By Naomi Klein, Huffington Post, August 8, 2008

So far, the Olympics have been an open invitation to China-bash, a bottomless excuse for Western journalists to go after the Commies on everything from internet censorship to Darfur. Through all the nasty news stories, however, the Chinese government has seemed amazingly unperturbed. That's because it is betting on this: when the opening ceremonies begin friday, you will instantly forget all that unpleasantness as your brain is zapped by the cultural/athletic/political extravaganza that is the Beijing Olympics.

Like it or not, you are about to be awed by China's sheer awesomeness.

The games have been billed as China's "coming out party" to the world. They are far more significant than that. These Olympics are the coming out party for a disturbingly efficient way of organizing society, one that China has perfected over the past three decades, and is finally ready to show off. It is a potent hybrid of the most powerful political tools of authoritarianism communism — central planning, merciless repression, constant surveillance — harnessed to advance the goals of global capitalism. Some call it "authoritarian capitalism," others "market Stalinism," personally I prefer "McCommunism."

Gay City News, April 10, 2008
Police raids mark pre-Olympic repression as leading AIDS activist is jailed

by DOUG IRELAND
The wave of repression and intimidation of human rights activists and
dissidents in China in advance of the Beijing Olympics has also
targeted homosexuals, according to China's best-known gay and AIDS
activist.

In an email, Dr. Wan Yanhai reported that the month of March saw
numerous police raids on gay gathering spots in Beijing and Shanghai,
and he said that the evidence of a new pre-Olympic crackdown on gays
is so widespread it is clear it is being orchestrated "at the
national level."

Wan is not just anybody. A former official of China's Ministry of
Public Health, he was fired in 1994 for his participation in AIDS
information and prevention campaigns and for his support of full
equal rights for homosexuals.

After being purged from the ministry, Wan founded the AIDS-fighting
Aizhixing Action Project (the Chinese characters for "Aizhixing"
represent love, knowledge, and action, and are a play on the Chinese
word for AIDS). The association also works for freedom of expression
on the Internet and is active on behalf of LGBT rights.

Hu Jia, the former executive director of Aizhixing and a long-time
close collaborator of Wan who is also a noted human rights activist,

A very important and interesting article...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IA13Ak02.html
Jan 13, 2007

By M K Bhadrakumar

Two prominent leaders of the Middle East headed abroad last weekend,
canvassing support from the international community. Iranian President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad went on a tour of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador,
the "red rain land" of Latin America, while Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert headed for China.

By coincidence, on Wednesday, while Ahmadinejad was being received in
Managua by the charismatic Marxist revolutionary Daniel Ortega at his
inauguration as the democratically elected president of Nicaragua,
Olmert was received with state honors in Beijing. Nothing can bring
home as vividly the complexities of the emerging "multipolar" world
order.

By Michael Locker and Dave Hancock Oct 17, 2006, 13:50

Venezuela is currently attempting to break the iron grip of the United
States and the multinational corporations that continue to play a dominant role in
its economy. The long term goal is to create an alternative international
system that promotes social development over profit promotes productive
sovereignty and bilateral cooperation over the short sighted demands of

By Daniel Twining
Financial Times: September 25 2006

Asia’s strong states will shape the future of international politics
more than the weak states and terrorists of Afghanistan, Iraq and
Lebanon. But China’s continuing authoritarian rise, like Thailand’s
descent into military dictatorship, suggests that the quality of
democracy within Asian nations will be important in determining the

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- China successfully built the core
network of its next generation Internet, leading the world in developing
a larger, faster and safer Internet that is to dominate the future.

The network, namely CNGI-CERNET2/6IX, passed the examination of an
expert team organized by the Ministry of Education here Saturday.

Experts said the network reached world leading level on the whole

A CALL for INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY for anti-WTO political Prisoners and PRESSURE to CONTINUE DERAILING WTO:
International Action Week, Feb 27th - March 5th 2006

in solidarity with 2 anti-WTO political prisoners who stand trial in Hong Kong, thousands of political prisoners behind bars worldwide, and millions of prisoners of WTO-related policies.

Women, Poor people, Farmers, Migrants, Workers don't belong in WTO prisons! Join Targetwto Commonfront in this International Action Solidarity

By Chris Hogg
BBC News, Hong Kong

Most of the 14 arrested were South Korean citizens
A court in Hong Kong has released 11 anti-WTO protesters who were accused of unlawful assembly.

But prosecutions of three others who were arrested after violent clashes with police outside last month's world trade talks look likely to continue.

Around 50 activists gathered at the court to protest against what they see as politically motivated prosecutions.

Korean farmers take lemming-like plunge into Hong Kong harbour

Jonathan Watts in Hong Kong
Wednesday December 14, 2005
Guardian

In a bizarre waterborne protest yesterday, hundreds of South Korea's notoriously militant farmers stripped off to their boxer shorts, donned orange lifejackets and leapt into Hong Kong harbour in a back-door attempt to sink the world trade talks.

The lemming-like assault came amid an opening day demonstration that, contrary to the organisers' worst fears, saw only minor scuffles with ranks of riot police blocking the road to the conference centre.