Am I Not Human: Censoring Tibet

Despite the new "relaxed" media rules in China, Tibet is excluded from free media expression. Recently China announced that the relaxing of reporting restrictions on foreign journalists
first exercised previous to the start of the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, are now permanent...As long as you're not trying to interview anyone from Tibet.

According to Liu Jianchao on Oct 17:
"Foreign reporters still need to ask for permission to do reporting in Tibet and other areas that are off-limits to foreign reporters, like some military facilities”.

What news is China trying to suppress that may come out of Tibet?
While journalists have been granted permission to enter low-risk areas, areas where major protesting has occurred (and the killing of at least 13 Tibetans by Chinese armed police), like Ngaba county in the Amdo region, are off limits.

This month I ask on behalf of Tibetans censored from freedom of expression:
'Am I Not Human?"

Nuns have gone missing, and even been beaten in the street for defending their right to practice their religion, and refuse to denounce the Dalai Lama despite China's demands that they do so.
Tibetan filmmakers have been imprisoned for attempting to tell their story. When will China's soul become more important than it's face (the last thing China needs to do is mimic the Western pattern of denial)?



Crossposted at UltravioletUnderground.

Am I Not Human? (October 2008)

We truly appreciate all bloggers and blog readers who support our monthly 'Am I Not Human?' campaign on the 27th of each month. Here is a list of blogs (human rights abuser in parenthesis) supporting the blogging campaign this month:

1. Eddie Griffin, BASG (United States)
2. Electronic Village (United States)
3. From My Brown Eyed View (United Nations)
4. Hagar's Daughter (United States)
5. Sojourner's Place (United States)
6. Springer's Journal (United States)
7. The Jose Vilson (Individual)
8. thinkbridge (Israel)
9. Ultraviolet Underground (Tibet)
10. Why Am I Not Surprised? (United States)

Please let us know if we've missed any blog posts from this month's campaign!

Cell OUT

Please do not use your phones from 12 noon to 6pm as part of a protest against the raping and pillaging of the Congo for the coltan used in worldwide wireless devices.




Josh M says:

The Cell OUT is an organized cell phone usage boycott from 12pm - 6pm on October 22nd to bring awareness of the Congo conflict over the natural resouces. Coltan, used in many electronic devices has caused many Congolese people to be killed since 1996. Why?



- Nearly 6 million people have died in the Congo since 1996 due to a scramble for Congo’s spectacular natural resources.



- Coltan is a key source of the conflict in the Congo. It is a mineral widely used in numerous electronic devices such as cell phones and game consoles (Microsoft X-Box and Sony Play Station) and is mined illegally in the Congo by rebel militia and foreign forces then sold to multinational corporations.



- The boycott is to bring awareness to the war in the Congo, which started in 1996 and continues to this day with 45,000 people dying each month till today. We would like to invite organizations on college campuses and in the community to support us in our endeavor to raise awareness about the atrocities taking place in the Congo.

What do I do during the Boycott?



- Turn your phone off from 12 noon to 6 pm on Wednesday October 22, 2008. No texting!



- Change your voicemail to this: “Did you know that Congo has anywhere from 64 - 80 percent of the world's reserve of Coltan, a natural resource that is central to the operation of our cell phones? As we benefit from coltan nearly 6 million Congolese have died in the deadliest conflict since world war two as a result of the scramble for coltan and other minerals key to the functioning of modern technology. Join us in solidarity with the Congolese people and turn your phone off for a day”



For more information: www.congoweek.org | www.friendsofthecongo.org




Grazi Josh

Crossposted at UltravioletUnderground.

The Solar Cooker Project

I have been wondering why solar technology was not being offered to Darfur, but Cooper at Darfur a Hell On Earth has published intel on a project doing just that.

Visit the: Solar Cooker Project

$30 SOLAR COOKER Support Provides: - Donate

* 2 Solar Cookers per family
* 2 Pots
* 2 Pot Holders
* Year supply of plastic bags
* Skills Training for refugee women and girls

Thank you Cooper

The Wealth Of The Congo

Next week join Break the Silence during Congo week
(congoweek.org)

There will be a film and panel discussion at Howard as well as a talent show dedicated to the people of Congo on Monday October 20. Participate in the 'Cell-out' all day on Wednesday, October 22.There will also be a teach-in on October 24th.


Josh Myers has written an enlightening piece about this:

"An estimated 6 million people have died since 1996. That is 45,000 people per month. This is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here we have yet another example of the devaluing of black or African life and of the necessity of our fight to reclaim the humanity of all African people. Why? Because amid these atrocities, there has up until recently not been a peep heard from the international community. And even now, not many can point to this region on the map let alone tell anyone what is going on. So we will attempt to inform you now.

Lying literally in the heart of Africa, the vast region that comprises the nation-state, Democratic Republic of the Congo is very important to Africa and its future. Leaders and historians such as George Washington Williams, Kwame Nkrumah, and even Barack Obama have researched, wrote about, or mentioned the Congo on numerous occasions. In his work, the Challenge of the Congo,Kwame Nkrumah sets forth a strategic agenda premised on the Congo’s importance to the liberation of the whole of Africa. Set aside as the personal playground, for King Leopold II, the Belgian government was allocated what was now known as the Congo at the Berlin Conference in 1884. As the Congolese fought for their independence, the first prime minister of the Congo, Patrice Emery Lumumba, recognized the need for Congolese people to benefit from the very resources that came from their native land and was extracted on their backs. This caused great controversy from the Western powers, including this country, which plotted to and eventually assassinated Lumumba in one of the more heinous assassinations in the contemporary history of Africa. Lumumba’s vision of a free Congo and a free Africa was too much for the West to stomach. Lumumba was replaced by a more manageable and eventually destructive Joseph Mobutu and the plight of the Congolese further worsened. Mobutu chose to lead the Congo towards its destruction by complying with the mandates of Western imperialism.

The very thing that draws the international economic powers to the Congo is the same thing that prevents or inhibits their action of at the very least exposing the atrocities of the region. These are the vast resources that can be found in the region. The Congo is home to immense mineral wealth in the form of diamonds, gold, silver, copper, zinc, uranium, iron, cobalt, and many more. Its rivers could provide electricity to the whole of Africa, and even half of Europe. Its soil could produce the agricultural potential to feed the entire world through 2050 when the population will be an estimated 9 billion people. Why then are so many Africans malnourished? It is simply the rape of these needed resources that is causing the secondary problems of wars, diseases, and women being raped. As long as this wealth is being used to prop up Western society, the Congolese will continue to suffer. The West has even aided the Congo’s neighboring countries to engage in conflict in order to get their hands on some of the mineral wealth. Congo holds 80% of the world’s reserve of coltan. Where does it go? It is in your pocket or in your bag. Coltan is found in every cell phone, computer, Xbox, Playstation, and many other electronic devices."


Read More

Make Art For Global Solutions

“Citizens for Global Solutions is holding its 4th Annual Multimedia contest for artists, designers, poets, activists and just about anyone interested in thinking about global issues and making some cool art. The top contenders will be published on our website.

We’re looking for short multimedia pieces (flash animation, spoken word, digital video) that can inspire, amuse and activate people out there who believe that a better world is possible. You are welcome to work alone, in a team, or as part of a classroom project (but the cash prizes remain the same).”

Please read more at the site: Globalsolutions.org

The deadline is November 10th.

Tremendous thanks to Cooper of Darfur: A Hell On Earth for the information.