Canberra, Sydney protests over torch relay

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Yeah, we get it, you don't care. So move on brother Charles. Move on. Nothing to see here.

nah, he's just trying, unsuccessfully, to rile me.

Anyway, he's got guns to polish...

good idea *sneaks off with sister fracas's habit*

got plenty more where them come from...

good cause i got plenty of guns to clean

[Heracles 417]

Now back to buying Chinese goods.. :rofl:

Maybe you can boycott that as well. That'll show those Chinese bastards. 40 million liberals worldwide boycotting their products. Poor Chinese. What will they do..

Edited April 24, 2008 by Boo-Yah!

[Ursa Tripudio 2]

Maybe you can boycott that as well. That'll show those Chinese bastards. 40 million liberals worldwide boycotting their products. Poor Chinese. What will they do..

40 million? The Chinese have cities that big.

Remember Jin Jing? She was the girl in the wheelchair attacked by the 'peaceful' Tibetan demonstrators. She is now regarded as a hero in China for doing her best to protect the Olympic torch from the idiot protestors.

The French liberals did their country a lot of good. How about 1.3 billion Chinese boycotting French goods and businesses?

Keep up the anti-Chinese rhetoric America. It will do us a lot of good too.

[Heracles 417]

Maybe you can boycott that as well. That'll show those Chinese bastards. 40 million liberals worldwide boycotting their products. Poor Chinese. What will they do..

40 million? The Chinese have cities that big.

Remember Jin Jing? She was the girl in the wheelchair attacked by the 'peaceful' Tibetan demonstrators. She is now regarded as a hero in China for doing her best to protect the Olympic torch from the idiot protestors.

The French liberals did their country a lot of good. How about 1.3 billion Chinese boycotting French goods and businesses?

Keep up the anti-Chinese rhetoric America. It will do us a lot of good too.

My point exactly.

A boycott by 1.3 billion people would hurt us more than them. Especially considering we are almost bankrupt whereas the People's Republic of China has over $1.4 trillion in reserves; Probably wise we keep our big mouths shut. Plus the fact that China owns billions upon billions of US currency, bonds etc. If China boycotted us, economically, we would be finished.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Boo-Yah!

[Ursa Tripudio 2]

Maybe you can boycott that as well. That'll show those Chinese bastards. 40 million liberals worldwide boycotting their products. Poor Chinese. What will they do..

40 million? The Chinese have cities that big.

Remember Jin Jing? She was the girl in the wheelchair attacked by the 'peaceful' Tibetan demonstrators. She is now regarded as a hero in China for doing her best to protect the Olympic torch from the idiot protestors.

The French liberals did their country a lot of good. How about 1.3 billion Chinese boycotting French goods and businesses?

Keep up the anti-Chinese rhetoric America. It will do us a lot of good too.

My point exactly.

A boycott by 1.3 billion people would hurt us more than them. Especially considering we are almost bankrupt whereas the People's Republic of China has over $1.4 trillion in reserves; Probably wise we keep our big mouths shut. Plus the fact that China owns billions upon billions of US currency, bonds etc. If China boycotted us, economically, we would be finished.

Yes, they could hurt America badly. But, that is the opposite of their intention. We are fortunate that what China really wants from America is a good, solid trading partner. However, that is government to government.

Our propaganda has hurt the Chinese people. They can and do communicate on the internet, (just like us). The boycotts have nothing to do with the government. The Chinese people are tired of the insults and lies in the Western press and are passing the word to each other. It’s like a very very big snowball rolling down a steep steep hill.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The simple answer is that the two economies are inextricably linked - the US government can't afford a total boycott of China any more than China can afford to cut off its biggest export client.

I have to say I don't buy this idea of yours that individual citizens should "keep their mouths" shut over human rights abuses out of the fear of Chinese retribution. Its just fear-mongering.

[Heracles 417]

You might like this #6..

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/nati...elay/start.html

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You might like this #6..

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/nati...elay/start.html

So what?

[Heracles 417]

You might like this #6..

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/nati...elay/start.html

So what?

Did you click on the link. It has commentary from Tibetan people living in AUS.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You might like this #6..

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/2008/nati...elay/start.html

So what?

Did you click on the link. It has commentary from Tibetan people living in AUS.

As I said, so what?

[Ursa Tripudio 2]

The simple answer is that the two economies are inextricably linked - the US government can't afford a total boycott of China any more than China can afford to cut off its biggest export client.

I have to say I don't buy this idea of yours that individual citizens should "keep their mouths" shut over human rights abuses out of the fear of Chinese retribution. Its just fear-mongering.

What "Human rights abuse"? Can we just once be specific and speak on a basis of having been to China, having some experience with Chinese people, or knowing China's true history (not the Western fabrication)?

Can we remove our blinders and cease our 'kneejerk' reaction to every biased, one sided, trumped up, sensational news story?

Somehow, I doubt it.

[jundp 191]

The simple answer is that the two economies are inextricably linked - the US government can't afford a total boycott of China any more than China can afford to cut off its biggest export client.

I have to say I don't buy this idea of yours that individual citizens should "keep their mouths" shut over human rights abuses out of the fear of Chinese retribution. Its just fear-mongering.

True.

It is NOT fear-mongering when you are talking about human rights abuses. Is it fear-mongering because people oppose the use of US led torture too?

And as for the rest, yes, I also have spent time with "real" Chinese people (I teach many of them) and my step mother was a teacher in Bejing from 87 to 89. I don't have a problem with the "people" (generic term) I have a problem with the government and their dealings. Are you trying to tell me that it's all a big fat lie? That China doesn't have any power to stop giving money to the Sudanese government which in turn supplies the guerilla forces with the power and ammo to kill hundreds of thousands and displace millions? And that it's a big fat lie that Tibetans are being abused and murdered and that censorship is alive and well in China and that no human rights abuses are taking place? I say bulls!t. Having a problem with the way the government treats its people, hell, having a problem with ANYONE or ANY ENTITY that engages in human rights abuses is called having a conscious.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The simple answer is that the two economies are inextricably linked - the US government can't afford a total boycott of China any more than China can afford to cut off its biggest export client.

I have to say I don't buy this idea of yours that individual citizens should "keep their mouths" shut over human rights abuses out of the fear of Chinese retribution. Its just fear-mongering.

True.

It is NOT fear-mongering when you are talking about human rights abuses. Is it fear-mongering because people oppose the use of US led torture too?

I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. I was addressing the suggestion that 1st world citizens should "shut their mouths" out of fear that if China so chose they could shut down the US economically. That IS fearmongering.

Constitutionally its also a bit "off" to suggest that free speech should somehow be limited for fear of reprisal - it sounds suspicously like appeasement.

The simple answer is that the two economies are inextricably linked - the US government can't afford a total boycott of China any more than China can afford to cut off its biggest export client.

I have to say I don't buy this idea of yours that individual citizens should "keep their mouths" shut over human rights abuses out of the fear of Chinese retribution. Its just fear-mongering.

What "Human rights abuse"? Can we just once be specific and speak on a basis of having been to China, having some experience with Chinese people, or knowing China's true history (not the Western fabrication)?

Can we remove our blinders and cease our 'kneejerk' reaction to every biased, one sided, trumped up, sensational news story?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Discounting the occupation of Tibet you mean?

OK - two recent examples:

Hu Jia

Wang Guilin

Edited April 24, 2008 by Number 6

[Heracles 417]

Yes, they could hurt America badly. But, that is the opposite of their intention. We are fortunate that what China really wants from America is a good, solid trading partner. However, that is government to government.

Our propaganda has hurt the Chinese people. They can and do communicate on the internet, (just like us). The boycotts have nothing to do with the government. The Chinese people are tired of the insults and lies in the Western press and are passing the word to each other. It’s like a very very big snowball rolling down a steep steep hill.

I am not surprised they are angry. The Chinese actually love their country so yes they do get offended when someone insults it. A NYT equivalence would be burned down there. Whereas in America that is considered "patriotic" by some..

Edited April 24, 2008 by Boo-Yah!

[Peikko 1,575]

However, who cares right? After all the UN is useless and the declaration of human rights is unimportant because we have the bible - It's just too liberal, inconvenient and downright intrusive to get involved in other people's goverment just over a few little human rights issues. Unless of course, they do something that threatens OUR way of life and then they must be crushed.

Interestingly, I was watching one of those shows, you know, what would you do if...? Anyway, they had an actress dressed in the traditional all covering clothing plus headscarf garb of a muslim posing as a customer in a bakery and another actor played the part of a shop assistant. The shop assistant's role was to refuse to serve the muslim woman to see how the other customers would react. Out of 100 or so customers around 20 stood up for the woman to a greater or lessor extent. About 10 supported the shop assistant saying he was just right to refuse to serve her and of course the greatest majority tried to pretend nothing was going on.

Indiference is dangerous in certain situations - have we learned nothing from the 20th Century lessons of world war?

Edited April 24, 2008 by Purple_Hibiscus