Wal-Mart's favorite dictatorship, the fascist regime in China, is joining the list of totalitarians in suppressing dissent. (Reuters: 2/21/11)

Over the weekend, Chinese police and censors showed the Communist Party has little to fear from protesters hoping to emulate the unrest that has unseated Egypt's long-time president, Hosni Mubarak, and now threatens Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Police dispersed dozens of people who gathered in central Beijing and Shanghai on Sunday after calls spread on overseas Chinese websites urging "Jasmine Revolution" gatherings. The police and foreign reporters outnumbered aspiring participants and curious passers-by caught up in the crowd.

There were no signs of protests in Beijing on Monday.

It's a small start, but a start nevertheless. After what the murderous Chinese regime did during the last series of pro democracy protests and how they ruthlessly suppress dissent, it isn't terribly shocking that people there are reluctant to try again.

If the Chinese eventually do win their freedom, I wonder where Wal-Mart will start shipping American jobs to.

Meanwhile, a study has shown that most US corporations and corporations that do business here in the US pay no federal income tax. (Those that do pay income tax pay far, far less than they should.)

It's bad enough that those fuckers keep shipping our jobs to foreign countries like China, but it's even worse that most of them pay nothing in taxes.

 

Over 1.5 million people in Beijing have lost their homes due to the Olympics and other beautification projects. Here are some facts about the Olympics from the Indypendent.

1.5 million:
Estimated number of people to have been relocated from their homes in Beijing in the last eight years to make room for Olympic facilities and “beautification” projects. (“One World, Whose Dream? Housing Rights Violations and the Beijing Olympic Games,” cohre.org)

30,000:
Number of surveillance cameras, some with microphones, that have been installed througout Beijing. Capable of filming passers-by and recording conversations, they are designed to help the authorities identify suspicious behavior and locate suspects. (rsf.org)

20,000:
Approximate number of journalists and technicians at the Olympics who will face Internet censorship when reporting from China. Websites considered “politically sensitive” will be blocked. Reporters Without Borders has issued a guide on how to use proxy servers to navigate around China’s censorship (rsf.org)

3:
Number of U.S. companies — IBM, Honeywell and General Electric — who have been exposed supplying integrated surveilliance systems to China. Three U.S. cities — New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. — are experimenting with similar technology. (“China’s All-Seeing Eye.” By Naomi Klein, Rolling Stone)

$58-78 million:
Estimated amount the 12 global partner Olympic sponsors have paid for a four-year deal. These include Coca-cola, Visa, McDonalds, General Electric and Johnson & Johnson. (guardian.co.uk)

The Beijing Olympics get more and more disturbing as you learn more about them.

 

Let's start with Riverwolf at IDiosyntocracy. Here is a listing of his blog postings on his personal boycott of the Blood Olympics.

Riverwolf's Boycott Diary

These postings not only show Riverwolf's concern about the issues involving the boycott of the smoggy games in Beijing, but they also serve as a teaching tool. His travails show how difficult it is for us to avoid buying Chinese products, an indictment of corporate betrayals of America, losses of US jobs to low wage labor in China, and the damage done to consumer choice by corrupt trade deals.

Coffee House Studio has a variety of posts which focus on the why of the boycott. Unlike some boycott advocates, he doesn't forget China's role in the violence in Zimbabwe.

It makes my pink heart proud that two queer bloggers have focused so much attention on such an important issue.

They put my one posting on why I'm boycotting the Olympics to shame. I would, however, like to make two quick points about the boycott.

Human rights are more important than spectator sports.

Boycotting the Blood Olympics is an important aspect of American liberals and progressives reacquainting themselves with the concept of solidarity.

Here are some other liberals and progressive bloggers who are boycotting the smoggiest Olympics on record.

Dave Chandler's Earthside.com

Resistance Studies

Constant Scholars

Starstattoo

I would also like to congratulate Britain's Liberal Democratic Party leader for calling on their Prime Minister Gordon Brown to boycott the closing ceremonies.

But Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has written to Mr Brown demanding that he boycott the event in protest at China's human rights record.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said China had promised to promote democracy and human rights if it was allowed to host the games.

Mr Clegg said: "It is now clear to me that China has made no progress on those promises. Indeed, the restrictions placed on journalists, the ongoing crackdown in Tibet and the treatment of individual Chinese protesters has worsened."

He added: "I therefore urge you not to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games, or indeed any other ceremonies associated with them.
"Given China's utter failure to deliver on its human rights promises, it is simply untenable for any representative of the United Kingdom to give political endorsement to these Games."

The first eight reasons apply to people within the US and abroad, while the last two primarily relate to us American folk. I'm sure that there are more reasons to boycott that I have neglected to mention.

1) Dangerous and shoddy Chinese products

The fascist regime in China has very few workplace or consumer safety standards, and consumers around the world are suffering for it. Here in the US, the crappiest junk made in China is targeted towards 99 cent stores, who have a customer base that primarily is latino and black.

The US and Chinese governments needs to stop pandering to corporate interests and set up/enforce some real safety regulations.

2) China's Occupation of Tibet

China has no business occupying Tibet. They are different countries with dramatically different cultures. Obviously, the first responsibility of those of us from the US is to oppose the Bush/Clinton/Cheney/McCain occupation of Iraq. However, we also have a duty to show solidarity with the Tibetan people and their right to self determination.

The brutal crackdown against the Tibetan people ahead of the Olympics makes watching the Olympics morally unacceptable.

3) Lack of respect for the right of Taiwan to self-determination

Like the Bush regime, the Chinese fascists need to get over their imperial designs and their hegemonic behavior. Taiwan is a separate country from China in terms of actual facts on the ground, and the cultural landscapes are quite different considering Taiwan's lack of involvement in the Cultural Revolution and the influence of Taiwan's large indigenous population.

China's sabre rattling is irresponsible and counter productive. Let the Taiwanese make up their own damned minds.

4) Spectator sports promote obesity

One of the dirty secrets of the obsession with spectator sports is that it is sedentary and treats physical activity as something that can be experienced vicariously. It is far more athletic to take a leisurely stroll in the park than it is to watch the most talented and skilled athletes while sitting on your ass.

The Olympics could learn a lot from the Gay Games' open participation and emphasis on building grassroots athletic clubs.

5) Human rights violations inside China

Amnesty International has yet to call for a boycott, but their website gives plenty of grounds for such an action merely on their page for human rights violations in China.

Issues AI mentions include:

- Executions
- Abuse of human rights activists
- Censorship


6) China's Role in Darfur

Addiction to oil causes countries to do terrible things. In the case of China, their lust for Sudan's oil reserves has caused the fascist government to finance the Muslim fundamentalist regime in Sudan and that regime's genocide in Darfur. Save Darfur has called on Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. They should take it one step further and call for people to skip the entire thing.

Save Darfur makes some good points, though.

The peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, was authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on July 31, 2007. China was president of the Council at that time and pushed for the resolution's passage. Thus, after years of thwarting UN action against Sudan, China seemed to begin to play a modestly constructive role. China, itself, claimed credit for advancing peace and security for the people of Darfur.

Unfortunately, Beijing's assertion was both premature and inaccurate. The Government of Sudan has put up a series of obstacles to UNAMID's deployment. Even more dishearteningly, Sudan has again stepped up its campaign of terror in Darfur, destroying villages in West Darfur, killing innocent civilians, and displacing tens of thousands more. A robust peacekeeping force is an essential element of a strategy to stop the violence and allow people to return home.

In substantial part, Khartoum has been able to ignore the UN's will and continue its violent acts because of China's fierce diplomatic protection. Beijing helped strip sanctions language from UNAMID's authorizing resolution, signaling to Sudan that it could block deployment of the force with impunity. Soon after the resolution's passage, China also resumed its role as apologist for the actions of Khartoum at the United Nations.

As Sudan's largest economic partner, major military supplier, and chief diplomatic supporter, Beijing is in an unrivaled position to persuade Sudan to change its behavior. Beijing can use its vast influence to insist that Khartoum consents to the swift and effective deployment of UNAMID; that Khartoum halts its military operations, as well as those of the Janjaweed, that directly or indirectly target civilians; and that Khartoum engages constructively in the peace process. By not using that influence, China remains the primary enabler of the atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan against the people of Darfur.

7) China's Role in Zimbabwe

The Chinese government has sent arms to the brutal, and semi-dictatorial government in Zimbabwe. From the Independent 4/18/08:

A Chinese ship docked in Durban harbour late on Wednesday carrying three million rounds of ammunition for small arms, 3,500 mortar bombs and mortar tubes, as well as 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, according to local media.

8) China's currency and trade policies

The fascist government is using predatory trade and currency policies which make the wealthy in China and abroad wealthier, but those policies create poverty and misery throughout the world. "Made in China" has become a global symbol of job losses and despair.

9) Right-wing Bias on NBC and MSNBC

The Beijing Olympics will be broadcast by General Electric's TV networks, including NBC and MSNBC. NBC News has a truly obnoxious pro-war and general rightist bias that fits too well with GE's profit motives for its war business. The same goes for the vast majority of programming on MSNBC. Watching the Olympics on GE's networks rewards them for their deceptive propagandizing of the American people.

10) GE's War Profits and Other Deeds

GE's networks propagandize for war largely because GE makes so much money off of war. From Responsible Shopper's Profile of GE.

• GE is responsible for toxic Superfund sites, knowingly exposing people to radioactive material, and has been fighting Superfund clean-up laws that hold the company accountable for damage caused by years of careless PCB dumping.

• GE has also secured millions of dollars in defense and military contracts, earning itself a place among notorious war profiteering companies.

• General Electric is the largest, most influential corporation in terms of revenue and scope of its media operations and ownership.

The full profile goes into much more detail. Boycotting their broadcasts of Olympic events is a way to turn an expensive investment (Olympic broadcasting fees) into a big dud.

All of the first eight items are valid arguments for a total boycott of products made in China. However, unpatriotic corporations in the US have shipped so much of our manufacturing base to China that it would be difficult to stop buying items made in China entirely. A good place to start is to look for "Made In China" labels and beginning to seek alternatives.