China security forces swarm Tibet

[Divine Discontent]

Source: AP

BEIJING - Soldiers on foot and in armored carriers swarmed Tibet's capital Saturday, enforcing a strict curfew a day after protesters burned shops and cars to vent their anger against Chinese rule. In another western city, police clashed with hundreds of Buddhist monks leading a sympathy demonstration.

The violence erupted just two weeks before China's Summer Olympic celebrations kick off with the start of the torch relay, which passes through Tibet. China is gambling that its crackdown will not draw an international outcry over human rights violations that could lead to boycotts of the Olympics.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on China "to exercise restraint in dealing with these protests," while the State Department issued a travel alert for Americans in the region. Her statement also called for China to release monks and others jailed for protesting.




Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080316/ap_on_re_as/china_tibet

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BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS!

[JDPriestly]

1. Bush has so weakened the U.S. that the Chinese have no

fear that they will incur our wrath and economic repercussions with this sort of retaliation against Tibetans. That is so sad. We are rapidly sinking to the place of a has-been power. Our military might is only effective if we have the economic clout to back it up. And let's face it this recent sub-prime mortgage crisis is ruining our ability to maintain the economic clout to hold on to our military superiority.

Sure, we still have the strongest and greediest military in the world, but not for long. Not for long. You have to feed, clothe, arm and supply a military. It takes lots of money to do that.

Remember the Spanish Armada -- With one stroke, Elizabeth I of England defeated the greatest power, Spa in.
Here is the story:



The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. It was arguably Queen Elizabeth's finest hour. For years she had been hailed as the English Deborah, the savior of the English people, and now it seemed that this is what she had really become. She was now Bellona, the goddess of war, and in triumph she had led her people to glory, defeating the greatest power in the 16th century world.

Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Philip II ruled vast territories of land, and had unparalleled wealth from the New World. England was a small country, with little wealth, few friends, and many enemies. If Queen Elizabeth ever felt nervous about challenging the greatest power in the known world, she never showed it, and appeared to believe completely in the devotion and loyalty of her people. By believing in them, they believed in her.

http://www.elizabethi.org/us/armada/

More on the military aspects of this struggle.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada

[Hugabear]

8. If Bush had any moral backbone, he'd boycott the Olympics

But we all know that won't happen, don't we

[sce56]

2. I would love to see a boycott of those F***'s n/t

[girl gone mad]

3. I won't be watching the Olympics..

or buying anything related to the Olympics. Kudos to Mr. Spielberg, by the way.

[ohio2007]

6. But the Chinese want you to watch the sporting event...they went through all this trouble of

cleaning up their image to show a false sense of just who they are. It will hurt their feelings . You don't want to hurt their feelings do you ?
That is a far worse thing you do then killing off 250 million of their surplus population with western munitions.
/sarc

[Triana]

4. I have NO INTENTION of watching the Olympics this year...

I wish EVERYONE would boycott so they have to cancel. China doesn't DESERVE the honor of hosting it.

[Caradoc]

5. Olympics

The Olympics are anything but honourable, at least in management. To many inside sports, for some time now it's been referred to as a kind of international sporting mafia and a shell game where taxpayers foot the bill for state of the art facilities that are rarely used beyond the Olympics they were built for (Montreal's Velodrome is now apparently a flea market and the Olympic Stadium's retractable roof was never completed...and the Games almost bankrupted the city). Meanwhile, all of the massive amounts of ad and television revenue goes straight into the IOC's pockets. The IOC (International Olympic Committee), contrary to popular perception, is not a public international organization, rather a private organization that holds the rights to the Olympic Games.

There is a serious need for a counter, more public entity to organize and present the very highest in international amateur sport because the Olympics is now all about big business. The IOC essentially has a monopoly.

[zonkers]

7. I know some players are definitely boycotting.

[ohio2007]

9. You mean like the ping pong champs from Taiwan ? nt

[zonkers]

11. Andy Roddick. More, I am sure. Journalists, too, in protests of all the jailed journalists in CH.

nt

[Divine Discontent]

12. that is GREAT news to hear... they need to boycott 'em

they're a fascist regime if there ever was one... people go missing all the time b/c they 'disrupt'.

[zonkers]

13. And you better not complain about factories polluting your local river.

[David__77]

14. China deserves that honor more than the US does.

It's not occupying nations thousands of miles from its borders, killing innocent children, ringing the world in military bases, supporting fascist coups and subverting sovereign nations.

[eib1]

10. Another troubled occupation, I see.

I have no sympathy for the Chinese.
They deserve none.