After 9-11.....
what they mostly remember is being asked to go shopping
Posted Mar 18, 2008 by Russell Ray, Tribune Tallahasse Bureau
Updated Mar 18, 2008 at 12:25 PM
TALLAHASSEE A provision requiring Florida retailers to tell shoppers which toys on their shelves fail to meet U.S. safety standards was removed from proposed legislation Tuesday.
The Senate Commerce Committee gutted the bill with an amendment that would limit the use of toxic substances such as lead in toys sold in Florida. The original bill would have required retailers to identify toys that don’t meet standards of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by posting a sign in the aisle in which the toys are sold.
The Florida Retail Federation had said it had “major concerns” that the original bill went far beyond retailers’ responsibility.
China's reputation
as an exporter has taken a beating in the past year
following the discovery of dangerous chemicals in products from toothpaste to toys.
And then comes Friday, and the search for breakfast.
OTHER VIEWS My WORD
Shopping won't save us
Penny Villegas
February 11, 2008
When we were sick from the images of great buildings crashing down and people wandering about the streets wounded and crying, our president told us to go shopping. He has the same remedy for our economic disaster state: Give them money to go shopping.
This advice reveals his faith in the economic system called capitalism. In our times of greatest sorrow and fear, go spend.
As capitalism slipped into consumerism, our values slipped. At one time, we had values that weren't monetary. As little as 50 years ago we valued savings, honesty and loyalty. Companies valued their workers, rewarding long years of service with the proverbial gold watch. As consumerism morphed into materialism, we became developers and not stewards of the Earth.
But materialism leads us not just to toss out last year's T-shirt (cell phone, computer, car, etc.) so we can get new ones, but also leads companies to discard American workers and get new ones, cheaper ones who don't ask for health insurance. It leads us to throw away mountains of trash. This contempt for human beings is a sign of the rot of materialism. The garbage rotting is a symbol of our age.
We have always said that "money talks," but we said it with a laugh. It's not a laughing matter any more. The banks and lending institutions were pillars of the community; everyone respected and trusted them, but unfettered greed led them to lure the foolish into sub-prime loans on palatial houses.
Consumerism needs buyers so sellers make it easy: No down payment, no interest for six months, bad credit OK. Countless people believed it, and they filled their mansions with furniture and appliances and giant flat-screen TVs on the same pay-later scheme. Have you seen their pain and confusion on the evening news? What happened?
Materialism happened. They needed a nice house, nice car, nice clothes (whether they could afford them or not), because in a materialistic world, they -- make that we -- are measured by these material things.
Look where it has led us. Look at our national debt, at the environment, at the garbage we generate, at the number of poor among us, and at violence on every hand. Look, if you can, at the latest sport: eating contests where contestants gorge themselves and rush behind the scenes to vomit -- this in face of the starvation in the world.
Capitalism had promise once. We believed economist Adam Smith when he said all would profit from the wealth of the few, but capitalism led to abuses, greed and an imploded system. Now we see that the rich are rich to bursting and the poor are hungry and homeless. And all suffer from the empty promise of stuff.
Consumerism -- materialism -- hasn't made us into better people with happier more balanced families in a healthy land. We're sick, and shopping will not save us.
Penny Villegas is a professor of communications at Valencia Community College.
Just avoid Christmas 'junk'
Having read an article bemoaning the Chinese toy recall right before Christmas,
I realized how powerless American parents are acting,
and their children are the true losers.
What if we simply avoided the cheaply made, sometimes poisonous junk being pumped into our stores?
We might save money, our jobs and our country and gain control over what our children are doing with their time.
Wow, all of that from just not buying stuff we really can't afford.
There
would be no worries about paying for it after Christmas either.
Well then, whatever would we give our kids instead this year?
We might
be surprised about what a great holiday season this could be if we got a bit
creative, a bit "old-fashioned."
First of all, give them materials to create something with, and
then leave them alone. Let them fail a bit, let
them have complete charge of how to do their project. Start with simple
cardboard, scrap lumber, twigs, natural materials, stuff from the junk drawer.
Oh, I know, what if the children get hurt?
Trust me, give them things that are simple, and let them grow.
Our grandson uses a hammer, saw, cordless drill, bench vise and a small workbench his other grandpa made for him. He is 8, and when he was 6, I gave him a box of simple tools (not plastic baby stuff, real tools).
It was the thing he played with the most that year, ignoring the Chinese junk. He has safety glasses, pliers, nails, etc. He has never gotten hurt, and his learning curve has been amazing. Our granddaughter also has a workbench, and she is 18 months older.
Give them sports equipment, dance lessons, music lessons.
Give them gifts that require something of them.
Most toys today are adult ideas of what kids would like,
with no chance of failure.
How boring.
Give your family the best present of all,
freedom from "have to have it" junk
and high bills.
Start a new tradition.
You may be surprised and find yourself down on the floor building something
unique. A new relationship!
JOANNE ZIMMERMANN,
Online Charitable Holiday Giving: Making a Difference with the Gifts You Give
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Caitlin Carlson of Mercy Corps, +1-503-548-8497
PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every year more holiday shoppers look for meaningful and convenient gifts that will stand out above the rest while helping families in need.
"Mercy Kits are a great way to add meaning to your holiday gifts
while sending nutritious food to children in Africa
or helping a woman in Afghanistan start a small business with a loan,"
said Joy Portella, Mercy Corps' Communications Director.
"These gifts do something important, long after the holiday season has passed"
Mercy Corps has made it easier for busy folks to complete their shopping by offering their gift catalog online. All of the more than 20, fully tax- deductible Mercy Kits are available to purchase at http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits.
This Season's Hottest Gifts
Contact: Zeenat Potia, Press Officer of Oxfam America, +1-617-371-2721, +1-617-401-6160 (mobile), zpotia@oxfamamerica.org
BOSTON, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sheep, trees, books for kids, and other gifts that keep on giving are best-selling holiday gifts as Oxfam America Unwrapped goes into its third season. OxfamAmericaUnwrapped.com offers unexpected and economical gifts that make a difference. Proceeds from these symbolic gifts go to fund Oxfam America's efforts to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice in more than 120 countries.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080221/DC14723LOGO)
At prices that won't break the bank, these top selling items under $50 are just what Santa ordered:
-- Sheep ($45): Raising these fleecy critters allows women to create their own income and to make local textiles. -- Plant 50 trees ($30): Trees produce life-sustaining crops like avocados and bananas, and they also prevent soil erosion-a key to economic growth and a greener world. -- Books for kids ($18): Your gift will provide children with books on a wide range of topics from agriculture to peace-building. By helping someone open a book, you can open a mind, too. -- Water jugs ($18): Benefit not one but three families by providing each with a stout water jug. For a family lacking a safe water container, one of these sturdy jugs provides the means to store and transport clean drinking water safely.
"These gifts reflect Oxfam America's work around the world to promote ways to make a living, provide emergency relief, and improve nutrition," said Stephanie Kurzina, vice president of fundraising for Oxfam America. "It's easy to do good even on a budget."
It's quite simple: shoppers choose the gift and personalize a card online, their friend or loved one receives a card in the mail, and the gift goes to those who need it most. All gift contributions are general donations to Oxfam America and are fully tax deductible.
Forget braving the malls or fighting the mid-winter chill. Oxfam America Unwrapped lets you shop from the convenience of your couch through its online alternative gift catalog: OxfamAmericaUnwrapped.com. Relax with a cup of warm cocoa and pick from the hottest gifts this season. Click, click, done, and you can feel good about helping those who need it most.
Go to OxfamAmericaUnwrapped.com to view all 57 items in the catalog.
DON'T FORGET YOUR LEAD TESTING KIT WHILE SHOPPING AMERICA
CPSC Not Protecting Children's Safety
Wed Oct 31, 6:25 PM ET
Trick or treat!?!!!??
The Nation -- Thirteen million toys have been recalled in the last two months due to unsafe levels of lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) -- the watchdog agency charged with protecting consumers from such risks -- has exactly one full-time toy inspector.
That's right, one.
So when the Senate took up legislation to double the agency's budget, beef up its staff by 20 percent, impose stiffer penalties for company and executive violations, and "give the commission broad new powers to police the marketplace," it of course would have no greater advocate than acting chair, Nancy Nord, right?
Who are you kidding -- not in this White House.
"Any commission chair who does not, in the face of the facts that are so clear, say we don't need any more authority or any more resources to do our job, does not understand the gravity of the situation," said Pelosi, who has been joined in her call for Nord's resignation by other Democrats in the House and Senate.
"I call on the president of the United States to ask for the resignation."
Product Safety to Be Considered in the Senate Next Week; Groups Rebut False Charges
Fri Feb 29, 5:21 PM ET
To: RETAILING EDITORS
Contact: Jennifer Fuson of CU, +1-202-462-6262; Rachel Weintraub of CFA, +1-202-387-6121; Ed Mierzwinski of U.S. PIRG, +1-202-546-9707; David Arkush of PC, +1-202-550-0107; or Celia Wexler of UCS, +1-202-331-6952
WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer, public interest, safety, and scientific groups today condemned false charges from the office of Sen. Jim DeMint, released through the Republican Steering Committee, against a Senate bill that would overhaul the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission, and urged Senators to approve the measure -- without weakening amendments -- when it is slated to come up for a vote next week.
The groups -- Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, U.S. PIRG, Kids in Danger, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Citizen -- released a statement rebutting the charges made against S. 2663, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act.
The groups refute point-by-point the misstatements contained in the DeMint/Republican Steering Committee document, Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the CPSC Reform Act. The groups response, Truth v. Fiction, which explains the legislation, is below.
TRUTH v. FICTION: The CPSC Reform Act
The office of Senator DeMint, through the Senate Republican Steering Committee, is circulating a document entitled The Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the CPSC Reform Act (S. 2663). Our coalition of public interest, safety, and scientific organizations offers the following rebuttal to this document filled with falsehoods and fictions regarding a common-sense, balanced legislative proposal designed to improve consumer safety reported by the Senate Commerce Committee and finalized in negotiations between Senators Mark Pryor, Daniel Inouye, and Ted Stevens.
FICTION #1: Makes it legally impossible to fire disruptive employees ... be they a union salt or just your average disgruntled employee ...
THE TRUTH: S. 2663s whistleblower provision will not prevent an employer from being able to discharge employees for cause. It wisely protects employees from being retaliated against if they blow the whistle about violations of consumer product safety laws and rules by allowing them to sue for such improper retaliatory firing. Since 2002, Congress has passed four other laws to protect private-sector whistleblowers: the 9/11 law (ground transportation workers); the Pipeline Products Safety Act; Sarbanes Oxley (publicly-traded corporations); and the Energy Policy Act (nuclear power and nuclear weapons industry). None of the affected industries has claimed that these laws have made it impossible to fire employees.
FICTION #2: Creates a public government-sponsored website to anonymously smear companies ... This places the imprimatur of the federal on the oftentimes frivolous complaints filed by left-wing interest groups ...
THE TRUTH: S. 2663 creates a database for the collection of consumer complaints and third-party information about potential product hazards to help consumers make safer, better informed choices in the marketplace. NHTSA has had a similar consumer complaint database available to the public for some time. The legislation specifically allows businesses to rebut such complaints, and includes these rebuttals in the data-base. The bill also requires the CPSC to promptly remove any information on the database that it finds to be incorrect.
FICTION #3: Creates a new tool for anti-business state AGs to harass companies: Under the Spitzer Section of the bill, State Attorneys General will now have a new cause of action to sue companies...
THE TRUTH: Under S. 2663, the authority of state Attorneys General is limited to injunctive relief, and they may initiate action only if the residents of that state are threatened or adversely affected by a violation of a consumer product safety standard or rule. The state AG must give prior notice to the CPSC and may not sue if the federal government initiates an enforcement action first. The CPSC does not have the capacity to enforce recalls in every store and every city across the country. In order to protect children from unsafe toys and childrens products, for instance, it makes sense to have 50 additional cops on the beat.
FICTION #4: Undermines a cooperative relationship between businesses and the CPSC: Under the information disclosure provisions of current law, information is reviewed for accuracy and fairness. Under the bill, this protection would go away and all information will be posted on the internet within 15 days ... instead of having experts cooperating with experts, youll have lawyers fighting with lawyers.
THE TRUTH: The CPSC was established to monitor and regulate the safety of consumer products on behalf of the public. We agree it is valuable to work cooperatively with businesses when it is reasonable to do so, but it should not come at the expense of fair and effective consumer protection and enforcement. Right now, the deck is stacked against consumers because current information disclosure provisions allow important safety problems to remain secret from the public for at least 30 days, and even longer should a business decide to sue the CPSC -- an explicit and unique right granted companies by the agencys statute. The truth is that S. 2663 makes only modest changes to this section of current law -- it gives companies 15 days, instead of 30 days, to review information for accuracy at which time the agency could release information if it involves an imminent public health threat. It will not automatically make all information public on the internet within 15 days, and it will not eliminate a companys right to sue the CPSC to block release of information.
FICTION #5: Massively increases fines, threatening small businesses for no good reason: The substitute increases maximum civil penalties more than 10-fold and the individual violation penalty more than 50-fold subjecting each product that wrongfully enters the stream of commerce to a $250,000 fine ...
THE TRUTH: The massive number of toy recalls in recent years suggests that manufacturers have been unsuccessful in making sure their products are safe. Current civil penalties are capped at $1.8 million and $8,000 for individual violations -- fines that could be considered pocket change for most major corporations. While the new provision in S. 2663 raises the civil penalty cap to $10 million, and can go as high as $20 million in aggravating circumstances, it will be up to the CPSC to decide the actual fines to levy. The same is true for the $250,000 per individual violation -- it is also a cap, not an automatically levied amount. Small, reputable businesses will not be driven into bankruptcy from this change. But the threat of higher fines for violations of consumer product safety laws will and should deter all companies from shortchanging safety concerns.
FICTION #6: Dick Durbins Garage Sale: [The Senator] ... has included language in the bill that overrides the garage door safety standards developed by the non-profit independent Underwriters Laboratory and American National Standards Institute (UL 325) ...
THE TRUTH: S. 2663 includes language that would require as a secondary garage door entrapment sensor a technology that would not require the garage door to make contact with a body before retracting. Such a non-contact sensor could be an optical sensor and is a valuable safety requirement.
FICTION #7: Threatens to send the owners of small companies to prison for unknowingly selling a dangerous product ... This may make the bill proponents feel good, but it does nothing to improve product safety.
THE TRUTH: S. 2663 maintains the current requirement that CPSC can seek criminal penalties only for knowing and willful violations of law. This restricts criminal liability to the narrowest possible scope, reserving it only for people who intentionally violate the law. S. 2663 does, however, repeal a provision that precludes the CPSC from pursuing criminal penalties unless the agency has given notice of the violation and the criminal persisted. By definition, someone who violates criminal law knowingly and willfully should not need notice of the violation before being prosecuted.
FICTION #8: Eliminates protections from disclosure of confidential preliminary information: ... Under the vague authority to allow disclosure when the CPSC deems the information in the public interest companies will be extremely unlikely to voluntarily share information because of fear of having all the information end up on the CPSCs website regardless of whether it has an actual bearing on public safety.
THE TRUTH: Much of the voluntary information that manufacturers supply is actually information that manufacturers are required by law to report to the CPSC. Manufacturers are statutorily required to report known injuries and deaths associated with their products -- this reporting requirement is bolstered by fines for failure to report. Under current law, the CPSC may not release this reported information to the public unless the manufacturer gives permission or the CPSC goes to court. S. 2663 recognizes that it is entirely reasonable and appropriate for the CPSC to be able to release certain information about hazardous products more quickly when it deems the release to be in the public interest.
FICTION #9: Increases the CPSCs budget by nearly 100% and significantly increases the staffing at CPSC ... While there may be needs at the CPSC, there has been scant justification for these increases in the size and scope of government.
THE TRUTH: The CPSC has less than half the budget and half the staff it had in 1973, yet it is currently responsible for monitoring the safety of more than 15,000 products. The percentage of products imported from foreign countries has skyrocketed since the 1970s, and the agencys resources have not kept pace. The CPSC deserves to have a better budget than the National Endowment for the Arts. It is also a fact that the CPSC has less money to regulate all 15,000 types of consumer products than the FDA has to regulate animal medicines.
FICTION #10: The Bill has been endorsed by the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union.
THE TRUTH: The authors of the DeMint document are correct! CFA and CU do support this common sense, bi-partisan measure as do other not-for-profit organizations, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Kids in Danger, U.S. PIRG, National Research Center for Women & Families, and Public Citizen. And thousands of concerned individuals across the country have also contacted Senators urging its passage. This legislation is urgently needed to restore consumers faith in the products they buy every day.
SOURCE Consumers Union
The House bill is H.R. 4040. The Senate bill is S. 2663. They can be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov.
Senate OKs tougher overseas toy checks
"We believe that stronger federal quality assurance standards will play a critical role in achieving what we all are striving for: the safest possible products for our children," Toys "R" Us Inc. said in a statement after the Senate vote.
The Senate bill would nearly double the agency's budget and increase its staff to nearly 500 people by 2013.
The new database would collect information from people, hospitals and other sources about injuries, illnesses and deaths from consumer products.
Black Friday toy sales not devoid of recall fears
'MADE IN CHINA' WORRIES
Recalls of millions of toys, mostly Chinese-made, from Curious George Plush dolls to Thomas & Friends wooden rail cars due to concerns over lead paint, alarmed consumers and worried retailers.
It may have, however, done some good for upscale toy stores like FAO Schwarz, which has stores in New York, Las Vegas and Chicago.
"I think with the recalls that have gone on, this helps ... parents are starting to ask a lot more questions about toys and looking for higher quality and that's been a benefit to us,"
Chief Executive Ed Schmults said in an interview on Friday.
Shoppers, however, were not worry-free.
The consumers fretting about toys made in China, were typically those with younger children.
"That's one of the reasons we have not bought much stuff for Shane this year," said Stephanie Ripps of New York, referring to her 7-month-old son.
Angel Padilla, from Orlando, Florida, a self-confessed 4 a.m. Black Friday shopper was at the Toys "R" Us store in Manhattan's Times Square with his 5-year-old son, Zahid. He said the "Made in China" label worried him........
Online Charitable Holiday Giving: Making a Difference with the Gifts You Give
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Caitlin Carlson of Mercy Corps, +1-503-548-8497
PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every year more holiday shoppers look for meaningful and convenient gifts that will stand out above the rest while helping families in need.
"Mercy Kits are a great way to add meaning to your holiday gifts while sending nutritious food to children in Africa or helping a woman in Afghanistan start a small business with a loan," said Joy Portella, Mercy Corps' Communications Director.
"These gifts do something important, long after the holiday season has passed"
Mercy Corps has made it easier for busy folks to complete their shopping by offering their gift catalog online. All of the more than 20, fully tax- deductible Mercy Kits are available to purchase at http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits.
COMMENTARY
Consumerism -- materialism -- hasn't made us into better people with happier more balanced families in a healthy land. We're sick, and shopping will not save us.
And then comes Friday, and the search for breakfast.
For the sake of our children
My mother sometimes said be careful what you wish for; how true this is in the case of Amendment 1. Recently passed by the citizenry of Florida, now we will see what it really means in our communities and our lives.
First up: Citing budget constraints, the Volusia County School Board announces the closing of five small schools . . .
and so we begin to reap what some have sown.
Child labor, war or pesticides for your Valentine?
Importer recalls Valentine lollipops
By Diane Bartz Mon Feb 11, 4:17 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There was a time, long ago, when a lover would buy diamonds, chocolate or roses
for his beloved on Valentine's Day with a clear conscience.
But life has become more complicated.
For some, the romance is being overshadowed by concerns that the diamonds may have financed wars, that the cacao beans were harvested by children and that the roses were kept perfect with mists of pesticides.
Let's start with roses, especially the red roses traditionally used to show passion.
"Most roses sold in the U.S. are grown in Latin America. And they are grown in a way that uses a lot of chemicals," said Rene Ebersole, a senior editor of the environmental Audubon Magazine.
"DDT is used," she added, saying that workers who applied the pesticides often complained of irritated eyes and other ailments that they blamed on the chemicals.
And what about soft, melty bonbons, dusted with cocoa powder?
Ivory Coast, which grows 40 percent of the world's cocoa, has a persistent child labor problem, according to the 2006 State Department Human Rights report, which was released in March 2007.
"The controversy over child labor in the local cocoa sector continued," the report said, citing an earlier survey by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.
That group had found that perhaps 5,000 to 10,000 children were trafficked to or within the country to work in the cocoa sector, the State Department said.
"The (institute's) research showed that approximately 109,000 child laborers worked in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in the country in what the study described as the worst forms of child labor," the State Department said.
Then there's the problem of blood diamonds, which refers to gems mined under brutal conditions and sold to support a war effort.
The problem is apparently one of the few things that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush agree on.
Clinton issued an executive order in January 2001 barring Sierra Leone from exporting diamonds to the United States. When Liberia began to be used to get around the ban, Bush acted in 2001 to bar rough diamond imports from Liberia.
A mechanism called the Kimberley Process was supposed to help buyers identify conflict-free diamonds, but there is criticism that it has fallen short.
Sigh. Lingerie anyone?
In demand: U.S.-made toys
Chinese recalls spark boom
Associated Press
HOLLISTER,
Instead, she's ramping up Arrowcopter Inc.'s manufacturing operations and getting a record number of orders from
retailers in 11 countries. More people are buying the slingshot-like gizmo,
which starts at $4 and -- as the packaging proudly proclaims -- is made in the
As consumers look for alternatives to Chinese-made toys following
a series of recalls this year, dozens of small toy companies are struggling to
meet surging demand. Some owners report online sales up as much as fivefold.
They're hiring extra workers, expanding warehouses and adding extra shifts.
"Every time there'd be a new recall this summer, we'd get a
huge new order," Evanoff said as she watched
contract manufacturers stuffing neon-colored copters, rubber bands and wooden
sticks into plastic packages. "We didn't stop all summer long."
Experts say the boutique American toy boom won't last beyond the
recalls, which started this summer. So far, more than 21 million toys made in
Retailers such as FAO Schwartz Inc. and Toys "R" Us Inc.
downplay the recalls, saying they aren't likely to dent holiday sales or
significantly change their orders. About 80 percent of toys sold in the
Experts say even if Americans produce several hundred thousand
more U.S.-made Little Tykes, K'Nex or Rainbow
Creatures,
"It's a blip," said New York-based toy consultant Chris
Byrne. "In the fourth quarter, a lot of purchases are made based on
supplications to the North Pole -- and the phrase 'country of origin' isn't in
the vocabulary of children writing to Santa."
"Ronald Reagan would have never gone to the Olympics.
I guarantee you that. Never gone,"
said Wolf, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Tibet challenges world conscience, Pelosi says
By Jonathan Allen Fri Mar 21, 1:25 PM ET
DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday Tibet was a challenge to the world's conscience and called for an international probe to clear the Dalai Lama's name in the violent protests this month.
Pelosi said the free world will have lost its moral authority to speak about human rights if it did not speak up against Chinese oppression in Tibet.
"The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world,"
Pelosi told a gathering of about 2000 Tibetans after meeting the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, the seat of his government-in-exile.
China's crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet -- which it says were orchestrated by the Dalai Lama -- has drawn sharp international criticism and clouded preparations for the Beijing Olympics.
Crackdown on Tibet Protests Merits Independent U.N. Investigation; President Bush Must Act
"President Bush should immediately address the deteriorating situation in Tibet and state,
in no uncertain terms,
that China cannot afford to gamble
with life and liberty
so close to the advent of the Olympics,"
Poll of Western and Asian Publics Finds Criticism of Chinese Policy on Tibet
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Steven Kull of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, +1-202-232-7500
COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
A poll of three western and three Asian countries finds widespread criticism of Chinese policies toward Tibet.
This critical view is held by large majorities in all three western countries
-- the United States (74%), France (75%) and Britain (63%).
Views are more varied among the Asian countries. An overwhelming 84 percent of South Koreans are critical, as is a modest majority of Indonesians (54%, with only 12% endorsing Chinas position). However, among Indians, views are nearly evenly divided, with 37 percent siding with critics, 33 percent siding with China and 31 percent not taking a position.
These findings are from a poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a project of research centers from around the world, managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland. Polling was conducted in France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States, before the recent protests and violence in Tibet.
Respondents were presented the issue by hearing a description of both the position of critics of Chinas policy on Tibet and the position of China. They were told that:
Critics of China say that it should allow Tibet to have autonomy, to preserve its traditional culture and to allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet.
"China says that Tibet has long been part of China, that Tibet has benefited from modernization, and that the Dalai Lama should not be allowed to return because he aims to split Tibet from China.
On average across all six countries, 64 percent said their view was closer to the critics of China, while seventeen percent said their views were closer to those of China.
Steven Kull, director of the WorldPublicOpinion.org comments, While Chinas image in the world is generally moderately positive, it appears that Chinas image is being harmed by its policies on Tibet. The recent violence in Tibet may mean that China will face increasing criticism.
The poll of 4,774 respondents was conducted January 18 through February 29. The margin of error for each country ranged from 3.1 to 4.1 percent.
For more information, visit: http://www.WorldPublicOpinion.org.
SOURCE Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland
Pelosi: ‘The Violent Response by Chinese Police Forces to Peaceful Protesters in Tibet is Disgraceful’
WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to reports that
Chinese police forces have arrested, detained and fired tear gas on hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist monks peacefully protesting near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. There have also been reports of sightings of Peoples Liberation Army troop transport vehicles traveling to
Drepung monastery and reports of gunshots and beatings from inside the monastery.
We know from the State Departments Country Reports on Human Rights that the human rights situation in China and Tibet continues to worsen and the repression of religious freedom has increased (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100518.htm#tibet).
There is disturbing new evidence of a pre-Olympic crackdown on religious leaders, journalists and lawyers in recent months.
The Olympic Games in Beijing this summer
should provide an opportunity
for more free expression, not less.
-Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Republican: Bush should skip Olympics
By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 6, 3:48 PM ET
WASHINGTON - A House Republican —
chafing over President Bush's plan to attend this year's Beijing Olympics
— wants to legally prohibit other U.S. government officials from using federal money to go.
Wolf's legislation would not specifically prohibit the president from attending, which the congressman said would be tough to impose on a commander-in-chief. Instead the bill would focus on barring diplomatic and other federal officials.
Any American seen waving in the stands
"will go down in history as cooperating in the genocide Olympics of 2008,"
Wolf said.
"And history will never, ever, ever forgive them."
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., cited concerns about China's record on human rights during a congressional hearing
on Thursday and said Bush's presence would be akin to President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting in the same stands as Germany's Adolf Hitler in 1936.
"Ronald Reagan would have never gone to the Olympics.
I guarantee you that. Never gone,"
said Wolf, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
November 16, 2007
State needs tax reform, not tax relief
By S. CURT KISER
FLORIDA VOICES
Florida lawmakers are once again scrambling to shore up the state budget in the face of a slumping economy. It's human nature to deal with the here-and-now. But what's needed -- and desperately so -- is a plan for the long haul, not just the next election cycle.
Now that the Legislature has chosen to provide tax relief, and not tax reform, the task of looking long-term rests with the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.
The commission meets just once every 20 years, and this is the year.
This appointed group of thinkers is insulated from short-term politics.
And in an increasingly fast-paced political world, its work couldn't be more important.
Commissioners should take this opportunity to begin reforming Florida's 1940s tax system to suit our 21st-century economy.
Kiser, a lawyer, served 20 years in the Florida Legislature. He is chairman of the LeRoy Collins Institute, a nonprofit public policy research group.
"The only way we can serve whoever created us is to do something for someone else."
