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Headlines : Human RightsSpielberg boycotts Olympic role
Stephen Spielberg, U.S. film director, has finally done it. After petitions and negative publicity from human rights groups, he has withdrawn as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Olympics in China. The Chinese government has come under intense criticism for their complicity in the genocide in Darfur. Sudan sells nearly two-thirds of its oil to Beijing, and China sells them weapons and defends them in the U.N. Security Council.
Spielberg said the following in a statement: “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur.”
To make matters worse for Beijing, as part of a “Global Day of Action” focusing on Darfur, an open letter was signed by several Nobel Peace Prize laureates and former Olympians and sent to China’s president. Let’s hope the butchers of Darfur will start taking this justified outrage at them seriously.
[Posted By shades]Republished from BBC
In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan to end the “continuing human suffering” in the troubled western Darfur region.
At least 200,000 people have been killed and two million forced from their homes in the five-year conflict.
Human Rights Watch welcomed Spielberg’s move, and said it should prompt other corporate sponsors to press for reform.
In a statement, Mr Spielberg said: “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual.
“At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur.”
He added: “Sudan’s government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more….
Posted by shades
I am a 61-year-old portrait artist (charcoal&pastel) residing in Milwaukee. In my other life, I spent 4 years as a Security Policeman in the Air force. Upon discharge my first act was joining every peace group I could find, including Vietnam Vets Against the...
LET’S ZOOM IN ON THIS BABY OPEN QUOTE
“At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur”
END OF QUOTE
Poor Mr. Spielberg is clearly overlooking the unspeakable crimes against humanity occurring in Iraq at the hands of the US ILLEGAL Occupation. Or studiously ignoring it. As his work since 2003 clearly shows. Mr Escape Artist is pumping out yet another Indiana Jones this year. Is it possible to be more shameless than that?
I expect the so-called humanitarian organizations got some skin in a zipper and drafted his conscience stricken announcement for him.
Can’t wait for the next Indiana Jones flick.
OPEN QUOTE
On May 22, [Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull] will hit approximately 4,000 U.S. theaters. The story is set in 1957, and this time Dr. Jones goes up against cold-blooded, Cold War Russkies—led by Cate Blanchett in dominatrix mode—instead of the Nazis he squashed like bugs in previous installments.
END OF QUOTE
The last one came out 19 years ago, remember Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)?
OPEN QUOTE
Renowned archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones, returns for the 3rd and final Indy film. Teaming up with his father, Indiana sets out to try and find the Holy Grail. Once again, the Nazis are after the same prize, and try to foil Indianas plans.
END OF QUOTE interestingly enough, the Indiana Jones movies spanned the length of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency. 1981-1989.
Would that be Ronald Reagan of Genocide in Latin America fame?
Ol’ Spielberg is definitely in the distraction business.
how about the unspeakable crimes against humanity being perpetrated against the Chinese by the Chinese?
His “conscience” is appearing more and more peculiar by the second.
LOL, I second bodo’s motion.
Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List was obviously a covert distraction from the evils of the world…
actually it was just melodramatic and shitty.
cate blanchett doesn’t look russian at all.
Yeah, i found it a bit gloomy as well…
...well clearly Harrison Ford can’t still be wrecking Nazis, unless they wanted to shell out to do a Magneto job on him, but there’s a very good reason why Spielberg doesn’t give a shit about the U.S. aiding and abetting bloodshed – he made his fortune making movies in which the aforementioned Mr. Ford runs around the Middle East treating the people who live there about the same way as the rest of the scenery.
...except of course for the Good Arab, played by (who else?) a Welshman…
Have you seen any Russian women??? Ummm…
Man, I hate snakes…
I went to a poetry reading where this Jewish guy spoke a bit about Darfur and Iran, China and other various cases of oppression and/or genocide. I said to my friend, “He’ll never mention Palestine,” and sho’ nuff, he didn’t.
What does that have to do with Spielberg? It just seems to be another case of selective amnesia. Or selective hypocrisy.
America’s and Israel’s training, advising and otherwise direct support of the right wing regimes of the past in South Africa, Guatemala, Iran, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Philippines, Chile, Iraq in the acts of genocide and oppression of those dictatorial governments seems to me to be the main prototype for extreme outrage regarding the roles of outside parties. In fact, in the former cases, the U.S. and Israel really were inside parties to Rio Mont, Somoza, the Shah, DINA, the Toton Macutes, etc.
China has not taken that kind of role in Sudan and China has been involved with the U.N. and peacekeeping efforts in Sudan. It has neither developed economic policies such as sanctions in order to impose its own goals on other countries. It has become a country of trading and deal making. I don’t think it can carry out some kind of sanction regime that could influence Sudan.
I do however believe it should launch a full scale invasion of Sudan and occupy it for the foreseeable future and it should organize a model of communist like democracy by having the people of the farms and factories select representatives to a new Sudanese national council, which in turn, would select a president, and to show the world how to change a nation, without the circus of American style, controlled, elite, national elections. The invasion should be with about 1/2 million men, unannounced, after a rapid mobilization.
If China really wants to become a real world leader, it needs some kind of proactive military profile, and the invasion of Sudan now could serve it and begin to help offset American hegemony.
Or, tell me I’m wrong.
Free Tibet!
Free Burma!
free cascadia!
Damn, tough crowd at GNN.
Schpielberg didn’t earn any street cred, or the right to start calling his black friends niggaz. I don’t think Shades was trying to whip up a wave of hero worship for the man. I think he was trying to point out that people with big $$$ are starting to get the message on Darfur. That’s good, because people like me can’t accomplish shit for Darfur without the support of big $$$.
What message about Darfur? If a genocide happened (debatable) it happened in 2004. Since then, the Sudanese Army has been restricted by the African Union force, whose “human rights monitoring” service is run by a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. All the while the AU/Lockheed have been in there, rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement [sic] have been rampaging across Darfur backed by France (their leader has lived comfortably in Paris for years). Every other rebel party has negotiated with the Sudanese government but the JEM, who have attacked numerous towns in recent months, with air support from the now tottering Chadian government.
It’s a shame how little people know about Darfur. No doubt Spielberg will make a crappy film about it now.
five /\
You should have linked this szamko:
Making Sense of Darfur
Thanks Sis.
In case anyone missed it in the news, here are some useful sources on Pacific Architects, the U.S. based company that runs the “Civilian Protection Monitoring Team” in Darfur and southern Sudan.
PAE on the ground in Darfur setting up the AU mission.
PAE providing civilian protection, from a good Corpwatch article.
PAE now owned by Lockheed Martin
“They” hate U.S. for our freedom.
By the way… Somalia: The world’s forgotten catastrophe
More than 600 000 people fled Mogadishu last year. Around 200 000 are now living in squalid impromptu refugee camps along a 15km-stretch of road outside the capital.
According to UN officials it is the largest concentration of displaced people anywhere in the world. Those same officials now consider Somalia to be the worst humanitarian catastrophe in Africa, eclipsing even Darfur in its sheer horror.
How about foreign complicity in African genocide? Not much, but it’s a start. You may have to convince Americans that foreign influence is causing wars in Africa, not ending them, before you can get them to look in the mirror.
Anyway, five for moving the discussion to something constructive and away from “why Spielberg is still a douchebag.” Honestly, if I we needed more of that type of discussion we could read the Pop Tarts section at Fox News all day long.
“How about foreign complicity in African genocide? Not much, but it’s a start. You may have to convince Americans that foreign influence is causing wars in Africa, not ending them, before you can get them to look in the mirror.”
Much more lightly that it is a matter of distract them with others peoples misdemeanors and they won’t notice those of their own leadership.
I think I need a Sam to follow me around and pop out of the bushes every time someone says stupid shit about geo-politics. He could correct them with an awesome, succinct paragraph like that, slap them in the face with a giant fish and retreat back into the underbrush until the next time some wanker spouts off.
Check it out! On today’s Amy Show
Activists Call for Boycott of Diamond Giant Leviev for Support of Israeli Settlements and Links to Human Rights Abuses in Africa
OPEN QUOTE
Leviev, the world’s largest cutter and polisher of diamonds, has been linked to expanding Jewish-only settlements in the Palestinian West Bank and a sketchy human rights record in Angola, where it controls the diamond supply. We speak to two Palestinian and Jewish members of Adalah-New York, a group that’s held weekly protests outside Leviev’s Madison Ave. store.
END OF QUOTE
VERY clevah!
Turns out this Leviev OPEN QUOTE
owns about a quarter of the shares of Dor Energy, or Dor alone, which is the monopoly supplier or provider of fuel to the Gaza Strip. And just a few weeks back in December, or a few months back, in December, they cut fuel supply by 75 percent, although the Israeli army called for a 12 percent—five to 12 percent cut.
Yep. See also Keith Harmon Snow’s recent Israel and the Ongoing Holocaust in Congo – quite a few scoundrels are neck deep in diamonds, guns, drugs, you name it.
Wow, Shazam, niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
Russia’s Top Beauty Queen
Ksenia Sukhinova, the new Miss Russia, hails from Tyumen, where she is a student in the department of “Technical Cybernetics” at Tyumen University of Oil and Gas.
In case anyone could forget