Australian Broadcasting Corporation Updated Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:55am AEST
NASA says the soil collected by the Phoenix Lander is similar to dirt found in backyards on Earth. (File Photo) (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A and M University). There is still no answer to the old question of whether there has ever been life on Mars but apparently there could be vegetable life. NASA scientists say the soil they have collected from the northern polar regions of the red planet would be good for growing asparagus and turnips, but probably not strawberries. The Phoenix Mars Lander scooped up soil with its robotic arm and scientists say the sample is similar to dirt found in some backyards on Earth. The project's lead chemist, Samuel Kounaves, from the University of Arizona says he is flabbergasted by what has come back. "We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients to support life, whether past present or future," he said. "The sort of soil you have there is the type of soil you'd probably have in your backyard, you know, alkaline. "You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well - strawberries probably not really well."
Glen Nagle from the NASA tracking station in Canberra has been watching the soil analysis and its results closely. "What they've found is the soil wasn't really acidic or over salty and actually we had a nice pH level it was quite alkaline, not acidic," he said. "It would have been ideal soil to say, you know, grow asparagus in or beans or turnips or, you know, things like that. "But yeah, too high an acidity for strawberries say, or blueberries." Mr Nagle says the soil type is actually similar to some soils found in Antarctica. "In fact they said it was very similar to the soils that you would find in some of the dry valleys of Antarctica - places where there is water, where the ground has effectively, has lots of different minerals in it, all sorts of chlorides and potassium and magnesium and other things that you would find in good growing soil here on the earth," he said.
(Clearwisdom.net) The Changchun Police Station has established a background check office in order to protect the Beijing Olympics. The office's activities include ID examination, review of relationships and backgrounds of coaches, athletes, volunteers, officers and individuals who plan to attend the Olympic games. One of their focal points is to identify Falun Gong practitioners and their relatives.
The background check office is composed of officers from the Safety Brigade and State Security Brigade. Safety Brigade officers are responsible for checking personal backgrounds. Meanwhile, State Security Brigade officers provide a list of practitioners and their social connections, and then monitor the people they've identified. If any of these people are Falun Gong practitioners or their relatives, they are disqualified from attending the Olympic games. Moreover, the person would then be labeled as a suspect, and even his or her relatives would be monitored or taken in for questioning. If these individuals had already purchased opening ceremony tickets, these tickets would be confiscated.
(Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of June 24, 2008, the Australian Senate Passed Resolution No. 127, urging the Chinese Communist regime to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The resolution was adopted unanimously by all parties. It was the first time that the Australian Parliament officially expressed its position since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999.
Senator Kerry Nettle from Green Party proposed the resolution, and Democrat Senator Andrew Bartlett reconsidered the bill. The Senate held a meeting on the afternoon of June 24, during which the Australian ruling party (Labor Party), and opposition party (Liberal Party) expressed their support for the resolution. Therefore, the resolution was adopted unanimously by all parties in Australia.
The resolution clearly stated that the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" applies to the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners worldwide, and the practice of beliefs should not form the basis of the incarceration of any individual. The resolution expresses appreciation for the Prime Minister's willingness to raise challenging human rights issues with the Chinese leadership. The resolution also expresses its support for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Regarding the unanimous adoption of the resolution by all parties in the Australian Senate, spokesperson for the New South Wales Falun Dafa Association Mr. John Deller said that it is a very good sign, showing that the Australian Parliament has officially joined the countries in Europe, the United States and Canada that have held open dialogues on human rights issues, particularly openly called for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. This will help to more quickly end the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore it is of great significance for both Australia and China, and also an important step.
Prior to this resolution, the Australian Parliament had adopted a resolution to support Falun Gong practitioners. That resolution clearly expressed its support for Falun Gong practitioners to enjoy freedom of belief and the right to practice the exercises without any interference in Australian territory
Yawn...Here's an ancient video from the CBC in the category of Weather Control showcasing Big Brother's competition against Mother Nature. Who will take top prize this year?
Clearwisdom.net) Under the hot sun in June, she stood quietly on a roadside in Flushing, home to one of the largest Chinese communities in New York. With a smile, she passed out copies of The Epoch Times newspaper to every passerby. She told the reporter, "It looks as if we are here to protest, but actually we are only standing here peacefully, to tell the facts to people: Please help the Chinese people, just as Americans helped East Germans years ago."
This slender western woman is named Gisela Sommer. This weekend, she flew from San Diego, California to Flushing, New York to take part in a march and rally organized by Falun Gong practitioners. If she did not mention it herself, one would not have guessed that she is in her 60s.
Gisela Sommer (left) flew from San Diego to New York to work as a volunteer to raise awareness in Flushing on the weekend
The reporter learned that Gisela is a German immigrant. In the 1950s to 60s, she lived in West Germany, but many of her relatives lived under the totalitarian communist rule in East Germany. "At that time, 17 million Germans lived in East Germany," Gisela recalled that part of history, "The Communist regime in East Germany built the Berlin Wall, keeping East and West Germany apart. Otherwise, people in East Germany would flee [to the West], because living conditions were really too poor under the Communist regime in East Germany. East Germans dug underground tunnels, climbed across the Wall, and resorted to many other ways to try to escape to seek freedom, but many people were stopped or even shot dead by border guards. East Germany was completely under the Communist Party's rule, people lived in totalitarian oppression and fear, just the same as people in China now."
"So it is very important (referring to clarifying the facts to people living in Flushing). I have grandsons and granddaughters, I am concerned about their future, though they live in the United States. The fact that the incident took place in Flushing (violent attacks against Falun Gong practitioners) clearly shows that we are living under the threat of the shadow of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), because the CCP totalitarian regime does not do things as other governments in any other place in the world. It does not keep people's rights in mind, and even attempts to extend their way of suppressing Chinese people here in the United States. The CCP treats Chinese people with high-handed methods such as torture, forced labor camps and intimidation and so on. Chinese people do not have their own voices and their human rights."
"People in the world should wake up. As an American citizen who has been living in the United States for over 40 years, I understand the meaning of freedom."
Gisela also mentioned that sometimes people brought up that the American government also has many problems, and asked her why she pays so much attention to the problems in China. She answered that the American government does have its own problems, it is a fact, but in the United States, we at least have freedom of press, freedom of speech and freedom of belief. While Chinese people have been living under an autocratic regime's high-handed fear for the past 50 plus years with no choice. Now, it's time for Chinese people to enjoy freedom.
Gisela also told the reporter that after she had learned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, she has learned the facts about the CCP's brutal torture against the practitioners, including over 3,000 verified death cases of Falun Gong practitioners perpetrated by the CCP. Only then was she even more clear what human rights mean in mainland China.
"I am in my 60s, and I am a grandmother. Other women in my age would already be retired and take a good rest," Gisela said firmly, "But I feel what I am doing is worthwhile. Life is short, so when we look back on our lives, we hope what we have done is responsible to this world. Actually when I said I do all this for my grandsons and granddaughters, I meant all people in the world. It looks like we are here to protest, but actually we are only standing here peacefully to tell people the facts: please help Chinese people, just as Americans helped East Germans years ago."
Gisela said in conclusion, "When President Reagan made a speech in front of the Berlin Wall at the time, he said, 'Tear down this wall.' Later, the wall was really torn down. Today, I also hope to tear down this wall, the Internet firewall that the CCP uses to block free information, and tear down the wall of the CCP's persecution. Let the persecuted Chinese people have freedom, which every member of humanity is entitled to enjoy!"
Gore’s personal electricity consumption up 10%, despite “energy-efficient” home renovations
NASHVILLE - In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President’s home energy use surged more than 10%, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
“A man’s commitment to his beliefs is best measured by what he does behind the closed doors of his own home,” said Drew Johnson, President of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “Al Gore is a hypocrite and a fraud when it comes to his commitment to the environment, judging by his home energy consumption.”
In the past year, Gore’s home burned through 213,210 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, enough to power 232 average American households for a month.
In February 2007, An Inconvenient Truth, a film based on a climate change speech developed by Gore, won an Academy Award for best documentary feature. The next day, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research uncovered that Gore’s Nashville home guzzled 20 times more electricity than the average American household.
After the Tennessee Center for Policy Research exposed Gore’s massive home energy use, the former Vice President scurried to make his home more energy-efficient. Despite adding solar panels, installing a geothermal system, replacing existing light bulbs with more efficient models, and overhauling the home’s windows and ductwork, Gore now consumes more electricity than before the “green” overhaul.
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through the ideas of liberty. Visit TCPR online at: www.tennesseepolicy.org.
Since taking steps to make his home more environmentally-friendly last June, Gore devours an average of 17,768 kWh per month –1,638 kWh more energy per month than before the renovations – at a cost of $16,533. By comparison, the average American household consumes 11,040 kWh in an entire year, according to the Energy Information Administration.
In the wake of becoming the most well-known global warming alarmist, Gore won an Oscar, a Grammy and the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition, Gore saw his personal wealth increase by an estimated $100 million thanks largely to speaking fees and investments related to global warming hysteria.
“Actions speak louder than words, and Gore’s actions prove that he views climate change not as a serious problem, but as a money-making opportunity,” Johnson said. “Gore is exploiting the public’s concern about the environment to line his pockets and enhance his profile.”
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a Nashville-based free market think tank and watchdog organization, obtained information about Gore’s home energy use through a public records request to the Nashville Electric Service.
June 17, 2008 - The widow of Yu Zhou, a well-known musician and Falun Gong adherent who died from abuse in police custody in February, has been arrested and is at serious risk of being sentenced to a long prison term.
Xu Na, herself an award-winning artist, has remained in detention since the couple's arrest. In April, her family was notified that she was to be charged with "using a heretical organization to undermine implementation of the law," a vague provision of the penal code commonly used to sentence Falun Gong adherents to prison terms of up to 12 years.
In early May, Xu was transferred to the Chongwen District Detention Center, where she awaits trial at the Chongwen District Court.
David Charter and David Sharrock- The Times Online June 16
The Irish Prime Minister was facing huge pressure from EU leaders yesterday to keep the Lisbon treaty alive but seemed at a loss to explain how it could be saved after Ireland’s “no” vote.
Brian Cowen is being urged to present a plan for reviving the treaty at the EU summit in Brussels this week, but he knows that if a second referendum were to result in failure it would bring down not only the treaty but his Government as well.
EU leaders united over the weekend to insist that Mr Cowen had to show how the treaty could be saved, possibly with a rerun of the vote next year and extra guarantees for Ireland. Signs are emerging that some EU countries would consider forging ahead in a “two-speed Europe”, leaving Ireland and others behind.
(1) China's Olympic Committee President was found liable for torture In 2004, a U.S. federal court found that Liu Qi, the man heading Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee, was responsible for the torture of Falun Gong adherents during his tenure as Beijing's mayor from 1999 to 2002. According to the Center for Investigative Reporting, which publicized the case in April 2008:
"In an extensive legal opinion, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco determined in 2004 that Liu Qi was responsible for the illegal detention and torture of two Chinese nationals and a sexual assault against a French woman in China." The plaintiffs, who were represented by the Center for Justice and Accountability, presented evidence that as mayor, Liu directed security forces to violently crush Falun Gong. In addition, police under his command subjected the plaintiffs and other Falun Gong adherents in Beijing to severe beatings, sexual abuse, and 'electric shocks through needles placed in [the] body.'
(3) Falun Gong practitioners are being killed in custody faster and more frequently than before. Within the first three months of 2008, the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC) documented six cases of practitioner deaths occurring within merely 16 days of arrest and in some cases, within hours. By comparison, in 2007, it was over the course of the entire year that the same number died within such a short time in custody. In several of the recent cases, family members were able to view the body before its cremation and saw signs of torture, including strangulation marks or bruises from electric shock batons.
One of the most prominent victims was Mr. Yu Zhou, 42, a musician who was arrested with his wife Ms. Xu Na at the end of January on their way home from a performance by his band. Eleven days after their arrest, the authorities notified their family members to come to Qinghe Emergency Center, where they found Yu already dead. He had been in good health before his detention, but the hospital refused to conduct an autopsy. Ms. Xu, who was released in 2006 after serving five years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, remains in custody.
According to The London Times, which reported on Yu's death:
"[T]here has been lively discussion among music fans on Chinese websites over the fate of the singer Yu Zhou, 42. "Another beautiful soul has left the world," commented one distraught fan....Yu won a following among young Chinese for his mellow folk ballads. His group, Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley, released two successful CDs and appeared on the Phoenix television channel. For more information on the recent surge in deaths in custody, see: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9518
Since January, the FDIC has been receiving regular reports from adherents and their families inside China of door-to-door searches and arrests. According to statistics compiled from these reports, there have been at least 2,000 arrests across 29 provinces, major cities, and autonomous regions. In Beijing alone, over 150 arrests are known to have taken place.
(5) Falun Gong practitioners are officially excluded from the Games because of religious belief, in clear violation of the Olympic Charter. Throughout 2007, several statements by top officials, as well as an internal document, indicated that Falun Gong adherents from both inside and outside China will be excluded from participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as athletes, coaches, journalists or spectators. Such a policy that discriminates on the basis of religious belief contravenes both the Olympic charter as well as the code of ethics signed in Beijing in April 2007.
One official admission of the intent to exclude foreigners who practice Falun Gong from the games was provided by Li Zhanjun, director of the Beijing Olympics media center, in November 2007.
While rejecting allegations that the Chinese authorities intended to limit the entry of Bibles for personal religious use, Li singled out Falun Gong texts as an exception. As reported by the Associated Press: "We don't recognize it [Falun Gong]... So Falun Gong texts, Falun Gong activities in China are forbidden."
(6) Falun Gong has never taken a position on an Olympic boycott. As a spiritual practice, Falun Gong in and of itself does not take a stance on issues such as whether or not to boycott the Olympics. Yet, individual adherents are entitled to take their own positions and make statements accordingly. Nevertheless, such views represent the opinion of that particular individual, rather than Falun Gong as a whole.
What the FDIC is concerned about is the escalation of abuses and extrajudicial killings of practitioners ahead of the games, and indeed, because of the games. There is ample evidence, including points presented in this document, that shows how China's communist leaders are using the Olympic games as a reason to intensify the campaign to 'eradicate' Falun Gong.
(7) A "clean up" of districts hosting Olympic venues has included the arrests of local residents who practice Falun Gong. Between December 2007 and March 2008, at least 16 Falun Gong adherents had been arrested from Chaoyang District alone, which is set to host the beach volleyball and tennis events, and 10 from Shunyi district, the site of the Olympic rowing and kayaking venues. In total, over 156 practitioners in Beijing and at least 1,878 nationwide have been rounded up during this time period.
According to reports received by the FDIC, many of the arrests have followed a common pattern. Officers from the local police station or Public Security Bureau (PSB) branch come to the adherent's home or workplace, conduct a search for any Falun Gong-related materials, and take the individual into custody at the district detention center. In some cases, family members or co-workers who do not practice Falun Gong have been taken into custody as well.
The systematic nature of the arrests suggests that authorities are using a previously compiled list of local adherents - a common practice of the PSB. According to former PSB agent Hao Fengjun, who currently resides in Australia, authorities in the city of Tianjin, where Hao formerly worked, had a database of 30,000 Falun Gong practitioners' names.
(8) Despite ostensibly freer regulations for foreign journalists, Falun Gong remains taboo. The Chinese government issued temporary regulations for foreign journalists in January 2007. The directives, in place until October 2008, reduce travel restrictions and the need for pre-approval of interviews. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), however, in practice "the government continues to interfere with foreign reporters," particularly regarding taboo topics like Tibet or Falun Gong.
The following is an excerpt from a recent CPJ report illustrating the official obstacles placed before reporters seeking to cover Falun Gong:
Bracing for the 21,500 accredited and 5,000 to 10,000 unaccredited foreign journalists who will descend on Beijing for the Games, China's Olympic planners have issued police an English phrasebook.
It gives some indication of the welcome that foreign journalists will receive. In a section titled, "How to Stop Illegal News Coverage," the practice dialogue features a police officer confronting a reporter who tries to cover a story on the outlawed religious group Falun Gong.
"Excuse me, sir. Stop, please," says the officer politely but firmly, before explaining in impressively advanced English: "It's beyond the limit of your coverage and illegal. As a foreign reporter in China you should obey China law and do nothing against your status." "Oh, I see. May I go now?" says the visiting reporter hopefully. "No. Come with us," the officer is told to reply at this point. "What for?" "To clear up this matter."
(9) Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners will experience the Olympics from inside labor camps, where they are often tortured. Sentencing without trial to "re-education through labor" camps remains one of the most prevalent ways in which the Chinese authorities punish people for practicing Falun Gong. According to the U.S. State Department's 2007 report on human rights in China: "Some foreign observers estimated that Falun Gong adherents constituted at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in reeducation-through-labor camps, while Falun Gong sources overseas placed the number even higher."
Adherents are usually picked up by police from their home, workplace, or while attempting to distribute leaflets about the practice and the persecution against it. After being held in a detention center, they are sentenced to a labor camp. They are never brought before a judge and most are denied the right to employ a lawyer. According to Amnesty International:
"The decision to assign a person to RTL is taken by the police, without charge or trial. People can be detained for up to three years, which can be extended by a further year when necessary...[I]n the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing police have used abusive detention practices such as RTL to 'clean up' the city." Once in a labor camp, Falun Gong adherents are beaten, deprived of sleep, and tortured, including with electric shock batons, in order to force them to recant their faith. In 2006, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture reported that Falun Gong practitioners accounted for 66 percent of victims of alleged torture in custody.
On the internet, Falun Gong and related terms remain among the most highly filtered by the "Great Chinese Firewall." According to the Committee to Protect Journalists: "A Web search for "Falun Gong," [...] would not draw a blank, but it would yield carefully vetted sites that present the government-approved line."
Websites such as the FDIC's, that are run by overseas Falun Gong practitioners and include information about rights abuses, are inaccessible from inside China. So are the sites of independent rights organizations like Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch. Even discussion of the issue over Instant Messenger is prevented by filters built-in when Chinese IM software is downloaded (see below).
The only way to access independent information about Falun Gong from inside China is with a proxy server used to circumvent censorship, a technological luxury that remains out of the reach of most Chinese.
As a result, though they live in China, many Chinese remain oblivious to the nonviolent nature of Falun Gong adherents or to the brutality meted out against them.
Uncle Ricky, will you read us a bedtime story?
Please, huh, please? Allright, you kids get to bed, I'll get the storybook. Ya'll Tucked in? Yeah Here we go... Once upon a time, Not long ago, Where people wore pajamas and lived life slow, Where laws where stern and justice stood, And people were behavin' like they ought to - good, There lived a little boy who was misslead By another little boy, And this is what he said: "Me and you tike, we're gonna make some cash", "Robbin' old folks and makin' the dash", They did the job, Money came with ease, But one couldn't stop! It's like he had a disease, He robbed another and another, And a sister and a brother, Tried to rob a man who was a D.T. undercover, The cop grabed his arm, He started actin' eratic, He said: "Keep still boy, no need for static", Punched him in his belly and gave him a slap, But little did he know, The little boy was strapped, The kid pulled outta gun, He said: "Why'd you hit me?" The barrell was set straight for the cop's kidney, The cop got scared, The kid, he starts to figure: "I'll do years if I pull this trigger", So he cold dashed, And ran around the block, Cop radios in to another lady cop, He ran by a tree, There he saw the sister, Shot for the head, He shot back but he missed her, Looked 'round good, And from excpectations, He decided he'd head for the subway stations, But, (what?) She was coming and he made a left, He was running top speed, Till he was out of breath, Knocked and old man down, And swore he killed him, (sorry) Then he made his move to an abandonded building, Ran up the stairs up to the top floor, Opened up a door, There guess who he saw? (who?) Dave! The dope fiend shootin' dope, Who don't know the meaning of water nor soap, He said: "I need bullets, hurry up, run!", The dope fiend rolled back a spankin' shot gun! He went outside but there were cops all over, Then he dipped into a car; A stolen Nova, Raced up the block doin' 83, Crashed into a tree, Near University, Escaped alive, Though the car was battered, Rat-a-tat-tatered, And all the cops scattered, Ran out of bullets, And he still had static, Grabbed the pregnant lady, And pulled out the automatic, Point it at her head, He said the gun was full of lead, He told the cops: "Back off, or honey here's dead", Deep in his heart, He knew he was wrong, So he lets the lady go, And he starts to run on, Sirens sounded, He seemed astounded, And, before long the boy got surrounded, He dropped his gun, So went the glory, And this is the way I have to end this story, He was only one teen in a madman's dream, The cops shot the kid, I still here him scream, This ain't funny, So don't ya' dare laugh, Just another case about the wrong path, Straight and narrow, Or your soul gets cast, Goodnight.
Lidiya Talaizadeh (Lidia Louk), an Epoch Times reporter and NTDTV correspondent, who was returning to New York City from Moscow, was released by Russian authorities after she mysteriously vanished in late May of this year. Ms. Talaizadeh was pulled from her plane before its departure by Russian officials.
On May 21, Russian Epoch Times reporter Juliana Kim dropped her colleague, Ms. Talaizadeh, off at Sheremetyevo 2 Airport so that she could catch the 3:30 p.m. flight to JFK. Later, Kim received a SMS text message from Ms. Talaizadeh saying, "They took me off the flight." Her friend tried to call her back, but the phone went straight to voicemail repeatedly, indicating that the phone had been turned off.
Customs and Security officials at the Moscow airport have a different story. They say they have no record of anyone being pulled off any flights or any flights being detained.
Aeroflot airlines would not confirm whether Ms. Talaizadeh had boarded the flight or not. They said they could not release that information to anyone but her husband, Mr. Amir Talaizadeh.
Mr. Talaizadeh in New York called Aeroflot twice to confirm that his wife had boarded the flight. The representatives at Aeroflot refused to release any information without a confirmation number, despite Mr. Talaizadeh reminding them of the legal requirement to release information to the immediate family.
Seeking help from the Russian Consulate in Manhattan, Mr. Talaizadeh was told the only thing he could do was to fill out a form stating what had transpired. The form would be responded to, at the earliest, in 10 days.
According to Mr. Talaizadeh, "It was clear to me that the Russian Government had detained her and was controlling, from behind the scenes, the information that Aeroflot released."
Mr. Talaizadeh believes he knows the reasons for her disappearance. "My wife practices Falun Gong, he explained, "and that practice is being severely persecuted in China; she was being detained because the CCP has close ties to the Russian government and is trying to export the persecution to other countries such as Russia.
"Other Russian practitioners had been detained before and several Chinese practitioners who held UN refugee status were illegally deported back to China."
Tailing and Intimidation
Mr. Talaizadeh explained that Ms. Talaizadeh had gone to Russia in order to act as the host of the Shen Yun Chinese Spectacular show in St. Petersburg, which was to be held the first week of April.
In late March, Ms. Talaizadeh and the contact people for the show in Russia were informed that they could not hold the show unless they removed the content about Falun Gong. Eventually, it was decided by NTD that they could not guarantee security for the dance company and NTD staff, and the show was cancelled. Ms. Talaizadeh was trying to resolve these issues.
She had also been working on an appeal process to Article 8. Article 8 is a treaty that was signed by then President Putin and then head of the Communist party Jiang Zemin. Within the treaty, there was language that specifically states that any organization banned in China would be banned in Russia.
"My wife had met with several attorneys, " continued Mr. Talaizadeh, "and a number of government officials regarding Article 8 and the persecution of Falun Gong in China. As a result of this, and her initial work with the organization of the Shen Yun Show, she noticed she was being followed by Russian agents.
They were not being inconspicuous in any way and made their presence known to her by giving her eye contact when each began his shift, and subsequently followed her wherever she would go as an obvious 'tail.' It was an obvious that the Russian Government was trying to intimidate her while also observing what she was doing."
The detention on May 21 was not the first for Ms. Talaizadeh in Russia. She was detained for holding a Falun Dafa Hao (Falun Dafa is Good) banner at the Olympic Torch Rally in St. Petersburg.
"No reason was given for the detention, says Mr. Talaizadeh. "Several other practitioners who were also at the event without any identifying Falun Gong dress were nonetheless identified and pulled out of lines at the event and also detained for several hours and released.
"Individuals within the Russian Government know that Falun Dafa practitioners are good people, yet the way the Russian Government reacts and follows orders from the CCP is wrong, illegal, and puts its future in jeopardy—after all the CCP itself is collapsing inside China," Mr. Talaizadeh continued.
Mr. Talaizadeh is grateful for his wife's imminent return, but wonders how Russia can successfully abide by a "crazy" law to appease the CCP regime, while still looking sane to the rest of the world.
The Army is weighing in on the global warming debate, claiming that climate change is not entirely man-made. Instead, Dr. Bruce West, with the Army Research Office, argues that "changes in the earth’s average surface temperature are directly linked to ... the short-term statistical fluctuations in the Sun’s irradiance and the longer-term solar cycles."
In an advisory to bloggers entitled "Global Warming: Fact of Fiction [sic]," an Army public affairs official promoted a conference call with West about "the causes of global warming, and how it may not be caused by the common indicates [sic] some scientists and the media are indicating."
It's a position that puts West at odds with nearly every major scientific organization on the planet. "The American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science all have issued statements in recent years concluding that the evidence for human modification of climate is compelling," Science magazine observes. So has the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, for their work on global warming.
The recents incidents taking place in Flushing, New York of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hiring thugs to incite hatred and attack Falun Gong practitioners caught the attention of United States congressmen and senators. On the afternoon of June 4, 2008, Falun Gong practitioner Charles Li handed over detailed information about the incident to Speaker of the House Ms. Nancy Pelosi, including a voice recording of Chinese Consul Peng Keyu admitting that the consulate masterminded the Flushing attacks. Congressmen contacted the FBI about this issue and asked the FBI to provide protection to Falun Gong practitioners.
Practitioner Charles Li explains to Speaker Ms. Nancy Pelosi about the Flushing incident.
On June 4, several congressmen and senators attending the June 4 commemoration activity on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C., expressed their concerns about the Flushing incident when interviewed.
Republican Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey said that the FBI was asked to prevent the Communist regime's attack on Falun Gong practitioners in the US and provide protection for the practitioners.
Mr. Smith said that some Chinese students and other people came to know that the CCP authoritarian regime had extended its influence to the US, Europe and other places when they arrived in the US. This demonstrates the nature of suppression of the CCP regime. In fact, CCP officials felt that they could conduct any event at will in China, as well as in foreign countries.
Mr. Smith said that it is unfortunate that the CCP regime regards Falun Gong as its enemy. The group of Falun Gong practitioners is non-violent and peaceful. He said we need to protect those Falun Gong practitioners.
Republican congresswoman Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida, the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, expressed her view on this issue too. She said that the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong is sad. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has been taking actions to protect Falun Gong practitioners and arousing attention from the international community.
She continued to say that such continuous persecution demonstrates that the CCP regime is so worrisome, in that it suppresses peaceful Falun Gong practitioners.
Senator Sam Brownback from Kansas said he read some relevant reports and saw some photos about the incident.
Practitioner Charles Li handed over detailed information about the incident to Speaker of the House Ms. Nancy Pelosi and wished her to continue paying attention to the ongoing instigation of hatred and attacks of Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York.
Boxun News, a Chinese-language Web site based outside China, reported that an unnamed expert has claimed that there was a nuclear explosion near the epicenter of the Sichuan earthquake, based on witness reports and the discovery of concrete rubble believed to have come from an underground military installation. The news of this nuclear explosion has raised questions about the cause of the earthquake.
Mr. He, a local resident, stated that when the earthquake occurred on May 12, people saw something erupt from the top of a mountain next to the valley, "It looked like toothpaste being squeezed out," said He. "No, it wasn't [magma]. It was these concrete pieces. The eruption lasted about three minutes."
According to a China News Services (CNS) report on May 31, 2008, paramedics from People's Liberation Army (PLA) hospitals and psychologists from Beijing onsite May 23 found concrete debris at the bottom of a valley near the epicenter. The half-mile-wide valley was covered with debris 10 - 20 inches thick, covering the valley floor for almost 1.5 miles.
No major construction was occurring in the area at the time of the earthquake.
The thickness of the concrete pieces seemed to match that used in China's underground military bases, according to Boxun's expert. He explained that while there are documented cases that earthquakes cause volcanic eruptions, there are no accounts of eruptions ejecting concrete.
Based on the CNS report and timing of the eruption at the scene, there seemed to be no evidence of natural volcanic activity. The expert stated he was certain a nuclear explosion shattered the underground concrete structures, hurling debris into the air.
At least one of China's nuclear military bases is located in Mianyang City, Sichuan, near the epicenter.
Chinese Internet surfers commented that right after the quake military Special Forces blocked traffic heading toward the epicenter on the mountain, and men in white chemical protective clothing in military vehicles were also spotted driving toward the mountain. Rescue personnel near the epicenter were all military, according to witnesses.
The expert believes the nuclear explosion was not confined to the underground test area and has caused radiation contamination, stating that in a call to Beijing he recommended authorities accept help from other countries, seal the area, find and provide help to those who had been exposed to contamination during the rescue work, and take emergency measures to prevent water contamination.
The expert believes that the nuclear explosion caused the recent 8.0 magnitude Sichuan earthquake in China. However, other experts referenced by Boxun withheld judgment as to whether the explosion caused the earthquake or the earthquake the explosion.
"Lenin had said: "The best revolutionary is a youth devoid of morals." His word being law in Communist organizations, all members work secretly to make young people of both sexes anti-social and immoral. Children up to teen-age are taught to rebel against the discipline of the home. Parents are represented to their children as old-fashioned. Parental authority is scoffed at. The subverters argue that parents have lied to their children since they were old enough to listen, regarding Santa Claus and where babies come from. The subversives claims parents are the victims of reactionary teachings and capitalistic exploitation. The child is encouraged to educate the parents in regard to modern and progressive ideas. They are warned that, for their own good, they must refuse to be dominated or disciplined by their parents. The purpose of this subversive campaign is to destroy the sanctity, and unity, of the home which is the foundation upon which our civilization is founded."
"Few people realize the important part modern movies play in subverting youth away from their homes, their country, and their religion. Many movies show an hour of film in which the criminals and bad men and women do everything that is forbidden by our laws and moral code and devote one minute during which the law catches up with them, or they die because of their sins. Films taken of actual fighting during the Mexican revolution in 1913 were shown in Galveston, Texas. The sight of seeing men killed in battle, or being dragged from their homes and slaughtered by revolutionaries caused women to scream and faint, and men to vomit. Public opinion caused the showings to be prohibited. Today, these scenes are shown on films advertised as "Children's Special" for Saturday afternoon performances. That is just one illustration of how the general public, and particularly the children, have been systematically hardened to accept the sight of violence and bloody death as normal."
"Evidence will be produced to prove that Modern Communism was organized in the year 1773 by a group of International Money-Barons who have used it since, as their manual of action, to further their secret plans to bring about a Totalitarian Godless State. Lenin made this clear in his book Left Wing Communism. On page 53, he said: "Our theory (Communism) is not a dogma (Settled Doctrine); it is a manual of action. Many modern leaders have said and done the same things as Lucifer did during the heavenly revolution. There is no appreciable difference between Red and Black Atheism. The only difference is in the plans used by the opposing leaders to ultimately win undisputed control of the world's resources, and bring into being their ideas for a Totalitarian, Godless Dictatorship."
Herramientas 
Ayuda
