| Normally, we don�t start with news on the Week�s Links, but as the Olympic decision in favor of Beijing came down this morning, I thought it should be here. Rest assured, we won�t take this �lying down;� boycott petition plans are already being formulated in my head. Any ideas in that area would be greatly appreciated (such as how e-petitions are done, as this would be my first one). D.J. McGuire: Co-chair and President NEWS: BEIJING WINS OLYMPIC GAMES FOR 2008 The 2008 Olympic Games will be in Beijing, capital of the Communist People�s Republic of China. The International Olympic Committee awarded the Games to the PRC on Friday despite criticism from several human rights groups and others. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the PRC Games provide �opportunity for China over the years to . . . tolerate dissent.� Doesn�t anybody remember Moscow 1980? Links: CNN, BBC, CNS News, Washington Post The U.S. had proclaimed �neutrality,� several Western companies backed the bid in the hopes of winning contracts to build the Olympic village, and clean up the notoriously polluted Communist capital. However, the most likely winners will be those who have state-run companies as �partners.� Link: BBC Link of the Week From National Review Online, the remarks of Jay Nordlinger, managing editor, to the Chan Foundation for Journalism and Culture, which awarded him for his tireless efforts to �shine a light on China.� The foundation was formed in honor of Zhu Xi Chan, a Hong Kong journalist who �used his pages to expose events in Mao's China, including the murder of journalists,� as NRO put it in their introduction. Other Links Sandy Berger�s commentary of U.S.-PRC relations is a nice reminder of how bad things really were under the last Administration, and what they are rapidly approaching under the current one. It also helps get the blood flowing � just skimming the column kept yours truly up from midnight to 2AM on Monday morning. Link: Washington Post Joseph Bosco, in the Washington Post, on how �engagement� with Communist China has led to a funny thing � France following the PRC example in battling �cults.� Feel free to forward this to anyone you think might be interested in receiving this. Anyone who wishes to join can send his/her name and e-mail address to [email protected]. |