Urban Dharma March 30, 2008
March 29, 2008
Tibet riots orchestrated?
By Gordon Thomas, Source: Canada Free Press, March 21, 2008
Just in case you wondered why these “Tibetan monks” were so violent in Lhasa….
London, UK — Britain’s GCHQ, the government communications agency that electronically monitors half the world from space, has confirmed the claim by the Dalai Lama that agents of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the PLA, posing as monks, triggered the riots that have left hundreds of Tibetans dead or injured.
<< Chinese soldiers posing as Tibetan monks during the riots. Brit spies confirm Dalai Lama’s report of staged violence
GCHQ analysts believe the decision was deliberately calculated by the Beijing leadership to provide an excuse to stamp out the simmering unrest in the region, which is already attracting unwelcome world attention in the run-up to the Olympic Games this summer.
For weeks there has been growing resentment in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, against minor actions taken by the Chinese authorities.
Increasingly, monks have led acts of civil disobedience, demanding the right to perform traditional incense burning rituals. With their demands go cries for the return of the Dalai Lama, the 14th to hold the high spiritual office.
Committed to teaching the tenets of his moral authority - peace and compassion - the Dalai Lama was 14 when the PLA invaded Tibet in 1950 and he was forced to flee to India from where he has run a relentless campaign against the harshness of Chinese rule.But critics have objected to his attraction to film stars. Newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch has called him: “A very political monk in Gucci shoes.”
Discovering that his supporters inside Tibet and China would become even more active in the months approaching the Olympic Games this summer, British intelligence officers in Beijing learned the ruling regime would seek an excuse to move and crush the present unrest.
That fear was publicly expressed by the Dalai Lama. GCHQ’s satellites, geo-positioned in space, were tasked to closely monitor the situation.
The doughnut-shaped complex, near Cheltenham racecourse, is set in the pleasant Cotswolds in the west of England. Seven thousand employees include the best electronic experts and analysts in the world. Between them they speak more than 150 languages. At their disposal are 10,000 computers, many of which have been specially built for their work.
The images they downloaded from the satellites provided confirmation the Chinese used agent provocateurs to start riots, which gave the PLA the excuse to move on Lhasa to kill and wound over the past week.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid March 28, 2008
YouTube: Video Creators Know When and Where Clips Watched
nytimes.com — In a move to provide better data to its users, YouTube formally announced late Wednesday that it had added a free feature that will show video creators when and where viewers are watching their videos.More… (Tech Industry News)
Give Away Money March 21, 2008
Key to Happiness: Give Away Money
livescience.com — New research reveals that when individuals dole out money for gifts for friends or charitable donations, they get a boost in happiness while those who spend on themselves get no such cheery lift.
More… <— The comments following this are funny!
Sign The Petition March 21, 2008
Dear friends,
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Our petition for restraint and dialogue in Tibet is exploding, with 253,353 signers since yesterday! Add your voice to the outcry now:
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In just 36 hours, 253,553 of us have supported the Dalai Lama’s call for dialogue and human rights in Tibet. This is an incredible response–if each of us can get 4 more of our friends to sign the petition, we’ll hit 1 million this week!
After decades of suffering, the Tibetan people have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. The spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games is now on China, and Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner the Dalai Lama is calling to end all violence through restraint and dialogue–he urgently needs the support of the world’s people.
China’s leaders are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but we’re told many Chinese officials believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China’s leadership is right now considering a crucial choice between crackdown and dialogue that could determine Tibet’s–and China’s–future.
We can affect this historic choice–China does care about its international reputation, and we can help them choose the right path. China’s President Hu Jintao needs to hear that the ‘Made in China’ brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below now to join 250,000 others and sign the petition–and tell absolutely everyone you can right away–our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/22.php
China’s economy is dependent on “Made in China” exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new and respected China.China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability — some of Tibet’s rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and reform.
We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in New York, London and Beijing, but it must be a massive number first. Please forward this email to your address book with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book–it will come up after you sign.
The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak–we must help them be heard.
With hope and respect,
Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team
Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
Crackdown in Tibet, but protests spreading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/tibet.china
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-protests-widens/2008/03/17/1205602289349.html
Dalai Lama calling for dialogue and restraint, and an end to violence:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.216.htm
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200803191258-pol-ren0032-art.html
Leaders across Europe and Asia starting to back dialogue as the way forward:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7300157.stm
Chinese Prime Minister attacks “Dalai clique”, leaves door open for talks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813194.htm
Other Chinese signals:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_looks_at_India_to_talk_to_Dalai_Lama/articleshow/2875142.cms
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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.
5 Years in Iraq March 19, 2008
On the 5th Anniversary of Iraq War, It’s Mourning in America
buzzflash.com — So, it ’s the Fifth Anniversary of a grim milestone in American history: a war without end, run by incompetent leaders who reside in “Neverland.” It’s an occasion for mourning in America, not celebration.
