December 16, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
The Communist party government of China has resumed blocking some websites it had unblocked as a gesture of good will, after foreign reporters complained during the Olympics that certain foreign information sources were not available to them. The BBC and Reporters without Borders (RSF) report their sites being blocked, and the Chinese government says sites that contain information sympathetic to Tibetan or Taiwanese independence movements cannot be allowed to be read in China.
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August 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
News reports suggest that 7 bomb suspects and at least one security guard were killed after a bombing attack on police and government facilities in China’s far western Xinjiang province. Xinjiang is one of the regions that many believe may attempt to separate from China, if there is any opportunity, political or military to do so. There are active separatist movements there, a large Muslim population that wants independence from Communist China, and they see the example of former Soviet republics of central Asia as evidence that independence is possible.
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April 10, 2008 :: admin :: One Comment
10 April :: ABC News reported yesterday that “In dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House, the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, sources tell ABC News”; Rice chaired the meetings, as National Security [...]
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March 31, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
Demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet turned violent in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, yesterday, as police wielded bamboo clubs and beat demonstrators, including Buddhist monks and nuns. The UN has said Nepal’s harsh clampdown on Tibetan demonstrators violates international human rights law, including the right to peaceful assembly, as embodied in treaties signed by Nepal.
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March 24, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
24 March :: Australia’s gov’t is contemplating increases in food aid to poor regions, nations, after study of soarng food prices, mounting scarcity; SMH reports “A steep two-year rise in global food prices, which in Australia has triggered the Federal Government’s inquiry into grocery prices, has taken a heavy toll on poorer populations, particularly in [...]
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March 22, 2008 :: admin :: 2 Comments
The Chinese government’s military crackdown on demonstrators in Tibet and in neighboring Chinese provinces has been intense, though foreign media have been unable to confirm reports of mounting death tolls. In Sichuan province, there are allegations of 23 killed by security forces in one incident, including a 16-year-old. Reports of mounting fear among civilians in Tibet and Sichuan have become common in recent days.
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March 16, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
Two days after peaceful demonstrations across Tibet turned violent in the capital Lhasa, the Reuters news agency has reported that the violent clashes between protesters and Chinese security forces have spread to neighboring provinces. Supporters of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, say they have confirmed at least 80 deaths among demonstrators.
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March 15, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
International media reports say that sources in the Tibetan exile community, from India to New York, have confirmed that at least 30 civilian demonstrators were killed by Chinese security forces as they moved to end a demonstration in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, on Friday. Demonstrations had begun on Monday, and for four days, reports suggest the majority of demonstrations were peaceful.
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March 13, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
13 March :: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to tighten standards for ground-level ozone pollution, reducing the maximum allowable from 84 parts-per-billion to 75 ppb over an 8-hour period; critics say “implementation could be decades away”, depending on regulatory procedure and court review; last year, an official review suggested maximum allowable ozone levels of 60 [...]
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October 16, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
16 October :: 1st official ‘baby-boomer’ begins collecting Social Security; as many as 80 million Americans from her generation will eventually collect the government pension payments… NY Times ‘The Caucus’ blog reports Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy would “Use both hard power and soft power; talk to your enemies and strengthen alliances with your friends; deal [...]
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September 23, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
23 September :: Sunday Times reports “Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem”; nuclear-related material not named, report also says Israel raid carried out with US backing… Newsweek [...]
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September 26, 2005 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
In a high-level Communist party meeting, China’s president Hu Jintao has reportedly called for an intensive crackdown on media liberties. While China’s government has sought to project an image of a more market-oriented, open system, it continues to forbid basic press freedoms and still persecutes journalists at an alarming rate.
Reporters without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based [...]
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