Tiananmen Square : 20 Years Later

Unknown man stops tanks in their tracks
from "100 Photographs That Changed the World" (Time, 2003)

I remember the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. While most of the world believes that the demonstration was a cry for freedom voiced by students, the fact remains that ordinary Chinese citizens and workers bore the brunt of the repression. Of the 50 protesters that remain in jail, most were workers at the time. Not one of them was a student.

Read the BBC Report from That Fateful Day

It started with a vigil on April 15, 1989 to commemorate the death of Hu Yaobang, a progressive leader who had sought reforms in China. The vigil became an ongoing protest in the square on May 4 and was crushed by military force on June 3-4 1989, seven weeks after it had begun. Although news sources state 2,000 people were killed or wounded that day, no reliable estimates of deaths and casualties exist. News was quashed, cameras confiscated and reporters were arrested and forced to confess to crimes against the state.

Twenty years later, the repression continues. In fact, if you were in China and search on Google.cn, you would be unable to locate the information I have provided above. As for the unknown man and the tank commander who did not run him over, little is known. It is believed the tank commander was executed by a firing squad and the young man is living in Taiwan. They both live on in our memories of that awful day in Tiananmen, the Gate of Heaven's Peace.

Be at peace, heroes of the working people of Beijing.

CyberCelt
AWOP Environmental Contributing Editor
Author of Endangered Spaces Blog

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Peace Y'all

Tags: beijing, june 4 1989, tiananmen square, gate of heavens peace, unknown tank man

Will Going Green Destroy the Economy?

Think reining in global warming pollution will destroy our economy? The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) does not.

In fact, the research UCS has done tells a different story:

$900: The net amount of money the average U.S. household would save in 2030 on their energy bills—including $580 on transportation costs and $320 on electricity, natural gas, and heating oil—if Congress enacts the smart climate policies UCS recommends.

$255 billion: The amount of money businesses and consumers could save in 2030 on electricity, natural gas, home heating oil, and transportation costs—if Congress enacts the smart climate policies that UCS recommends.

$1.7 trillion: The amount of money the United States would save from 2010 to 2030—if Congress enacts comprehensive climate policy that includes a cap on heat-trapping carbon emissions as well as a package of energy and transportation policies.

So what are we waiting for?

Help UCS get our groundbreaking new analysis—showing that we can reduce global warming pollution while saving consumers and businesses money, putting Americans back to work, and jumpstarting our economy—into the hands of every member of Congress. Become a member of UCS today.

Become a member of UCS today.

CyberCelt
Endangered Spaces

Tags: ucs, union of concerned science, go green, save money

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Break Your Plastic Bottle Habit Today!

Everything we consume has an impact on the climate. Manufacturing and trucking water in plastic bottles is wasteful. If your water is hard from minerals or "tastes funny," a simple filtration device under the sink, on the tap or on your home will take care of the problem.

Save money 0 safeguard your children 0 keep plastic out of oceans


Each link above will take you to related article.

Or just click the link below to take action , , ,

Click to sign pledge to stop using plastic bottles.

Namaste,


CyberCelt
Endangered Spaces blog

Tags: bottled water, bpa, wasted energy, break bottle pledge, take action

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Is Fur Worth the Cost?

Are you ready to watch the consequences of choosing leather and fur as body coverings? It is not pretty but it is truth. Watch it and put yourself in the animals' places.


CyberCelt
Endangered Spaces

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Peace Y'all

Tags: peta, fur, skinned, cruelty to animals, do not wear fur

We are Poisoning Our Children

Despite all of the media attention about the safety of kids products over the last year; the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) is still found in products that kids use every day, like baby bottles, sports water bottles, the lining of formula cans, and sippy cups.

This is a real problem because more than 200 studies have linked BPA exposures at very low doses to breast and prostate cancer, obesity, diabetes, altered development of the brain and immune systems, lowered sperm counts, and early puberty. Growing children are especially at risk from BPA because they have smaller bodies. In fact, BPA is so toxic that even very small amounts have been shown to cross the placenta and impact prenatal development.

Together we can change this! Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Ban Poisonous Additives Act, which will prohibit the sale of food and beverage containers that contain BPA.

Do something about it. Visit the Moms Rising web site and send an email from the site.

After you contact Congress, please forward this email to your friends so they can send a letter too. It's going to take all of our voices to make these changes.

CyberCelt
AWOP Environmental Contributing Editor
Author of Endangered Spaces Blog

Tags: bpa, plastic poison, take action, momsrising

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