Senior US envoy Michael Posner puts pressure on Beijing over detained and missing dissidents during diplomatic talks China has experienced a “serious backsliding” in human rights, according to the US official handling bilateral talks on the issue on a visit to Beijing. Assistant secretary of state Michael Posner said the Obama administration was deeply concerned about the deterioration, as he concluded two days of discussions in the Chinese capital. Dozens of dissidents, activists and lawyers have been detained, arrested or have vanished in the last two months . Both the US and China had made unusually strong comments on the issue in the runup to the talks. “There is no question that the atmosphere [this time] was different, because the facts are different,” Posner told a press conference at the US embassy in Beijing on Thursday. He added: “It was not a discussion where voices were raised, but it was was very much based on the facts and the facts are not good.” Posner said he had raised the high-profile case of detained artist Ai Weiwei , adding: “We certainly did not get an answer that satisfies.” But he expressed particular concern about rights lawyers including Teng Biao, who has been missing for two months, and Chen Guangcheng , who has been unable to leave his home since his release from prison last year. “[Teng] is exactly the sort of person society wants and needs to be available to represent clients who are on the margin,” he said. He also voiced concern for Gao Zhisheng , a lawyer who has not been seen for a year, and Liu Xia. Friends have been almost entirely unable to contact the poet since early October, shortly after her husband, jailed writer Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel peace prize. “That isn’t to say there are not concerns about people going through the legal process. But the most unsettling and disturbing thing is when people simply disappear,” added Posner, who leads on democracy, human rights and labour issues. He said the US had also raised concerns about religious issues, the treatment of journalists and bloggers, and the situation for Tibetans and Uighurs. While critics have expressed concerns that the dialogue allows human rights to be marginalised, Posner said it was only part of the bilateral discussions on the issue and that human rights would also be on the agenda at the strategic and economic dialogue in the US next month. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the dialogue had consisted of “frank and thorough exchanges on issues of mutual concern”. He added: “At the same time we oppose the United States using human rights to interfere in China’s internal affairs.” Earlier, the state-run Global Times wrote in an editorial that most Chinese people “were disgusted” by outside pressure on human rights. “As China is a sovereign nation, there is zero possibility of it allowing the US to dictate its political development,” it added. Police have released Zuoxiao Zuzhou, a rock star who is close friends with Ai Weiwei, according to friends. The musician was detained on Wednesday . The Associated Press said Zuoxiao and a sports writer he was travelling with, Zhang Xiaodan, were released after questioning. Several more friends and colleagues of the 53-year-old artist are still missing. Ai was detained at Beijing airport on 3 April. Officials say he is under investigation on suspicion of economic crimes, but police have not informed his family that they are detaining him and relatives say the case is retaliation for his social and political activism. China Human rights Obama administration US politics Ai Weiwei Liu Xiaobo United States Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Senior US envoy Michael Posner puts pressure on Beijing over detained and missing dissidents during diplomatic talks China has experienced a “serious backsliding” in human rights, according to the US official handling bilateral talks on the issue on a visit to Beijing. Assistant secretary of state Michael Posner said the Obama administration was deeply concerned about the deterioration, as he concluded two days of discussions in the Chinese capital. Dozens of dissidents, activists and lawyers have been detained, arrested or have vanished in the last two months . Both the US and China had made unusually strong comments on the issue in the runup to the talks. “There is no question that the atmosphere [this time] was different, because the facts are different,” Posner told a press conference at the US embassy in Beijing on Thursday. He added: “It was not a discussion where voices were raised, but it was was very much based on the facts and the facts are not good.” Posner said he had raised the high-profile case of detained artist Ai Weiwei , adding: “We certainly did not get an answer that satisfies.” But he expressed particular concern about rights lawyers including Teng Biao, who has been missing for two months, and Chen Guangcheng , who has been unable to leave his home since his release from prison last year. “[Teng] is exactly the sort of person society wants and needs to be available to represent clients who are on the margin,” he said. He also voiced concern for Gao Zhisheng , a lawyer who has not been seen for a year, and Liu Xia. Friends have been almost entirely unable to contact the poet since early October, shortly after her husband, jailed writer Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel peace prize. “That isn’t to say there are not concerns about people going through the legal process. But the most unsettling and disturbing thing is when people simply disappear,” added Posner, who leads on democracy, human rights and labour issues. He said the US had also raised concerns about religious issues, the treatment of journalists and bloggers, and the situation for Tibetans and Uighurs. While critics have expressed concerns that the dialogue allows human rights to be marginalised, Posner said it was only part of the bilateral discussions on the issue and that human rights would also be on the agenda at the strategic and economic dialogue in the US next month. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the dialogue had consisted of “frank and thorough exchanges on issues of mutual concern”. He added: “At the same time we oppose the United States using human rights to interfere in China’s internal affairs.” Earlier, the state-run Global Times wrote in an editorial that most Chinese people “were disgusted” by outside pressure on human rights. “As China is a sovereign nation, there is zero possibility of it allowing the US to dictate its political development,” it added. Police have released Zuoxiao Zuzhou, a rock star who is close friends with Ai Weiwei, according to friends. The musician was detained on Wednesday . The Associated Press said Zuoxiao and a sports writer he was travelling with, Zhang Xiaodan, were released after questioning. Several more friends and colleagues of the 53-year-old artist are still missing. Ai was detained at Beijing airport on 3 April. Officials say he is under investigation on suspicion of economic crimes, but police have not informed his family that they are detaining him and relatives say the case is retaliation for his social and political activism. China Human rights Obama administration US politics Ai Weiwei Liu Xiaobo United States Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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In Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83000 and home to the University of Alabama, a massive tornado, barreled through late Wednesday afternoon, leveling the city. (April 28)
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In Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83000 and home to the University of Alabama, a massive tornado, barreled through late Wednesday afternoon, leveling the city. (April 28)
Continue reading …Lawrence O’Donnell After Shouting Match With Orly Taitz: ‘I Invited a Crazy Person on the Show’
April 28, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Lawrence… Lawrence… Lawrence… if you invite a crazy person on the air as you admitted here, what else did you expect you’d get from her? Lawrence O’Donnell invited birther queen Orly Taitz on The Last Word to see if she would finally admit that President Obama was born in the United States now that he’s released the long form birth certificate, and she was non-responsive and just started talking about her next conspiracy theory. O’Donnell finally had enough of her and threw her off the air. The media really needs to decide that this crazy person’s fifteen minutes of fame are up. We’ve got more important things to discuss, like getting Americans back to work.
Continue reading …Lawrence O’Donnell After Shouting Match With Orly Taitz: ‘I Invited a Crazy Person on the Show’
April 28, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Lawrence… Lawrence… Lawrence… if you invite a crazy person on the air as you admitted here, what else did you expect you’d get from her? Lawrence O’Donnell invited birther queen Orly Taitz on The Last Word to see if she would finally admit that President Obama was born in the United States now that he’s released the long form birth certificate, and she was non-responsive and just started talking about her next conspiracy theory. O’Donnell finally had enough of her and threw her off the air. The media really needs to decide that this crazy person’s fifteen minutes of fame are up. We’ve got more important things to discuss, like getting Americans back to work.
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France is abuzz with rumors that Carla Bruni, wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy and supermodel extraordinaire might be pregnant. Closer magazine, a tabloid that reports on Katy Perry’s decolletage and Elton John’s breast milk delivery alike, first wrote that the first lady was with child over the weekend. Carla is supposedly in her third month and there’s been no official announcement since she’s 43 years old, and the couple wants to err on the side of caution. Again, all according to Closer. The Elysée hasn’t issued a formal statement. Le Parisien called Sarkozy’s communication aide Franck Louvrier, who said, “This isn’t a topic that concerns me.” Carla’s entourage (we’re not sure exactly whom that entails) said, “Her personal life doesn’t concern anyone. She has never commented on this topic and she won’t start today. It’s the eighth time that people have said she was pregnant in the last few months. We’re not going to respond after every time.” Atlantico.fr adds that Carla was spotted at an ultrasound and medical imaging center on Tuesday. However, a headline on Closer.fr reads: “Carla Bruni-Sarkozy enceinte : pas d’échographie Bd Saint-Germain ce matin,” or, “Carla Bruni-Sarkozy pregnant: no ultrasound on Blvd. Saint-Germain this morning.” Sigh. We guess we’ll give them all a few days to get their story straight. Carla has one son, Aurélien Enthoven, age 9, with philosophy professor Raphaël Enthoven. (All translations by us.)
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France is abuzz with rumors that Carla Bruni, wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy and supermodel extraordinaire might be pregnant. Closer magazine, a tabloid that reports on Katy Perry’s decolletage and Elton John’s breast milk delivery alike, first wrote that the first lady was with child over the weekend. Carla is supposedly in her third month and there’s been no official announcement since she’s 43 years old, and the couple wants to err on the side of caution. Again, all according to Closer. The Elysée hasn’t issued a formal statement. Le Parisien called Sarkozy’s communication aide Franck Louvrier, who said, “This isn’t a topic that concerns me.” Carla’s entourage (we’re not sure exactly whom that entails) said, “Her personal life doesn’t concern anyone. She has never commented on this topic and she won’t start today. It’s the eighth time that people have said she was pregnant in the last few months. We’re not going to respond after every time.” Atlantico.fr adds that Carla was spotted at an ultrasound and medical imaging center on Tuesday. However, a headline on Closer.fr reads: “Carla Bruni-Sarkozy enceinte : pas d’échographie Bd Saint-Germain ce matin,” or, “Carla Bruni-Sarkozy pregnant: no ultrasound on Blvd. Saint-Germain this morning.” Sigh. We guess we’ll give them all a few days to get their story straight. Carla has one son, Aurélien Enthoven, age 9, with philosophy professor Raphaël Enthoven. (All translations by us.)
Continue reading …Jake Tapper Highlights Obama’s ‘Untruth’ About Pro-Birther Bias Online, But Skips It on ABC Broadcast
April 28, 2011 No Comment
After Barack Obama bitterly complained that the “birther” issue dominated the news instead of budget matters in recent weeks, ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper on Wednesday exposed an “untruth” by the President online, but skipped the same information while reporting for World News. In his Political Punch blog, Tapper noted the falsity of Obama's claim that the media was aiding and comforting conservative conspiracy theorists. In a White House speech, Wednesday, the President asserted that the birth certificate became the “dominant news story” during the budget battle, saying that was “true on most of the news outlets that were represented here.” Online, Tapper labeled this an ” untruth ” and ” wrong .” Citing a new Pew study , the journalist noted, “The ridiculous claims about the president’s birth certificate actually was the No. 4 story for the week – receiving about one tenth of the coverage devoted to stories about the economy.” Yet, on World News, Tapper simply repeated the President's “untruth” without correction. He parroted, “Instead, [Obama] cited how earlier this month, a budget debate between him and Republicans was overshadowed by possible Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's bombastic birther bunk.” On the Political Punch blog, Tapper explained: According to Pew’s PEJ: “Hardly dipping from the previous week’s level of 40%, news about the economy was the top story in all media sectors studied, from cable TV to the Internet. And the particularly high level of coverage in cable (53%) and radio (52%), two politics-heavy platforms, indicated just how politically loaded the debate about federal spending was. “Much of the coverage consisted of analysis of the speech Wednesday by President Obama, one that based on listening to many press accounts renewed support for the President among much of his liberal base. Obama was also the dominant newsmaker in 13% of stories—double that of the previous week—a bigger share than any week since January 24-30, when Obama gave the State of the Union. (To be a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) Obviously, television has time constraints, but Tapper could have briefly corrected the record. Indeed, he found time for a cutesy close to the story, relaying, “Late this afternoon, Diane, President Obama, in a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show to air Monday, said of course he knew he was there, he remembered it.” Was that information really more important than repeating inaccurate statements?
Continue reading …Jake Tapper Highlights Obama’s ‘Untruth’ About Pro-Birther Bias Online, But Skips It on ABC Broadcast
April 28, 2011 No CommentAfter Barack Obama bitterly complained that the “birther” issue dominated the news instead of budget matters in recent weeks, ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper on Wednesday exposed an “untruth” by the President online, but skipped the same information while reporting for World News. In his Political Punch blog, Tapper noted the falsity of Obama's claim that the media was aiding and comforting conservative conspiracy theorists. In a White House speech, Wednesday, the President asserted that the birth certificate became the “dominant news story” during the budget battle, saying that was “true on most of the news outlets that were represented here.” Online, Tapper labeled this an ” untruth ” and ” wrong .” Citing a new Pew study , the journalist noted, “The ridiculous claims about the president’s birth certificate actually was the No. 4 story for the week – receiving about one tenth of the coverage devoted to stories about the economy.” Yet, on World News, Tapper simply repeated the President's “untruth” without correction. He parroted, “Instead, [Obama] cited how earlier this month, a budget debate between him and Republicans was overshadowed by possible Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's bombastic birther bunk.” On the Political Punch blog, Tapper explained: According to Pew’s PEJ: “Hardly dipping from the previous week’s level of 40%, news about the economy was the top story in all media sectors studied, from cable TV to the Internet. And the particularly high level of coverage in cable (53%) and radio (52%), two politics-heavy platforms, indicated just how politically loaded the debate about federal spending was. “Much of the coverage consisted of analysis of the speech Wednesday by President Obama, one that based on listening to many press accounts renewed support for the President among much of his liberal base. Obama was also the dominant newsmaker in 13% of stories—double that of the previous week—a bigger share than any week since January 24-30, when Obama gave the State of the Union. (To be a dominant newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) Obviously, television has time constraints, but Tapper could have briefly corrected the record. Indeed, he found time for a cutesy close to the story, relaying, “Late this afternoon, Diane, President Obama, in a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show to air Monday, said of course he knew he was there, he remembered it.” Was that information really more important than repeating inaccurate statements?
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