Should the USA boycott the Beijing Olympics?

The news is out that China is cracking down on Tibet, and there are reports that between 30 and "hundreds of people" have been arrested and killed as protesters and dissidents. Now, protesters around the world are calling upon nations to boycott the Olympics being held in Beijing. The USA is caught between a policy of engagement - and the fact that China has a significant trade surplus - and the desire to support the peaceful protests in Tibet.

In Sydney, protesters scaled a wall surrounding China's consulate and removed the Chinese national flag and tried to replace it with a Tibetan flag. Four people were arrested when police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd after a plain clothes officer had been attacked.

Tibet's government-in-exile urged the United Nations to intervene to end what it called "urgent human rights violations" by China in the region.

What do our readers think? Should America boycott the games over these violations of human rights? Or would such a move be counterproductive... or simply none of our business?

When Stealing Copper, Make Sure It Doesn't Have Power Running Through It

Apparently, China is buying so much copper that the price has doubled in the last four years. This has caused some to think that stealing copper is a good idea. Seems that for one person, that was all the thinking they did as they attempted to cut a power cable using a hacksaw. A search of local hospitals has not been successful in finding the person responsible.

Is America Selling Itself Off to Oblivion?

Pat Buchanon has up a very interesting article on the current US financial situation. He makes some good points and gives us a stiff warning that we must strengthen the dollar and our economy soon. It is definitely worth a read whether or not you usually agree with him.

Retraction: Chinese Sub Surprises U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

We here at Mod-Blog are all human and unfortunately, that means we make mistakes. I was discussing the story about the Chinese Sub and the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk today and found out that the article I referenced was misleading. Although the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk was out to sea at the time of the posting, this incident happened during its 2006 winter cruise. I apologize for the erroneous post. The refusal of the Chinese government to dock at Hong Kong did happen this cruise and is considered a big deal.

China Turns Away Our Ships

For the third time this month, China has denied our Navy's ships from docking at Hong Kong. This time it is a frigate, the USS Reuben James. Before it was two minesweepers and the USS Kitty Hawk. Now, China is a sovereign country. They can choose who to allow into their ports. At one point, the denial of the docking of the USS Kitty Hawk was claimed to have been a misunderstanding; however, China Daily has quotes of China explicitly stating that this is not so. You may remember the USS Kitty Hawk from this previously posted story. That only makes the story more interesting. I doubt that China is doing more than trying to show off its muscles, but it's a reminder that China's friendship is really only a friendship of convenience.

Chinese Sub Surprises U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

The other day while the U.S. Navy was doing exercises in the Pacific, a Chinese sub surprised them surfacing within range of firing a torpedo or missile at the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Now, I happen to know that the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk is one of our older aircraft carriers so perhaps a newer aircraft carrier would have detected the sub, but the Chinese sub had to also slip past at least a dozen surface ships and at least two submarines to get that close. This is a wakeup call that China's friendship is merely one of convenience. We must be on our guard and continuously researcher how to keep our military superior and safe.

The Burma question

I've been thinking about posting on the protests in Burma (also known as Myanmar) for several days now, but I haven't been able to come up with a good angle. My wife and I support several missionaries in Thailand that work just over the Burmese border with the Internally Displaced People (IDP), people that have been chased out of their villages by gun point only to have the villages burned to the ground, but only after the army has their way with them. There are millions of IDP within Burma that are in need of some sort of support, but I digress. The thing about Burma is that it is so impoverished already that it seems sanctions are not actually helping to bring about any change - hence why the people are now protesting in large numbers. Repression always leads to rebellion - eventually. So, the question then becomes, what can be done to affect change in this nation. Many people have pointed out that China is the key to change within Burma, but I wonder how much of a moral compass China could actually have when it comes to human rights violations, freedom of religion and peacefully stopping rebellions. The Chinese think that the protests in Burma are an 'internal matter' for the Burmese generals to deal with on their own. This is clearly their way of making that point that we won't interfere with others if they don't interfere with us. This is a positive from the Chinese point of view - they have many things they want to keep internal without having to deal with external pressures to resolve them. So, given that China doesn't want to intervene - though they have made a statement - how can the west and those concerned with the situation in Burma cause China to move more decisively?

One member of the EU thinks that he has a solution: an EU boycott the Beijing Olympics. This would be an interesting development since the one thing China wants more than to be left alone by the west is to be accepted by the west as a modern country. If the EU countries were to pull out of the Olympics then a good percentage of the best athletes in the world would not attend them and in tern they would become a joke or at least not taken seriously. But more serious than that, China would lose out on billions of dollars in tourism revenue from the event and from those who don't go as a result of not getting the word of mouth about the beauty of the country from those who attended. It's an interesting concept that should be considered IF the Chinese don't move more decisively within the next couple of weeks OR before serious bloodshed happens.

China passes regulations for Reincarnation

You may think that what happens between you and God is private and something that no government can truly enforce. China disagrees.

China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country.

We must remember that through China is an important trading partner, their society is still Communist and willing to do almost anything to retain control of its people.

China Copies Disneyland/Disney World

The website Japan Probe has posted pictures of Shijingshan Amusement Park, an amusement park in Beijing that looks suspiciously like Disneyland/Disney World. Only problem is that Disney didn't have anything to do with it. To make things even weirder, the operators claim that all of the characters are original characters.

Be Nice to Animals With Sharp Teeth

One boy learned this lesson the hard way. According to the article, animal rights is not a big thing in China, so perhaps that boys really didn't know better than to hit the crocodiles with sticks and a catapult. Crocodiles can move quite surprisingly, so you should always beware of them.

Of course, the crocodiles may have learned a lesson too

Snipers used pork to lure them out of their pool and shot dead the first animal to lumber on to the bank.

Guess it's not always good to be the early bird that catches the worm.