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30 septiembre Plano, Texas: Falun Gong Adds Peace and Serenity to Colorful Balloon Festival
(Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of September 20 2008, Falun Gong practitioners from Houston, Austin, and Dallas participated in the Plano Balloon Festival for the second time. The exercise demonstration, dances and singing brought a feeling of peace and serenity to the hot summer day, and a performance from the Divine Land Marching Band resounded powerfully for all to hear. The spectators' responded enthusiastically.
Divine Land Marching Band Falun Gong exercise demonstration The annual Plano Balloon Festival is well-known in north Texas. The festival is held every third weekend in September at Oak Point Park. There are two balloon launching times, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The event organizer estimated that about 80,000 people come to the event.
A practitioner named Ms. Zhang said, "We participated in the festival last year and the organizers were favorably impressed, so they invited us to come again this year. We were given two time slots to perform, including the Divine Land Marching Band's performance in front of the balloon launching field."
From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m, the Falun Gong practitioners' performances attracted many people. They demonstrated the exercises, danced "Spirits of the Flower," performed an Erhu Solo, and Western practitioners sang songs composed by Dafa practitioners. The Divine Land Marching Band performed twice on the stage.
Six o'clock was the official balloon launching time. After 5 p.m., Oak Point Park was full of spectators that had come to see the balloons. Even the small hills far away were covered with onlookers. The people in the park gradually gathered in front of the launching field. The Divine Land Marching Band performed "Falun Dafa Is Great," "America the Beautiful," and "Drums and Trumpets Shake the World in Ten Directions." The conductor introduced the band to the audience, telling about its history, what Falun Gong is, and how people that believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are persecuted in China.
One of the organizers thanked the practitioners for participating in the festival again. She said she saw the Divine Land Marching Band's performance last year and was very impressed. In the end, she agreed to have the band march from the launching field to the entrance of the park so that more people could see and hear the band perform. 29 septiembre Rembrandt
(Wikipedia) Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history.[1] His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high[2] and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter.[3] Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.[4] In both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of the Jewish population of Amsterdam.[5] Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization."[6]
27 septiembre Urgent Appeal: Torture Survivors at Risk of Abuse, Death after Daring Escape from Labor CampFalun Gong adherents held incommunicado, families also arrested and beaten
26 Sep 2008
New York (FDIC)--A group of Falun Gong adherents from Liaoning province are at grave risk of torture after being arrested following a daring escape from Masanjia labor camp in August, the Falun Dafa Information Center warned on Friday.
On August 11, adherents assisted Cui Dejun, a practitioner detained at Masanjia labor camp, in escaping from the camp's hospital where he was being held after suffering abuse. According to sources inside China, Cui was then taken to the nearby provincial capital Shenyang and placed at the home of Yu Ming, a 37-year-old adherent also held at the camp.
Two days later, agents of the Public Security Bureau broke into the house and arrested Cui and others present, taking Cui to an unknown location. In the meantime, guards suspecting that Yu may have aided the escape have also moved him elsewhere, ignoring his scheduled release date of September 2.
"Masanjia is known as one of the most brutal forced labor camps in the country where detainees are regularly tortured with electric batons, beaten and raped. These peaceful religious believers should never have been there in the first place," says Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Gail Rachlin.
"That Cui escaped and may have told the world of the horrors taking place in Masanjia has sent the Chinese communist authorities into a panic. Based on the past experience of Ms. Gao Rongrong's case and the use of incommunicado detention, Cui and Yu's lives are in grave danger."
In a widely publicized incident in 2004, Ms. Gao Rongrong escaped from Masanjia and photos of her face disfigured from electric baton shocks spread around the world (news). She was arrested shortly after and according to Amnesty International, died in custody in 2005 (news).
Like Gao, Yu and Cui have both been victims of extreme torture in the past, including being shocked with electric batons on their genitals, being subject to other forms of sexual abuse, and being forced to squat in an iron cage for three months. As recently as June, Cui had fallen unconscious and become incontinent.
Cui and his wife Gao Zhuo were both arrested in July 2007, along with seven of their employees who practiced Falun Gong. All were sentenced without trial to labor camp terms of 1.5 to 2 years. Yu has spent eight of the past nine years in labor camps because he continues to practice Falun Gong.
Family members and bystanders also targeted
In their efforts to catch Cui and retaliate for his escape, the Chinese authorities have also targeted the families of Cui and Yu. According to sources inside China, when agents of the Public Security Bureau broke into Yu's home on August 13, they badly beat Yu's nephew, and arrested him along with Yu's wife Ma Li and his young son, leavingYu's ten-year-old daughter Yu Zhenzhen at home by herself. They were all reportedly released several days later.
On August 14 and 15, police in the cities of Dalian and Wafandian then arrested Cui's brother and two sisters-in-law. Cui's brother and his wife, as well as one of their employees, were detained at the store the couple owns. The women were released shortly after, but the men's whereabouts remain unknown.
The Falun Dafa Information Center is providing leads and phone numbers related to the case (see below) and urging human rights groups, foreign journalists and other members of the international community to:
26 septiembre Obese Woman Goes Vegan/Raw Food, Loses 160lbsBy Jackie Adams (CNN) -- Angela Stokes had never been overweight as a child.  But she steadily started gaining weight as a teenager because of an under-active thyroid gland. By the time she graduated from college her weight had ballooned and she wore a U.K. dress size 26-28. "I was 300 pounds, very unwell, very miserable," recalls Stokes. "I ate junk food all the time. I was very closed down emotionally. I had no interest in dieting; I just wanted to eat all the time ... that was like my comfort in life." At the time, she says she was so "emotionally shut down" she refused to talk to anyone about what was happening. The weight was also taking a physical toll on her health and she frequently battled infections and illness. Stokes says living her everyday life became a challenge. "My mobility was quite restricted ... I was unwilling to participate in things from cutting my toenails to going on a walk with my friends," remembered Stokes. "I tried to give this impression that I felt fine about everything, but inside I was in a lot of pain a lot of the time." Two summers after she reached her heaviest weight, Stokes was working at a greenhouse in Iceland, when a friend lent her a copy of a book about the health benefits of eating raw foods. Stokes, who had never been interested in diets, says she was completely "absorbed" by the approach. She started eating raw the very next day. She went cold turkey or "cold cucumber," as Stokes often jokes. She stopped eating meat, animal products and processed foods and instead switched to a diet that consisted of uncooked and unprocessed vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. "To me, the thing with raw food is that it just makes sense. It's simple and natural, eating food straight from the earth. There's no rocket science, no mystery," said Stokes. "Once you understand the simple principal that no other animal in the wild eats cooked or processed foods. That's it." The raw food diet completely transformed her life, she says. Within the first month of going raw, she had her first boyfriend in more than five years. In just two years, she had lost 160 pounds and has experienced dramatic improvements emotionally, physically and socially and is "happier than I've ever been." Stokes, who now weighs 138 pounds, has kept the weight off for four years and authored several books on "raw foodism" lifestyle. What tips does she have for people considering a raw vegan lifestyle? First, start slowly. "I recommend people start out being at least 50 percent raw and go from there," advises Stokes. "Maybe it ends up at some point you are completely raw, maybe not. As long as the majority of the stuff or at least 50 percent is fresh raw food ... then you're tipping the balance in your favor." Stokes also advises people to start eating things they like such as peaches, plums or spinach and then slowly incorporate more fresh raw foods. She admits the lifestyle can be socially challenging and she encourages people to connect with other "raw foodists." "It's great to get support. If you look on the Internet and around you, you may find pot lucks," said Stokes. "Read books to inspire you to keep going on this journey."
25 septiembre Swedish Falun Gong Practitioners Host Truth-Clarification Activities at the Vasa Museum
By a Swedish practitioner (Clearwisdom.net) September 7, 2008, was a pleasant weekend in Sweden, the air was fresh after a light rain. Several Swedish practitioners made it to the Vasa Museum, a famous tourist attraction in Stockholm, to introduce Falun Gong to the tourists from different places around the world and expose the Chinese Communist regime's cruel persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. After watching the demonstration of the relaxing and peaceful Falun Gong exercises done to the exquisite music, a middle aged Swedish couple, Malou and Jern, were horrified by the photos of the cruel persecution on the display boards. They turned to a practitioner and asked, "Is it (referring to the persecution) true?" They were dumbfounded by the truth.
The couple live in Stockholm and just happened to pass the activity when they were out taking a stroll. Jern said that he did know something about China's human rights situation, but he thought that China had undergone tremendous changes in recent years and that things there were getting better. He and his wife like China very much and wanted to visit the country in the near future.
Overhearing their conversation, Torbjorn, a Western practitioner, chimed in to clear up their confusion about China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Torbjorn explained that the CCP is not China and that it is the Chinese regime that has perpetrated the atrocities against Falun Gong, including the harvesting of organs from living practitioners. Malou was so shocked and indignant that she turned to the booth and signed the petition right away. She also condemned the regime for its cruel persecution of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners. Right she signed, she turned around and handed the pen to her husband, who was talking to a practitioner, so he could follow suit.
Practitioners used many facts to debunk the lies fabricated by the Chinese regime to deceive people around the world. They also told the couple that, under CCP rule, all that China's propaganda machine has done is to cover up the regime's atrocities.
Jern nodded repeatedly and said, "I finally understand the real situation, and it seems that I was wrong." He signed the petition against the persecution of Falun Gong and accepted several different pieces of truth-clarification material before leaving along his wife.
In addition to this couple, others learned the fact sabout Falun Gong and the persecution, including some tourists from China and other places around the world. 23 septiembre Australia issues first license to clone human embryos
By Michael Perry SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian government has issued its first license allowing scientists to create cloned human embryos to try and obtain embryonic stem cells. The in vitro-fertilization firm Sydney IVF was granted the license and reportedly has access to 7,200 human eggs for its research. If the firm is successful it would be a world first, the Australian government's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which granted the license, said on Wednesday. Scientists in other countries have made stem cells they believe are similar to embryonic cells using a variety of techniques, but none have been able to extract embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos. An Australian ban on the research, known as therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer, was lifted in December 2006 after a rare conscience vote in the national parliament. But the use of excess IVF embryos and the creation and use of other embryos in research is restricted by law through national legislation. Human cloning for reproductive purposes is banned. Chair of the NHMRC's licensing committee, Dr John Findlay, said Sydney IVF's research would be closely monitored. "They have been given a license to do therapeutic cloning," Findlay told Reuters, adding the scientists are not licensed to reach the fetal stage. 22 septiembre Detroit, USA: Falun Dafa Practitioners Participate in Troy Community Parade
(Clearwisdom.net) On September 13, Falun Dafa practitioners from the greater Detroit area participated in a community parade in Troy. Rated as the safest city in Michigan, the city is best known for its excellent schools, and has many Chinese residents. Though it was raining, many Troy residents came out to watch the parade. The Falun Gong procession featured a decorated float on which several practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises. The spectators, including many Chinese families, greeted the procession with applause and cheers.
After the parade, the practitioners took a group photo and sent holiday greetings for the Mid-Autumn Festival to Master Li. 20 septiembre Ordo Ab Chao (Order out of Chaos)Illustration by David Dees. deesillustration.com 19 septiembre U.F.O. Photographs: 1870 to 2008Here is the video montage on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uScExDsEbTI 18 septiembre Over-70-Year-Old Practitioner Dies as a Result of Relentless Persecution
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Zhang Yuelan, in her 70s, was a retired doctor from Nanliu Town Hospital in Anqiu City, Shandong Province. She used to have high blood pressure, a neck vertebra fracture, diabetes, and arthritis, among other illnesses. She was very miserable and could not take care of herself. In 1997, a Falun Dafa practitioner encouraged her to participate in the Nine-Day Falun Dafa Lectures by watching the video of Master Li teaching the Fa. After the session ended she stood up naturally and started to walk home. Others were stunned and said, "Look, Ms. Zhang can walk now!" She suddenly realized it herself "Wow! I can walk!" Her illnesses disappeared one by one as she continued to practice Falun Dafa. She experienced the amazing lightness of her healthy body. This miracle shook the whole Nanliu Town Hospital community.
In July 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong began. Right before July 20, 1999, Ms. Zhang joined the group exercises at the Anqiu City Furniture/Appliance Mall. On her way home she was arrested and was detained in the Wei'an Hotel for three days. Her personal freedom has been restricted ever since. Domestic Security agents and officers from Dongguan Police Station put her under house arrest for more than ten days. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel kept her surrounded and brutally mistreated her.
On February 24, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal. She was arrested and detained for 15 days. During the CCP April Congressional Meeting, she went to Beijing to appeal again and was arrested and detained in a basement in Beijing. Officer Du Jianyong from the Anqiu City Liaison Office in Beijing handcuffed her to another practitioner. He kicked her with his boots and cursed her.
On October 27, 2000, Ms. Zhang was arrested when she was distributing informational materials about Falun Gong and taken to the Anqiu City Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike to protest and was handcuffed and shackled for 15 days. For one whole day she was force-fed on the Iron Chair. She was taken to Jinan City Women's Forced Labor Camp on the 17th day of her hunger strike, but the camp officials refused to accept her. She was then taken to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp in Zibo City, but she was again not admitted due to her physical condition. The guards had to take her back to the Anqiu City Detention Center, and released her after three more days on the hunger strike.
On her return home, local officials kept a close watch on her and locked her in her house for one month. She finally escaped the "house-arrest" and moved far away from home to avoid any more mistreatment. On June 13, 2001, the police arrested her in her rental house, took her money and possessions worth 20,000 yuan, and had her sentenced to three years of forced labor. On June 14, 2001, they took her to Wangcun Forced Labor Camp. This time there was no physical check up, and the police forced the camp to take her.
The first five days in the camp she was deprived of sleep. Guards took turns trying to brainwash her. Ms. Zhang suffered three years of torture at the camp. From January 2000 to April 2004, her employer cut off her retirement salary, but they still owed her 30,000 yuan. In order to abide by the policy of persecution, her employer stopped paying her again in 2007.
On July 9, 2008, several officers tried to arrest her at her home. Ms. Zhang had just broke her leg. Officers saw that her injury was very serious, so they had to leave her at home but assigned local police to watch her 24 hours per day. Her son and daughter-in-law were also home. They kept any other Falun Dafa practitioners from visiting her. Ms. Zhang had no personal freedom at all and later on could not eat and became very thin. She died around August 15, 2008, during the Olympics.
Wang Jihuai (male), Anqiu City CCP Secretary: 86-536-4936407 (Office), Fax 86-536-4936408, 86-13605369399 (Cell) 17 septiembre The Wheel- Jerry Garcia (1972)Here is the song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUe79PoUifg&feature=related
The wheel is turning and you can't slow down, You can't let go and you can't hold on, You can't go back and you can't stand still, If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will. Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? Round, round robin run round, got to get back to where you belong, Little bit harder, just a little bit more, A little bit further than you gone before. The wheel is turning and you can't slow down, You can't let go and you can't hold on, You can't go back and you can't stand still, If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will. Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, Big wheel turn by the grace of God, Every time that wheel turn 'round, Bound to cover just a little more ground. The wheel is turning and you can't slow down, You can't let go and you can't hold on, You can't go back and you can't stand still, If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will. Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? 16 septiembre China’s Falun Gong Practitioners Wish Founder a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival
(Epoch Times)
September 14 marked China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday for family get-togethers. Over the past few days, Falun Gong practitioners from all around the world, especially those from mainland China, have sent greetings through minghui.net to their practice’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, wishing him a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
Beautiful greeting cards, animation, poetry, and calligraphy have been sent to show gratitude toward their teacher. It reflects their indomitable spirit and optimistic, self-confidence attitude despite the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) high-pressure rule, while it reveals that the CCP’s brutal suppression of Falun Gong for nine years has not achieved its purpose.
Since July 20, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners from all around the world have sent greetings to their practice’s founder during the holidays, especially Chinese New Year and Mr. Li’s birthday. This is particularly true for mainland Chinese practitioners who are still in a dangerous situation due to the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong—their greetings express their gratitude and hope to reunite with their teacher.
Greeting card made by Falun Gong practitioners in Northeast Normal University in Changchun. (The Epoch Times)  Greeting card made by Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun City, Jilin Province. (The Epoch Times)  Greeting card made by Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. (The Epoch Times) This year, greetings come from dozens of provinces across mainland China.
Since Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa to the city of Changchun in 1992, the practice has been spread to over 80 countries in just 16 years, with 100 million practitioners worldwide. Mr. Li has received numerous awards and proclamations from government agencies around the world, including four nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize since 2000. Falun Dafa is a high-level cultivation practice guided by the characteristics of the universe—Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, with five sets of easy-to-learn exercises. Practitioners of Falun Dafa generally become healthy in mind, body, and spirit. 15 septiembre Canada: The Divine Land Marching Band Performs in Parade in London, Ontario
By a practitioner from Canada (Clearwisdom.net) On September 6, 2008, the Divine Land Marching Band was invited to perform in a parade in London, Ontario. Spectators took many photos and videos.
Other bands also showed great interest in the Divine Land band, particularly when they learned that it was established not much longer than a year ago, but has already performed in some 50 parades.
14 septiembre Russia: Promoting Falun Dafa at the Moscow City Fair
By a Russian practitioner (Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of September 7, 2008, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the Moscow City Fair to celebrate the 861st anniversary of the founding of Moscow and to display the magnificence of Falun Dafa to the residents of Moscow. They attracted a lot of attention and were sincerely welcomed by local residents.
Passersby were interested to know more about Falun Dafa and the facts about the persecution 12 septiembre Ms. Li Fengzhen of Tangshan City, Hebei Province, Loses Her Memory As a Result of Persecution
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Li Fengzhen, a Falun Gong practitioner in her 50s, is from Tanghai County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. She was arrested by Li Fuguo and Wang Min, officers from the Tanghai Public Security Bureau, on June 10, 2008, and taken to Ankang Hospital in Tangshan City on June 25. In just over 50 days, a formerly kind and healthy person was severely affected mentally. She became emaciated, was unable to stand or walk, and couldn't take care of herself.
Ms. Li's older brother, Mr. Li Enying, also a practitioner, was persecuted to death less than a year ago. Ms. Li Fengzhen, his younger sister, has now lost her memory. When she was detained in Tanghai County and Tangshan City, she was severely beaten, resulting in a serious brain damage. She was also injected with an unknown, nerve-damaging drug in Tangshan Ankang Hospital.
Ms. Li Fengzhen lost her memory as a result of the persecution
Over the past nine years, police officers in Tanghai County have continued arresting practitioners. From July 1999 to July 2008, over 100 practitioners have been arrested. More than 30 of them were sent to forced labor camps, and thre were sentenced to jail. Two were persecuted to death. In particular, during June and July 2008, in the name of keeping the Olympic Games "secure," the Tanghai County Public Security Bureau, led by Zhang Shun and Li Fuguo, used despicable means to monitor and track down practitioners secretly, ransacking their home and arresting them in broad daylight. From June 10 to July 31, eleven practitioners (and one of their family members) were arrested, seven practitioners' homes were ransacked, and nine practitioners were detained in the detention center.
Facts regarding the persecution of Ms. Li Fengzhen by Tanghai Public Security Bureau led by Zhang Shun and Li Fuguo:
1. Trespassing, arresting innocent people, and plundering private property
At about 5:00 p.m. on June 10, 2008, seven or eight police officers led by Li Fuguo and Wang Min broke into Ms. Li Fengzhen's house. At that time, she was home alone. The police threw her into the police car. They picked all the locks in the house. They didn't even close the door after they left.
Ms. Li was taken to Tanghai Detention Center the same day. Before she practiced Falun Gong, she suffered from a problem with her cervical vertebra, hemorrhoids, and other ailments. After she took up the practice, she became a different person. She cared less about her personal gain or benefits and always thought of others first. She took care of her sickly grandmother for three years without any complaints. Because her older brother, Mr. Li Enying, was persecuted to death in the labor camp by people like Zhang Shun and Li Fuguo, her family worried about her safety when she was arrested. Her husband couldn't eat or sleep and became very weak and skinny. He went to the police station to demand the release of his wife and also sought the return of the money they had extorted, but he was only met with threats from Li Fuguo and Wang Min.
2. Forcibly injecting unknown drugs resulting in disability and shirking responsibility
On June 25, 2008, Li Fuguo, captain of Tanghai Public Security Bureau, informed Ms. Li's family that he had sent her to Ankang Hospital, a place where the persecution of Falun Gong is implemented by the police system, and ordered her family to pay the hospital fee. They refused, so he went directly to Ms. Li's husband place of employment (the post office), and extorted 4,000 yuan from him.
When Ms. Li was hospitalized in the Ankang Hospital, the Communist Party staff injected her with an unknown drug. In just two months she went from being a normal, healthy person to losing her memory. She became distraught and didn't recognize the people with whom she was once familiar. Whatever she said didn't make any sense, and she became very thin. She couldn't stand, walk, or see clearly. She had pain in her ribs and couldn't take care of herself.
Li Fuguo and Wang Min, deputy directors of the Tanghai Public Security Bureau, lest their crimes be exposed, transferred Ms. Li to Tanghai Hospital. Trying to shirk all responsibility, they forced her family to sign a paper. Zhang Shun, Li Fuguo, and Wang Min have still not done anything to compensate for the damage and injury that they have caused Ms. Li.
In the past, Ms Li was repeatedly arrested and persecuted by Tanghai Public Security Bureau. On October 13, 2001, she was arrested and taken to Tanghai County Detention Center. On January 15, 2002, she was arrested by agents from the Qianxi Public Security Bureau because of a letter she sent to her former classmate about the persecution of Falun Gong. She was illegally detained for five days and bailed out with 5,000 yuan.
Each time Ms. Li was arrested, she was charged with "undermining the national laws" by Tanghai Public Security Bureau, but no specific laws could be cited that she had "undermined" nor to what degree she violated them. The truth of the matter is that Ms. Li is a Falun Gong practitioner who upholds the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. 11 septiembre Practitioners Hold Series of Activities in Downtown Macau to Promote Falun Gong and Expose the PersecutionBy a practitioner from Macau
(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, Falun Gong practitioners from Macau held a series of activities in the busiest downtown area to promote Falun Gong and expose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Practitioners' banner
Practitioners gathered in the downtown area every Sunday afternoon. They passed out information regarding the Chinese Communist Party and talked with Chinese tourists about renouncing it. Many people took informational materials and took photos of the practitioners' banners. Often, when people learned the facts about the persecution they condemned the Chinese Communist Party's atrocities 08 septiembre Ireland: Practitioners Share the Beauty of Falun Dafa at Festival of World Cultures
By a practitioner in Ireland (Clearwisdom.net) On August 23 and 24, 2008, the Irish Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures was held in the small seaside town south of Dublin. This time eight hundred artists and thousands of performers from around the world participated in the event. There were over one hundred fifty performance sites around the town. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to join this festival for the fourth time.
According to the introduction of the host, the Festival of World Cultures aims to enhance artistic expression and integration of Ireland's newer communities by providing a platform for inter-cultural creative exchange and dialogue. The host aims to expand the arts experience and broaden perceptions of culture, enabling audiences to participate and contribute more fully into the contemporary life of Ireland.
The presentation of the Falun Gong group, consisting of members of the Chinese community of Ireland, attracted many people. They presented the pure and peaceful traditional Chinese culture to tourists and artists from around the world. A performance of powerful traditional Chinese drums were played in rhythm to the lively music of a Chinese musical instrument. To the music, "Celebration of World Falun Dafa Day," the women fan dancers presented delicacy and grace. They also performed an elegant lotus dance. Practitioners in traditional Chinese dresses demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. Many spectators took photos and asked for more information about Falun Gong.
An Irish youth, while holding a newspaper called Falun Gong Today, said to his friends, "Look, Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted in China. The CCP harvests organs from living practitioners and then sell them for big money. It is too cruel."
Another middle-aged person told a practitioner, "You should strive for your human rights!"
A young Irish lady said, "I know Falun Gong. I know that the CCP is always persecuting Chinese people. In order to have a better control of them, the CCP destroyed the people's traditional beliefs and values."
An Irish man stepped forward to a practitioner and said: "Please give me a flyer. I need Falun Gong!" 07 septiembre Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a CenturyThe record-setting surface of the sun. A full month has gone by without a single spot (Source: Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO))
Drop in solar activity has potential effect for climate on earth. (dailytech.com)
The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted. The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number of sunspots -- is an influencing factor for climate on earth. According to data from Mount Wilson Observatory, UCLA, more than an entire month has passed without a spot. The last time such an event occurred was June of 1913. Sunspot data has been collected since 1749. When the sun is active, it's not uncommon to see sunspot numbers of 100 or more in a single month. Every 11 years, activity slows, and numbers briefly drop to near-zero. Normally sunspots return very quickly, as a new cycle begins. But this year -- which corresponds to the start of Solar Cycle 24 -- has been extraordinarily long and quiet, with the first seven months averaging a sunspot number of only 3. August followed with none at all. The astonishing rapid drop of the past year has defied predictions, and caught nearly all astronomers by surprise. In 2005, a pair of astronomers from the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson attempted to publish a paper in the journal Science. The pair looked at minute spectroscopic and magnetic changes in the sun. By extrapolating forward, they reached the startling result that, within 10 years, sunspots would vanish entirely. At the time, the sun was very active. Most of their peers laughed at what they considered an unsubstantiated conclusion. The journal ultimately rejected the paper as being too controversial. The paper's lead author, William Livingston, tells DailyTech that, while the refusal may have been justified at the time, recent data fits his theory well. He says he will be "secretly pleased" if his predictions come to pass. But will the rest of us? In the past 1000 years, three previous such events -- the Dalton, Maunder, and Spörer Minimums, have all led to rapid cooling. One was large enough to be called a "mini ice age". For a society dependent on agriculture, cold is more damaging than heat. The growing season shortens, yields drop, and the occurrence of crop-destroying frosts increases. Meteorologist Anthony Watts, who runs a climate data auditing site, tells DailyTech the sunspot numbers are another indication the "sun's dynamo" is idling. According to Watts, the effect of sunspots on TSI (total solar irradiance) is negligible, but the reduction in the solar magnetosphere affects cloud formation here on Earth, which in turn modulates climate. This theory was originally proposed by physicist Henrik Svensmark, who has published a number of scientific papers on the subject. Last year Svensmark's "SKY" experiment claimed to have proven that galactic cosmic rays -- which the sun's magnetic field partially shields the Earth from -- increase the formation of molecular clusters that promote cloud growth. Svensmark, who recently published a book on the theory, says the relationship is a larger factor in climate change than greenhouse gases. Solar physicist Ilya Usoskin of the University of Oulu, Finland, tells DailyTech the correlation between cosmic rays and terrestrial cloud cover is more complex than "more rays equals more clouds". Usoskin, who notes the sun has been more active since 1940 than at any point in the past 11 centuries, says the effects are most important at certain latitudes and altitudes which control climate. He says the relationship needs more study before we can understand it fully. Other researchers have proposed solar effects on other terrestrial processes besides cloud formation. The sunspot cycle has strong effects on irradiance in certain wavelengths such as the far ultraviolet, which affects ozone production. Natural production of isotopes such as C-14 is also tied to solar activity. The overall effects on climate are still poorly understood. What is incontrovertible, though, is that ice ages have occurred before. And no scientist, even the most skeptical, is prepared to say it won't happen again. 05 septiembre New Statesman (UK): Falun Gong: Defying the Odds
By Leeshai Lemish
Leeshai Lemish talks about Falun Gong's resistance and the complicity of the West
If this persecution is so severe, why is it so rarely in the news and why isn't more being done about it?
Last month, I sat down with a journalist in a Taipei pub. 'The media have a blackout on Falun Gong', he said. 'You mean Chinese or Western media'? I asked. 'Both'.
Indeed, despite notable support from several politicians, journalists and NGOs, after being persecuted for nine years Falun Gong practitioners still face an uphill battle in the West.
On the Defensive At 3:00 p.m., 22 July 1999, a news anchor appeared on Chinese screens to announce that Falun Gong was banned. Protesting the ban was also banned.
Falun Gong practitioners in China didn't know what to do - they were meditators, not political activists. They only knew that the 'Falun Gong expose' on television 24-7 was full of lies, and that many of their friends had already been arrested. They thought it was a misunderstanding. Something had to be done.
So they went to designated petition offices to register their complaints. They were arrested. They went to Tiananmen Square to meditat--they were beaten and then arrested.
Naivete was quickly replaced by a startling realization -- this was a long-prepared-for campaign ordered by the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party. They were up against the machinery of the world's biggest authoritarian state.
Some suggested they just practice at home and wait out the campaign, but even that proved unsafe. As their friends and neighbors were tortured to death, Falun Gong turned to the public with a non-violent grassroots movement.
Far from the Western press, they still distribute leaflets and VCDs, hang banners, write letters, and post torture cases online. More daring feats include scaling trees to hide timed loudspeakers that blare information about prison torture and killing as police scamper underneath looking for the source. Those caught often pay with their lives.
Out west As persecution flared in China, out west Falun Gong had no organised voice or press office. Chinese graduate students and other practitioners drove overnight to Washington. When they got there they argued: 'We should hold a press conference'. 'No, we should hunger strike'!
Eventually, practitioners showed up at congressional offices wearing shorts and T-shirts. Told that was inappropriate, they returned in suits, fold lines still showing on their new button-down shirts.
One practitioner used his savings to make thousands of copies of black-and-white fact sheets. Years later those seemed too simple, so a biologist and his wife printed beautiful, glossy newsletters. But then people started snickering - 'Falun Gong, they have so much money'.
In Taiwan, officials ask me if Falun Gong is funded by the CIA. In DC, I'm asked if Falun Gong is funded by the Taiwanese. The truth is, funding comes from very dedicated practitioners.
Those people who showed up in shorts back in 1999 now run budding media enterprises funded by advertising and the pockets of a few practitioners who can afford to donate.
They have already registered successes. The "Nine Commentaries," printed by the Epoch Times, has sparked waves of resignations from the Chinese Communist Party. New Tang Dynasty Television has been at the forefront of reporting on debacles associated with the Sichuan earthquake, Tibet, and other stories Chinese media won't cover. Until recently a French satellite company beamed this content into China. Beijing pressured Eutelsat to betray the contract, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Indeed, Beijing has spared little effort. Chinese diplomats hand officials in London and Geneva magazines comparing Falun Gong to groups that gas subways and commit mass suicide. They wave carrots of 'sister city' relations, and sticks of canceling business deals.
Top universities haven't escaped either. At my alma mater, the London School of Economics, carrots are exchange programs and the Confucian Institute. As many will admit in private, the stick of being denied access to China has long kept scholars from writing boldly about Falun Gong.
Taboo
A study I published about Western press coverage showed that the more Falun Gong practitioners have been killed, the less media have reported on it. Practitioners, like starving Africans, have become what Herman and Chomsky call 'unworthy victims'.
Be it due to self-censorship policies, a bias against religion, judgments that Falun Gong is weird, compassion fatigue, or Falun Gong's own poor marketing skills, many journalists avoid the story.
Meanwhile, media conglomerates have been falling over each other trying to get into the China market. Some media websites (like the BBC and SCMP) have been blocked after running a story on Falun Gong--one of China's biggest taboos. So they remain mostly silent. That is why practitioners are producing their own media.
In China, many remain apathetic. But leading lawyers, activists, local officials, and countless ordinary Chinese have gradually come over to Falun Gong's side. Yet in the West, many still speak of cultural relativism or illusions that the Olympics and free-trade will solve it all--eventually.
But those with relatives rotting in jail cannot wait. Practitioners are further motivated by belief in karma. They worry that those who are complicit, knowingly or not, are ultimately hurting themselves. They are also optimistic that no just action will go unrewarded.
Falun Gong practitioners will thus keep telling people about the persecution until it ends. We ask you to help us--through your thoughts and prayers, words and deeds, emails and links.
Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-faith-column/2008/08/falun-gong-practitioners-china-2
03 septiembre Germany: Information Booth Set Up in Downtown Munich to Expose CCP Atrocities
(Clearwisdom.net) "You have done a great job, hope you can hold the line." This is the most common comment practitioners in Munich heard on August 16.
On August 16, 2008, in front of St. Michael's Church in downtown Munich, Falun Gong practitioners from Bavaria, Germany set up an information booth to support 41 million Chinese people who have renounced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and to expose the CCP's atrocities of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Many passersby were attracted to the site by practitioners' banners and exercise demonstrations. After learning more details, most signed a petition to condemn the atrocities. A number of visitors said that exposing the CCP's atrocities is a great thing to do and hoped that the practitioners would hold the line.
Germany: Information Booth Set Up in Downtown Munich to Expose CCP Atrocities (Photos)
People wait to sign a petition to condemn the CCP's atrocities
Once, a German resident passed by the information booth with three Chinese people. When learning about the organ harvesting atrocities, he immediately signed the petition. His Chinese friends also accepted truth-clarifying materials.
Upon seeing the practitioners' banner about organ harvesting, a Catholic nun was stunned. She then walked over to the information booth to find out more details. When she learned about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong, she was shocked. After signing the petition, she said that the event was very good and she was deeply touched. |
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