Hey Obama, why not Sudan if your in an warmongering mood?

If our head honcho wanted to attack a nation that has a civil war/genocide action going and is Muslim..why didn't he go into Sudan? I mean really, you wanna spend money we don't have, go whole hog dude and kick some ass in the Darfur region..ya know what I mean fer christ sakes?

Darfur has been in a constant state of civil war since 1983, if not longer. WTF? They have friggin oil too if that is the main reason for going into Libya, which is my general  take on the fuckery and why the US, France,etc went batshit into the hell hole known as Libya.

Sudan has been listed as a terrorist-supporting state since Bush was sitting his ass in the Oval office.

Ah, but the Chinese are pretty much running the show in Sudan and the IMF (Intl Monetary Fund) controls the purse strings. That the IMF is involved tells you that keeping Sudan poor and broke is the goal. Fucking IMF and their economic control over impoverished nations should be bombed out of existence in my pov...but that is probably not going to happen any time soon, just based on history.

That, in a friggin nutshell is why Sudan in general and Darfur specifically are royally fucked and Obama could give a shit.

Guess I answered my own fucking question.

Ps...back at home, but moving slowly and in a lot of pain. Wearing a big-assed, nasty back brace too, which the doc says I will have to continue for around three months..oh joy to that bit o' news. . I think a 95 year old woman gets around better than I do at this point. So saying I am a tad cranky is an understatement. ;)

China finally surpasses Japan.

It was only a matter of time:

After three decades of spectacular growth, China has passed
Japan to become the world's second-largest economy behind the
United States, according to government figures released early
Monday.

The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most
striking evidence yet that China's ascendance is for real and
that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new
economic superpower.

The milestone was reached early Monday, when Tokyo said that
in the second quarter, the Japanese economy was valued at
about $1.28 trillion, slightly below China's figure of $1.33
trillion. The gross domestic product of the United States was
roughly $14 trillion in 2009. Japan's economy grew 0.4
percent in the second quarter, Tokyo said, substantially less
than forecast.

Ain't that friggin grand?

Naomi Klein on China and the Olympics

From The Real News Network, part one of the four part series of an interview with Naomi Klein.



Naomi Klein:

"I think this is an incredibly efficient, actually, a scarily efficient way of organizing society that's actually being celebrated here, which is a hybrid of some of the worst elements of authoritarian communism—mass surveillance of the population, total lack of civil liberties, lack of a free press, lack of democratic rights, authoritarian central planning, all harnessed not to advance the goals of social justice, even in name, although there may be some lip service still paid to that, but to advance the goals of global capitalism. So it is Stalinism meets global capitalism.... There are 100,000 security officers just on Olympic duty. And to put that into perspective, the stadium itself, the Bird's Nest Stadium holds 90,000. So there's 90,000 spectators and 100,000 secret police keeping control of things in Beijing. So this is an incredible operation. But when you hear people like Lou Dobbs and other commentators talking about the problems in China, it's always red China, communist China, or the Chi-coms. And it's really this blast from the past of—you know, it's almost as if the Cold War never ended."

That China got the Olympics was a travesty.

Mothers Day in Nepal: Big protest, lots of arrests

All of the arrested are women. From the VOA writeup:

Police in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu say they have detained more than 560 Tibetan protesters Sunday, all of them women.

It was the all female demonstration against China’s crackdown in Tibet since violence erupted in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in March.

Since then, Tibetan exiles have taken part in anti-China protests nearly every day. Nepal is home to about 20,000 Tibetan refugees.

Power to the people…Buddha please keep them safe. These wonderful women deserve our respect, as do all the brave protesters.

Crossposted at Sirens Chronicles

Beyond Beijing..

I made this for Enigma at WaterGate Summer.



Meanwhile today..54 Burmese immigrants suffocated to death while being smuggled into Thailand looking for work.

China tries to do damage control in Tibet uprising

The government of China, who has tossed all media from Tibet and imposed a news blackout, is trying now to spin a little damage control

on what is happening in Tibet. A Thai torchbearer for the 08 Olympics, to be held in China, has withdrawn in protest of China's actions in Tibet. Who exactly is to blame for the unrest in Tibet?

Why the Dalai Lama of course! At least that is the way the Chinese media is spinning it. From the AP writeup linked above:

"The Dalai clique is scheming to take the Beijing Olympics hostage to force the Chinese government to make concessions to Tibet independence," it said.

The attacks on the Dalai Lama have been aimed at further demonizing him in the eyes of the Chinese public, which strongly supports the Olympics. The Dalai Lama, who advocates nonviolence and denies being behind the March 14 riots in Lhasa, asserted Sunday that he has supported China's hosting of the summer Games.

If that doesn't do it, they are also blaming..cough..Nancy Pelosi for all that ails China with regard to Tibet. From the AP article:

The official Xinhua New Agency, meanwhile, published a commentary bashing Pelosi, a fierce critic of China who on Friday visited the Dalai Lama at his headquarters in India, where she called China's crackdown "a challenge to the conscience of the world."

Xinhua accused Pelosi of ignoring the violence caused by the Tibetan rioters. "'Human rights police' like Pelosi are habitually bad tempered and ungenerous when it comes to China, refusing to check their facts and find out the truth of the case," it said.

The Human Rights police? Damn skippy..China is one of the worst offenders of human rights on our planet. Sick bastards can't accept the responsibility of their own actions. Reminds me of a drug addict..its always someone else's' fault.

Tags: Tibet, China, Dalai Lama

Crossposted at Sirens Chronicles

China blocks YouTube after Tibet protests posted on site.

From Jurist:

The Chinese government on Sunday blocked Internet users in the country from accessing the video-sharing website YouTube after videos of a recent government crackdown on Tibetan protesters challenging Chinese rule were posted on the site. The protests over degradation of Tibetan culture and a flood of new Chinese immigrants into the region escalated into violence in the capital Lhasa on Friday with reports that as many as 80 protesters had been killed. Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday deplored the use of violence by both the protesters and the government, but said that the region is facing “cultural genocide”. AP has more. CBC News has additional coverage.

Tags: Tibet, China, YouTube blocked

Video of yesterdays protest in Labrang Amdo Tibet

Video of yesterdays protest in Labrang Amdo Tibet. Phayul.com has comprehensive video and up to the minute news of what is going down in Tibet. From a news story on Phayul:

March 16 - Hundreds of Tibetans are arbitrarily arrested in the ongoing house-by-house raid by Chinese security forces in Lhasa beginning from 15 March 2008. All former political prisoners have already been rounded off and thrown into prisons by the security forces according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

With streets filled with patrolling Chinese armed troops and tanks in Lhasa city, the security agencies comb each and every house in Lhasa and pick up all suspected Tibetans, especially youth, from their houses accompanied by severe beatings by the armed forces. In testimonies received by TCHRD, mothers and elderlies in the families helplessly plea at security forces upon seeing their sons and loved ones being beaten and dragged away.





According to AP:Violence in Tibet spilled over into neighboring provinces Sunday where Tibetan protesters defied a Chinese government crackdown. The Dalai Lama warned Tibet faced "cultural genocide" and appealed to the world for help.

Protests against Chinese rule of Tibet were reported in neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and also in western Gansu province. All are home to sizable Tibetan populations.

The demonstrations come after protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa escalated into violence Friday, with Buddhist monks and others torching police cars and shops in the fiercest challenge to Beijing's rule over the region in nearly two decades.

Shades of Myanmar..

Tags: Tibet, Monks, China

Spielberg bitchslaps China publicly over Darfur

It really isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but for Steven Spielberg to publicly withdraw from his participation in the Beijing Olympics, and to cite his reason as the ongoing violence in Darfur and China's role..well, its noble.

The Chinese leaders are mulling over their response. Surely this is embarrassing for them..at least I hope it is.

Two-thirds of the oil sold in Sudan is sold to China. In spite of their insistence that they have no power over the thugs that run Sudan, China is part of the problem..a huge part of it. They lobby for the thugs in UN meetings and resolutions, just as an example. Part of Mr. Spielberg's statement:

"I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual," he said in a statement. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more."

Amen to that Mr. Spielberg.

Chinese Economy is strong, while ours is in the toilet

I find it interesting that the Chinese economy has a fifth straight year of double digit growth..and ours is struggling to stay out of a recession. From the VOA writeup:

The 11.4 percent growth in China's economy last year was the greatest in 13 years.

Xie Fuzhan, the commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, announced the annual economic figures in Beijing Thursday.

Xie says the second quarter last year saw the highest growth, of 11.9 percent. That eased to 11.2 percent in the fourth quarter, indicating a modest slowdown.

The government has been trying for the past few years to moderate economic growth. But a number of measures, including several increases in interest rates last year, have failed to make much of an impact on the roaring economy.
*snip*
Total trade volume rose 23.5 percent, and the already huge trade surplus - which has prompted heated disputes with the United States and the European Union - rose by almost 50 percent to $262 billion.

They can thank NAFTA for at least part of that growth don't ya think?

Edit: It has just been pointed out to me that NAFTA has nothing to do with China(duh North American Free Trade)..but the WTO does, not to mention all the "free trade" bs.

Some basic facts about Myanmar

I noticed that people who commented on my Youtube video of the death of Kenji Nagai were erroneously stating that Myanmar, formally Burma, didn't have any oil..that's why BushCo or the US in general hasn't done anything to stem the dictatorship there.

Wrong my dear readers...wrong..wrong..very wrong. From AP we get this nice, tidy explanation of things you should know about Myanmar:

A look at the insular military leadership behind the recent crackdown in Myanmar:

WHO THEY ARE

First among equals in the current regime is Senior Gen. Than Shwe. He is said to be superstitious and to consult with astrologers, but otherwise has a public image that is taciturn in the extreme. No. 2 is Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, whose reputation is, if anything, more ruthless than Than Shwe's, probably because he has more field combat experience from fighting ethnic rebels. Soldiers in the 400,000-strong military live secluded from civilian life in isolated barracks; their families are provided with housing as well.

HOW THEY CAME TO POWER

The State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta is formally known, replaced another dictatorship in 1988 after suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. The previous regime, led by Ne Win, destroyed what had been one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies, restricting tourist visas to one week and refusing all foreign investment.

HOW THEY KEEP POWER

Than Shwe's government has opened up the country to foreign investment. Myanmar is rich in natural resources and has survived by cultivating investment in its potentially vast oil and gas reserves. Neighboring China and India curry favor with the junta because of Myanmar's strategic location on the Indian Ocean and its oil and natural gas resources. China is the regime's main ally, supplying the most diplomatic muscle at international forums.

PREVIOUS RESISTENCE TO THEIR RULE

In 1988, the army violently suppressed mass demonstrations against the military dictatorship, though some members of the air force changed sides and supported the protesters. Monk-led street protests threatened the junta's power again after the government refused to accept the outcome of a 1990 vote, in which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party won a landslide victory. The regime responded with several months of raids on hundreds of pagodas and the arrests of hundreds of monks.

All emphasis is mine btw..So China likes the way the junta controls the population..thats why the UN will NEVER do anything to help the people of Myanmar..because China will veto ANYTHING that changes the status quo. Bastids..

Tags: China, Myanmar, Burma