The new Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, is currently on his first official foreign trip since taking over the Presidency of Russia, and he is currently in China. In a joint statement, both Medvedev, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, stated that the missile shield defense program that George Bush wants in Europe jeopardizes to undermine and any trust left between the two countries and Washington.
Washington claims that the shield is imperative to national security but China and Russia are afraid that the system could be used against them (and they are probably right). The Bush Administration continues to use the same excuses that it has used for the past 7 years whenever they are questioned about anything, stating that the system is necessary to protect itself from attacks from countries like Iran. Call me ignorant, but maybe they should look at options on how to convince Iran to not acquire nukes instead of ways to defend against them once they have them. But then again, it would weaken American’s position in the world if we were to actually try to communicate with countries that dislike us and work out our problems verbally.
OK, enough about that, I don’t want to get into a rant over Bush politics, let’s get back to the basics here, and what exactly all the fuss is over. The system that Washington wants to put into place would involve a radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor missile site in Poland. China and Russia have both been vocal in the past in their disapproval of this plan, but this marks the first time that the two countries have fused their feelings into one statement. Russian and American ties have already become very strained since Bush took office, and this is pushing the two countries even further apart.
Russia and China have both stated that the American plan to deploy this defense system would undermine any efforts that are currently underway at controlling global arms and weakens trust between the countries and America. Arguably these are the three most powerful countries in the world, so to have them teaming up against America brings back memories of the cold war, and no one wants things to return to those days.
In addition to the statement of the missile shield, the two countries also inked a deal in which Russia will begin to build a new nuclear power plant inside of China.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think Russia and China are overreacting to Bush’s plans? Or is Bush stepping over the boundaries of trust here?
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The numbers of victims in China’s massive earthquake continue to rise, and right now the number is being stated to be 14,866, but you can be sure that that number is no where near to being accurate.
Monday’s earthquake in China was a 7.9 magnitude, and is being described as the country’s biggest natural disaster in the last 30 years. While the number of victims is being stated to be 14,866, there are still tens of thousands of people listed as missing.
It’s a sad story over there, and I read a story today over on ABC that discussed how one village was all but wiped out in the earthquake. Workers entered the town of Yingxiu where 10,000 people lived before the earthquake, and out of that 10,000 people, only 2,300 people were able to survive the earthquake.
The more you read, the sadder the situation becomes, as you realize that thousands of people, from babies all the way up to the elderly have been trapped between fallen walls since the china earthquake brought their building to the ground on Monday. Rescue workers report that they are saving some, but the vast majority of people they are finding in the fallen buildings are being found dead.
from ABCnews.com
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The eyes of the world were focussed on San Fransisco’s leg of the Olympic torch relay yesterday to see if we would get more protests like we saw last week in Europe, but the relay turned more into a game of hide and seek than anything else.
I was watching the relay on CNN, and I have to say it was the most bizarre torch relay leg I have ever seen. At first I was glued to my television and expecting to see some action, but shortly after they lit the torch, the Chinese runner disappeared into a security warehouse and basically vanished for the next 40 minutes or so.
As the protestors waited, the minutes just kept ticking, and ticking, and ticking. After a half an hour or so I was about to give up, but finally we see some action, as a row of vans and security leave the warehouse. Finally we see that they have driven the torch a mile or so from the warehouse and are preparing to run an altered course.
What came next was just laughable to me. To see the Olympic Torch being carried while surrounded by a literal swarm of policeman just seemed to completely negate the whole idea of the relay. I tried to count how many policeman I saw circling the torch, but they just kept coming and coming. A great picture of international unity for sure. And once again I had the vision in my head of a world that is about to explode, and America trying to do the policing of tensions. Ironic if you think about it considering the current state of the world.
Then I started to wonder how this would treat China? What are they thinking? But, considering that the Chinese people are not allowed to see the news (other than what the government feeds them) I suppose they are pretty oblivious to the tension around the world over their country.
The only thing I think that could really have an impact on the way China acts is if world leaders boycott the opening ceremonies. A few already have stated that they will, and a couple others (George Bush included) have stated that they are not sure, or will have to check their calendars. Check their calendars? Come on now… you can come up with a better stall tactic than that.
Regardless… the whole event turned out to be rather boring, and unless you were actually there on the ground I doubt you had much excitement from the event. Check out Laughing Squid’s post. He was there and had some really nice ground level coverage.
Will the torch relay continue? We should find out shortly whether or not officials decide to stop the relay this year or not. Would be ironic… the torch relay started in 1936 by Nazi Germany, and now is in jeopardy of ending by Communist China. We will find out later this week.
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In San Fransisco this morning, this year’s Olympic torch entered America amid tight security. After seeing some pretty heavy protests in Paris yesterday (where protesters were able to douse the Olympic flame several times), Olympic officials are starting to wonder if the “round-the-world” torch relay would be able to be completed.
Of course, the main reason for the protests is China’s record on human rights, and its treatment of Tibet. On Friday, officials are going to gather to determine whether or not to continue the international relay leading up to this year’s summer Olympics in China. The symbol of international unity has quickly dissolved into a symbol of international protest, and I would not be surprised at all to see the relay stop. After all, it is easier to sweep the problem under the rug than to really address the situation.
Some protesters in San Fransisco made their feelings perfectly well known yesterday when they scaled The Golden Gate Bridge and used it as their own personal billboard on their feelings over Tibet
San Fransisco will be the only American city that gets to voice its feelings during the International flame relay, as it is the only American city that is on the route. Movie star Richard Gere, along with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will be holding a candlelight vigil.
Authorities are already expressing their concern over tomorrow’s 6 mile journey of the torch along the San Fransisco Bay, stating that the route is not very secure, and offers many places where protesters could get close to the torch. It is definitely shaping up to be an interesting day, and one that could definitely lead to the extinguishing of the Olympic torch once and for all.
Yesterday Democratic Presidential hopeful, and ex-first lady, Hillary Clinton called on President George Bush to boycott this years summer games. According to a release by her campaign :
At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government
President Bush has stated that he has no intention of boycotting the event, nor the opening ceremonies, as some countries like France have announced that they are considering, and Czech Republic has stated that they are definitely going to boycott the opening ceremony.
What are your thoughts? Should America protest the Olympics? Should the Olympics be viewed as just another sporting event, or a chance to make a broad, international plea for China to change some of its policies?
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