Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Counterfeit Colgate Toxic Toothpaste: Contains Fluoride? No. Contains Anti-Freeze? Yes.

This article came out in June, but I didn't hear about it until today.

I turned on my TV and there was a Consumer Alert story on the local ABC affiliate news show about Toxic Toothpaste turning up in some smaller, independent grocery stores.

One customer, here in San Francisco, apparently bought a tube of what looked just like Colgate Toothpaste at a local corner market. The man didn't notice anything odd about it until a friend who was visiting him used the toothpaste. The friend thought it had a really odd taste.

It turns out that some corrupt capitalists thought it'd be a good idea to churn out some counterfeit Colgate to make some money. Hey, Colgate's raked in millions... They wouldn't notice, right?

Wrong. These male moral midgets didn't bother to make sure the fake dentifrice had safe ingredients... No.
When the counterfeit product was tested in a lab, the test results showed something other than Fluoride in the mix.

It was found to contain diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze!

Personally, I prefer Cinnamon or Mint flavor. And a natural product, like Tom's of Maine.

Peace.
(Oh, and spit out/don't swallow the toothpaste, regardless of the brand.)
L.

Photobucket
From: msnbc.com
Toothpaste Labeled Colgate Recalled
Antifreeze chemical found in tubes in 4 states; no injuries reported
The Associated Press
updated 6:26 p.m. PT, Thurs., June. 14, 2007

The Colgate-Palmolive Company said Thursday that 5-ounce tubes of counterfeit toothpaste sold in discount stores in four states under a Colgate label are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical.

A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, said Wednesday that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label, but said in the initial announcement that the FDA was unsure whether it really was Colgate or a counterfeit.

"We are aware that toothpaste is something that's been counterfeited in the past," he said. "We don't want to alarm people unnecessarily."

MS USA Trading, Inc. of North Bergen, N.J., the importer involved in the initial recall announcement, said the toothpaste may contain diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.

The company said the toothpaste, imported from South Africa, was sold in discount stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

"Made in South Africa" is printed on the box and includes Regular, Gel, Triple and Herbal versions.

The trading company said the problem was discovered in routine testing by the Food and Drug Administration. It said no illnesses have been reported to date.

Counterfeit tubes
The same chemical has led to the recall of several brands of toothpaste imported from China in recent weeks.

Consumers who have purchased 5-ounce toothpaste under the Colgate label can return them to the place of purchase for a refund, MS USA Trading said.

Colgate-Palmolive issued a press release early Thursday saying the tubes are counterfeit.

The company said it does not use, nor has ever used, diethylene glycol as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world.

"Colgate does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa," said the statement from Colgate-Palmolive. "In addition, the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: 'isclinically,' 'SOUTH AFRLCA' and 'South African Dental Assoxiation.


"Counterfeit toothpaste is not manufactured or distributed by Colgate and has no connection with the company whatsoever," the company said, adding that Colgate is working closely with the FDA "to help to identify those responsible for the counterfeit product."

But Colgate said consumers who suspect they may have purchased counterfeit product can call Colgate's toll-free number at 1-800-468-6502.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Leaving Fear Behind: Tibetans... In Their Own Words.

Among other places (like here in San Francisco at the Chinese Consulate), the 'Free Tibet' movement has recently managed to unfurl some of their protest banners in Bejing, China - at the new headquarters of China's Central Television... though not for long. But, 30 minutes was long enough for some of the world press to film them.

Not too long ago, some students did the same after successfully scaling the Golden Gate Bridge.

It has been noted by some talking heads that - in numerous cases - the visible 'Free Tibet' protesters don't appear to be from Tibet. 'Free Tibet' sounds like a good idea, in theory, but how do actual Tibetans feel about what's been going on in their country?
About the Bejing Olympics? About the 'freedoms' the Chinese government gives them?

Well, I'm thrilled to say that I have found some answers for you...

Tonight, the ABC show "Nightline" aired a segment about a remarkable human being...
Well, actually, it involves several truly remarkable human beings: Two young men who made a documentary and the people who agreed to be filmed for it.

The word "Courageous" comes to mind.

What, exactly, makes these people courageous?

The men are Tibetan. They wanted to make a film to document the thoughts and feelings of their fellow Tibetans. One of the filmmakers first smuggled his family out of the country and then smuggled himself back in to make this film. They traveled across thousands of miles to meet and interview - on camera - other Tibetan people living in Tibet and ask how they felt about things like Chinese policies in Tibet, the 2008 Bejing Olympics and the Dalai Lama - whom the Chinese banned from Tibet for 50 years.

Either by making this film or by agreeing to appear on camera in it and speak their minds about China, these people are risking losing their freedom and possibly more. Under China's version of 'freedom and independence', simply declaring support for a free Tibet is punishable by up to 20 years in prison .

The two young documentary filmmakers, one of whom is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, were detained and taken into custody by the Chinese authorities shortly after getting their tapes safely smuggled out of the country where supporters put together the documentary.

Where they've been taken is unknown. If they are still alive and well is unknown.

I have two hopes in regards to this story...

First, I hope the filmmakers are soon released unharmed.

Second, I hope you see their film. (Available on the Internet, except in China... They shut down access to it.)

Peace.
Free Tibet, Now.
L.

"Leaving Fear Behind (in Tibetan, Jigdrel) is a heroic film shot by Tibetans from inside Tibet, who longed to bring Tibetan voices to the Beijing Olympic Games. With the global spotlight on China as it rises to host the XXIX Olympics, Tibetans wish to tell the world of their plight and their heartfelt grievances against Chinese rule. The footage was smuggled out of Tibet under extraordinary circumstances.

The filmmakers were detained soon after sending their tapes out, and remain in detention today."
From: www.leavingfearbehind.com/


From: abcnews.go.com/

Pro-Tibet Film Gets Rare Beijing Showing


By Ben Blanchard
August 6, 2008

BEIJING (Reuters) - A new documentary made by a pro-Tibet group on what Tibetans think of the Olympics premiered in Beijing Wednesday under a veil of secrecy.

The film, "Leaving Fear Behind," was shown to a small group of foreign reporters in a dingy hotel room in central Beijing, not far from Tiananmen Square.

Security officials did not interrupt the screening but Dechen Pemba, a British Tibetan woman deported from China last month, told Reuters by telephone that a second screening was halted by the hotel, under police instructions.

"Now that the Olympic Games are finally upon us, it's a chance to show how Tibetans feel and what their hopes are," Dechen Pemba said in a videotaped statement.

The film featured a series of interviews with Tibetans talking about how their culture had been trampled on, how they still loved exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and how they viewed the Olympics as having done little to improve their lives.

"Outsiders may think that the Tibetans are treated very well and that they are happy. But the truth is that Tibetans are not free to speak of their suffering," one Tibetan said on the film.

"Even if I had to sacrifice my life for this message to be seen by the Dalai Lama, I agree and welcome this chance," said another.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.

Farmer Dhondup Wangchen and his monk friend Golog Jigme were detained shortly after finishing the film, but managed to smuggle tapes out of the country. "It is very difficult for Tibetans to go to Beijing and speak out there. So that is why we decided to show the real feelings of Tibetans inside Tibet through this film," Dhondup Wangchen said in the film.

Four foreign protesters displaying pro-Tibet banners near the main Bird's Nest stadium were detained earlier in the morning, in a measure of the issue's sensitivity ahead of Friday's Olympics opening ceremony.

China has accused followers of the Dalai Lama of stirring riots and protests in Tibetan regions in March in a bid to upstage Olympic preparations. The Dalai Lama has denied the claim and said he does not oppose the Games.

But groups campaigning for an independent Tibet have said the Olympics should be an opportunity to voice criticism of Chinese policy.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

What does Martin Luther King Jr. Have to Do With Payday Loans?

From the Bottom of the Bottom Feeders Barrel...

Recently, the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Charles Steele Jr., penned an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, bemoaning the damaging effects of the credit crisis on minority homeowners. But, he didn't voice support of pending legislation that would create seriously overdue regulation of the credit industry - particularly the nasty and unethical practice of predatory lending involving sub-prime loans to persons whom it is obvious cannot afford them. (Just look around you. It's an ugly business model that saturates mostly low-income neighborhoods. It takes advantage of people in need and profits off of leaving them in financial devastation.)

No, Steele Jr. invoked the SCLC's founder, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., claiming that attempts to regulate the credit industry would cause minorities to be denied.

Strange bedfellows, right?

Not when you consider that late last year, subprime credit card and payday loan company CompuCredit formed a partnership agreement with the SCLC. The plan was to do a variation of "green-washing". But, instead of clothing a toxic product or manufacturer in eco-friendly sounding spin, they were going to disguise predatory, sub-prime credit practices in "economic empowerment" workshops.

This is despicable on so many levels.
It is disrespectful of Dr. King's memory and it besmirches the reputation of the SCLC and its leadership.

Sadly, the business of making millions of dollars of profit - at the expense of the working poor - by selling them a bill of goods that they often can't afford - in the form of "fee harvesting" credit cards with skyrocketing interest, a car loan or house loan with upwards of 300% interest that will likely result, not in ownership, but in crushing debt - is a booming business.

Shame on you, Charles Steele Jr. And shame on those in positions of influence who, like you, jump on the sub-prime bandwagon.

But, most of all, shame on all of those heart-and-soul-less companies who will smile widely and shake your hand, saying, "Just sign on the dotted line."
... Whilst they stab you in the back.

If anyone's going to Hell...

Peace.
L.


From: www.motherjones.com.

Civil Rights Groups Defending Predatory Lenders: Priceless

By Stephanie Mencimer
August 1, 2008

Washington Dispatch: What does Martin Luther King Jr. have to do with payday lenders? Nada, but that hasn't stopped African American leaders from invoking his name as they shill for the credit industry.

At the end of June, as the subprime mortgage crisis was driving the economy into a tailspin, Charles Steele Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), took to the op-ed page of the Washington Post to decry the devastating effect the meltdown was having on minority homeowners. But rather than support currently pending measures to better regulate the credit markets, the leader of one of the nation's oldest civil rights groups instead attacked them. Steele was particularly upset about a Federal Reserve proposal that would crack down on subprime credit cards—high-interest cards marketed to people with bad credit.

Steele rose to the card issuers' defense, invoking his group's founder, Martin Luther King Jr., and claiming that any move to regulate the cards would deny minorities access to much-needed credit. (In July, after another op-ed piece on a similar topic appeared under Steele's byline in a a handful of papers, he claimed he didn't write it or authorize its release; according to Steele's lawyer, a Washington public relations and lobbying firm was behind the commentary.) The argument was an odd one coming from a civil rights group. Most consumer groups believe that the subprime industry is largely predatory, and rife with abuses that disproportionately affect minorities. But Steele's op-ed makes a lot more sense when you consider a detail the Post at first left out: In August 2007, the SCLC formed a partnership with CompuCredit, a subprime credit card issuer and payday lending company. (The Post later updated its story to reflect this.) The deal included plans for an affinity card that would put the famous civil rights group's name on CompuCredit Visa cards and joint "economic empowerment" workshops around the country to help educate minorities about credit. When Steele announced the deal last year, he said, "Consistent with SCLC's historic commitment to civil rights and economic justice, this partnership represents a critical part of our campaign for economic empowerment."

While the civil rights group has been lauding its corporate partner, the federal government has taken a slightly different view of CompuCredit's contributions to economic empowerment. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission sued the company for unfair and deceptive trade practices, as well as violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FTC alleged that CompuCredit bilked consumers out of at least $217 million through a scheme in which consumers paid so much in fees that they rarely had any credit available on the company's Visa cards. The CompuCredit cards are better known as "fee harvesting" cards—that is, credit cards sold to people in dire financial straits that have high interest rates, low credit balances, and lots and lots of fees for people who generally can't afford them. The practice is enormously lucrative. The National Consumer Law Center reports that in 2006, CompuCredit made $400 million in fees on such cards, simultaneously saddling consumers with more than $1 billion in debt.

The FTC also alleged that CompuCredit was working in tandem with its debt-collection arm, Jefferson Capital, in a complex scheme that used the credit cards as a way of duping consumers into paying off old debts that had been discharged by other lenders. Far from lifting consumers upward, CompuCredit was leaving its customers mired in debt, from which they would have a tough time escaping.

The fraud allegations against the company don't seem to have soured the storied civil rights group's enthusiasm for it. After the FTC filed its suit in June, Steele defended the company, saying that CompuCredit "has been a true friend to the SCLC and to the communities and individuals it serves, and in our opinion is one of the few financial services companies that is working diligently to increase access to credit in underserved communities." Steele did not return a call for comment. Of CompuCredit's relationship with the SCLC, Tom Donahue, the company's director of corporate communications, says, "As a company that provides credit products and financial services to financially underserved consumers, CompuCredit has an abiding interest in working with individuals and third-party organizations that share our commitment to financial education and to helping credit-challenged consumers bridge their way to a prime credit score and the financial mainstream."

William Jelani Cobb, a history professor at Atlanta's Spelman College who has followed the fortunes of the civil rights infrastructure, says that he was unaware of the SCLC's relationship with CompuCredit, but is not surprised by it. "It's an indictment of how far SCLC has gone from its historic roots. These folks owe their existence to a moral claim to helping other black folks. This is an outright betrayal of that."

SCLC is not the only civil rights group or black advocacy organization that has linked arms with CompuCredit and other companies that peddle high-interest credit and predatory loans to poor minority communities. The fringe finance industry has intentionally tried to cultivate relationships with minority organizations as part of its lobbying campaign against stricter regulation, both at the state and federal level. "Just like they target minority groups to sell their products, they target minority groups to make their products look legitimate," says critic Keith Corbett, executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

Three years ago, Al Sharpton went so far as to appear in TV commercials for LoanMax, a company that specializes in auto-title loans, whose 300 percent interest rates consumer advocates consider deeply predatory. CompuCredit has participated in Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's career fairs and economic summits. Local affiliates of the National Urban League, one of the nation's oldest civil rights groups, have worked with the payday lending industry trade group, the Consumer Financial Services Association (CFSA), to conduct financial literacy seminars. Denise Harrod, CompuCredit's vice president, has served on business committees of the National Conference of Black Mayors and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, both of which have received money from the payday lending industry.

Payday lenders were popular honorees this year among civil rights groups celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. The president of CFSA, the payday lending industry lobby group, chaired the Congress of Racial Equality's (CORE) Martin Luther King Jr. awards dinner in January. To honor the King holiday this year, SCLC gave its presidential award to CompuCredit's Harrod for her "leadership in the struggle for economic justice through the political process."

The rationale behind the industry's cultivation of African American supporters is fairly simple. Payday lenders and other corporations that specialize in predatory lending have only one really useful argument in defending their business practices, and it goes like this: They provide a public service by catering to the "unbanked" and other financially underserved communities—i.e., those discriminated against by white banks that won't make loans to African Americans. Without payday or other subprime lenders, they argue, many poor minorities would have no way of buying homes or keeping their lights on in an emergency.

It's a seductive argument, in part because it's based on a kernel of truth. Black Americans in particular have indeed been shut out of mainstream banks for decades. But as Corbett notes, loans with 300 percent interest rates are hardly a desirable alternative. Nonetheless, the subprime and payday loan industries have been somewhat successful in fending off stricter regulation, in large part because they have recruited African Americans and civil rights groups to make the argument for them.

One of the most active groups on this front has been CORE, a group founded by James Farmer and others in 1942, but which has long been more conservative than groups like SCLC. CORE has long been happy to take money from just about any corporate donor. Not long ago Mother Jones chronicled; its role in helping Exxon fight global warming regulations. But CORE has also been heavily involved in defending payday lending, a practice better known as "legal loan sharking" because of the enormous interest rates charged for the short-term loans.

According to CRL, the average payday loan borrower typically pays about $800 in interest for a $325 loan, and numerous studies have shown that payday lenders are disproportionately clustered in minority neighborhoods. Payday lenders are also notoriously ruthless debt collectors. Just one example: A New Mexico woman named Laura Cordova sued a payday lender in September 2006 after its collections workers started harassing her family, friends, and ultimately her boss and other people at her company, not just with phone calls but with visits to the office. Cordova was eventually fired as a result.

Yet CORE's national spokesman, Niger Innis, testified last year against a bill that would ban payday lending in Washington State, saying, "Payday lenders offer a choice that is not widely provided by traditional lenders anymore. Consequently, we think that payday lenders provide a choice that members of our communities should be allowed to make." The bill failed. In Georgia last year, when the payday lending industry tried to roll back a relatively new ban on payday lending there, CORE lobbied heavily to overturn it, along with the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, whose chairman, Rep. Al Williams, told the Associated Press, "No one has explained to me how a person making $6 an hour and is about to get his lights turned off can go and get a loan."

Payday lenders and other fringe finance companies are not natural political allies with black political groups. CompuCredit, for instance, was founded by Frank and David Hanna, Georgia businessmen who made a name for themselves in the mid-1990s by turning the nonprofit Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia into a for-profit company and then allegedly plundering its assets. The Hannas have donated heavily to Republican causes, providing some of the largest contributions to former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed in his failed bid for Georgia's lieutenant governorship. Frank Hanna is affiliated with a group of American Catholics who had lobbied bishops to refuse communion to John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Not surprisingly, CompuCredit faced significant obstacles when it came to winning over African American political leaders who tend to be Democrats. But money has helped, as has the strategic employment of African American lobbyists. For instance, CFSA's lobbyist during the Georgia debate last year was Willie Green, a former wide receiver for the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers who owns a handful of payday lending outfits. Before the legislature voted on the bill, Green gave an $80,000 loan to Rep. Ron Sailor, an African American legislator who didn't pay it back. Sailor crossed party lines and voted in favor of the Republican bill. Sailor pleaded guilty earlier this year for unrelated money-laundering charges. (The bill failed to pass.)

In 2006, CompuCredit hired J.C. Watts Companies, a firm run by the former Oklahoma congressman, who was the only black Republican in the US House of Representatives when he retired in 2002. CompuCredit paid Watts' firm $60,000 to lobby on its behalf when Congress was considering legislation to cap interest rates on payday loans to members of the military. (The bill passed.) Watts also gave the company entry to the nation's network of historically black colleges and universities, which has been a prime target of the payday loan industry. (CFSA now offers paid internships to students at those schools to work in the corporate offices of big payday lending companies.)

In 2004, Watts and CompuCredit launched a consumer financial literacy initiative through four historically black colleges and universities. The partnership involved CompuCredit's funding market research and the development of a financial literacy curriculum for students. (A call to Watts' company went unreturned.) The notion of payday lenders offering classes on financial literacy is akin to Altria sponsoring anti-smoking classes. After all, as the Center for Responsible Lending's Corbett observes with a laugh, "If they improve financial literacy, black folks would never go to their stores." Yet such programs have been a staple of the industry's PR efforts and they've proliferated with the help of black advocacy groups. ("At this time, CompuCredit is not engaged in any activities directly related to historically black colleges and universities," says CompuCredit's Donahue. "We have never located any services—kiosk, portal, or other presence—on any college campus, and there are no plans to do so.")

In June 2007, when many states were considering bans on payday lending, CFSA launched the "Youth Learn & Save" program, which provides high school and college kids with financial literacy rallies and summits. The programs use a modified curriculum created by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and even feature a workbook that includes a description of a predatory payday loan. Presumably the instructors—payday loan company employees and owners themselves—can offer a unique perspective on that particular subject. A brochure for one seminar held in January this year at a majority black high school in Texas says, "Sharing Dr. King's Dream through Financial Literacy." In June, the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education, the largest and oldest black religious convention in the country, hosted one of the events.

CFSA launched the financial literacy campaign last fall at Jackson State University in Mississippi, along with the National Conference of Black Mayors, which also got money to fund college scholarships. Dora Muhammad, a spokesperson for the NCBM, says that the group no longer works with CFSA. "Once we learned of some of the practices and the impact on the communities, we terminated that relationship," she says.

In addition to the consumer education campaign, CFSA announced that it would partner with the National Black Caucus of States Institute, a public policy research center for black state legislators, to "educate African American legislators and community leaders on critical issues regarding consumer credit." CFSA also recently added a new grant program to its offerings through NBCSI.

Kathleen Moore, CFSA's director of partnering and program development, who previously worked at Habitat for Humanity, insists that such outreach programs have nothing to do with politics or generating business for her members. "I do not promote payday lending. This is part of our giving-back agenda," she says. "None of our outreach is targeted at ethnicity."

Critics can be forgiven, however, for suspecting the worst. Last September, Washington DC's City Council was about to vote on a bill that would cap interest rates on payday loans at 24 percent, effectively banning the practice. CFSA scheduled one of its "Youth Learn & Save" rallies days before the vote. With promises of free food, a rap DJ, and an appearance by Kelvin Boston, the African American host of the PBS show Moneywise, CFSA had gotten several public high schools to let kids out of school for a field trip to a local Boys & Girls Club for a full day of financial literacy training conducted by some of the area's payday lenders. CFSA had also promised to donate $10,000 to expand a Boys & Girls Club financial literacy program at one of the city's poorest, all-black high schools, and to give $100 savings bonds to all the participants. When the DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee got wind of the event, which had not been officially sanctioned, she pulled the plug on it just before it was supposed to take place.

CFSA's Moore, who organized the event, blames the cancellation on industry opponents at the Center for Responsible Lending, who she claims threatened to picket outside. She said CFSA decided to cancel the event rather than endanger the children. "We really did not want young people to be exposed to this ugliness," she says. "It's sad that they would put children in harm's way for a political point."

Moore, who says her group had already spent $40,000 on the rally when it was cancelled, claims that it had nothing to do with the council vote. Did she know about the vote? "Of course I did!" she says, but insists that the DC rally was simply part of the industry's larger community outreach efforts. DC council member Mary Cheh, an original sponsor of the payday bill, isn't buying it. "We're not fools. The timing was exactly right for them to carry on their political campaign," she says.

In the run-up to the DC Council vote on payday lending, the industry continued to reach out to local black organizations. Check 'n Go, a major payday lender, donated a whopping $100,000 to the Anacostia Economic Development Corp., to help minority entrepreneurs. The group is headquartered in the ward of former mayor and now council member Marion Barry, who had been one of the original cosponsors of the payday lending bill. Barry ended up as the lone vote against his own bill, which passed 12-to-1.

Not everyone in the civil rights establishment has signed on with the payday lenders. The NAACP has been active in fighting the industry. In 2003, NAACP chairman Julian Bond told a Utah newspaper, "A drive through any low-income neighborhood clearly indicates people of color are a target market for legalized extortion. Visits to payday stores—which open their doors in low-income neighborhoods at a rate equal to Starbucks opening in affluent ones—are threatening the livelihoods of hardworking families and stripping equity from entire communities." But Corbett says that the industry has succeeded in diluting the black community's response to predatory lending. "Their strategy is to divide and conquer," he says. "If you've picked off Al Sharpton, you've won."

Stephanie Mencimer is a reporter in Mother Jones' Washington, DC, bureau and the author of Blocking the Courthouse Door: How the Republican Party and Its Corporate Allies Are Taking Away Your Right to Sue (Free Press, 2006).

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

In Honor of the 2008 Bejing Olympics: Tibet's Stolen Child - Lest We Forget.

I still want to projectile vomit (preferably onto the shoes of the Chinese Communist Government) when I think about the International Olympic Committee reaching the incomprehensible decision to award the 2008 Olympic Games to Bejing, China.

Um, Hello?... IOC... San Francisco was in the (alleged) competition... and we Don't have a long history of human rights abuses and violations... nor have we ever slaughtered thousands of non-violent student protestors in the town square... on or off camera.

Then there's Tibet. And the long suffering Tibetan People. And the Dalai Lama.

And the 11th Panchen Lama... he was only 6 years old when - just 3 days after being identified by the Dalai Lama - he and his family disappeared... were kidnapped by the Chinese Government.

Why would the Chinese Government kidnap this child and his family?

Well the atheist CCP doesn't recognize Tibet's right to exist independently.

And the CCP considers Tibetan Buddhism to be "backwards" and dangerous.
(Well... I can imagine (if I try really hard) that the sight of peaceful, unarmed, non-violent, chanting, smiling men and boys dressed in orange robes and creating intricate and colorful mandalas could be terrifying... if you're a complete idiot!)

And the Panchen Lama is recognized as the person who will be able to recognize the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama.

So, the CCP kidnaps the child and his parents. They deny knowing anything about their disappearance for a year. They picked and began to display and create photo op's for their own CCP-approved version of the Panchen Lama, the Panchen Zuma ("false Panchen") named Gyaltsen Norbu.

After a year of international pressure, the CCP finally admitted to holding the boy and his family in "protective custody".
(To protect him from what? Tibetan Buddhist Monks? The Dalai Lama? Are you serious?)

No one outside the CCP has been allowed to see the boy or his parents since their disappearance.

This is just one of many countless, unjust and often violent actions by the CCP to methodically assimilate and eradicate the ancient traditions, culture, language and religion of the Tibetan people.

Like The Blob... Communist-Style.

And it's a Tragedy that the World Must Prevent.

When a person breaks the law in this country... they don't recieve a medal... they go to jail...

... Well, unless they're Former CIA Chief George Tenet or someone like that

When a government practices systematic repression and ignores human rights with impunity...
The list of proper responses does NOT include awarding them with the Olympic Games!

Then there's the toxic sludge that is the air in Bejing...
If I was an Olympic athelete, I would not go to Beijing. If not to protest their human rights abuses and crimes against Tibet... then for health reasons... those little masks aren't gonna help much.

Peace.
L.

(From: savetibet.org)

Tibet's Stolen Child, the 11th Panchen Lama

In May 1995, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the six year-old boy, identified by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, disappeared. Suspicions that he had been kidnapped were confirmed in May 1996, when the Chinese leadership admitted to holding him and his family in "protective custody." After repeated attempts to gain access to the boy, no international agencies or human rights organizations - including the United Nations -- has been allowed to visit Gedhun Choekyi Nyima or his family, and their condition remains uncertain.

In an attempt to establish their authority over all "internal affairs" of China - political or otherwise -- the Chinese leadership nominated and selected their own 11th Panchen Lama in November 1995. Their selection, a six year-old boy named Gyaltsen Norbu, is another young victim in China's plan to undermine and control the Tibetan people, their religion, and their nation.

Background

In the 15th Century, the 1st Dalai Lama established a vibrant monastery called Tashi Lhunpo in the Tibetan city of Shigatse, just west of the capital city of Lhasa. Two hundred years later, when the 5th Dalai Lama was a young boy, the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery guided his spiritual upbringing as a Buddhist monk and scholar. History says that when the abbot died, the Dalai Lama dedicated the Monastery to his late teacher declaring that he would reincarnate again and again, and that each successor would be known as the holder of the Panchen Lama - or "Great Scholar" -- lineage. For generations, the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama maintained their unique teacher-disciple relationship of the elder mentoring the younger.

The 10th Panchen Lama

The 10th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Trinley Lhundrup Choekyi Gyaltsen, was a key figure in the struggle to preserve Tibetan cultural and religious traditions and to promote Tibetan autonomy under Chinese occupation. At the age of 21, he remained in Tibet after the Chinese annexation in 1959, and was appointed by the Communist Party as the Acting Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Autonomous Region of Tibet and later as the vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which effectively made him the most senior leader in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The 10th Panchen Lama's dedication to fighting for religious freedom, improved education and acceptance of Tibetan as the official language through delicate negotiation and open confrontation with the Chinese leadership met with mixed success.

In his capacity as Vice Chairman, the 10th Panchen Lama traveled extensively between the Tibetan countryside and Beijing documenting the conditions of Tibetans living under Chinese rule. His observations during these tours formed the basis of his renowned 70,000 Character Petition -- a fierce criticism of Chinese policy in Tibet -- submitted to Mao Zedong in 1962. Mao and the Party reacted violently to the Petition and within two years the 10th Panchen Lama was condemned without trial and spent the following 14 years in prison or under house arrest.

Upon his release in October of 1977, the Panchen Lama returned to senior Party leadership and continued his efforts for reform and modernization. He also continued to openly challenge the Chinese leadership, though he often subtly veiled his public commentaries behind the political rhetoric of the times. In an extraordinary public speech made in 1989 in Shigatse, the Panchen Lama was less reserved. He called for the Dalai Lama to be allowed to collaborate with him in Tibetan policy making and openly challenged the Chinese leadership's policies in Tibet. Shortly after this address, the Chinese Daily printed another critical statement which vaulted the Panchen Lama's international image as a critic of the Chinese government: "Since liberation, there has certainly been development, but the price paid for this development has been greater than the gains." (As reported in the China Daily, January 25, 1989.)

The 10th Panchen Lama's sudden death at 50 years of age was a severe blow to the Tibetan nation. Though there is uncertainty as to the cause of his death, there has never been a public investigation. His 70,000 Character Petition, remained confidential for nearly 34 years and only recently became available outside of the inner most circles of the Communist Party. It has proven to be a vital piece of Sino-Tibetan political history and modern Tibetan thought.

The Search for the 11th Panchen Lama

Traditionally, His Holiness the Dalai Lama identifies the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama and guides his training through adulthood. But when the time came to begin the search for the 11th Panchen Lama, the Chinese Government was determined to exercise strict control of the selection process by any means necessary. They asserted that the identification of the 11th Panchen Lama was an internal affair of the Chinese government and that the Dalai Lama was forbidden to participate in the process. When the official search party was formed, headed by Chadrel Rinpoche the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to communicate with the party through secret channels.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Panchen Lama identification team is made up of senior lamas from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Their methodology involves visions that prophetically direct their search to the true reincarnation. Following these mystical signs, the lamas' test the best candidates by asking them to identify personal objects owned by the previous Panchen Lama. Oracles are then consulted and divinations performed to reconfirm the final candidate. Traditionally, His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself normally carries out these final steps.

During the search for the 11th Panchen Lama, the search party compiled a list of numerous young boys who were potential successors to the 10th Panchen Lama. Clandestinely, His Holiness the Dalai Lama received information and photographs of the candidates. After numerous divinations, he identified and proclaimed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995.

By May 17, 1995, the six year-old boy and his parents disappeared from their home, reportedly taken into Chinese police custody for their protection. Denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama's proclamation as illegitimate, the Chinese authorities drew lots from a golden urn to select their own Panchen Lama on November 29, 1995. Six year-old Gyaltsen Norbu was selected and subsequently enthroned on December 8, 1995 sparking massive protests across Tibet.

To validate their authority in choosing the Panchen Lama, the Communist government cites a recommendation made in 1792 by the Manchu rulers to the Tibetan Government. The Manchus (the monarchy government of China from 1644 - 1912 made up of non-ethnic Chinese rulers) suggested that in selecting high lamas the Tibetans should institute a lottery, which was referred to as the Golden Urn system. One name would be chosen and then forwarded to the Chinese Central Government for final approval.

The Tibetans have asserted that a lottery system should be used when there are two very good candidates - making it difficult to choose between them - and, that they have their own lottery system that predates the Manchu recommendation. But, more importantly, the Tibetans also assert that His Holiness the Dalai Lama should have a primary role in identifying the Panchen Lama.

Despite worldwide appeals, though, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his parents remain in detention. China has refused to provide information of their location or condition and will not allow any independent observer to see them. Tibetans and supporters of religious freedom around the world are concerned about his physical welfare and spiritual upbringing.

Recommendations

* Establishing religious freedom in Tibet requires deep structural and systematic reform of the Chinese political system. Initial steps must include:

* Immediate and unconditional release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family.
He must be allowed to return to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, installed as the rightful holder of the Panchen Lama lineage and given the proper monastic education.

* Immediate and unconditional release of all religious prisoners of conscience;

* Allow Tibetans to identify and install religious leaders of their own choosing;

* Abolish minimum age requirements for entering a monastery or nunnery;

* Halt the use of Work Teams in monasteries and nunneries;

* Permit Tibetans to worship the Dalai Lama, and display his photo in accordance with tradition.

Further Reading:

Panchen Lama. A Poisoned Arrow: The Secret Report of the 10th Panchen Lama. London: Tibetan Information Network, 1997.

Tibet's Stolen Child, Gartwait & Griffin, 60 minute video, 1999.