Human Rights Tabled?

This is very disappointing from the Secretary of State, and I have to imagine, the Administration.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that she would not emphasize contentious issues such as human rights in talks this weekend with the Chinese, focusing instead on topics on which progress may be more likely: the global economy, climate change and security issues [...]

"We know what they're going to say because I've had those kinds of conversations for more than a decade with Chinese leaders," Clinton told reporters.

"We have to continue to press them. But our pressing on these issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis."

This is that "common ground" approach that Obama wants to make a standard, and to be sure the United States has a long history, in both Democratic and Republican Administrations, of cozying up to human rights abusers. Of course, ghetto-izing human rights as a "side issue" and not one that is linked to, say, the economy (slave labor and sweatshops in China) or cooperation on security (how can we lecture some nations on human rights but not others with more clout) does no service to American or global interests. Especially when the White House tries to highlight Clinton's commitment to women's rights ON THE SAME TRIP.

I do believe that it’s important for someone in my position to raise the role of women on an ongoing basis, even in countries where women are not given full and equal rights. So I don’t think it’s enough that people deal with me; I want them to deal with their own women, I want them to think about giving all women the rights to be fully functioning, productive citizens. So that is part of the mission that I feel I carry as the Secretary of State of the United States, and that’s what I intend to promote as I travel around the world talking about a lot of these important matters that are really at the core of the kind of future we’re going to have for ourselves and our children.

Unless we're talking about China, and then women who criticize the government, along with men, can have their rights taken away. So can any woman living in Tibet.

The Most Gracious Hosts

Those boffo Olympics are sure the talk of the town, aren't they? Breaking ratings records and world records! Excitement personified!

Here's what is happening off camera:

Six Americans detained by police this week could be held for 10 days, according to Chinese authorities, who appear to be intensifying their efforts to shut down any public demonstrations during the final days of the Olympic Games.

Since the Games began, no foreigners are known to have been detained for more than a few hours. Most of the approximately 40 non-Chinese involved in a handful of unauthorized, small-scale demonstrations have been deported.

A short statement faxed Thursday by Beijing police to foreign news agencies said the six foreigners were apprehended for "upsetting public order" and would be subject to the 10-day detention. It identified one of the six, detained Tuesday, as "Thomas."

These are mostly videobloggers from Students for a Free Tibet who had been broadcasting video of protests, sometimes using the live streaming technology of Qik, around the world. You always cut the communication lines first.

It could be worse, they could be this elderly couple, headed to the re-education camps:

In the annals of people who have struggled against Communist Party rule, Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying are unlikely to merit even a footnote.

The two women, both in their late 70s, have never spoken out against China’s authoritarian government. Both walk with the help of a cane, and Ms. Wang is blind in one eye. Their grievance, receiving insufficient compensation when their homes were seized for redevelopment, is perhaps the most common complaint among Chinese displaced during the country’s long streak of fast economic growth.

But the Beijing police still sentenced the two women to an extrajudicial term of “re-education through labor” this week for applying to hold a legal protest in a designated area in Beijing, where officials promised that Chinese could hold demonstrations during the Olympic Games.

Their crime is APPLYING to protest. Not protesting, just wanting to do so.

I'm so glad China got these two weeks of free propaganda on the world stage! Never mind the illegal detention and the re-education camps. That Bird's Nest is exquisite!

People's Republic Of Perspective

So yeah, the Chinese added some computer-generated fireworks to the opening ceremonies, and one of the singers was lip-synching. Somehow I don't think these are the worst things the Chinese have ever done; I think the whole authoritarian police state that represses sovereign nations and commits untold human rights abuses. I'll give them the lip-synching.

In other news, apparently David Brooks performs the same reductivist psychobabble on foreign nationals that he does on Americans.

Olympics Protest Watch

Thumbs up to the protesters getting through the strict security apparatus at the Olympics in Beijing to register their voice in opposition to Chinese repression in Tibet and in their own country. Noel Hidalgo shot some qik video of protesters for the outside world to see and was deported, and then there was this protest at the equestrian event:

Two American activists from the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet unfurled the Tibetan flag among the spectators at the equestrian stadium in Hong Kong's suburban Sha Tin district.

Earlier in the day, Hong Kong university student Christina Chan and another protester tried to unveil a Tibetan flag that was concealed behind a Canadian flag but security officers covered them with a piece of cloth before it was fully exposed.

Radical opposition lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung and a fellow activist held up a piece of paper that said «No dictatorship» and chanted «End one-party rule,» referring to the Chinese Communist Party's monopoly on power.

A Students for a Free Tibet statement identified the Americans as Matthew Browner-Hamlin from Anchorage, Alaska and Brianna Cayo Cotter from San Francisco, California.

I've known Matt through the blogging world for some time now, and can't help but be impressed with his commitment to free people.

Anyway, it's better than going to the Olympics to play some grab-ass.

(slightly related PS: In researching a different Olympics post, I came across this from my archives. Remember that four years ago, Bush ran ads with footage of the Iraqi and Afghan Olympic teams to prove how well things were going there? Amazing.)

Cleaning Up The Text

So here's a little article about Stephen Hadley's appearance on This Week, and their discussion of the Administration's position on boycotting the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

It would be a "cop-out" for countries to skip the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics as a way of protesting China's crackdown in Tibet, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday.

The kind of "quiet diplomacy" that the U.S. is practicing is a better way to send a message to China's leaders rather than "frontal confrontation," Stephen Hadley said [...]

"We haven't worked out the details of his schedule at this point in time, but from his vantage point, if you listen to what he said, he has no reason not to go," Hadley said in broadcast interviews Sunday. "Because what he has said is we need to be using diplomacy."

Calling a boycott "a bit of a red herring," Hadley added: "I think unfortunately a lot of countries say, 'Well, if we say that we are not going to the opening ceremonies, we've check the box on Tibet.' That's a cop-out.

"If other countries are concerned about Tibet, they ought to do what we are doing through quiet diplomacy, send the message clearly to the Chinese that this is an opportunity with the whole world watching, to show that they take into account and are determined to treat their citizens with dignity and respect. They would put pressure on the Chinese authorities quietly to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama and use this as an opportunity to help resolve that situation," he said.

Critics of China say that were Bush to avoid the opening ceremony, it would send a powerful signal of international anger over China's violent response to demonstrating Buddhist monks in Tibet.

"The whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue," Hadley said. "I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about" Tibet.

Nowhere in this story is the fact that Hadley confused Tibet with Nepal at least five times over the course of the discussion. You know, when the national security advisor to the President repeatedly gets the name wrong of a global trouble spot, you tend to get the impression that he doesn't give a shit about it. But fortunately for him, the AP cleaned up the comments. In fact, look at that last sentence:

"The whole issue of opening ceremonies is a nonissue," Hadley said. "I think it is a way of dodging what really needs to happen if you're concerned about" Tibet.

Tibet can't be inside the quote marks because Hadley actually said "Nepal." A peaceful kingdom. Not Tibet. Because he's willfully uninformed.

This isn't just a buried lede, it's a lede six feet under.

...also, you gotta love George Stephanopoulos not correcting him, even after the fifth time he screws it up. Believe me, a Democrat who made that mistake once would get rebuked.

Security Van Relay Today In San Francisco

The phalanx of security around this Olympic torch relay in San Francisco is ridiculous. You probably can't even see the runners unless you're in a helicopter. Mayor Newsom truncated the relay from 8 miles to 3 just a few hours before the parade started. And they keep changing the route with each passing corner, as if they're making it up on the fly. Not sure why Newsom should have bothered at all. Hundreds of security forces forming a human chain - must be proud, eh, San Francisco?

There are some live photos of the protest here, including a bus driver coming perilously close to running over protesters.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has vowed to skip the opening ceremonies in Beijing. The will of the people is being democratically expressed.

Here's a live feed of the relay.

...There's also a liveblog at Daily Kos. Apparently the protesters got fairly close to the relay a couple minutes ago, halting it for a stretch.

A friend emails:

i just stood out on embarcadero for over an hour while the cops told us "it's coming, it's coming right along here." meanwhile the torch was already headed at its ponderous pace down van ness. fucking pissed.

Yes, the route apparently keeps changing. Apparently the protesters got fairly close to the relay a couple minutes ago, halting it for a short while. It's kind of a cat-and-mouse game right now. The torch isn't going anywhere near the scheduled finish line at Justin Herman Plaza, that's pretty clear. It's around Crissy Field right now, headed west toward the GG Bridge. And I guess there's an amphibious vehicle out in front of the relay runners. That torch may be getting wet.

UPDATE: AP: "Closing ceremony for torch relay will take place at an undisclosed location." Will Dick Cheney be lighting the torch with his eyes, then?

It's a good thing that the people of San Francisco were honored with the ability to have this ceremony hidden from them.

Support for Tibet Grows

Bob Brigham has some great photos of a peaceful protest today in San Francisco in support of a free Tibet. It looks pretty well-attended, but of course this is just the prelude to tomorrow's main event. And the protesters got a high-profile champion today - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Olympic Charter states that the goal of the Olympic games should be to promote ‘a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.’ The Chinese government has failed to live up to the commitments it made before being awarded the Olympic games to improve its human rights situation. In fact, there is disturbing new evidence that it is conducting a broader crackdown on human rights in China and Tibet because of the Olympics.

For the next four months, the International Olympic Committee and Chinese officials will parade the Olympic torch through dozens of countries and even through Tibet. The torch will be met by politicians and heads-of-state from all over the world along a ‘journey of harmony.’ It is the Chinese government that is making the Olympic torch relay a political event.

Freedom-loving people around the world are vigorously protesting because of the crackdown in Tibet and Beijing’s support for the regime in Sudan and the military junta in Burma. The people are making a significant statement that the Olympic ideals of peace and harmony should apply to all people, including those in Tibet and Darfur.

San Francisco is blessed by a large and vibrant Chinese American community. As San Franciscans, we embrace the diversity of our community and we value the contributions made in every corner of our great city. We also value free expression, and this week, many will exercise this right by demonstrating against the Olympic torch. I urge all those who protest to do so peacefully and respectfully. I commend those who speak out for their commitment to shining a light on the causes that challenge the conscience of the world.

All this public expression is having an impact. Dare we dream that President Bush would skip the opening ceremonies? Some think that wouldn't matter too much, but given the lengths to which the Chinese have tried to whitewash their image leading up to the Olympics, I think an opening ceremony empty of dignitaries would have a definite impact. China wants to be a player on the world stage, not isolated.

I'm sure we'll hear more tomorrow about these strange men in blue who will be protecting the flag relay tomorrow.

Little is known about the mysterious guards accompanying the flame on its "harmonious journey", apart from the fact that they are well-trained security officers under the remit of the Beijing Games co-ordinators, who have sweeping political powers in China.

Officially the minders are "flame attendants" employed by the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (Bocog), which has organised the global relay. Their role, in theory, is to be constantly on hand to ensure the flame never goes out. At night and during airline flights, when the torch is kept in specially-made closed lanterns, three attendants guard it at all times. Should the flame be extinguished during a relay, they are responsible for relighting it.

So far, so good. But, although Commander Bob Broadhurst, the Metropolitan Police officer in charge of the route, insisted that flame attendants had no executive powers in Britain, their behaviour on Sunday indicated otherwise – or at least hinted that they were being allowed to overstep the mark.

Barging people out of the way, and even scuffling with some of the 1,000 police officers called in to provide extra security, the tracksuited guards made their presence felt across the capital. Their behaviour has prompted many to ask whether Scotland Yard deliberately turned a blind eye to their tactics.

Will San Francisco's police do the same? We'll see tomorrow.

T-Minus One for San Francisco's Torch Ceremony

San Francisco authorities are justifiably nervous about providing a platform for Chinese propaganda at tomorrow's Olympic torch relay. The number and variety of protests are great and go beyond protesting the situation in Tibet. The Falun Gong will call for religious freedom inside China. Human Rights Watch seeks to call attention to China's deplorable human rights record. The San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition will be massing to call for China's end to its material support for genocide in the Sudan (you can hear Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's talking about this here). There are all sorts of reasons to be concerned for China's ascension to this position of prestige by hosting the Olympics. And recent events along the global parade route, particularly from the pro-Tibet activists, are having a real impact.

As thousands of pro-Tibet protesters cut short the Olympic torch relay Monday in Paris, a new Zogby Interactive poll finds 70% of likely voters believe the International Olympic Committee was wrong to award this year’s summer Olympic Games to China because of its poor record on human rights. Dissatisfaction with the IOC’s choice is strong across the political spectrum, with 70% of Democrats and Republicans, and 68% of political independents who said they disagree with the decision to have China host the summer games. A Zogby Interactive poll conducted in May 2007 found 44% had a favorable opinion of the IOC’s decision to award the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to China, while 39% viewed the decision unfavorably.

So San Francisco ought to be concerned with the scope and force of protests tomorrow. They actually should acknowledge them by canceling the parade. What does it achieve? Will San Francisco cover themselves in glory tomorrow? The protesters will show that the entire city is a free speech zone, and they will show the importance and power of activism. But the city will just be giving a platform to the Chinese to sanitize their image and whitewash the deplorable spots in their record. There's no reason for this and the potential for some ugly outcomes is growing.

Authorities in San Francisco, which on Wednesday will host the only North American leg of the relay, said they had closely watched events in London on Sunday and in Paris.

"We have a lot of concerns," said Sgt. Neville Gittens, a San Francisco police spokesman. "I don't want to identify them, but this is not a contained route security-wise, and there are lots of opportunities for trouble. We're watching what's going on very closely and will make changes to our plans as we figure them out."

Mayor Gavin Newsom met with Chinese officials in San Francisco on Monday to review security measures, which include requiring all rank-and-file police officers to report to work Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least two neighboring police departments have been asked to provide reinforcements, the California Highway Patrol will be on hand and the FBI is on standby, officials said.

I'm not sanguine about the prospects of this relay tomorrow. London and Paris were just a prelude.

Tibetan Protests Rise In Europe

First in London and now in Paris, pro-Tibet protesters are disrupting the Olympic torch relay, and in the case of Paris, canceled the presentation.

A relay of the Olympic torch through Paris was canceled on Monday and the flame was put on a bus at the request of Chinese officials after pro-Tibetan protesters repeatedly disrupted its progress.

Chinese authorities decided to scratch the torch relay after human rights activists and pro-Tibet protests disrupted the passage of the flame in the French capital, forcing security officials to partly speed the flame through the streets of Paris in a bus.

Despite a heavy police escort, organizers had to twice extinguish the flame briefly after hundreds of pro-Tibet activists disrupted its progress.

The flame reaches San Francisco for its only American stop on Wednesday. Hundreds of police officers are expected to shroud the ceremony, and the route has been shifted and altered in an attempt to outflank the expected protesters. Meanwhile, European governments are mulling over potential boycotts of the opening ceremonies.

The situation is essentially that the International Olympic Committee currently has the most leverage over the Chinese government's behavior in Tibet, and their human rights record generally. And so these proposed boycotts, most recently discussed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, make more than a symbolic statement. Hillary Clinton is calling on George Bush to follow suit (which is unlikely, because he digs sports). Hold Fast Blog has a lot more.

UPDATE: There are now 3 protestors carrying signs on the spans of the Golden Gate Bridge. SFist has the story.

World Report

If there's one thing the world needs, it's a report:

• Violence has once again sparked in Tibet, with at least eight dead in the latest round of clashes between protesters and Chinese police. Apparently you can be arrested just for being found with the Dalai Lama's picture. The government is planning 1,200 show trials for protesters and organizing what they call study sessions for residents, essentially to indoctrinate them into Chinese propaganda. Clearly the Chinese fear losing control of the situation, and now is the time for the IOC and the world community to increase pressure for reform. See also Matt Browner Hamlin's must-read demolition of "serious" thinker Nick Kristof's prescription for Tibet.

• If Tibet is bad, Zimbabwe may be worse, and it feels like we're headed toward a civil war or a brutal repression there. The reports are conflicting. The Guardian says that Robert Mugabe is negotiating a release of power in exchange for immunity from prosecution for past crimes, which the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) may not be willing to give. Morgan Tsvangirai is announcing that he has won the Presidency outright and that there's no need for a runoff through which "Violence will be the new weapon to reverse the people's will." Meanwhile Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is challenging the results of Parliamentary elections which resulted in an MDC victory. Prospects for a peaceful resolution look dim, frankly.

• Between the French offering a new battalion for Afghanistan and the United States vowing to add troops as well, it looks as if NATO is finally getting serious about the problem in the country, about 6 years too late. Democrats and Republicans basically agree about the need to increase our capacity in Afghanistan, though the Bush Administration has been asleep at the switch and has made the situation extremely difficult.

• Earlier this week I mentioned the growing world hunger crisis as food prices skyrocket and richer nations retrench and lower exports. The World Bank has recognized the scope of the problem as well.

The World Bank has called on the international community to co-ordinate its efforts in a "new deal" to fight global hunger and malnutrition.

A move was needed because of soaring global food and energy prices, said the bank's president, Robert Zoellick.

Mr Zoellick said the top priority was to give the UN World Food Programme an extra $500m for emergency food aid.

The World Bank estimates 33 countries face potential social unrest because of rising food and energy prices.

Unless we do something legitimate and globalized about climate change these resource wars are going to continue. In the case of the food crisis it's not the only cause, but it will be a sustained cause going forward.

• The fallout from having a Musharraf policy instead of a Pakistan policy continues, as we may have alienated the new Parliamentary players and sidelined our efforts at engagement and even counter-terrorism. Just another way Bush has harmed national security.

• Fighting the right enemies:

Saudi Arabia remains the world's leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks and has failed to take key steps requested by U.S. officials to stem the flow, the Bush administration's top financial counter-terrorism official said Tuesday.

Stuart A. Levey, a Treasury undersecretary, told a Senate committee that the Saudi government had not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable contributions, sometimes unwittingly.

I remember when the 9-11 Commission report blocked out references to Saudi Arabian involvement, as if they could possibly cover up the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabian. What could be more damning than "They did it"? Apparently this cover-up relationship with the Saudis continues, as they still fund terror and we still call them a great ally. How warped.

• Really interesting article on the Iranian blogosphere. The fact that an Iranian blogosphere is allowed at all shows that it is not quite the caricature our leaders would have us believe, though some topics are filtered (often in surprising and erratic ways). Many bloggers have been arrested and persecuted, but also many have thrived and criticized the official dictates of the Islamic Republic. Eventually, open-source communication does make an impact, and it's an honor to be working in the same medium as those in Iran.

• Finally, it appears that a liberal is a conservative who's been mugged by reality.

Conservative U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., joined some of his most liberal colleagues in the House of Representative on a recent trip to Africa. What he saw there changed him, at least a little.

Struck by the unrelenting poverty in a South African slum, Nunes this week joined Democrats in supporting a $50 billion global AIDS relief package. Most of his fellow Republicans opposed the bill.

“It’s one thing to hear about a problem,” Nunes said Thursday. “It’s another thing to see it for yourself. This was horrendous.”

Once you step outside that bubble, it's hard to ignore the truth and the suffering.

Repression In Tibet

The arrest numbers of activists yearning for a free Tibet continue to rise. Just between the publication of this New York Times piece and this Washington Post piece a few hundred were detained. Of course they've also opened fire on protesters as well. The way this is playing out is eerily similar to the way the military junta in Burma re-established order, by arresting everyone in sight and blacking out the global media. Now they're sending journalists in for a dog and pony show.

A small group of hand-picked journalists touched down in Lhasa on the first government-led tour since China closed the tightly restricted region to foreigners last week, but it was unclear how much freedom they would have to report.

Meanwhile, experts from the government-established China Tibetology Research Center echoed leaders in blaming the Dalai Lama for deliberately sparking the protests in order to separate Tibet from China and sabotage the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics.

China has been treating the broad unrest and, as of Tuesday, still-spreading protests as a law-and-order issue that has mostly been contained. But rights groups and foreign leaders continue to pressure China to exercise restraint, open Tibetan areas to foreign observers and sit down for frank talks with the Dalai Lama, with some even raising the possibility of a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Repressive societies don't deviate much from the plan. Meanwhile the global community is finally coming around to recognize the scale of the problem. In addition to the expected outspoken human rights defenders, like Bishop Tutu and Avaaz (one million people have signed their petition), the world powers are stepping up as well.

European leaders sharpened their tone over Tibet on Wednesday, as President Bush telephoned President Hu Jintao of China and urged a resumption of negotiations with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Even as Chinese diplomats sought to defend the crackdown on protesters in Tibet, officials said they were considering sending a fact-finding mission to Beijing, signaling an intensification of international concern over the violent repression in the region.

In London, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France told a joint session of the House of Commons and the House of Lords during a state visit that Britain and France shared a responsibility to urge the Chinese leadership to respect human rights and cultural identity.

That goal could only be achieved if there was “true dialogue” between China and the Dalai Lama, he said, a day after hinting that France might boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing this summer.

Obviously, the Olympics are a bit of leverage for the world, though it's silly that it should be (Bush, of course, isn't going that far). But China is very concerned about its image, and beating and jailing Tibetans isn't helping.

Speaking of image, if Gavin Newsom wants to become the Governor of California in 2010, he would do well not to hide the Olympic torch route and set up free speech zones to try and curtail expected protests. That's not going to put a smile on any liberal's face.

China is truly sacrificing their emerging status as a world power with this maneuver. I know they're an economic juggernaut, but this sends a message to the world that is being received poorly. The Tibetans can and will be free, and China's remaining in denial will only harm them more in the end.

World Report

Every so often I look at the world, and make a report. This is that report.

• Zimbabwe is the biggest hell hole on Earth. Inflation is over 100,000% annually. You actually need a wheelbarrow to carry around money. And in a country dependent on international food aid, the ruling party of Robert Mugabe is using food aid as a weapon to force the public to vote for them. "No ZANU Card, No Mealie Meal," as Hilzoy puts it. I'm sickened. Among the many insufferable dictators around the globe, Mugabe may be the worst, and I would have little problem with a humanitarian intervention to force equal distribution of food aid.

• Speaking of dictators and Africa, a leader of the Janjaweed militia is finally admitting what everyone already knew, that he received his orders to rape and murder the Darfurians from the Sudanese government in Khartoum, as well as heavy weaponry. Even though this has been assumed, it's the first time a Janjaweed leader has gone public.

• So desperate to reach any kind of fig leaf of a deal in the Middle East that would signify something resembling a "legacy," the Bush Administration is now talking about allowing Hamas to participate in talks with Israel, using Egypt as an intermediary. This is mainly about negotiating a cease-fire, not some overarching agreement on Palestine. But the softening stance is probably a good thing in the long run.

• Speaking of Bush toning down his arrogant foreign policy, apparently they've discovered that nobody really likes Pervez Musharraf, and are stopping their praise of him, instead trying to cozy up to the opposition parties. Might be a little late for that, but of course we rarely learn out foreign policy lessons.

• So I guess a substantial number of our troops (at least a dozen) have been subject to accidental death by electrocution in Iraq, and Henry Waxman wants to get to the bottom of it. Support the troops, I believe, is the phrase. Man, they must be living in a pit over there, paid for by our tax dollars (funneled to unfeeeling corporations who do shoddy work, that is).

• The Islamists in Somalia, though defeated in last year's war, have not been vanquished, and in fact they beheaded three Somali soldiers, prompting the UN to raise alarms and plead for peace talks. Even the proxy wars Bush fights and wins are never actually won.

• There's some additional news from Tibet, where the authorities have arrested dozens inside the autonomous region and have acknowledged unrest outside the province, in other parts of China. Chinese police have shot Tibetan protesters in Sichuan province, wounding four. So far, the estimate from protests in Lhasa is 13 deaths, which is probably low. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama sits in exile in India, and relations between India and China may grow strained as a result. It's a bad situation, but pressure must continue to be put on the Chinese government to allow for independence or at least some peaceful solution.

• And finally, Doraemon is a Japanese ambassador. When I went to Bangkok a while ago, we saw this Doraemon piggy bank in the Thai version of a 7-11. The bank was free with a hot dog, and my friend didn't want the hot dog but was willing to pay the price for the bank. The clerk refused to give the bank without the hot dog. It was an amusing cultural misunderstanding that hopefully Doraemon, in his new diplomatic role, will help to prevent.

Gun-Toting Lama

I've been very disturbed by these reports of violence in Tibet, as Chinese forces clash with monks and surround monasteries. But I've been more disturbed by the Chinese government's rationale for the violence, that the Dalai Lama is some sort of Bolivarian revolutionary who is trying to violently overthrow the government.

Premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama and his supporters of orchestrating violent clashes to taint the Beijing Olympics, saying Tuesday that they were provoking violence to promote Tibetan independence.

The Dalai Lama urged his followers to remain peaceful, saying he would resign as head of Tibet's government-in-exile if the situation spun out of control. But he also suggested the Chinese may have fomented the protests in Tibet and neighboring provinces in order to discredit him.

In China's highest-level response to the unrest, Wen underscored the Communist leadership's determination to regain control of Tibet and nearby parts of China and reassure the world it is fit to host the Games.

Yes, the Dalai Lama is calling on his supporters to have arms taken up against them. That's the ticket. And it's amusing that Wen's entire concern is to make sure the Olympics are safe. Matt Browner Hamlin has a lot more at his site.

UPDATE: Tibet Will Be Free is a good source of information, too. Apparently the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing will feature "happy Tibetan dancers." Nothing like putting 50 years of repression on full display.

I Heart Björk

She makes a full-throated call for Tibetan independence. In China.

i have been asked by many for a statement after dedicating my song "declare independence" to both kosovo and tibet ( amongst others ) on different occasions.

i would like to put importance on that i am not a politician, i am first and last a musician and as such i feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. this song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure .
i would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.

justice !

warmth , björk.

Shouting for independence in the middle of Shanghai. Wow, that's gleefully subversive.