When Are We Going To Wake Up?

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, officials in China are working hard to prove they are no longer the same country they were, say, yesterday. Yeah, uh huh. Okay, so that's not quite entirely true.

Chinese officials are going to learn, albeit the hard way, that while you can restrict what people see, you cannot restrict what people feel.

It's just a matter of time before the proverbial shit hits the fan and we as free people should be doing everything we can to make sure the Chinese people get the information they are looking for.

Internet users in China were blocked from seeing YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the popular U.S. video Web site.

The blocking added to the communist government's efforts to control what the public saw and heard about protests that erupted Friday in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, against Chinese rule.

Access to YouTube.com, usually readily available in China, was blocked after videos appeared on the site Saturday showing foreign news reports about the Lhasa demonstrations, montages of photos and scenes from Tibet-related protests abroad.

It amazes me that more people do not speak out against what's happening in and around China.

We hear a constant stream of noise about the crisis in Darfur, yet there's hardly a peep when it comes to the protests in Tibet and the violent reaction by the Chinese against those protesting.

We place strong restrictions on imports of food products from countries where specific issues are prevalent (ie: Mad Cow) yet we allow millions of Chinese products to reach our shelves even though they could be tainted with lead, melamine, or God knows what else because we just aren't checking.

We condemn Cuba to an eternal embargo because of the oppressive regime controlling the small island nation, yet we turn a blind eye to China's constant human rights violations.

Why are we constantly sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to China? Do we think if we ignore all of these issues long enough they will go away? We should know better. In the past we have tried to ignore Iran, Iraq, South Africa, Sudan, Cuba, and many others, and see where that's gotten us?

Wake up people. When it gets hot you have to roll down the window, ventshades just won't cut it.