Dear Eric

If you are going to publish, the name is "Spielberg, Steven Spielberg,
licensed to make money"

Rui

On 17/02/2008, Eric Sommer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> *China, Speilberg, and the Olympics: The real story.*
> by Eric Sommer, Beijing
>  World-famous Hollywood film director Steven Speilberg's decision to
> withdraw as an art director for the 2008 Beijing Olympics is sadly aligned
> with imperialist assumptions bred by living in the U.S.
>
>  Speilberg's stated reason for withdrawal from the Olympics is alleged
> Chinese indifference to the suffering - and human rights violations - caused
> by a civil war in the African nation of Sudan, which is a major trading
> partner of China.
>
>  Speilberg claims that China is not 'using its influence' with Sudan to
> 'end the suffering'. However, the notion that a 'great power' should 'use
> its influence' to control the internal affairs of other sovereign nations
> arises from U.S., and not Chinese, assumptions.
>
>  People living in the U.S. routinely wittiness their government subjecting
> other states which do not follow their demands to economic sanctions or
> boycotts; covert operations aimed at destabilizing the targeted 'regimes';
> and even outright invasion as in the case of Iraq.
>
>  Reading between the lines, Speilberg's position, and that of those like
> him, is a demand that China act like the U.S., and impose - or threaten to
> impose - economic sanctions on its trading partner Sudan.
>
>  However, China follows a completely different policy. Based squarely on
> the five principals of peaceful coexistence which China has followed since
> 1949, this policy consistently refrains from interference in the internal
> affairs of other sovereign nations.
>
> The principal of non-interference is precisely why the leaders of 45
> African nations convened a year or so ago in Beijing for joint high-level
> talks with China's leaders.
>  This meeting was notable as the first-ever meeting of the African 
> unionoutside of Africa. Non-interference is precisely the reason that African
> leaders felt warmly about coming to China, and why China is warmly
> welcomed in Africa in a way the U.S., and the former European colonial
> powers, are not.
>
> I personally saw various African heads of state on T.V. during the meeting
> here asked about their relationships with China. The response was
> consistently 'We are happy to work with China economically and otherwise
> because (unlike the western powers) they do not come to Africa to give us
> lectures'.
> *
> Western Media is out of line.
> *
>
> Recent western media portrayals of the China-Sudan issue are distorted
> beyond belief. To begin with, it is frequently stated that 'China provides
> diplomatic cover' for the Sudan in the UN security council.
>
> In reality, however, China, Russia, and - crucially - the African 
> Unionrepresenting all African states have *all* taken *the same position* at 
> the
> UN- i.e., that dialogue and African Union troops and limited numbers of UN
> troops should be used in Sudan, and that economic sanctions should not be
> imposed.
>
> So it is China's position- and not that of people like Speilberg or the
> U.S. government - that represents the real perceived interests of Africa.
>
> Moreover, it is China - and not the U.S.or Speilberg - which has the moral
> high ground on Sudan, via its consistent approach of using dialogue and
> non-interference rather than using military or economic force to coerce
> other nations.
>
> Finally, and sadly, while Speilberg professes concern about the human
> rights of Sudan, he was not so concerned about the human rights of the
> people of Iraq, or about the sovergnty of Iraq, where an estimated 100,000
> or 200,000 or more people have died since the U.S. invasion.
>
> In reply to questions about the then-impending attack on Iraq, Speilberg
> told journalists, "Bush's politics has been solid, grounded in reality,
> willing to uproot terrorism wherever it may be found...if Bush, as I
> believe, has reliable information on the fact that Saddam is making 'weapons
> of mass destruction,' I cannot not support the policies of his
> government."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>    *"True development puts first those that  society puts last."*
> *-Mahatma Gandhi*
> **
> *"Dare to be naive." *
> *- Buckminster Fuller*
> **
> *"Work for the world."*
> *- Karl Marx*
> **
>  *"A loving heart: **In all the world this state of mind is best."*
> * - ADM CEO *
>
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