I heart our readers. I do:
Anna,
Hi I live in SF, and was planning on attending the rally tomorrow voicing concerns around China’s various human rights abuses.
I believe you live in SF? In any case are you aware of a Mutineer Team gathering to protest tomorrow?
Dear Mutineer,
I actually live in Washington, D.C. (that’s why Chocolate City gets all the meetups), but you aren’t the only one who thought otherwise; I frequently receive emails, FB messages, and tweets from people who think I still live in Baghdad by the bay. 🙂
Since I am 3,ooo miles away from tomorrow’s action (and since I haven’t been well enough to blog), at this point, I am unaware of any organized effort to mutiny– but I’m thrilled you thought there could be. If I were home, I’d be there, with extra Ricola, in solidarity with you and other people of conscience. Since I can’t be there, I thought I’d put up this post to help you connect with potential co-protesters; it’s the least I can do for a reader like you.
Well? Who’s in? 🙂More, including how to stay updated in real time:
Tibetans and their supporters from all over North America are converging on San Francisco for this historic opportunity to shine the Olympic spotlight on China’s brutality in Tibet. SF Team Tibet is organizing a Press Conference, Rally and Candle Light Vigil on April 8th and a Mass Mobilization on April 9. Send a text message with the word SFTORCH to the phone number 41411 to receive important text message updates on April 8th and the 9th. [link]
You still have time to make tonight’s’ candlelight vigil:
6.25 Candle Light Vigil with International Campaign for Tibet begins
Join Richard Gere, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Tibetan leaders and other special guests for a historic rally and candle light vigil in support of the Tibetan people and their struggle for basic human rights. As China prepares to host the Olympics in August, the government is conducting the worst crackdown in Tibet since the 1960s Cultural Revolution.
Come show your support for the Tibetan and Chinese people on the eve of the Beijing Olympic torch passing through San Francisco – the only stop in North America.
Where: United Nations Plaza, at Market & Hyde, near Civic Center BART
Rally & Speeches 6:00pm
Culture / Music 7:15pm
Candle Light Vigil 8:00pm [link]
If you missed out on today’s events, go tomorrow:
April 9 Team Tibet Mass Mobilization to Protest the Olympic Torch Relay in San Francisco San Francisco Torch Route
Join us! Meet up: 10a: Ferry Park (between Washington & Clay streets off of Drum. Near Embarcadero 4 of the Embarcadero Center. ) Get off the BART at Embarcadero and walk toward Justing Herman Plaza. You will not be able to miss us, really! Map of the meeting point coming soon. [link]
Tricksy hobbitses: Note: the torch route has been changed!
We have just heard that the torch route has been changed, with on-the-run Gavin Newsom’s office announcing that “the route of the Olympic torch has been changed from the published course to a new route whose details will not be made public.” Since we don’t know anything and apparently won’t, plan still to meet at the Ferry Park on Wednesday, though you might want to show up considerably earlier than 10a just in case tricky Gav tries to run it early. Check back here for more news as we activate. [link]
I am a ardent supporter of tibetan people’s rights. I would like bloggers support also to various hindu causes like poverty stricken hindu priests rehabilitation in rural andhra,rescuing brahmin priests from persecution in TN etc
I need an invite to these DC meetups.
I am just wondering, if India were in China’s situation would we still rally?
There’s a world of a difference between let’s say the Kashmiri separatism in India and the Tibetan one in China. In short the Tibetans’ grievances are very legitimate while the Kashmiris’ are not. I know I should elaborate on this but I won’t. It’ll misdirect the the thread.
I wasn’t eluding to Kashmir at all, I was just wondering, hypothetically, if India had a past of human rights violations and was a country that had undergone major reform and on the rise ready to set foot into the big boy’s club by hosting the Olympics, would Indian-Americans use the Olympic torch relay as an opportunity to protest currently looming human rights issues?
I would protest, but I was wondering if ethnic ties would override nationalism. Vigil sounds nice, wish I lived in SF or DC.
I support Tibetan nationalism, but I don’t support these protests. It’s not “Beijing’s Bloody Torch” they are snatching, it’s the Olympics torch, and that should transcend all this. Think of all the black athletes who embarrassed Hitler himself and the Nazis at the Berlin ’38 games. Read up on Jesse Owens here.
There are much more relevant however less symbolic ways of protesting against China or for Tibet.
I don’t buy everyone’s outrage over China. nobody protested the United States hosting the olympics with such vehemence. Their five year occupation of iraq is far more bloody than the fifty year occupation of Tibet, which does have some legitimacy – (an independent Tibet is about as meaningful, probably less so, as an independent Quebec. Far less Tibetans have been killed than Kashmiris by India). The US also holds captive a larger proportion of its citizens than does China, including almost half its blacks.
You’re all being duped. It’s the same outrage against a colored country’s rise to superpower status that has been in force for the past 100 years.
flupping sheep you are.
6 · SSK said
Word and thank you.
Well, more importantly, you are a person of Indian origin (I assume) as opposed to one of Chinese ancestry. India’s security concerns are better addressed if Tibet is independent as opposed to China breathing down India’s neck across such a large border. Thus even if you discount all other reasons like human rights, the nature of the occupation etc etc, this itself should be a reason to desire Tibetan autonomy which if an India was in China’s situation, then China would be in India’s and would desire the same.
Again, that country of color does not care too much about is country of color.
9 · Ardy said
But we would still be Indian so that doesn’t really answer the question of whether an Indian-American would protest against his or her country of origin in the U.S. I realize that the Olympic Games are a political vehicle and that’s that. If I were a Chinese-American in SF tomorrow I wonder if I would be protesting, but I do know I would feel guilty living in the U.S. and not protesting at such a highly publicized event when fellow protesters in China are being punished for the same.
7 · noblekinsman said
How does the hypocrisy you are pointing out negate the justification for such protests?
What is “meaningful” about an occupied Tibet that would not benefit the region were it, as it has historically been, not part of China?
I would hope so, and I know folks who have protested India for its rights violations.
Leaving aside your problematic attempt to measure “justifiable” human rights violations, the U.S. has not hosted the Olympics since its invasion of Iraq. I am sure, if we had tried and been successful, that countries would have protested.
It’s inaccurate to state that countries have not boycotted the Olympics in the past, or that the U.S. chose not to boycott the German olympics because of some elevated role of sport above politics. Germany won the bid for the ’36 Olympics before the rise of the Nazis, and while the U.S. ultimately did not boycott those Olympics, their decision is still infamous today. There are several other instances in which countries chose not to compete in the Olympics for political reasons:
While I agree that there are many causes that deserve attention and protest, I do not agree with the logic that one should not go out in protest over this particular cause just because no one protested over some other important cause. It makes no sense.
In addition, the Olympics are not just about sports and have not been just about sports for decades. It has always been political and more about commercial interest than sportsmanship. Why shouldn’t pro-Tibet groups use the massive publicity generated by the Olympics to advance their cause? The time is right. In fact, Burma groups in Thailand will also be using the Olympics as a platform to highlight the atrocities of 8th August 1988 and China’s backing of the junta there. I am all for hijacking the Olympics in the name of human rights!
There will be a demonstration in Bangkok when the torch gets here on the 19th of April – so far the pro-Tibet rallies here have been small but loud, and hopefully any Bangkok desis reading this will come out in support.
I apologize for my previous cynicism. It was temporary and I have since reverted to my original position that these protests are indeed a good thing. I was deriding the protestors for going only for symbolic effect, but sadly that is all they can do and can’t realistically affect things like their nations’ economic cooperation with China. I failed to see that the Jesse Owens thing was only symbolic and did nothing to stem the tide of Nazism, and it could be argued that it would have hurt Hitler more if the world had isolated Germany then.
What I find really interesting is that the police reaction to these protests is making the rest of the world look like China.
I live in San Francisco, and I attended the protest, the speech and candlelight vigil. I proudly waved and held the Tibetan flag high and voiced my support for a “Free Tibet”.
I went to show my solidarity with the Tibetan people, to stand up and to be counted, to protest human rights violations and to non-violently raise my voice and my consciousness.
Right now I feel tired, my back hurts, my shoulders hurt, and my feet are numb. But inside, I feel a sense of calm and peace within myself. Ultimately, we should do whatever helps us sleep well at night, and I will definitely sleep well tonight.
You can choose to ignore this issue, you can choose to support it silently within your conscious, you can dismiss it, discuss it, stand for it. Again, whatever helps you sleep well at night.
It only takes a few searches on youtube to see the struggles of the Tibetan people, read about the abduction(and disappearance) of the 6 year old Panchen lama by Chinese authorities , to watch a monk starve himself for six days and on the seventh day, set himself on fire, or to watch Tibetan people being shot at as they try to escape. You can even watch a NewYork cop say “om mani padme hum” on a loudspeaker to the Tibetans who were protesting there recently. Those words mean “I honor the jewel in the lotus/heart of humans”. Sweet cop.
Having visited Dharamsala and being aware of the solidarity that our country, India, has shown to Tibetans, Nepalese and Bhutanese people in the past, only makes me prouder to be an Indian and stand by them in their hour of need. I’d love for the current Indian government to remember this past and do the right thing and not worry about economic consequences. I’d love to see the Chinese people wake up and not let themselves be brainwashed by propaganda, and to realize that Tibetans love them, but are protesting against the government and not the people of China.
What do you mean in the past? India is TODAY the worst violator of human rights in the world. It leads the world in child slavery, child prostitution, child malnutrition etc. Is that not a violation of the rights of children? Then there is the culture of untouchability, widow shunning the hereditary caste system and so on. Not to mention the occupation by force of Kashmir and the tibeto-burmese northeastern states.
The west today couldnt care less about India or indians. It is far more concerned with Africa, China and the Middle East. But that will change someday and the hypocrisy and shamelessness of indians pointing fingers at others will become front page news.
In response comment posted by Vyasa, here is a link to a Human Rights Watch statement made a couple days ago calling for the UN Human Rights Council to tackle India’s rights record, specifically in the northeast and Jammu-Kashmir: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/07/india18442.htm. I posted it in the News section of this site earlier today.
noblekinsman
You are so misguided, its kinda funny. First of all, protesting the US over Iraq is no option because they are not holding the Olympics. When you question the legitimacy of Tibetan Independence and compare it to Kashmir, we should understand that what Indian armed forces did/does in Kashmir deserves as much an uproar as Tibetan Independence, and this is coming from an Indian. And it is not about color either brother, it is about a people who have a large population displaced and a larger population which is supressed.
And also it does not matter what the US does, the policies of the American government should not become the guideline for other nations.
Tibet is ‘in’ right now, and will be till the Olympics are over. After the hype is over, the situation will be back to as it was, Tibetans crossing into India by the thousands, getting shot at at and Tibetans becoming a minority in their own country along with the state sponsored erosion of an ancient culture.
What the protesters aim of achieving by protesting is creating an awareness of the situation in Tibet.
If you have lived side by side with Tibetans in India, it becomes much more easier to understand their situation and their demand for their homeland.
To top it all of, the disrespect the Chinese (not just the government even the Chinese people), show for The Dalai Lama is outrageous. It is like disrespecting th Pope or any other religious leaders.. The attitude of the Chinese towards the Dalai Lama just adds to the feeling of oppression.
And yes never forget Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
It is great that these protests are casting the international spotlight on Tibet (although, somehow, all the other widespread human rights abuses in China seem to be a non-issue), and maybe some countries will do something symbolic like choosing to boycott the games, or something even more vacuous, like not participate in the opening ceremonies. But the sad reality in today’s world is that these gestures are ultimately mere showboating (as parodied quite effectively by Colbert) and will be forgotten by every one of us the moment we see our $1.99 pack of 12 tube socks at the neighborhood Walmart. Three cheers for the power of free markets!
The Tibetan qustion is not just about Human Rights violation. The difference with USA or India is that it would be possible to stage a protest in these countries against Human Rights Violations any day of the year. The Olympics is the only time when you can protest against Human Rights Violations in China, without the communist government being able to do anything. Keep the protest coming!
On the question would I pprotest if it was India, yes I would and I do, so do many Indians every day of the year. Have you not een all the demonstrations in India?!
SSK, China is going to run the Olympic Torch through Tibet as if it were part of China. So the Chinese are using the Olympics to help cement the idea that Tibet is fully integrated with China. It’s not as if the Tibetan nationalists are sullying the pure non-political Olympics. Besides, remember the American boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980? Or the killing of Israeli athletes in Munich? The Olympics are political.
No, it’s like refusing to recognize the ruler of Tibet, whose power they usurped.
This I highly doubt.
Chinese-American here. Gonna chime in “our” side since the comments all seem neutral or anti.
In this case Western intelligence incited a violent riot that killed 22 civilians and burned 200 buildings or so. It is understood the CIA funds the Tibetan government in exile and sent Tibetan-American operatives to organize this affair. (The funding is openly documented in CIA fronts such as Freedom House. The role of U.S.-trained Tibetan-Americans I read about at Rediff.com three or four days ago.)
Some readers here may genuinely care about the Tibetans. Western intelligence agencies do not; they use the Tibetans as tools.
The neocons incited the Chechens against the Russians in the 1990s, various minority uprisings against Iran’s Persian 52% majority since 2001, and did all they can to foment a civil war between the Kurdish-Sunni-Shite triad in Iraq.
It is plain divide-and-conquer.
India is lucky to have Russia, Iran, and China as its “outter gates”, so to speak, to absorb these neocon power moves.
If it were not us, they would just as soon divide-and-conquer India. Consider the Tibet situation, where pacifist minority of just .5% can be made to riot. It would be a cinch in India with the Muslims and various castes and regional ethnicities.
It is known the CIA tried to splinter India during the Cold War.
They don’t care if you’re a “democracy” or not, only whether a country exercises sovereign power.
Their real argument against the CCP of China (of which I’m no fan of), is that authoritarian governments are much more difficult for the CIA to infiltrate behind the scenes, to bribe a political party, open a medium outlet, etc. The CIA has applied these same tactics in every color-revolution since 2000: Lebanon, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgystan. To those one can add the failed color-revolutions in Uzbekistan and Belarus.
I think this is clear from the neocon-written National Security Strategy 2002;2006 which states the objective of global hegemony.
My convoluted argument is, India sits a decades-long geopolitical sweet spot because all U.S. containment effort is exerted elsewhere. So long as the world is multipolar India can extract favorable conditions from the U.S. It can “play the other poles off”, so to speak.
Were the world not multipolar, India may expect the same type of hostilty and creeping containment from the US that Russia receives today.
India is safest in a muti-polar world. So is China, and Russia, for that matter. Therefore, I argue that each should, if not support each other, express neutrality.
5 year occupation of Iraq bloodier than 50 years occupation of Tibet, what a nutcase! Still you are free to protest against the Iraq war any time you want, it’s done by high ranked politicians in the US regularly. The Olympic games however is used to cement the idea of Tibet as an integral part of China, and no protests is allowed. That is why these actions are so important.
22 · Han said
I really appreciate you writing this, and bringing a different point of view. I read your post, and it was quite insightful. I agree that a multipolar world is better (and a united world would be the best, but not happening in my lifetime)
However, I don’t agree that neutrality helps solve anything. It only keeps things surface-peaceful and pseudo-balanced and prolongs the impending. I don’t think the world hates the Chinese people. They hate the government. Just like they hate the current US government. The former regime has got to change. The latter is changing this year. Vote.
I don’t buy everyone’s outrage over China. nobody protested the United States hosting the olympics with such vehemence. Their five year occupation of iraq is far more bloody than the fifty year occupation of Tibet, which does have some legitimacy
As an American, I would support similar international protests during the torch relay if an American city were hosting the Olympics. Our war in Iraq is a crime and that should be publicized at every opportunity. So I also don’t have a problem with pro-Tibet protesters doing the same.
Holy Mandala!
Fantastic morning so far – a doughnut, cuppa coffee and a threadful of nonsense!
Han
We do want a multi-polar world but also one in which people can express their feelings without fear. Do you really think that the chinese authoritarian system is making it safer or stronger? Its the opposite actually – and, yes, when you are weak or enemies will attack. And the CIA does have a history of fishing around wherever it can.
The chinese political system is too closed and information given to its citizens is biased and incomplete. Why is google censored in china? Why is it a crime to own a picture of the Dalai Lama in Tibet? These are very poor ways of trying to control political thinking – maybe its OK if the whole country is starving and at war and economic progress is the only thing that is needed. But is that the case in China today?
No country is “good” vs. “bad”. The indian govt deserves huge criticism for some its actions in Kashmir and NE India. But you can express these criticisms in India. The US govt has made a monumental blunder with 10’s of thousands killed in Iraq – you can see the demonstrations in US and impact on US elections. So the question is why the chinese govt policy in Tibet – which has caused 10s of thousands of deaths over last 50 years – should be exempt from criticism?
Although India may have some issues on the human rights side of things, it is nowhere close to the worst violator as I could probably think of a dozen countries easily right now that are far worse. The issue with Tibet is very complicated, and I know most people in America learned about it from watching Brad Pitt in 7 Years in Tibet, but it’s not as easily wrapped up as that.
Look, I’m a fan of the underdog. I always find myself rooting for the long shot; hell, I’ve voted Libertarian at times. The bottom line is that while I am OK with the idea of these protests (freedom of speech), I think that people need to remember that A) China is not a monster, even if her government has a bit of a heavy hand from time to time and B) although I would concede that unfortunately the Olympics has become politicized, no country is totally innocent and we run the risk of every year boycotting or otherwise protesting where the games are held.
So to conclude: people are free to protest, but we should respect the sanctity of the torch and what it represents.
it shouldn’t be. But I think what han is pointing out is that one should be aware that organized protests are often “used” by the U.S. government–who, and here I agree with han, have no special love for tibetans–for its own purposes (witness the situation of the kurds, currently a u.s. favorite in iraq, but who were routinely sold to be butchered–first by turkey, then by saddam–when it suited U.S. interests). So one should be aware of the foreseeable implications of large organized protests. This is however, not to say that protests should not happen, but only that the protest strategy should be rethought. It is also true that in international relations there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.
Not to be cynical, but what will this protest do? The U.S. will stay go to the Olympics regardless.
Han, What multi-polar world are you talking about? The one where China sold ring magnets to Pakistan and allowed them access to nuclear technology to threaten India with,or the one in which China keeps claiming Arunachal and Sikkim while saying “Tibet is an integral part of China” or the one in which China occupies Aksai Chin?. Indians are skeptical of the Chinese government and anybody who supports it and rightly so.
As far as the neo-con conspiracy theories go, do you have any proof of these. India’s interest is best served by a friendly neighborhood with countries that look to cooperate and work with it, not looking to run it down. Unfortunately that is not the case now, our biggest threats are in our neighborhood and not from far away America. Therefore, we have no use for the “multi-polar” arrangement. It is not like India with its castes and muslims as you claim, as these castes and muslims were not forcibly occupied by India, unlike China occupied Tibet. China moved in and occupied Tibet without any reason or provocation.
And as Al-beruni says, countries get criticized for their real or alleged rights violations, why should China be exempt from criticizm?
@Vyasa, India is the worst violator huh? Maybe you should spend more time in countries like Haiti,Bangladesh, the whole continent of Africa, or China. You will see what REAL human rights abuse is. If you think India is so bad you are free not to visit India and renounce your Indian citizenship (assuming you are a citizen).
Han , Google Yasin Malik and India Today. The former was a gun toting anti-India militant [islamic terrorist in my opinion] who now preaches the Gandhian way; the latter is the Indian version of the Time and Newsweek magazine. Last month, India Today invited Malik to address its annual forum, where the who is who of the global elite were speaking, including members of the Indian Govt. Now, can you imagine a Chinese news outlet affording the Dalai Lama such a platform?
Seccessionist movements are nothing new to India and at any given point in time, there are a number of those going on in India. Indian government’s response to those vary from reasonable to outright brutal in some extreme cases. But Indian policy has never been to resettle the seccessionist areas with different ethnic people. That policy is not even on the table. That is the difference between China’s response to Tibet and India’s responses to Indian flare ups.
Han – If America is, as you claim, really worse than China, Iran and Pakistan [India’s shield], one wonders why you chose to live there and not, China, Pakistan or Iran?
Oh Han, you took so many words to say so very little. Do you seriously believe that stuff? I’m sure playing people off each other is good for Indian interests, but, please.
Some people who protest care about the Tibetans and some people want to give the Chinese a good bloody nose, PR-wise. Why? Lots of reasons, but the best one is protesting human’s right abuses and authoritarianism. China a bullwark for India against blood thirsty neocons? That’s a good one. Sure, India can be as neutral as she wants but that’s not what we are talking about here. We are talking about free peoples congregating to protest. And it’s a beautiful thing.
*Oh, protest the Iraq War, too, if that’s your want. See, this is what free peoples get up to.
Have a lovely, peaceful, and powerful protest SF’ers!
oh by the way, vyasa/prema is a troll (as many others have pointed out in different threads), please do not respond.
Han – Desidude has rightly pointed out in #31 about India’s issues with China. If India’s options are a China which has attacked India in the past, forcibly taken it’s territories and claims more of them, supports India’s other big problem Pakistan, has a track record of human rights violation and lack of free speech and the other option is a US who albeit is not to be trusted either but whose interests align with India’s at the moment, why would an India be stupid to kiss a$$ when it comes to China.
Of course, this is not to say that there are sections in India which lean towards China and that the Indian Govt is weak and instead of using thw Tibet issue as a leverage and getting China to back off from Arunachal etc, we are following a policy of appeasing China without any benefits. Stupid that!
And yes, the Indian army has been accused of violations in the NE and Kashmir and I would like to see more transparency there and if the allegations are true, I would like the violations to stop.
Rahul wrote.. “Not to be cynical, but what will this protest do? The U.S. will stay go to the Olympics regardless”
— Or , perhaps, this is Dubya’s golden opportunity to redeem himself with a pacifist swan song.
Well, I don’t know what it will specifically do for the Tibetans, but it will prevent the torch relay from being used as propaganda. Authoritarian regimes like that sort of thing, propaganda-wise.
Lumping China with India, Bangladesh, Haiti etc is absurd and ignorant. Chinese children go to schools. They are not forced to work as bonded slaves or prostitutes as so many millions are in India. And even subsaharan Africa does a better job feeding its children than India does. Which is a more fundamental right: the right to food, clean water, sanitation facilities or the right to vote in a democracy? Thumping your chest over India’s imitated (and failed) political system is not going to feed its hungry children or give dignity to its untouchables and widows, is it? Get your priorities straight.
Regarding the torch and “neutral” or “universal” ideals of sport it is supposed to represent: the torch was a marketing ploy first put into play by the Nazis for the Berlin olympics. Good summary here:
the argument that sport can be made entirely free of politics is not sustainable.
Han:
True dat. The neocon fantasies of a hegemonic American Empire have gone up in smoke thanks to the disaster in Iraq and the economic meltdown. A strong China and Russia counter the “white (anglo) man’s burden” of ruling the world . Too many indians on the other hand, both fake leftist liberals and fake right-wing nationalist jingos, still cling to the vain hope that the anglosaxons will use them as sepoys and slaves in their “war on terror” and their “containment” of China. They just cannot imagine a world in which their masters are not dominant. Even the thought terrifies them. This fear comes from a very deep rooted lack of self-confidence and self-respect.
38 · Neale said
Neale, that Rahul isn’t me, btw.
During the 1999 kargil conflict, one the first units to enter combat were the “Ladakh Scouts” who are over 90% ethnic Tibetan.
They did this because they knew the terrain and did not need the 3 days of acclimatization the rest of the Indian army needed to fight at 10,000 feet.
They also took 15:1 casualties.
When all the talking is done, the one who does the fighting and dying for you is your true friend.
Now you, the SF mutineers are standing up for your Tibetan cousins. Shabaash !!!
43 · Rahul said
This multi-headed-Rahul will start attracting the faithful.
In response to 33, RC
You do realize that much of the Northeast where separatism is a factor is actively being resettled by Bengali immigrants.
It’s funny that many Indians piss and moan about China repressing Tibetans when Indian policy towards it’s own Himalayan minorities is not dissimilar.
Jing
First, of all, property rights of minorities are protected in many parts of india. You cannot buy property in Kashmir, Nagaland, Mizoram etc if you are an outsider. Second, if there are problems, such as too many bengali/bihari immigrants, you are free to protest. Often there are protests, sometimes even violent, but still people are free to express difference of opinion and demand change.
Do you understand the point here? No govt is perfect – US, India, China etc. All have committed errors and mistakes.
The question is – why is there no right to protest in China? Why is there repression and killing but unwillingness to discuss it? Why is it illegal to own a copy of Dalai Lama’s picture? Why is Google censored in China?
Can you try to answer these specific questions? For some reasons no one wants to answer them.
whatever your viewpoints on this issue, at least you’re able to read/express them in an open forum like this.
while i’m not really a mutineer, more of a sometimes-lurker, i wish i’d read this earlier. if anyone wants to join a group going to the protests, i work for amnesty and we’re having people meet at our offices at 1663 mission. we’re only here for another half hour or so, and then walking. we’ll be there handing out signs and runner’s bibs, though, so be on the lookout!
42 · Vyasa said
Um. The economic meltdown isn’t all of the right’s fault. Have you ever heard about the Community Reinvestment Act?
http://townhall.com/columnists/JerryBowyer/2008/04/01/meet_barry_obama,_fair_housing_lawyer
http://townhall.com/columnists/JerryBowyer/2008/04/06/how_community_organizers_like_obama_created_the_subprime_crisis
Yea it must be all of the neocons fault (sarcasm).
Have fun with your boy Barry Obama.
The people who are settling in NE are Bangladeshi illegal immigrants. India as a nation does not have a policy of resettling those areas with her majority ethnic population. If it were the policy, it would have taken a total of 2 weeks to make Meghalaya majority Bengali (as in west Bengal state of India) or Bihari. The fact that folks from majority ethnic community of India of other states cannot buy land in NE states legally is clear enough indication of the policy of the Indian government.