Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Dire straits in Tibet.. again

Tibetan monks

I post this not merely as a Buddhist with emotional ties (yes, the kind that keep us in samsara) to the land of snows and Buddhists struggling in Tibet, Burma, and elsewhere, but as a person quite concerned with the dangerous policy of allowing people who we owe scads of money to and who we are practically owned by (oil, cheap wal-mart items, you name it) to dictate bad rules. Please, please, please, let us be blessed with leaders who will not simply fall into pockets of our trade partners who oppress their own people! Chinese workers and people deserve the opportunity to enjoy life as we expect to do, and they too fall victim to policies they do not dictate. News and info is highly censored, so please, if you have a moment, spread the word about this.


For more history of this conflict, please go to:Tibet Govt in Exile or Int'l Campaign for Tibet or Int'l Tibet Support


Tibetan Government-in-Exile Says 19 More Shot Dead in New Protests
By VOA News
18 March 2008


Tibet's India-based government-in-exile says at least 99 people have been killed in unrest over the past week, including 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in China's western Gansu province.

Witnesses in the Gansu county of Machu say police blocked off the streets after Buddhist monks and other Tibetans held a rally there. Witnesses tell VOA Tibetan service that they could confirm that at least 12 people were killed.

Chinese authorities have so far only confirmed the deaths of 13 people they described as "innocent civilians" who died in Friday's riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

The reports Tuesday of new violence came as China again blamed Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for the unrest. The Dalai Lama pledged Tuesday to step down as the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile if the situation gets out of control.

The Dalai Lama said his commitment to non-violence would require him to step down.

Earlier Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for orchestrating violent protests in Tibet. Mr. Wen said rioters caused heavy loss of life and that the government acted with extreme restraint in putting down the protests.

From Lhasa, protests against Chinese rule have spread to other communities inside Tibet and other parts of China. Late Monday night, Tibetan students at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing staged a candle-light vigil.


Details of recent events in Tibet are difficult to verify because Chinese authorities have not permitted foreign journalists to report from the region.

Chinese media Tuesday published more accounts of alleged violence carried out by Tibetan rioters Friday against Han Chinese and Chinese Muslims. Official media also carried reports criticizing Western press coverage of the events, and defended China's response to what the media called criminal activities.

China has controlled Tibet since 1951. The Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled from Tibet to India in 1959, during a failed revolt against Chinese rule. China denounces the Dalai Lama as a crusader for independence, but he says he has campaigned for nothing more than true autonomy for his homeland.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Take the body quiz

i was much more involved in Women's History month when I lived places people gave a damn about things like that... but oh well. Here's to another year of free-for-alls on women who speak their pieces, violence against women, economic oppression, and overall heavy pressure for the gender, and may it all end for all soon!! Adelante, mis amigas!!

Here, y'all might enjoy this quiz. Hug your female friends!
Take the Body Image QuizTake me! Now!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Priorities...Mujeres de Juarez


Spitzer n sex.. VP possibilities... poor Bill Gates is no longer the richest boy alive... Lute Olson is coming back to Arizona...Spanish elections, water contamination, and all those things a person might blog about, but I have my priorities for this week, and I know it's "old news", but let's not forget it and let's blogosphere-it this day after Intl women's day:


from:Amigos de Mujeres site


Discriminatory treatment of the women of Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas in the Congress of the state of Chihuahua


In the second session of Congress on March 3, 2008, the mothers of the disappeared and victims of femicide, members of the organization Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas , with the aim of supporting the proposal that Deputy Victor Quintana was introducing for the creation of a Special Commission to Investigate the Femicides.

The action planned by the mothers was to present themselves at the official area to support this initiative but the security guards for the Congress tried to block their passage.

The intention was that the deputies (congress men and women) would see the real existence not only of the mothers of the victims but also of the problem of the lack of justice of the cases that they were representing with photos of the assassinated and disappeared women.

Recess was called for the session with the pretext that the mothers were creating “disorder”. This was totally false because those of us that were there saw that none of the women that intended to enter the congress ever spoke one word or behaved in a disorderly fashion.

The President of the Congress suspended the session. This was unequal treatment for women and the problems that they face. For example, the meeting before was concerning the case of the accounts of the city of Chihuahua . There was a large contingent of support for Mr. Blanco, with true disorder. In this case, the meeting was not suspended but the participants were granted their full rights under the Article 30, section 13 of the Organic Law of Legislative Power.
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Over 400 known murders. Nary a public clue in sight. And the women keep going missing and being murdered.

Take a moment to check out some sites and help reinvigorate the work needed to be done on this issue in Juarez! Please?

Nuestras Hijas site is a good place to start, with good links.