tagged w/ Tibet protests
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So what have we been doing for the past couple of weeks? Pulling our hair out, what's left of it. Making repeated calls to Verizon. Hosting a visit from their friendly and professional service person (really, no sarcasm there, the guy was good). Being granted the privilege of shelling out for a replacement modem and still not having all of our problems resolved. But we're at least back more or less to where we were before our internet went south on us, so we're going to catch up on the outage by covering two films -- both very good -- this ep.
First up is an interview with Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, the married directors of THE SUN BEHIND THE CLOUDS, a documentary about Tibet's struggle for independence. A few years back, there were a handful of docs released on this topic. Most seemed to want to garner audience sympathy through scenic views of Buddhist temples and extended footage of prayer services -- not really the most compelling argument for this viewer. Sarin and Sonam take a less romantic approach, focusing on the protests that rose up both within and without the country in 2008, while simultaneously following the Dalai Lama on his mission to gain international support for his controversial "Middle Way Approach," wherein the struggle for independence would be ceded in return for more autonomy and religious freedom. That the filmmakers chose to present real world politics -- including divisions within the movement itself -- rather than trying to seduce people with pretty images goes a long way towards making this film a valuable and comprehensive evaluation of one country's ongoing fight for liberty.
And while we're talking about seduction, we follow up with a conversation with Nash Edgerton, the Australian stuntman-turned-director whose debut feature is the wicked noir thriller, THE SQUARE. I'd seen this film at a screening almost a year ago, and ever since have been champing at the bit for its long-delayed release. The film definitely traces its roots to the likes of BLOOD SIMPLE and RED ROCK WEST, but with a sense of brutal irony and a gratifyingly twisty interlacing of schemes and deceptions that makes it stand out on its own (and pretty much distinguish itself as uniquely Australian). It's a good, dark ride; however long it took to finally hit the screens, it's well worth the wait.
Pretty nice way to get back into production, methinks. Click the link to hear the show:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-persons/emmighty-movie-podcastem_b_532967.htmlSo what have we been doing for the past couple of weeks? Pulling our hair out,... more
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Police will take away more than 100 monks for political re-education today on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising that led to the flight of the Dalai Lama.
The authorities are fearful of a repeat of the unrest last year when Tibetans used text messages to communicate details of new demonstrations against Chinese rule in the vast and sparsely populated Himalayan region. Protests spread swiftly among distant Tibetan communities on a scale unseen since the 1959 uprising.
A military lockdown has been in place across Tibet for several weeks. The authorities clearly do not want to be taken by surprise, as they were on March 14 last year when hundreds of Tibetans rampaged through the streets of Lhasa, setting fire to shops and offices, hurling stones and attacking ethnic Han Chinese and Hui Muslim residents. The Government says that 22 people died before paramilitary police moved in to restore order many hours after the violence had erupted.
Read and Discuss...Police will take away more than 100 monks for political re-education today on the eve... more
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This is from an email (and their website) from the International Campaign for Tibet, to its supporters and others.
"The 2008 Beijing Olympics are behind us and, as a result of Tibetan activism, the situation in Tibet was clearly the most significant human rights backdrop for the Games.
Monks march in protest at LabrangThe spring demonstrations across the Tibetan plateau and the protests along the route of the international torch relay not only put the Tibet issue on the Olympic agenda - it preempted Beijing from using the Olympics to show economic progress and social harmony in Tibet.
Just a year ago, the media was ignoring Tibet in its preparation for covering the Games in China. All that changed after March 2008.
Tens of thousands of Tibetans protested across Tibet this spring . . . not to demonstrate against the Olympics, but against Chinese misrule. Then, as the resulting Chinese crackdown intensified in Tibet, tens of thousands of Tibet supporters protested its parading of the Olympic torch around the world. Even during the Olympics Tibet supporters managed to hang banners in Beijing and show that the right to freedom of expression cannot be extinguished by dictatorial rule.
Despite the Chinese government’s efforts to silence Tibetans and make the world think there is no Tibet problem, exactly the opposite occurred.BBC News: Tibet Banner Hang
As a New York Times editorial said, the final gold medal for authoritarian image management can be safely awarded to China’s Communist Party leadership:
“Along the way, government critics were pre-emptively rounded up and jailed, domestic news outlets tightly controlled, foreign journalists denied full access to the Internet and thousands of Beijing’s least telegenic residents were evicted from their homes and out of camera range.”
I want to thank each and every one of you for helping to ensure that the voices of the Tibetan people were heard before and during the Olympics.
We have a tremendous amount of human rights work ahead of us: hundreds of Tibetans detained this spring have yet to be tried and sentenced. We must win the release of these men and woman, many who are Buddhist monks and nuns. In our new report, Tibet at a Turning Point, ICT confirms the names of more than 900 Tibetans detained.
Two Tibetan filmmakers who made a powerful film in Tibet about how Tibetans really feel about the Beijing Olympics have been arrested. Their whereabouts are currently unknown and we must win their release.
Before the Olympics, ICT was concerned that the Chinese government’s intense focus on the success of the Games would undermine the struggle of brave Tibetans and Chinese for human rights, democratic freedoms and self-determination.
Beijing did its best to silence them.
But thanks to you and tens of thousands of other Tibetan activists inside and outside Tibet, our cause has been strengthened and we go forward from the Olympics with a renewed confidence in the spirit and tenacity of the Tibetan people."This is from an email (and their website) from the International Campaign for Tibet,... more
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A group of six Americans who were taken into custody on Tuesday as they tried to protest China’s rule in Tibet have been given 10-day detentions, the Chinese police confirmed Friday.
But activists from the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet said Friday that they had no information about four other protesters who were detained early Thursday during a protest near National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest. The four are two Americans, a German and a Briton.
Extrajudicial detentions, a common punishment for Chinese dissidents, are rarely handed out to foreigners, who are often deported almost immediately after being taken into custody.
Members of Students for a Free Tibet have staged eight protests involving 55 people since the Olympics began on Aug. 8. Human rights advocates speculated that the government might be seeking to deter those contemplating similar activities in the Games’ final days.
J. Alexander Hamilton, a spokesman for the American Embassy in Beijing, said United States officials were working with Chinese authorities to gain more information about the detainees. “Our policy is to encourage the Chinese government to respect free expression and freedom of religion, which are protected by law,” he said.
Reached by phone, Public Security Bureau officials declined to comment but faxed a two-sentence statement explaining that the six Americans had been “apprehended for upsetting public order.” The statement, which did not include the detainees’ names, said the men were being held at the Dongcheng police station in Beijing.
According to Students for a Free Tibet, among those in custody are Brian Conley, 28, a video blogger from Philadelphia, and James Powderly, 31, an artist from New York who had planned to project the words “Free Tibet” on a building with laser beams. The others are Jeff Goldin, 40, Michael Liss, 35, and Tom Grant, 39, all from New York; and Jeffrey Rae, 28, from Philadelphia.
Five other Americans who were detained Tuesday were deported Wednesday. They had raised a banner near National Stadium with “Free Tibet” spelled out in lights in English and Chinese.
The organization was founded in 1994 and claims 650 chapters worldwide, at schools in more than 30 nations. Most of its demonstrations here have involved unfurling “Free Tibet” banners or displaying Tibetan flags, which are illegal in China.
[continued]A group of six Americans who were taken into custody on Tuesday as they tried to... more
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BBC is reporting that two activists demonstrating in Beijing city, in advance the of the Olympic games, have been arrested and detained by Chinese authorities. Iain Thom and Lucy Fairbrother are reported to have raised banners supporting a free Tibet, attaching them to a 36.5m lighting pole, proclaiming, "One world one dream free Tibet" and "Tibet will be free."
Speaking on a mobile telephone, while suspended from the pole, Mr Thom told BBC News: "I'm here today because I've been a long-term Tibet activist and I feel like now is a really critical time for Tibet.
A British Embassy spokesman said: "We are in touch with the Chinese authorities and are requesting immediate consular access should this information be correct." The Chinese authorities have not commented on the incident.BBC is reporting that two activists demonstrating in Beijing city, in advance the of... more
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I've been reading fragment from Mr David Marriott's Blog SEX AND SHANGHAI / 欲望上海 and I don't have words enough to recommend to everyone visit and read it carefully.
David Marriott gives a very accurate impression of the chinese social and political situation from the point of view of somebody who sees the problem from the inside without blinds of any kind or the brain wash of which the chinese population is victim after year and years of misleading education, political propaganda, threats and repressions from the leaders in Beijing.
Aside of the sexual adventures told in his writings, which in appearance are the most advertised contents of this blog, he explain with accurate details how really works the monster of the Chinese Communist Party to control the minds of the population until transform them in a mass of social zombies incapable of a political opinion, either because they have no resources or references to do so or because they are so afraid of the consequences that they prefer to shut and keep living in the very well sold concept of harmony.
If you ever wandered if the events in the movie "The Matrix" could really happen, then you have to take a deep look to the real situation in this country from the inside and you will be amazed of how powerful is the manipulation of the collective consciousness in a society.I've been reading fragment from Mr David Marriott's Blog SEX AND SHANGHAI /... more
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Flights to and from Beijing will be grounded during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 8, state media said Friday, in the latest security measure to hit China's capital.
"Airports and airlines have already received a notice that in order to guarantee the security of the Olympics, they have to ban flights according to the demands of the Civil Aviation Authority," the Beijing News said.
From 7:59 pm (1159 GMT) on August 8 to midnight, all flights to and from Beijing Capital Airport and Nanyuan airport in the south of the city would be grounded, the newspaper said.
Some of the flights would be moved to earlier or later slots while others have been cancelled, the report said.
The no-fly zone is the latest in a series of increasingly stringent safety measures aimed at reinforcing security in the capital ahead of and during the Olympic Games.
Dozens of heads of state including US President George W. Bush are expected to attend the opening ceremony.
Authorities in Beijing have warned of an unprecedented terror threat to the Olympics, particularly from its Muslim Xinjiang region in the northwest, and have said the security of athletes and tourists is their top priority.
A commentary in the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily newspaper, last weekend also warned of the security threat from Xinjiang and Tibet.
"The Beijing Olympics is facing a terrorist threat unsurpassed in Olympic history," it said.
Critics, however, say that China's communist rulers are exaggerating the security threat to clampdown on any form of protest during the Olympics.
Flights to and from Beijing will be grounded during the opening ceremony of the... more
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Tibetan flags will be banned from all Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong under rules aimed at heading off political propaganda and protests inside competition venues, organizers said Friday.
The crackdown guidelines apply to flags representing countries and regions without athletes in the events. Demonstrations, as well as any "propaganda" appearing on banners, clothing or other accessories, won't be allowed either.
Organizers said violators will be kicked out.
"I think most people who come to these events would hope nobody is allowed to spoil the fun and the purpose of the games," John Breen, security coordinator for the equestrian events, said at a news conference in Hong Kong.
The territory, which is hosting the equestrian event for the Beijing Olympics, has become a possible magnet for demonstrators as mainland China has tightened visa restrictions ahead of the games.
A former British colony now ruled by China, Hong Kong is supposed to enjoy Western-style civil liberties and grants visa-free access to citizens of many Western countries.
However, Hong Kong has acted to restrict demonstrators in some cases. In May, immigration officials turned back pro-Tibet activists who flew into Hong Kong before its leg of the Olympic torch relay.
Tibetan flags will be banned from all Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong under... more
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The government warned foreign performers and entertainers against harming China's sovereignty or ethnic unity, a sign of increasing nervousness over live performances weeks before the Olympic Games.
China is ratcheting up security ahead of the Aug. 8-24 games in an all-out attempt to shield the event from disruptions that could tarnish China's carefully cultivated image of order and control.
Also on Friday, The Shanghai Daily reported that Beijing's airport will close for about four hours during the opening ceremony on Aug. 8. The newspaper did not give a reason for the closure, which will affect dozens of flights.
China should strengthen its rules about foreign performers and performers from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, a notice on the Ministry of Culture's Web site said, including checks on their background.
"The content of the performance should not violate the country's law, including situations that harm the sovereignty of the country," the notice said.
Chinese authorities were alarmed in March after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her concert in Shanghai in March.
Authorities said Bjork's outburst "broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people's feelings," and vowed to be stricter on foreign performers.
The notice said performances should also not harm China's "national security, or incite racial hatred and ruin ethnic unity."
Performers should also not promote pornography and superstition, it said.
The rules were first introduced in 2005, but the notice acts as warning and reinforcement during a sensitive time weeks from the opening of the Olympic Games. Agencies that bring foreign performers to China will be banned for two years if they violate the rules, it said.
Musicians in Beijing have gone into hibernation this summer as live performances have been stopped in bars, a music festival canceled, and clubs suddenly told they need a live performance license.
The government warned foreign performers and entertainers against harming China's... more
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Nepalese police have arrested some 560 Tibetan women, including many Buddhist nuns, after breaking up demonstrations against China's crackdown in Tibet.
In the first example of all-women protests, three rallies in Kathmandu were quickly stopped by police.
It was the biggest round-up since Tibetan exiles began near daily demonstrations in March.
Protestors wearing black armbands wept and shouted "We want free Tibet" as they were dragged to police vans.
Police said those detained were being held in detention centres around the capital, and would be freed later. Nepalese police have arrested some 560 Tibetan women, including many Buddhist nuns,... more
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kushan
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added this
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3 years ago
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The Olympic torch reached the summit of Everest after several days of weather related delays.
The ascent and broadcast of the torches at 29,035 feet was a success in terms of safety and technological coordination, however political concerns over China's rule over Tibet still cloud the Games.The Olympic torch reached the summit of Everest after several days of weather related... more
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China's government agreed on Friday to a meeting with an envoy of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, a step that follows weeks of calls from world leaders for dialogue in the wake of anti-government protests in Tibet.China's government agreed on Friday to a meeting with an envoy of exiled Tibetan... more
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This is a short pod I just finished on the events that took place in San Francisco on April 9, 2008. This pod revolves around the protests which seemingly shut down the Embarcadero and the torch's route/ending ceremony. Enjoy and please give it the greenlight if you like it!
Pictures were courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle
This is a short pod I just finished on the events that took place in San Francisco on... more
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Makes you wonder_
Interesting first small paragraph though.
you can find the guy talking (texting?) here from a local blog:
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/2008/04/07/Makes you wonder_
Interesting first small paragraph though.
you can find the guy... more
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After the deaths of eight Tibetan protesters, London authorities are growing increasingly concerned regarding security for this weekend's Olympic torch relay.
The news of the protesters' deaths, allegedly at the hands of Chinese police officers, has left police in London fearing Sunday's 31-mile torch relay route could draw both pro-Tibet protesters and Chinese students, The Times of London reported Saturday.
Pro-Tibet campaigners vowed to increase protests of the Beijing Games immediately following Friday's deadly protest in China's Sichuan province, The Times said.
Chinese paramilitary police reportedly attempted to quell a protest by Tibetan monks and villagers by using force, leaving eight people dead.
After the deaths of eight Tibetan protesters, London authorities are growing... more
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