GreenDragonNews

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000" background="17e01573.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="16623230.png" border=0 width="35" height="35" ALT="newspaper" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="1676a240.png" border=0 width="106" height="36" ALT="Green Dragon running after the newspaper" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Amaze" >GreenDragonNews.com</FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Education is the Key / Employment is the Answer</B></div> <div> <B>This web site information was culled from several sources from around the World</B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="17dd2013.jpg"> <div> News Archive . . .</div> <div> <A HREF="china_used_planes_rockets_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China used Planes Rockets ">China used Planes Rockets </A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_ready_for_war.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Ready for War">China Ready for War</A></div> <div> <A HREF="made_in_china_chuck_it.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Made in China Chuck it">Made in China Chuck it</A></div> <div> <A HREF="made_in_china_will_kill_you.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Made in China will Kill you">Made in China will Kill you</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_executes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Executes exhead of Food and Drug">China Executes ex-head of Food and Drug</A></div> <div> <A HREF="google_and_china.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Google and China">Google and China</A></div> <div> <A HREF="tibet_protests.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tibet Protests">Tibet Protests</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chinese_id_theft.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese ID theft">Chinese ID theft</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_food_scare.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Food Scare">China Food Scare</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chinese_air_pollution.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese Air Pollution">Chinese Air Pollution</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chinese_surveillance_cameras.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese Surveillance Cameras">Chinese Surveillance Cameras</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_xinhua.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Xinhua">China Xinhua</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_free.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ChinaFree">China-Free</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chinese_youth_mlitary_school.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese Youth Mlitary Schools">Chinese Youth Mlitary Schools</A></div> <div> <A HREF="killer_car_tires_from_china.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Killer Car Tires from China">Killer Car Tires from China</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_and_the_us_dollar.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China and the US Dollar">China and the US Dollar</A></div> <div> <A HREF="made_in_china.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Made in China Label Danger Sign">Made in China Label Danger Sign</A></div> <div> <A HREF="china_danger.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Danger">China Danger</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mattel_recalls.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mattel Recalls">Mattel Recalls</A></div> <div> <A HREF="references.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="References">References</A></div> <div> <A HREF="about_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us">About Us</A></div> <div> <A HREF="contact_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="1684e120.png" border=0 width="590" height="18" ALT="A Think Tank Without Walls" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> This site is a Public Service - Free-Speech site, and encourages Critical Thinking and Open Minds!</div> <div> Should you have any queries or require assistance in any way, please contact our customer service staff via the <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="contact_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">"Contact Us"</A></FONT> page.   We look forward to serving you...</div> <div> Hot Headlines . . .</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="1abb4d40.jpg" border=0 width="180" height="212" ALT="Atomic Boom blast" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Is This The Start of World War III . . .  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Cuba</B></FONT> thinks so</div> <div> <B>08/08/08 </B>may go down in History as the Start of World War III</div> <bR> <div> Russia & China <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Team-up and</B></FONT> Attack Georgia...</div> <div> While <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3333" FACE="Verdana" >China</FONT> is Wowing the World on TV ...  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Verdana" >Russia</FONT> drops Booms</div> <div> <B>as </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#3300FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Bush & Putin Party</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>at the Beijing Olympic Games   </B><B>08/08/08</B></div> <bR> <div> Putin and Beijing CON Bush again. . .  Georgia reports new Air Strikes</div> <div> <B>Georgia is America's # 3 Troop Supporter in Iraq</B></div> <div> <B>And now Georgia is fighting for their LIFE . . .  All by themselves</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Russian warplanes attacked three military bases and key facilities as battle continues</B></div> <div> By MUSA SADULAYEV, Associated Press Writer</div> <div> DZHAVA, Georgia -</div> <div> Culled from <A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.yahoo.com/"><IMG SRC="1acd7210.png" border=0 width="215" height="33" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A><B>August 8, 2008</B></div> <div> Russia dispatched an armored column into the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia on Friday after Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a surprise offensive to crush separatists.</div> <bR> <div> Witnesses said hundreds of civilians were killed. Fighting reportedly raged well into the night with Georgia's interior ministry saying early Saturday that warplanes attacked three Georgian military bases and key facilities for shipping oil to the West.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The fighting, which devastated the capital of Tskhinvali,</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > threatened to ignite a wider war between Georgia and Russia, and escalate tensions between Moscow and Washington. Georgia said it was forced to launch the assault because of rebel attacks; the separatists alleged Georgia violated a cease-fire.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> "I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."</div> <bR> <div> The fighting broke out as much of the world's attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Bush, were in Beijing.</div> <bR> <div> The timing suggested Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia — a key to his hold on power. The rebels seek to unite with North Ossetia, which is part of Russia.</div> <bR> <div> Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. "Most decision makers have gone for the holidays," he told CNN. "Brilliant moment to attack a small country."</div> <bR> <div> Seeking to prevent an all-out war, diplomats issued a flurry of statements calling on both sides to halt the fighting.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The U.N. Security Council held two tense emergency sessions 12 hours apart with both sides using the forum to launch accusations. As the meeting recessed, officials promised a third council session Saturday.</B></div> <bR> <div> Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russia to halt aircraft and missile attacks and withdraw combat forces from Georgian territory. Rice said in a statement the United States wants Russia to respect Georgian sovereignty and agree to international mediation.</div> <bR> <div> The leader of South Ossetia's rebel government, Eduard Kokoity, said about 1,400 people were killed in the onslaught, the Interfax news agency reported. The toll could not be independently confirmed.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1ad9a730.jpg" border=0 width="154" height="115" ALT="Russian warplane booming" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0"><B>As night fell, there were conflicting claims as to who held the battlefield advantage.</B></div> <div> Saakashvili said "Georgian military forces completely control all the territory of South Ossetia" except for a northern section adjacent to Russia. But Russian news agencies cited a Russian military official as saying heavy fighting was under way on the outskirts of the regional capital.</div> <bR> <div> It was unclear what might persuade either side to stop shooting. Both claim the battle started after the other side violated a cease-fire that had been declared just hours earlier after a week of sporadic clashes.</div> <bR> <div> The United States was sending in its top Caucasus envoy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, to try to end the bloodshed.</div> <bR> <div> It was the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Russian troops went in as peacekeepers but Georgia alleges they now back the separatists.</div> <bR> <div> Russia, which has granted citizenship to most of the region's residents, appeared to lay much of the responsibility for ending the fighting on Washington.</div> <div> In a telephone conversation with Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Georgia must be convinced to withdraw its forces, according to a ministry statement.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union.</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="18eeacc0.gif" border=0 width="490" height="460" ALT="map of china" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Georgia has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Saakashvili long has pledged to restore Tbilisi's rule over South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia. Both regions have run their own affairs without international recognition since splitting from Georgia in the early 1990s and have built up ties with Moscow. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain.</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > But Saakashvili told CNN the troops would be called home Saturday in the face of the South Ossetia fighting. </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>A senior U.S. defense official said Georgian authorities have asked the United States for help getting their troops out of Iraq</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions have been private, said no formal decision has been made on whether to support the departure, but said it is likely the U.S. will do so. </div> <bR> <div> Also, Pentagon officials said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has reached out to his counterparts in Russia and Georgia, but has not yet connected with them. </div> <bR> <div> Early Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of the Georgian capital was bombed by warplanes during the night and that bombs fell in the area of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. He also said two other Georgian military bases were hit and that warplanes bombed the Black Sea port city of Poti, which has a sizable oil shipment facility. </div> <bR> <div> Utiashvili said there apparently were significant casualties and damage in the attacks, but that further details would not be known until the morning. </div> <div> Earlier, Georgia's Foreign Ministry accused Russian aircraft of bombing two military air bases, inflicting some casualties and destroying several military aircraft. Rustavi 2 television said four people were killed and five wounded at the Marneuli air base. </div> <bR> <div> Twelve Russian troops were killed and 30 wounded in the fighting, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov. Saakashvili said late Friday that about 30 Georgians had been killed "mainly members of the Georgian armed forces." </div> <bR> <div> Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending in reinforcements for its troops in the province, and Russian state television and Georgian officials reported a convoy of tanks had crossed the border. The convoy was expected to reach the provincial capital, Tskhinvali, by evening, Channel One television said. </div> <bR> <div> <B>"We are facing Russian aggression," said Georgia's Security Council chief Kakha Lomaya. "They have sent in their troops and weapons and they are bombing our towns." </B></div> <bR> <div> Putin warned in the early stages of the conflict that the Georgian attack would draw retaliation and the Defense Ministry pledged to protect South Ossetians, most of whom have Russian citizenship. </div> <bR> <div> Chairing a session of his Security Council in the Kremlin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also vowed that Moscow will protect Russian citizens. </div> <div> "In accordance with the constitution and federal law, I, as president of Russia, am obliged to protect lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located," Medvedev said. "We won't allow the death of our compatriots go unpunished." </div> <bR> <div> On Friday, an AP reporter saw tanks and other heavy weapons concentrating on the Russian side of the border with South Ossetia — supporting the reports of an incursion. Some villagers were fleeing into Russia. </div> <bR> <div> The Georgian state minister for reintegration, Temur Yakobashvili, said Georgian forces had shot down four Russian combat planes over Georgian territory but gave no details. Russia's Defense Ministry denied an earlier Georgia report about one Russian plane downed and had no immediate comment on the latest claim. </div> <bR> <div> Yakobashvili said one Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt. More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were at the base last month to teach combat skills to Georgian troops. </div> <bR> <div> South Ossetia officials said Georgia attacked with aircraft, armor and heavy artillery. Georgian troops fired missiles at Tskhinvali, an official said, and many buildings were on fire. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Georgia's president said Russian aircraft bombed several Georgian villages and other civilian facilities.</B> </div> <bR> <div> A senior Russian diplomat in charge of the South Ossetian conflict, Yuri Popov, dismissed the Georgian claims of Russian bombings as misinformation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. </div> <bR> <div> The Georgian attack came just hours after Saakashvili announced a unilateral cease-fire in a television broadcast late Thursday in which he also urged South Ossetian separatist leaders to enter talks on resolving the conflict. </div> <bR> <div> Georgian officials later blamed South Ossetian separatists for thwarting the cease-fire by shelling Georgian villages in the area. </div> <div> ___ </div> <div> Associated Press writers Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili in Tbilisi, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and John Heilprin at the United Nations contributed to this report.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>March 18, 2008</B><A HREF="http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6375941.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776"><IMG SRC="192ce3c0.jpg" border=0 width="206" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></FONT> culled from <A HREF="http://Yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://Yahoo.com">Yahoo.com</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Russia opposes attempts to politicize Beijing Olympic Games</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1a45a810.jpg" border=0 width="90" height="129" ALT="Putin thinking" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">Russia opposes those attempts to politicize the Beijing Olympic Games by making use of the Tibet issue, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website Monday. </div> <bR> <div> <B>"Attempts to politicize the conduct of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China are unacceptable,"</B> the statement stressed. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1a55f8c0.jpg" border=0 width="95" height="140" ALT="Osama" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">"Russia has repeatedly declared that it regards Tibet as an integral part of China, considering resolving relations with the Dalai Lama to be an internal affair of the People's Republic of China," the statement said. </div> <bR> <div> Russia hoped that the Chinese side will take all the necessary measures to end illegal actions and secure an early return to normalcy in the autonomous region, it added. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1a6946f0.jpg" border=0 width="148" height="111" ALT="Putin mad" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">Russia is convinced that the Chinese side will provide the highest level of organization of the Games, particularly in terms of issues with regard to the security of the athletes and guests of the Olympiad, the statement said. </div> <div> <A HREF="china_xinhua.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="China Xinhua"><I>Source: Xinhua</I></A></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>August 8, 2008</B></FONT>   culled from  <A HREF="http://www.cnn.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cnn.com"><IMG SRC="19c94240.png" border=0 width="148" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Chinese Islamic group threatens Olympics</div> <div> <B>BEIJING, China (AP) --</B></div> <div> A Chinese Islamic faction that has threatened to attack the Olympics released a new video, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>warning Muslims to stay away from the Beijing Games and avoid buses, trains, planes and buildings used by Chinese,</B></I></FONT> a U.S. group that monitors militant organizations said Thursday.</div> <bR> <div> On the six-minute video issued Wednesday, two days before the opening of the games, a representative of the <B>Turkistan Islamic Party</B> reiterates the group's threats against the Olympics made in a video last month, according to SITE Intelligence Group. It shows images of the Beijing Olympics logo in flames and an explosion over an Olympics venue.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="19d24db0.jpg" border=0 width="292" height="219" ALT="A police officer asks girls to move away from the fence outside the National Stadium in Beijing on July 27" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">"Choose your side," says the speaker, grasping a rifle and dressed in a black turban and camouflage with his face masked.</div> <bR> <div> <I>"Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train, on the same plane, in the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are," he warns Muslims, according to SITE.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The video accuses China of using the Olympics to hide its actions from the world.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> The TIP representative spoke the Turkic language of the Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority in China's restive western Xinjiang territory near the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Uighurs have a long history of tense relations with the central government.</div> <bR> <div> The Turkistan Islamic Party is believed to be based across the border in Pakistan, where security experts say it has received training from al Qaeda. Last month, the group issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of recent bus bombings in China.</div> <bR> <div> <B>On Monday,</B></div> <div> <I><B>assailants killed 16 border police and wounded 16 others in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar when they rammed a stolen truck into the group before tossing homemade bombs and stabbing them.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> Chinese authorities called the raid a terrorist attack and said they had arrested two men who are Uighurs. No group has claimed responsibility.</div> <bR> <div> The latest video claims the communist regime's alleged mistreatment of Muslims justifies holy war. It accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism by capturing and killing Islamic teachers and destroying Islamic schools, according to the SITE. It says China's birth control program has forced abortions on Muslim women.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="19e24db0.jpg" border=0 width="292" height="219" ALT="A man takes pictures of soldiers and a surface-to-air missile launcher near the National Stadium on July 25" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>"They are implying that anyone who is complicit with the Chinese regime is a legitimate target,"</B></FONT> Rita Katz, director of SITE, told The Associated Press.</div> <bR> <div> "The reason for the increased propaganda from TIP at this time is likely due to the fact that the international media's attention on the Olympics in China provides the group with the perfect platform to publicize their existence and activities on a global scale," Katz added.</div> <bR> <div> The group also calls upon Muslims to offer support financially, physically and spiritually, SITE said.</div> <bR> <div> News of the video came just hours after President Bush landed in Beijing for a three day visit to attend the games opening ceremony and some Olympic events.</div> <bR> <div> "I think what they're doing is they're trying to capitalize on the buildup to the games," said Ben Venzke of Washington-based IntelCenter, another group that monitors militant groups.</div> <bR> <div> Terrorism analysts and Chinese authorities have said that with more than 100,000 soldiers and police guarding Beijing and other Olympic co-host cities, terrorists were more likely to attack less-protected areas.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Copyright 2008 The <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Associated Press</FONT>. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed</div> <bR> <div> <B>August 8, 2008</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >   culled from</FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.cnn.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cnn.com"><IMG SRC="19c94240.png" border=0 width="148" height="36" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Behind the scenes: Internet police out in force for the Olympics</div> <div> By Jaime FlorCruzCNN Beijing Bureau Chief and correspondent</div> <div> <B>Internet access remains erratic for journalists in Beijing</B> covering the Olympics Many sites about Tibet and spiritual group Falon Gong are deemed "subversive" <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>China promised no restrictions on journalists</B></I></FONT> when it bid for the Games Documents show IOC agreements were based on China's domestic laws</div> <bR> <div> <B>Editor's note:</B></div> <div> In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news and analyze the stories behind the events. Here, CNN's Jaime FlorCruz writes about press freedoms covering the Olympics.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1a024db0.jpg" border=0 width="292" height="219" ALT="Internet access remains erratic for journalists" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="6"><B>BEIJING, China (CNN) -- </B></div> <div> For many overseas reporters now in Beijing, covering the Summer Games has turned into an Olympian task.</div> <bR> <div> We go through tedious security checkpoints to cover events and conduct interviews even as we deal with bureaucratic and linguistic barriers. But we face one particularly irritating issue: China's limits on Internet access.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Despite Beijing's earlier promise to allow open reporting and unfettered access to information, Internet access remains erratic and unpredictable. </FONT><I><B>"It's so counter-intuitive to find the Internet restricted, even if only selectively," one western journalist told me in Beijing</B></I>.</div> <bR> <div> Last week, colleagues working in the Media Press Center faced a blank computer screen whenever they clicked on sites deemed sensitive to the Chinese authorities -- like Amnesty International and Falun Gong.</div> <bR> <div> That is attributed to China's sophisticated filter system, also known as the <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>"Great Firewall."</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Why the paranoia?</B></div> <div> Pro-democracy activists, as well as advocates for Tibet independence and the spiritual group Falun Gong, have Web sites carrying information and views that the Chinese authorities deem "subversive."</div> <bR> <div> These sites reinforce <B>Beijing's worst fears about cyberspace</B>.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >China</FONT> has groomed <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>"Internet police"</B></FONT> to patrol its networks and is constantly upgrading software to filter sites. Under Chinese law, using the Internet to "harm national interests," "spread rumors" or "leak state secrets" is punishable by <B>stiff prison terms and or Death</B>.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1a990090.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="265" ALT="New staff and bloggers" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">Journalists and politicians alike cried "foul" but other critics turned their criticism on the International Olympic Committee (IOC.)</div> <bR> <div> When Beijing submitted its Olympic bid seven years ago, the Chinese promised: "There will be no restrictions on journalists in reporting on the Olympic Games."</div> <bR> <div> The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors human rights and rule of law issues in China, has compiled documents that show that International Olympic Committee agreements with the Chinese government, from the start, were based on abiding by China's domestic laws.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Those laws, the commission says, give authorities a lot of "wiggle room" to define actions that might "endanger state security" or "disrupt social order."</B></div> <bR> <div> Chinese regulations, for example, include a <B>"service guide" for the foreign media</B>.</div> <bR> <div> That guide notes the regulations apply to "the coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparation as well as political, economic, social and cultural matters of China by foreign journalists, in conformity with Chinese laws and regulations."</div> <bR> <div> China's "Provisions on the Technical Measures for the Protection of the Security of the Internet," which went into effect in 2006, note the <I><B>regulations are aimed at "promoting the sound and orderly development of the Internet and safeguarding the state security, social order and public interests."</B></I> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/07/olympics.press.freedom.florcruz/index.html#cnnSTCOther1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08">Learn more how China monitors the Internet »</A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Last week, foreign journalists discovered Internet access to Web sites such as Amnesty International or sites with Tibet in the address were still restricted. After a media uproar, China seems to have relented.</div> <bR> <div> Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "If there are some needs to adjust on the Chinese side, we will do that." Amnesty International's site, for example, has been accessible since August 1.</div> <bR> <div> <B>However, the site of Falun Gong remains taboo.</B></div> <div> Andrew Lih, a new media expert based in Beijing, says that "unblocked sites are still subject to the sophisticated keyword blocking system of the GFW (the Great Firewall of China.)"</div> <bR> <div> China has also tightened its grip on other media sources. The English version of Time Out, the monthly listings and entertainment guide, has been told to close. </div> <bR> <div> Freelance journalists are finding it hard to renew Chinese visas and accreditation for smaller, niche publications have become virtually impossible.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Even a writer from Saveur, a food magazine, was denied a visa.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Last Tuesday,</B></div> <div> relations between journalists and Chinese authorities soured again after police in the frontier region of Xinjiang roughed up and detained two Japanese reporters who were sent to cover a suspected terrorist attack. They suffered minor injuries and their equipment damaged during the scuffle</div> <bR> <div> <B>"This is utterly unacceptable any time,"</B> says Jonathan Watts, president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China. "It's particularly reprehensible just days before the Olympics at a time when China has promised complete media freedom."</div> <bR> <div> The incident has prompted a rare apology from the local police, who also offered to pay for the damage and medical bills</div> <bR> <div> Copyright 2008 The <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Associated Press</FONT>. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> China's<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC9900" FACE="Verdana" > 6 Golden Rules</FONT></div> <div> <B>Do not Drink the Water - Do not Eat the Food - Do not Use your Credit Cards</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Do not Protest - Do not Breath the Air - Do not use or carry your Cell Phone or Blackberry</B></div> <div>  <img src="HTMLobj-426/aniGif.gif" alt="the Chinese Flu" border="0" align="bottom" width="180" height="237">  </div> <div> Chinese Air Pollution <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC3333" FACE="Verdana" >Deadliest in the World</FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="chinese_air_pollution.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chinese Air Pollution">CLICK HERE</A></div> <div> Health experts across the globe are warning that the Worlds number of <B>Chinese Pollution Deaths</B> will drastically increase with the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing China.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>