Posted on April 16 at 10:45 a.m.

Regarding CIA involvement in Llasa: this is tinfoil hat territory. The CIA has a long history of only getting involved where there is an economic/natural resources/ military/intelligence/ political/strategic advantage to be gained : they have no interest in the promotion of freedom/human rights and other parameters of "decent civilized conduct". Tibet has few natural resources in which the US has an economic interest....

~

Recall when communism was considered by the US to be the "evil empire"? We went to war against North Vietnam for 13 years to "prevent the inexorable spread of communism" (yes, the Pentagon lied about Tonkin, but thats S.O.P.). The US even led a boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980, because they were being hosted in the USSR, a communist state. Even small communist nations which pose zero threat to the US such as Cuba, are regarded as evil enough that we still pursue a trade and travel embargo against them...

What about China? A nation which has one of the worst human rights records on Earth, environmental irresponsibility, commits regular atrocities against their own people, commits ethnic cleansing in Tibet, and more... (!!!!) But *this* communist nation are the US' 2nd largest trading partner, and are on the Most Favored Nation trading status....

Commies, we hate them... no we love them!! Go figure

(?!!)

On Tibetan Protesters Face Heated Opposition

Posted on April 16 at 1:19 a.m.

The Chinese contingent from UCSB, who are not only misinformed, but also obedient followers of Communist party line, have organized a letter writing campaign, thus making it look as if the majority of opinion represented in the Independent is sympathetic to their cause.

It is also blindingly obvious that the Chinese government does not want Western media to have any access to what is really happening in Tibet. If everything was above board, then the Chinese authorities would invite any and all media in to make their own judgement calls, and tell the world the truth, knowing that they had nothing to lose.

But no... the Chinese authorities, in their decades long thuggish tradition, have placed a stranglehold around the truth. This is the classic tactic of any rogue authoritarian government, answerable only to itself and their cronies. This sad state is uncomfortably reminiscent of our own Bush Administration; the difference being that the American people have the US Constitution to provide some degree of protection against the ravages of a bunch of evil psychopaths, whereas all the Chinese people have is the mandate to be obedient..... or else.

And, since when does the US Constitution allow for a team of foreign (Chinese) nationals to operate within our borders as a security police force, using violent or threatening tactics to repress lawful dissent, as happened in San Francisco? The same thuggery happened in London. This is beyond outrageous.

When the American people suffer the equivalent of our own "Tianenmen Square massacre of thousands," at the hand of our rulers, then we are in real trouble. Actually, we might be already there.

On Tibetan Protesters Face Heated Opposition

Posted on October 5 at 8:30 p.m.

It is odd that Mr. Montesano, purveyor of California wares like jeans and paraphernalia for peace, would be supporting presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. Montesano's support for a man who promises to "actively prosecute" the so-called "war on terror", responsible for the deaths of 1.2 million innocent Iraqi civilians, makes the "Peace Store" on State St. a cynical, Orwellian facade. War is Peace, indeed.

Is Mr. Montesano unaware of the gnarlier aspects of Giuliani's tenure as NYC Mayor, especially his bizarre, inexplicable conduct during and after 9/11? When hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers were exposed to the highly toxic dust and fumes, Giuliani's office was actively involved in covering up the danger, pressurizing the media to squash the story. One of the few courageous journalists covering this aspect of the disaster, Juan Gonzales (of the New York Daily News), was fired from the assignment after his paper received "tough talk" from Giuliani's office; Gonzales had to pursue the topic independently, publishing the excellent book, "Fallout".

Both Giuliani and the EPA, which doctored its analysis of the dust on the orders of the White House, were directly responsible for endangering the health of some 400,000 New Yorkers, who were exposed and subsequently lied to that "the air was safe to breathe". Thousands now suffer debilitating sicknesses, hundreds have already died, and medical personnel have warned of a future epidemic of fatal mesothelial cancers in NYC.

Giuliani has the gall to invoke 9/11 as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, pulling a fast one over the voters by claiming to be "the hero". What is so "heroic" about lying to the people of New York about the toxicity of the air? What is so "heroic" about having foreknowledge of the Twin Towers' collapse, yet not warning the 343 firefighters who perished that day, likewise? What is so "heroic" about abandoning the emergency bunker, purpose-built for an event like 9/11, for $15 million on Floor 23, #7, World Trade Center? This facility was designed to handle bombs, bullets, 200 mph winds, and had its own secure air and water supply!

No, Mr. Giuliani was no 9/11 hero; the criminal negligence of the Mayor's office renders him one of the villains of the day. His campaign is kept alive by the weasly attitude of the corporate media in their taboo of anything which paints the Bush administration and its cronies in their true colors. If Americans only knew, Giuliani could never sustain a presidential campaign, let alone be the GOP's front runner.

For credibility's sake at least, Montesano should distance himself from Giuliani, chief endorser of the thuggish NeoConservative agenda which has caused endless bloodletting and wanton destruction over the last 6+ years, based on so many lies, and so much deception. How about opening a "Peace Store" in Baghdad, Gene?

On Hawks In Doves' Clothing