Delle Olimpiadi e dei risultati sportivi si parla ogni giorno. Il Tibet è sparito dalle cronache, come se si trattasse di una situazione risolta e appartenente al passato.

Nessun atleta, purtroppo,  ha avuto il coraggio di manifestare il dissenso nei confronti di un oppressione ancora in atto e semplicemente oscurata dalla grandezza dello spettacolo offerto dalla superpotenza cinese.

Hello my name is Beth Brock. I am writing to tell you about an exciting opportunity I am about to embark on and to ask for your help. During Fall Semester 2008, I will go to Kunming China, to teach kids English through International Language Programs (ILP). Ever since my oldest sister Andrea went to Russia with ILP eight years ago I have wanted to serve the children by teaching them English. The ability to speak English fluently will be greatly beneficial to these children, as well as to their families. Because many of the children who participate in the program come from lower-class families, ILP teachers must pay their own expenses, which include a $2320 program fee. As a result, I am asking for your help. If you can, please send a donation to ILP on my behalf.

Because ILP is an IRS qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization, any funds you donate are tax deductible. If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to call ILP at (801) 374-8854. You can also view the ILP website at: www.ilp.org.

I greatly appreciate any amount that you can give to this cause. Thank you for your support!!!

Kindest Regards,

Beth Brock

The detained activists are Americans Amy Johnson, 33, Sam Corbin, 24, Liza Smith, 31, Jacob Blumenfeld, 26, and Lauren Valle, 21.

“The Chinese government is desperate to turn the world’s attention away from its abuses in Tibet as the Olympics take place, but the creativity and determination of Tibetans and their supporters has once again ensured that Tibetan voices are heard and seen in Beijing despite the massive security clampdown,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Chinese leadership must realize that the only way it can make the issue of Tibet disappear is to acknowledge the demands of the Tibetan people and work with them to bring an end to China’s occupation of Tibet.”

The lights used on the banner are blue 10 mm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) powered by small batteries, commonly known as “throwies.” Throwies are open-source technology attributed to OpenLab and Graffiti Research Lab, developed as a means of creating non-destructive graffiti and light displays. This is the first time ever that they have been used on a banner. James Powderly, free speech activist and co-founder of the Graffiti Research Lab (GRL), was detained in Beijing early this morning (link).

Students for a Free Tibet has staged seven protests in Beijing over the last two weeks, placing the issue of Tibet’s occupation front and centre as China hosts the Olympic Games. The protests have included a dramatic banner hang near the Bird’s Nest Stadium; a display of Tibetan flags near the Bird’s Nest just before the opening ceremony began; a symbolic die-in at Tiananmen Square; a protest by a Tibetan woman with flags outside Tiananmen Square; a blockade of the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park; and “Free Tibet” banner hang outside the CCTV headquarters. Thirty-seven members and supporters have been detained and deported, not including those detained today.

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is a network of young people and activists campaigning for Tibetan independence, with 700 chapters in more than 30 countries worldwide. SFT’s international headquarters are in New York, with offices in Toronto, London, and Dharamsala, India.

Contacts: In Asia, Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director, and Kate Woznow, Campaigns Director, +1 917 289 0219 or +44 20 7084 6245

Watch video here.

"This haircut is from this morning. I can't directly say why I did it. It's connected with certain things that the Olympic Charter forbids. But I will say that it's symbolic," he told a Polish news agency August 17. 

Kolecki, a member of the Polish team for the 2008 Olympic Games has been very outspoken about China's policies. "I am outraged by what's going on in Tibet. When I read about it, I can hardly believe I'll compete in a country that bloodily suppresses street protests and persecutes people who don't agree with the party. I can't believe the Chinese have launched an immense operation to block Lhasa", he said after the events unfolded in Tibet. 

Earlier in March, a week after the Lhasa unrest where Chinese troops subdued peaceful protestors he said, "Unless the Chinese regime becomes more moderate, I'll compete with my head shaved in a gesture of solidarity with the Tibetan monks".

True to his word, a bald Kolecki took centerstage on Sunday bagging the silver medal in his category.

He further added, "Until August 17th, I'll be focused chiefly on my participation in the contest. But after that I'll keep my eyes wide open and if I see something worrying, I'll surely not look away."

Kolecki was born on October 12, 1981 in Olawa, a town in south-western Poland and was a silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney after which a serious back injury forced him to put his career on hold. He recuperated and returned to weightlifting in late 2005 and remains a five time gold winner at the European Championships over the years.

Here's the story - via BoingBoing (via Free Tibet 2008).

And here's more, via Gawker.

Thanks to Kin for the tip(s).

Egal wo, egal wer, aber nicht egal wofür !

http://www.candle4tibet.org/

China's plans for Tibet -Mandarin-style by Kasugai_gummie

Do It For the Lulz ! Like Liu Xiang. : D

Face it, folks, the Olympics have become a farce. Sure, they were a good idea at the time. I would even go so far as to say that they were a brilliant idea. Getting all the nations of the world together for a gigantic play date was sheer genius. The hosting nation got to strut its stuff and show off to the rest of the world. Everyone's top young athletes got to compete in the world's arena and make friends with their fellow competitors. This was meant to foster international friendship and understanding and prevent the scourge of war. Maybe the inventors of the idea were a little naive and idealistic, but it was still a damned good idea.

The Olympics had its ups and downs; it's good moments and its bad moments. The event even kicked off some great careers. Johnny Weissmuller the movie's greatest Tarzan started off as an Olympic swimmer. Basil “Sherlock Holmes” Rathbone was an Olympic fencer, and who can forget Muhammad Ali, who will always be “Champ” in my heart? There was the obscenity which was the 1936 Berlin Olympics and their was the tragedy which was the 1972 Berlin Olympics. Who can forget the poetry on Ice that was Dorothy Hamill? Then, of course, there was the Jamaican Bobsled Team. Those guys would have been hilarious if they hadn't gotten hurt.

Today, The International NeoConservative Conspiracy has taken over the Olympic Games and infected them with the same lack of ethics and need for greed that caused the mortgage meltdown. Olympic athletes are no longer amateurs competing against other amateurs. They are now paid professionals working for a paycheck. Originally Olympic sponsors were limited in the amount of support they could give an athlete, and cash bonuses for gold medals would have disqualified a competitor. Today it is simply part of the pay package. I remember that it had been a scandal when professional tennis players turned back to the amateurs so they could compete in the Olympics. Today there is no boundary between amateurs and professionals. When U.S Olympians wear the Nike logo rather than the American flag, we know that the United States has totally whored itself to the multinational corporations.

It would seem that the entire Olympic committee has sold its collective soul to Satan. Not only has the committee allowed multinational corporations like Nike to buy Olympic Athletes like they were junk bonds, but they have totally scrapped any pretense at supporting human rights. The selection of Beijing as the Olympics host city is an affront to civilized people everywhere. I watched China's Olympic preparations with amazement and horror. 100,000 Chinese citizens were evicted and left homeless in the construction of the Olympic Stadium, and those who would advocate for the homeless were arrested and are being held incommunicado until after the Olympics are over. The indigent were chased out of Beijing with no means of support. People's pets were killed before their owner's eyes to assure Beijing's reputation as a “clean” city.

As shocking as all this is, nothing tops the Chinese Girls Olympics Team. Those poor girls are taken away from their parents as if they were Labrador Retriever Puppies. They are then isolated and forced to train in gymnastics like they were animals in a Siegfried and Roy act. They are not given any education. They are not allowed contact with their families. They are not allowed to play, or do anything except train in gymnastics. Ringling Brothers treats their animal acts with more humanity than China treats its girls gymnastics team. This is what the Olympics have been reduced to; child labor as shocking as anything that happens in a Nike factory.

Sometimes the spirit of the true Olympics come through, such as when the women of the Georgian and Russian sharp shooting teams hugging as an antiwar statement. I choose to see that as an omen of hope for the world, but not for the Olympics. The Olympics have been reduced to treating little girls like they were a trained dog act. The Olympics are no longer about human rights. Forget about fostering international understanding. The Olympics are about selling Coca-Cola, and furthering Chinese economic imperialism. Boycott the Olympics folks. Boycott Olympic sponsors. Say no to child exploitation and child labor, don't drink Coke and don't wear Nike.

"Unfortunately the Olympic spirit is not being respected at all by Chinese officials in Tibet," he said in an interview on France's TF1 television, when asked if the tradition of an Olympic truce was being respected.

"There are restrictions on the circulation of information, very strong censorship," he said.

"Civilians are often arrested, violently tortured to the point where they die. It's really very, very sad," he said.

The Dalai Lama is on a two-week visit to France, mostly focused on religious commitments. He has made few political comments but he criticised China's actions in Tibet at a meeting on Wednesday with French legislators.

The visit has triggered a domestic row in France, where critics accuse President Nicolas Sarkozy of caving into Chinese pressure by declining to meet him.

On Saturday he met Sarkozy's challenger in last year's presidential election, Segolene Royal, who said she intended to visit Tibet.

Foreign activists have staged a number of protests in Beijing to highlight what they say is repression of Tibetans in the Himalayan region but the Dalai Lama has appealed to supporters not to disrupt the Games.

WE'VE seen almost every possible emotion at these Olympics: misery, joy, despair and a wonderful display of raw surprise by the man from Togo.

Benjamin Boukpeti was so astonished at winning Togo's first medal (of any colour) in the K-1 slalom that he snapped his oar in half, then waved the Togo flag so violently that he capsized. It was lovely.

There has been some sensational soprano grunting, too, from the tiny girl weightlifters. Not sure if it counts as an emotion but, as a display of feeling, there's nothing so emphatic as a staccato pre-jerk bark from a little lady with barrel thighs.

But there's been no hint that the athletes in Beijing think or feel anything beyond the rush of lactic acid. Where's the political consciousness, people?

Apart from an open letter sent to Chinese Premier Hu Jintao before the Games, in which 120 past and present athletes (sadly, none of them Australian) raised concerns about Tibet, there has been a depressing silence.

Don't competitors want to acknowledge that they're competing in a police state? Are they conscious of what happens beyond the ring of army tanks around the Olympic precinct? What a shame.

When the International Olympic Committee handed hosting rights to China, we read a great deal of speculation about how the IOC hoped it could help democratise China.

My natural inclination is to suspect the IOC of dodginess at every opportunity, but I did have some hope that this might just turn out to be more than one diseased old regime clapping another on the back.

Perhaps, I thought, this will shine a disinfecting light into the dark corners of repression. And, surely, some brave athlete will use their time on the winner's podium to stick two fingers up to the regime.

If anyone has the opportunity to use fame for good, it's Olympic athletes.

They have the exposure - and the orthodontic perfection - to get a message heard around the globe. They also have a captive audience of journalists desperate to hold Beijing accountable for the off-field bullying and brutality we all know is going on.

If Michael Phelps can get the Olympic rings tattooed on one hip and a big M for Michigan University on the other, why not a T for Tibet on his ankle?

What's stopping Libby Trickett saying something like: "Oh, and while I'm live on television, I'd like to thank China for hosting the Games and encourage the government to embrace the spirit of openness and harmony by releasing a few political prisoners".

Yes, I know the Australian Olympic Committee has said athletes aren't allowed to do that sort of thing, and I'm well aware our Olympic bureaucrats have a record of petty score-settling that may make team members wary of doing anything naughty.

The AOC, remember, spent three decades punishing Peter Norman for wearing a human rights badge on the podium while Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a black power salute at the 1968 Games.

Today's athletes have the same opportunity to make their voices heard. They've had all the benefits of education, travel and, in many cases, exposure to the work of international charities to enlarge their sense of global citizenship.

And they're the only ones who can do it.

The Beijing Organising Committee is doing everything in its power to stop journalists raising politics. A BOCOG moderator blocked a question about the Russia-Georgia war during a press conference for a Georgian medal-winner.

When asked why, BOCOG spokesman Wei Wang trotted out the usual pap about Rule 51.3 of the Olympic Charter, which forbids the promotion of political agendas.

BOCOG may feel comfortable bullying journalists but the politburo isn't going to try taking a medal off an athlete for chucking in the odd "Free Tibet!" at the end of a press conference.

It's worth the risk, isn't it?

I could go all PC and complain about the opening miseries ceremonies, the way China is suppressing the news of Olympic issues that aren't 100% favorable, but there has never been freedom of speech for the Chinese or for the visiting media. There is the oppression of the Tibetan nationals, but the Chinese government has been imprisoning and vanishing 'political prisoners' for as long as its been in power; Tibetans were too afraid to talk about their situation in case they were carted of to prison when I was there in 2006, why should now be any different?

....and drugs, don't get me started on drugs. The IOC chairman comes out and basically says that "we know a lot of athletes are doping, but we can't catch them". Ben 'the needle' Johnson blew the lid on how many folks were on 'Roids back in 88, and this years 1500m winner came back after a drugs suspension. Then the mess with Tamsyn Lewis, the poor girl.

Screw this shit, why penalise the few athletes who obey the rules? Let everyone shoot the go-juice and we'll see just how far we can push the human body. If nearly everyone does it, why not just let the pharmaceutical companies sponsor, and power up, the athletes. At least we'll get a level playing field.

Nope, I'm not a fan because I don't enjoy watching near perfection. When a field of athletes perform perfectly, where's the fun? Where's the human frailty and confusion? When everyone is almost perfect why not just watch a computer generated simulation? I miss the time when the facade that the Olympics was for amateurs still existed. Now when athletes are performing for a million dollars if they get X gold medals, how can anyone pretend that these are anything but paid professionals?

Like the paid cheerleaders, near perfection.....

Dhondup Tsering, 63 years old. (Photo by Tenzin Dasel/Phayul.com)
New Delhi, August 16 - The Tibetan Youth Congress has today launched the third batch of hunger strikers with renewed vengeance. After the second volume of six men were forced to the hospital August 14, TYC President Tsewang Rinzin made the announcement at the camp site earlier today.

The third group of fasting Tibetans include Dhondup Tsering, 63, Camp No. 16, Bylakuppe who is the oldest among all eighteen participants, Tsering Tashi, 21, hails from Ladakh, Thupten Tsewang, 20, from Sera Jey was one of the marchers from TYC Independence March to Bodh Gaya in May, Jampa Kelsang, 33, Sera Jay, Nawang Samten, 26, Drepung Gomang, core marcher of Tibetan People's Uprising Movement's March to Tibet which began from Dharamsala and Tashi Gyamtso, 31 from Drepung Monastery in South India.

Dhondup Tsering, 63 told Phayul, "I am here to condemn China's inhuman actions against peaceful demonstrators in our homeland. China's highhandedness in all three provinces of Tibet has left thousands injured and dead since the March unrest." He further added that though he realized he was the oldest among all the three batches who have participated in the indefinite fast so far, he was of sound health. His main motive was to share the pain of those suffering inside Tibet and he was determined to do just that.

The first batch of hunger strikers who were discharged from hospital a couple of days ago returned to Jantar Mantar yesterday and shared their experiences. They implored fellow Tibetans not to lose hope and said their struggle was worth every sacrifice in the world.

An Indo-Tibet flag flew high at Jantar Mantar with the words "Thank You India" written across it.

(Photo by Tenzin Sangmo/Phayul.com)

On the 61st anniversary of its Independence, TYC paid tribute to India thanking her for her generosity and hospitality. India is home to over 1,20,000 Tibetan refugees and according to TYC, "August 15th is a moment of joy, of happiness for Indians, a nation, a race that for the past 50 years have been providing us asylum, has given us a second life, "a home away from home". The opportunities both commercial and educational, India has provided to the Tibetans is highly commendable as no nation would treat refugees as its own Citizens. Tibetans are truly grateful for the love and the affection being showered upon them by Indians. Hence, on this special day, the Tibetan Youth Congress would like to thank India wholeheartedly for everything that it has done for the Tibetans." An Indo-Tibet flag flew high at Jantar Mantar with the words "Thank You India, Happy Independence Day" written across it.
Sunghyun Park, a Tibet supporter from South Korea who studies in Paris and a familiar face among pro-Tibet rallies in New Delhi said, "I was one of the protestors at the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay earlier this year. I think the unjust, repressive policies of China are thoroughly wrong. I totally support the hunger strikers and respect their effort and sacrifices for the Tibetan nation. Personally, I hope they won't lose their health."

The video in question (see below) was clearly not an example of copyright infringement. YouTube and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) both pushed back against the IOC, which then withdrew their complaint. As the EFF notes, however, the inaccurate title of the video was "Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony," so in all likelihood, the IOC was filing DMCA notices for Olympics content, which has been springing up on YouTube faster than they can take it down.

Anthony Falzone, Executive Director of the Fair Use Project, was impressed that YouTube went beyond the call of duty in pushing back at the IOC. With the sheer volume of DMCA requests that YouTube must be fielding with the Olympics, taking the time to double-check the content is certainly impressive. At the same time, however, it highlights how much work YouTube has to do in terms of policing copyrighted content. The number of legal notices they have to respond to consume time and resources that might be put to better use.

Hier geht der lesenswerte Artikel von Colin Goldner in der "Junge Welt" vom 15.8.08 weiter. Er beleuchtet die historischen Zusammenhänge seit den 50er Jahren und beleuchtet, wer und was wirklich hinter den "Free Tibet"-Aktionen steht. Einen weiteren Artikle über die "Phallus-Brüller" schrieb Goldner für die taz. Eine Zusammenstellung von weiteren links zum Thema Tibet gibt es auf dieser Seite.

British protester held in Beijing

The banner was unfurled on a building next to an Olympic promotion

A British man has been held by police in China after unfurling a pro-Tibet banner on a building in Beijing.

Philip Kirk, 24, of St Albans, Herts, and Australian-Canadian Nicole Rycroft, 41, scaled the Central Television building to make their protest.

The pair, from the group Students for a Free Tibet, and three other supporting protesters were detained on Friday.

Han Shan, spokesman for the campaign group, said the banner read "Free Tibet" in English and Chinese.

Kate Woznow, also from the group, said the protest happened at the headquarters of the state-owned China Central Television building in east Beijing.

She said Mr Kirk and Ms Rycroft were detained after climbing up part of the building to reveal the banner.

Previous protests

Last week, two other British pro-Tibet protesters, Lucy Fairbrother, 23, from Cambridge, and Iain Thom, 24, from Edinburgh, were deported after scaling a 120ft-high (36.5m) lighting pole and unfurling banners reading "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet" and "Tibet will be free".

The activists said the action had been worth it - but their job was not done and there would be more protests during the games.

We are in touch with the Chinese authorities and we are seeking further details British embassy spokesman

Eight demonstrators from Students for a Free Tibet were also detained on Wednesday after staging a demonstration.

Wang Wenjie, of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, said he did not have any information about the latest protest.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Beijing said: "We are in touch with the Chinese authorities and we are seeking further details."

Officials expect Mr Kirk to be deported some time on Friday.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Qin Gang, warned activists on Wednesday to obey the law in China, which does not allow unauthorized protests.

He said: "No matter Chinese citizens or foreigners, in China if you want to have processions or demonstrations, you should abide by Chinese laws and regulations."

China's modern Gestapo - the “6-10 office”

Formed by former leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Jiang Zemin, the “610 office” has its central office in Beijing, and branches in all the Chinese cities, villages, governmental agencies, institutions, and schools.

In 1992, Falun Gong – a new Buddhist Tai Chi-like movement – began to sweep China. When I first visited Beijing in 1996, every open space was filled with people practising its slow exercises and meditation. By 1999 it had some 100 million adherents.

Because of its self-discipline and healthy approach – practitioners do not smoke or drink alcohol and have a rigorous moral code – it was encouraged by the authorities.

Then, in 1999, the regime became fearful that Falun Gong could become an organised force and began a ruthless crackdown, organised by the notorious "6-10" office, named after its foundation date.
I had heard that practitioners were harshly treated and that persecution by other prisoners was encouraged, but it was reports of transplants from living prisoners – a ghastly reward for their healthy lifestyle – which took me to China.

Sitting on the hotel bed in front of me was Niu Jinping, 52, and his two-year-old daughter. Niu had served two years in prison for practising Falun Gong and his wife was still in prison.
The last time he saw her, in January, her entire body was bruised from the repeated beatings she took as the torturers tried to make her denounce Falun Gong: she is now deaf.

Niu was in despair: the beatings his wife suffered lasted sometimes for 20 hours.
He told me that 30 of the Falun Gong practitioners in his prison had died through beatings.
When the crackdown began, Niu lost his work permit and had to sell his house to live.
He earns about $90-a-month guarding the cars of China's new rich.
Was there anything about Falun Gong which was seditious, or dangerous to the regime?
No, said Niu bleakly.

Falun Gong is not a membership organization and charges no fees.

In response to the crackdown, practitioners began a peaceful "truth" campaign against the regime, which has so far triggered more than 10 million resignations from the Communist Party and
its affiliations.
Volunteers produce its international Epoch Times newspaper and a TV and radio channel.
It was an Epoch Times reporter who shouted at Chinese President Hu Jintao on the White House lawn recently. According to the many diplomats, journalists and other observers I met, it is not just Falun Gong, but other Buddhists – especially Tibetans – as well as Christians and Muslims who are being persecuted.
Yet sadly, China's vast economic boom – the subject of a major
new series beginning on BBC2 tonight – makes the same diplomats and visitors turn an official blind eye to the hundreds of thousands in "administrative detention".

One man who has spoken out is human-rights advocate Gao Zhisheng.
His Beijing law office took up the cases of desperate people until the authorities put him under house arrest in February: he had advised Niu Jinping.

Gao, a Christian, told me that I was the only politician in seven years to meet Falun Gong ex-prisoners in China, and he criticised Western diplomats for walking by on the other side of the street.

The other ex-convict I interviewed was Cao Dong, 36, who had been in prison with seven Tiananmen Square protesters and told the same story.
With tears, he told me he saw the cadaver of his friend – a fellow Falun Gong practitioner – and the holes where the organs had been removed.
I have just heard that the secret police have used his flat key to collect his computer material
and private papers.
They had already interrogated his flatmate for five days.
As a result, the flatmate has gone into hiding.
Cao Dong, meanwhile, has been missing since the interview.
I have demanded an urgent meeting with the Chinese ambassador to the EU.
If people in Beijing think this is the way to prepare for the Olympics, they have made the wrong call.

Details: China’s Modern Gestapo (1)- Preface

FUCK BEIJING ! - Human rights NOW!!

The students who have yet to appear in court or been given legal representation broke the 'laws of the people of the United States' by attempting to exercise their right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in the notoriously secretive country.

A spokesman for the United States said 'We need to strike a balance between the wellbeing of the people and what is good for them. Protests like this cannot be tolerated and offend the motherland and all its patriotic citizens. There is a time and a place for this sort of thing and when we organise it we will let you know. Until then, the Party rules must be obeyed'

Torquil Harrington, a spokesman for the Free Tibet movement said ' Well it is all very well that we use our gap years to interfere in the politics of another country, but it is just not the done thing for them to come over here and threaten our domestic harmony like that. Mummy says its downright rude. '

The group of 6 have had their laptops and passports confiscated, undergone interrogation by waterboarding and are expected to be held until they face trial within the next 4 or 5 years, in line with current U.S. policy. The story is unlikely to be covered by the state-run media.

I thought I had it tough squeezing through crowds at Union Square to get a good shot of the spectacle created by protesters supporting the Free Tibet movement. Jon Ray, a reporter for ITN in the UK, had it much worse.

Ray and a cameraman were reporting on a protest near the Olympic games in the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park when police shut him down. See the video of the protesters and Ray's arrest here.

ITN's reaction: "We intend to protest in the strongest possible terms to the Chinese authorities and seek assurances that the treatment meted out to Mr Ray will not be repeated."

Meanwhile, the IOC continuing to say they support open access to journalists. Does this sound like an active reaction? It's best summed up by Steve Gosset:

So much for free media access during the games. ITN and the International Olympic Committee registered their concerns. Hopefully, the Chinese will do more than just yawn.