Olympic fallout

Olympic sponsors:
Atos Origin; BOCOG; Coca-Cola; DB Schenker; General Electric; Johnson & Johnson; Kodak; Lenovo; Manulife; McDonald’s; Mizuna; Omega; Panasonic; Samsung; Visa

Protest the Olympics with your wallet. you don't need those Chicken McNuggets. your heart will thank you.

Vanessa has a great post about Bush boycotting the Olympics. Obama and Clinton have called for a boycott of the opening ceremony and McCain condemns China's oppression of Tibet. well, duh.

You know Bush won't boycott, but don't get me started on this. I'm tired. instead, let me post some stuff that other people are saying....

How San Francisco Became Beijing for a Day

"Democracy took a dive in San Francisco yesterday.

Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee was considering scrapping the entire Olympic torch run due to the controversy and protests surrounding it. Apparently, PR-value and face-saving prevailed over common sense, and rather than cancel the contentious run, the IOC, the City of San Francisco, and the Chinese government collaborated to make the run happen in the only way possible -- they transformed the City into Beijing for a day.

At first I watched with mild amusement as police officers, secret service, and Chinese officials went to comical lengths to disguise the torch route and prevent protesters from approaching. Like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, the torch was hurriedly moved from one mode of transportation to the next, from boat to van to ... Duck Truck? However, my amusement soon gave way to anger, as the charade developed into an ugly display of first amendment violations and thuggish police tactics, and everything the City of San Francisco stands for was trampled on. People's Armed Police -- the same force implicated in the shootings of unarmed Tibetans on the Tibet-Nepal border -- roamed freely through the streets. Tibetans with flags were forced to vacate public gathering spaces while Chinese nationals were allowed to remain. A phalanx of riot cops -- five deep -- guarded the torch at every step, shoving protesters out of the way."

This is an email I received from a friend who works in San Francisco:

"The coworkers and I were out at lunchtime...and suddenly we heard a thunderstorm of motorcycles, long before we saw them. We stopped, and noticed unmarked black sedans (you know, the FBI type of official looking vehicle where the glass is so tinted you can't see inside) parked on both sides of the street....about twenty of those, and then the 50 + SFPD motorcycles were moving fast down the street...and we noticed they were protecting a big bus...again with the tinted windows...the motorcycle cops all took positions in front of the bystanders watching this weird parade, glaring at us...behind the bus were some pretty expensive shiney SUV security vehicles...then they were gone."

Rogge says Olympics in Crisis

"The protest-marred Olympic torch relay and international criticism of China's policies on Tibet, Darfur and human rights have turned the Beijing Games into one of the most politically charged in recent history and presented the IOC with one of its toughest tests since the boycott era of the 1970s and '80s.

"It is a crisis, there is no doubt about that," IOC President Jacques Rogge said Thursday. "But the IOC has weathered many bigger storms."

At the same time, Rogge called on China to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights and to fulfill promises of greater media freedom. He also reaffirmed the right of free speech for athletes at the Beijing Games.

Rogge, who has come under pressure from critics to speak out on China, was asked whether he had second thoughts about awarding the games to Beijing seven years ago.

'I've said that it is very easy with hindsight to criticize the decision,' he said. 'It's easy to say now that this was not a wise and a sound decision.'

But Rogge insisted Beijing had 'clearly the best bid' and offered the strong pull of taking the Olympics to a country with one-fifth of the world's population.

'That was the reasoning for awarding the bid to Beijing.'"

(emphasis supplied. DUH!)

While we're all dissing the Chinese government, let's not forget the Chinese dissidents who risk their lives to protest repression.

Go to Sirensongs' blog and read her April 3 post about the protests at the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal.

(original Sirensongs photo)

I'm tired. sick and tired.

FREE TIBET

BOYCOTT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS AND ITS SPONSORS

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)