31 March 2008

boycotting the Olympic sponsors

We've heard all about boycotting the Olympics. Now what about boycotting the Olympic sponsors? I know these are mega-corporations and emails and voicemails to them might (will?) get trashed, but the monks in Lhasa are still raising their voices, so I think we can, too. highly unlikely that they will pull their sponsorship, but each of us can express our displeasure at their decisions to sponsor the Beijing Olympics.

Lenovo, General inquiries
1-866-45THINK (866-458-4465). Lenovo also has a blog post about the Olympic torch being lit where you can leave comments, but note that they "await moderation." I've left my comment.

The link to Coca-Cola's "corporate responsibility." Ahem. and a link to their page about being the longest continuing corporate sponsor of the Olympics. On their page "Making a Difference" it says: "The Coca-Cola Company supports the Olympic Games primarily because we share the values of Olympism that, in addition to embracing the vision of a better and more-peaceful world, encourage the discovery of one’s abilities and promote the spirit of competition, the pursuit of excellence and a sense of fair play."

A "more peaceful world"? Hmmmmmm.....tell that to the Chinese soldiers who've beat more than few Tibetans lately. Here is the page for "Tell Us Your Thoughts."

Samsung Electronics. Great LCD TVs, highly rated by Consumer Reports, almost bought one, but....

Here is their link to "Contact Us" with a link to "Public Relations."

Telephone numbers are listed on all three sites. be polite. remember metta (loving-kindness.)

It may be too little, too late, but this blog has had over 700 visitors...that's over 700 voicemails and emails to Coke, Lenovo, and Samsung. and if all of you who read this post pass it on to 5, 10, maybe 15 people whom you know...and they pass it on....

remember you're doing it for them.....


Buddhist monks from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, based in Dharamsala, are leading a peaceful procession on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, to pray for the fate of the Tibetans involved in demonstrations inside Tibet against Chinese rule. The monks chanted peace prayers for the victims of the Chinese crackdown as they marched around McLeod town in Dharamsala. The monks from institute later took over the ongoing chain-hunger strike near the Main Tibetan Temple for the next 24 hours. The monks held the peace march to appeal international community to support Tibetan people’s rightful and nonviolent struggle and help accomplish their goal of returning back to their motherland. (Photo by Tenzin Dasel / Phayul.com)


A Tibetan woman cries inside a police van in frustration after their peace rally being held along with Amnesty International was dispersed by policemen in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday March 24, 2008. Eleven members of Amnesty International along with their country head were also detained. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das)





7 comments:

  1. One makes a point of being aware of his reactions; of not swaying one way or the other in the face of adversity. But standing in a public place today, witnessing the beating of a monk on one station (TV-wise) and then the lighting of the Olympic torch in Bejing....Sickened, to say the least. The Chinese officials celebrating and dancing; smiling -whilst erstwhile Tibetans large and small suffer untold.

    Boycott? Most certainly, my friend.

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  2. Thank you, Linda.

    And other sponsors: Visa, McDonald's and Microsoft

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  3. Thank you so much for keeping this flame alive.

    This whole situation is tragic.

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  4. vote with your wallet as well as with the telephone. we all know they listen to the wallet more.

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  5. Sad Stuff, its hard to read about which is probably why so few people make an effort to learn about it. Thanks for getting the word out about Tibet. Educating people on the issues is the only way change is ever going to happen. I know that this is one less person watching the olympics.

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  6. I'll take the pledge to vote with my wallet. I've been pretty careful about that for a few months. Thanks for the links, great piece!

    Watched the torch make it's way along what looked like Fisherman's wharf In SF yesterday. Haven't seen so many cops in riot gear since the sixties. Maybe the times they are a changing. Maybe the peeps are getting restless and angry again. It's about damn time.

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  7. I'm not surprised in the least bit about Coca-Cola. I wrote my senior thesis on their evils. If there's anything I've learned about the C-C Co., it's that they don't give a crap about human rights. They violate people's rights internationally! Why wouldn't they support China?

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