment (are you with me, Rev. Billy?) righteous voice to say what she (gassssp) t h i n k s ! But she's found a new home, joining the equally impressive and funny Mike Malloy on Nova M.
But now, at least for a month, those of us without access to Nova M can ring them bells with.............Richard Belzer on Air America! [conspiracy, anyone?]
Air America to Feature Celebrity Drive-Time Guest Hosts-Richard Belzer Kicks Off Series Starting Monday April 14 during the 3-6 - Beginning Monday April 14, Air American Radio will present a month-long series of celebrities who guest host all week during the 3-6 PM ET period.
The programs launch with noted comedian, author and actor Richard Belzer, well-known for his work as Det. John Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and numerous other movie and TV roles. Belzer will be joined by special guests to be announced, bringing an entertaining, fast-paced and engaging afternoon listening experience to Air America Radio audiences nationwide all next week.
and from Nova M Radio...
Randi Rhodes is the #1 rated progressive talk radio host in the nation.
Nova M CEO John Manzo says, “I just can’t stop smiling - Randi is simply the biggest and the best. Randi Rhodes and Mike Malloy under one roof – talk about TALENT!”
Randi Rhodes adds, “With Manzo at helm of Nova M, I am truly going to work for the best of the best. He is radio elite…and I am too . I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!”
“The Randi Rhodes Show” will air live Mon-Fri from 3-6pm Eastern on The Nova M Radio Network.
ABOUT RANDI RHODES
Randi Rhodes is a radio pioneer who put Progressive Talk Radio on the national stage when everyone told her it could not be done. This Brooklyn native became a national talk radio hero to millions when in 2004 she left South Florida radio, where she had the #1 ranked talk show in her market, for national syndication. Randi started her radio odyssey quite modestly by playing ‘classic country’ in a storefront studio in Seminole, TX but today holds the mantle of the #1 progressive talk show host in the nation. Randi is impeccably researched and infectiously funny, she starred in the HBO documentary “Left of the Dial”, is listed in Talkers Magazine’s “Heavy Hundred” and is probably watching C-SPAN right now.
http://www.novamradio.com/
Good luck, Randi. You are a working class hero. Rock on!

Tibet Repression Affects Journalists

The Bejing Olympics are developing into something quite different from a sporting event. These two articles reveal a China that is neither flattering nor worthy of hosting the Olympics. First, AP News covers how goon squads and intimidation techniques being used on reporters:
Foreign Media in China Threatened,
Harassed Over Tibet Coverage
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, AP News, Apr 07, 2008
Western reporters in China have received harassing phone calls, e-mails and text messages, some with death threats, supposedly from ordinary Chinese complaining about alleged bias in coverage of recent anti-Chinese protests in Tibet.
The harassment began two weeks ago and was largely targeted at foreign television broadcasters, CNN in particular. But the campaign broadened in recent days after the mobile phone numbers and other contact information for reporters from The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today were posted on several Web sites, including a military affairs chat site.
[...] Spokesmen for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government's State Council Information Office and the national police ministry did not respond to telephone calls and faxed questions Monday seeking comment about the threats.
[...] The complaints against foreign media come just four months before 30,000 journalists from around the world come to Beijing for an Olympics meant to feature a more open, modern China.
[...] Contact information for reporters from the AP, Wall Street Journal and USA Today was posted online after they were among a group of foreign media taken by the Chinese government to Lhasa to report on conditions two weeks after the violent protests.
The Web sites listed the reporters as those who "fabricated untrue news about Tibet." Neither the Web sites nor government officials have cited specific criticisms about the reports.
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=117878
This one is from Reporters Without Borders' Annual Report on China:
China - Annual report 2008
Area: 9,598,050 sq. km.
Population: 1,315,844,000.
Language: Mandarin.
Head of state: Hu Jintao.
An icy blast blew on press freedom in China ahead of the 17th Communist Party Congress in Beijing in October. Journalists were forced to put out official propaganda, while cyber-censors stalked the Net. Despite the introduction of more favourable rules in January, nearly 180 foreign press correspondents were arrested or harassed in 2007.
Reporters Without Borders representatives met for the first time Chinese officials in Beijing at the start of the year, including the deputy information minister. The authorities said they were ready to reconsider the cases of journalists and Internet-users currently in prison, including Zhao Yan, who worked for the New York Times and was sentenced to three years in prison on the basis of false accusations. But they did not keep their promises. Zhao Yan was released in September having served his full sentence. And all the other promises came to nothing. At the end of the year, the authorities refused to grant visas to five representatives of Reporters Without Borders who wanted to travel to Beijing.
[...] Police began arresting dissidents and bloggers calling for improved human rights ahead of the staging of the Olympics. The best known of these “Olympics’ prisoners” is rights activist, Hu Jia, who was arrested at his Beijing home on 27 December. Police produced an arrest warrant accusing him of “inciting subversion of state power”. His wife, the blogger, Zeng Jinyan, and their young daughter got their home surrounded by scores of police. The couple are activists for the environment and the rights of Aids patients and political prisoners and were pushing at the limits of free expression in China by posting sensitive news on their blogs.
Chinese contributors to foreign-based news websites also found themselves singled out for harassment. At least three contributors to US-based news site Boxun are currently in prison. Police arrested one Boxun correspondent Sun Lin, also known under the pen-name Jie Mu, in Nanjing, eastern China on 30 May 2007 after he exposed abuse of power, including in videos posted on the site. Another regular Boxun correspondent, Huang Jinqiu, has been in prison since 2003 after being sentenced to 12 years for “subversion of state power” in eastern Jiangsu province. And in August 2007, cyber-dissident and blogger He Weihua was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Hunan in southern China. His family said it was linked to articles published on his blog www.boxun.com/hero/hewh/. Before being released in February 2008, Li Changqing, who had written several articles for the same US-based site, was jailed for three years by a court in Fuzhou, Fujian province in the south-east for circulating “alarmist news”.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25650

Air America is a Big Fucking Whore!

Liberals cannot take a joke. Clearly, the censors at Air America were more concerned they might lose corporate funding than growing their audience. Just watch the video and you'll see the crowd was intensly responsive. As for use of the "fuck" word, Randi's a veteran, what the hell did they expect?!!! I'd just like to know where this happened, the context, etc.
From The Huffington Post:
Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton "whores" in a recent appearance, seen below. Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, "What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is! She's such a fucking whore!" She then proceeded to say, "Hillary is a big fucking whore, too" to a mixed audience reaction. "You know why she's a big fucking whore? Because her deal is always, 'Read the fine print, asshole!'"
Watch:

Imprisoned Journalists Can't Report

I'm providing the complete report from The Raw Story about the what every presidential candidate must address: the continuing attack on journalists and abandoning John Ashcroft's "memo" which essentially eliminated the Freedom of Informaton Act:
AP president: US arrests journalist in Iraq to 'control' information
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Wednesday March 19, 2008
Associated Press president Tom Curley says his news organization does not buy the government's argument that one of its photographers arrested in Iraq was working on behalf of the enemy, and he alleged the US is rounding up journalists in an attempt to control information.
"To say the least, we see things very differently," Curley commented dryly, regarding photographer Bilal Hussein, who was arrested two years ago and remains in military custody.
Noting that at least a dozen other Iraqi photographers have been detained or arrested, Curley stated, "It's impossible not to conclude that the words and pictures these journalists produced were considered unhelpful to the war effort and that their arrests would have served a broader strategy of information control."
Curley also called on journalists to demand that all the presidential candidates make a commitment to reversing a directive issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft shortly after September 11 that radically restricted the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.
Ashcroft's memo stated, "When you carefully consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part, you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions unless they lack a sound legal basis or present an unwarranted risk of adverse impact on the ability of other agencies to protect other important records."
Curley told the National Press Club, "When a matter of public policy poses a straight-up choice between the public's rights of access to government and a government effort to infringe or even narrow those rights, journalists cannot pretend to be disinterested observers."
"This is the moment to make it clear to all the presidential candidates how important reversal of the Ashcroft directive is to us and to the people," Curley continued. "We need to ask the candidates at every opportunity ... whether they are willing to appoint an attorney general willing to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the law that protects the people's right to know what their government is doing."
This video is from The Associated Press, broadcast March 18, 2008
Please go to the link below to see the video tape of Mr. Curley’s statement to the National Press:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/AP_President_chides_Bush_Admin_for_0319.html

The People Won't Take It!

How strange that there are two major stories this week about garbage collection turning into riots. What is the karmic connection between the struggle in Naples, Italy, and the horrific murder in Hubei, China over a similar issue. Although not exactly the same conditions prevailed, the citizenry responded with similar displays of rage and solidarity. Bella Italia, con la grazia delgli poppoli, tends to have a more enlightened police force. In general, they aren't alienated from their own roots, and so understand the plight of their own people. Or perhaps Italy's recent history with the ugly faccia of corporatism, Il Duce, has sensitized the politicians. I dunno. If you're interested, here's a sample of what's happening in Naples: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22505149/
China Blogger Beaten To Death
By Christine
Authorities have fired an official in central China after city inspectors beat to death a man who filmed their confrontation with villagers, China’s Xinhua news agency reports.
The killing has sparked outrage in China, with thousands expressing outrage in Chinese Internet chat rooms, often the only outlet for public criticism of the government.
On Monday Wei happened on a confrontation in the central Chinese province of Hubei between city inspectors and villagers protesting over the dumping of waste near their homes.
A scuffle developed when residents tried to prevent trucks from unloading the rubbish, Xinhua said.
When Wei took out his cell phone to record the protest, more than 50 municipal inspectors turned on him, attacking him for five minutes, Xinhua said. Wei was dead on arrival at a Tianmen hospital, the report said.
[...] An international press freedom group, Reporters Without Borders, protested the killing.
“Wei is the first ‘citizen journalist’ to die in China because of what he was trying to film,” the group said in a statement.
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2008/01/11/china-blogger-beaten-to-death/

Rest in peace, Citizen Wei Wenhua.
Here's more information from Reporters Without Borders:
Shock at beating death of executive who filmed police violence with mobile phone
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24999