Spielberg Asked To Stop Helping China

[Stoo]

Spielberg asked to stop helping China
Irwin Block, The Montreal Gazette
Published: Friday, November 09

Actress Mia Farrow has called on Steven Spielberg to stop helping China plan ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games in protest against its support for the government of Sudan.

China is "underwriting genocide in Sudan" by buying its oil and selling it arms that are used in the genocide in the Western Darfur region, Farrow told reporters today at the Montreal Millennium Summit.

"I am asking Steven Spielberg right now to discontinue his artistic co-operation with the games," and so should film maker Ang Lee and others who are advising the Chinese on pre- and post-games ceremonies.

If he disengages that will tarnish the games for sure," Farrow said, stressing it is imperative to act now.

"With every week that passes, how many thousands are dying in Darfur?" she said after showing slides and reporting on her seven visits there as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

She also called on athletes and and individuals to contact Chinese authorities and ask that they use their leverage as Sudan's arm supplier so that Janjaweeed militia - blamed for more than 200,000 Darfurians killed and two million displaced - is disarmed.

Spielberg, however, has no intention of quitting the international advisory group at this time, spokesperson Andy Spahn said from Hollywood.

He is working with the Darfur advocacy community on "the most effective way to get peacekeepers on the ground and pressure the Chinese to use their influence in the region to get peacekeepers in as soon as possible," Spahn added.

Spielberg did fly to New York last month to meet a special Chinese envoy to the Sudan and contributed to China supporting the sending of peace-keeping forces to Darfur, Spahn pointed out.

And earlier this year, he sent an open letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao asking that the government to more to stop the genocide.

Farrow was among high-profile speakers at the two-day conference, a follow-up to work established by the United Nation as Millennium Goals of 2000 to cut extreme global poverty by 50 per cent by 2015.

Actor Michael Douglas, another celebrity speaker, said he was not planning to go the Olympics and hoped statements by Farrow and actor George Clooney on Darfur are successful.

"As we get closer to the Olympics, the Chinese will not want to be embarrassed and hopefully this added pressure will help.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after listing the world's great human-rights abuses, told some 1,000 delegates God is looking down at the world and crying.

God is also smiling at those working to make the world a better place, he said, smiling.

Mayor Gérald Tremblay Montreal will be sending technical expertise to Port au Prince to improve conditions there and Bamoko in Mali to create a system of addresses and an urban plan.

iblock@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette 2007

[ClintonHammond]

You'd think a Jew would be more empathetic when it comes to genocide...

[kongisking]

"God is crying"

If He actually had a genuinely caring, all-omnipotent heart to emote with...

"God is smiling"

Yeah, smiling because he doesn't give sh!tballs about use humans, and instead of helping out OR actually appearing in person to prove his existence to saps like me and nimrods like Al Quada, likes to watch the bloodshed like a fat fanboy would watching a slasher-flick marathon in his daddy's basement...

Yes, I am in a rather depressed and grumpy mood today:mad: ...I'll be fine and back to rational thinking in a few hours don't worry...:o

[indy34]

If china doesn't sell guns to them there just going to some one else so whats the point:confused:

[Niteshade007]

You'd think a Jew would be more empathetic when it comes to genocide...

When he won his Oscar for Schindler's List, he said something to the effect of "let this [the acts of the Nazi's] happen again, while at the same time, genocide was occurring in Rwanda. I guess he meant just against Jews.

[ClintonHammond]

Schindler's List is the perfect example of why the "Oscars" ain't worth the squat they're piled on.....

[Kingsley]

Actor Michael Douglas, another celebrity speaker, said he was not planning to go the Olympics
What a tremendous lost fot the Olympics!! :eek:

[monkey]

When he won his Oscar for Schindler's List, he said something to the effect of "let this [the acts of the Nazi's] happen again, while at the same time, genocide was occurring in Rwanda. I guess he meant just against Jews.

BINGO!!

And "schindler's list' was the biggest bunch of Zionist propaganda crap ever produced.

[Joe Brody]

. . . .to good effect (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5illYvdksqi8MYvonLsaCtJcvylOgD8UP4E7O0).

Farrow, Spielberg Assail China on Darfur
By DAVE SKRETTA – 2 days ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Film director Steven Spielberg and actress Mia Farrow joined activists worldwide Tuesday in using the Olympics as a backdrop to address human rights concerns, urging Beijing to exert political leverage on Sudan's government to help end the crisis in Darfur.

Spielberg announced he would no longer act as an artistic adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies, saying he could not reconcile working on the Olympics while China and other nations were not doing enough to ease the suffering.

"Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more," Spielberg said in a statement. "China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide it with the opportunity and obligation to press for change."

Farrow joined former Olympic swimmers Shannon Shakespeare and Nikki Dryden in delivering an open letter addressed to Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Chinese Mission to the United Nations, condemning Beijing's support of the Sudanese government.

The letter was part of a "Global Day of Action" that focused on Darfur, where more than 200,000 have died and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced since 2003.

"We are all aware of the tremendous potential for China to help bring an end to the conflict in Darfur," said the letter, signed by Nobel Peace Prize laureates, celebrities and 13 former Olympians.

Farrow suggested China use its influence to disarm the janjaweed, the government-backed Arab militia, demand the Khartoum regime halt bombings and ground attacks on civilians, and use its economic clout to force the government to ensure safety for U.N. peacekeepers.

China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports. In turn, China sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has defended Khartoum in the U.N. Security Council.

"How can Beijing host the Olympic Games at home and underwrite genocide?" said Farrow, a U.N. goodwill ambassador, shivering in freezing weather outside the Chinese Mission. "Time is running out for the people of Darfur."

Another letter signed by 120 lawmakers also called on Hu to use his "significant influence" to help with peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts.

Olympic speedskating gold medalist Joey Cheek, who co-founded the Team Darfur athletes coalition, joined activists in Washington. Rallies also were scheduled for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago and for 10 other countries, including France, Germany and Egypt.

Farrow and several humanitarian groups had been critical of Spielberg for continuing to work on the games, even as the Sudanese military said it bombed three towns in West Darfur last week.

Spielberg, who sent a letter to Hu in April urging China to take a stronger stance against Sudan, still hopes to attend the Olympics. But he said his conscience is pointing him toward spending his time and energy on the relief effort instead of the ceremonies.

"The situation has never been more precarious," he said. "While China's representatives have conveyed to me that they are working to end the terrible tragedy in Darfur, the grim realities of the suffering continue unabated."

Several nations have put their athletes in a precarious position if they feel compelled to use the games as a platform for discussing Darfur.

On Monday, the British Olympic Association acknowledged that its team agreement appeared to go beyond rules laid out by the International Olympic Committee barring any "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" at an Olympic venue or area.

The U.S. Olympic Committee plans to ask American athletes to comply with IOC rules, but won't impose additional measures.

"We're very concerned about the image of the Olympics being sullied by a host nation that can and should do more to stop the genocide," said Dryden, who competed for her native Canada in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. "China has as its theme for this summer's Olympic Games, 'One world, one dream.' Darfur should not be excluded from that dream."

Beijing has been sensitive to criticism that might tarnish its staging of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics. In bidding for the games in 2001, China promised IOC members that the Olympics would lead to an improved climate for human rights.

Li Zhanjun, director of the media center for the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, said his office would comment later on the Darfur accusations made by Farrow and the former Olympians and Spielberg pulling out.

In the past, Beijing has highlighted its own efforts to ameliorate the situation in Darfur, including the dispatch of engineering troops to prepare for the arrival of an African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force, and says its economic ties are helping to reduce conflict by alleviating poverty.

Jill Savitt, director of the activist group Dream for Darfur, conceded that the Chinese government has taken modest steps to ease the suffering

"The Olympics are China's debut on the world stage, and Beijing wants the Olympics to go well," Savitt said. "Unless China acts now to resolve the crisis in Darfur, the Beijing Games will best be remembered as the genocide Olympics."

I don't see eye-to-eye with Farrow on everything but I love her Riefenstahl line -- which [jokingly] must've cut deep since that's a lable that's usually applied to Lucas.

[sandiegojones]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/oly.beijing.spielberg.ap/index.html

Yeah, now he's backed out and pissed the Chinese off.

Why do actors and film makers pretend to be politicians? I love all of Speilberg's films, but all of the Hollywood arrogance astounds me! They think they know it all about the world or think they have some magic power because they're rich and have too much exposure! The USA is great, but we cannot dictate what other people do in the world and cannot expect them to hold our ideals. They hate us already for what our leaders do, we don't need actors to fuel the fire, especially with the Chinese. It seems like it's right out of Team America!

I also hate musicians from the 60's, like Neil Young, who claimed last week that their music changed the world and music today is crap. They're so out of touch. Their music was produced and marketed by rich executives and nothing ever changed by what they did. The more things change the more things stay the same! Goes to show how stupid all the hippies were. It was an excuse for them to get high, get laid, not bathe, not work and avoid going to war.

[Deckard]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/oly.beijing.spielberg.ap/index.html

Yeah, now he's backed out and pissed the Chinese off.

Why do actors and film makers pretend to be politicians? I love all of Speilberg's films, but all of the Hollywood arrogance astounds me! They think they know it all about the world or think they have some magic power because they're rich and have too much exposure! The USA is great, but we cannot dictate what other people do in the world and cannot expect them to hold our ideals. They hate us already for what our leaders do, we don't need actors to fuel the fire, especially with the Chinese. It seems like it's right out of Team America!

I also hate musicians from the 60's, like Neil Young, who claimed last week that their music changed the world and music today is crap. They're so out of touch. Their music was produced and marketed by rich executives and nothing ever changed by what they did. The more things change the more things stay the same! Goes to show how stupid all the hippies were. It was an excuse for them to get high, get laid, not bathe, not work and avoid going to war.

So you dislike people who oppose genocide, musicians, stoners, hippies, homeless and people who enjoy sex?

Are you Rush Limbaugh?

I just could not disagree more, for staters who cares about if China is angry? They need to get off theyre ass and do something, Steven is 100% correct. We cannot continue to reward those who stare mass death and genocide in the face and choose to do nothing.

As for music of the 60's perhaps execs made alot of money but it didn't stop a message from spreading which was love is what is truely important. And it had a huge effect on our culture both then and today, for you to try to discount that is purely ludicrous whether you like it or not.

And perhaps people don't want to goto war not because they are high, but because they are not war mongering goosestepping morons. War is horrible, if you'd ever seen war first hand you'd agree. Your ranting about all the wrong things and being nothing more then part of the problem. This world is going to **** fast because people aren't open minded enough to care about theyre fellow man, and I for one am not going to sit silent and let it happen.

Perhaps if you spent a few days digging mass graves for millions of women and children who have been starved raped and murdered, you'd feel differantly. Or perhaps your just another of the new mindless robots we seem to produce.

[Stoo]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/oly.beijing.spielberg.ap/index.htmlWhy do actors and film makers pretend to be politicians? I love all of Speilberg's films, but all of the Hollywood arrogance astounds me! They think they know it all about the world or think they have some magic power because they're rich and have too much exposure!Because they are in a position to possibly make a difference in
something they STRONGLY believe in. Where is the mystery???
I'm not a Speilberg worshipper but I do admire his stance in this case.

They're so out of touch...*snip*...Goes to show how stupid all the hippies were. It was an excuse for them to get high, get laid, not bathe, not work and avoid going to war.Ha ha! It is you who is out of touch, I'm afraid.

[roundshort]

In my best Homer Simpson voice:

"Movie directors, is there nothing they can't do?"

[Stoo]

When he won his Oscar for Schindler's List, he said something to the effect of "let this [the acts of the Nazi's] happen again, while at the same time, genocide was occurring in Rwanda. I guess he meant just against Jews.Maybe he was *referrring* to the crisis in Rwanda?
Who are you and what did you do to try and stop the slaughter?

[Niteshade007]

I stupidly left out the word "never" in my post. It should read "Let this never happen again."

I won't lie, I haven't done anything to stop slaughtering anywhere. The statement just had a bit of irony to it. Here was a man who thought he had done a good thing and didn't want to see it happen again, yet it was happening at the exact time that he said it.

I'm glad Spielberg dropped out of the Olympics. I have more respect for him now, it shows that he isn't just talking out of his ass and that he may actually care about other people.

[roundshort]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/oly.beijing.spielberg.ap/index.html



I also hate musicians from the 60's, like Neil Young, who claimed last week that their music changed the world and music today is crap. They're so out of touch. Their music was produced and marketed by rich executives and nothing ever changed by what they did. The more things change the more things stay the same! Goes to show how stupid all the hippies were. It was an excuse for them to get high, get laid, not bathe, not work and avoid going to war.


How can anyone "hate" Neil Young? I mean he is no Britney Spears or anything . . .



opps wrong thread

[Stoo]

I stupidly left out the word "never" in my post. It should read "Let this never happen again."Don't worry, that was not taken into account. I knew what you meant to say.

The statement just had a bit of irony to it. Here was a man who thought he had done a good thing and didn't want to see it happen again, yet it was happening at the exact time that he said it.Irony?...and Spielberg was responsible for solving the situation in Rwanda?
C'mon, Niteshade007, you must be smarter than that...

[sandiegojones]

So you dislike people who oppose genocide, musicians, stoners, hippies, homeless and people who enjoy sex?

Are you Rush Limbaugh?

I just could not disagree more, for staters who cares about if China is angry? They need to get off theyre ass and do something, Steven is 100% correct. We cannot continue to reward those who stare mass death and genocide in the face and choose to do nothing.

As for music of the 60's perhaps execs made alot of money but it didn't stop a message from spreading which was love is what is truely important. And it had a huge effect on our culture both then and today, for you to try to discount that is purely ludicrous whether you like it or not.

And perhaps people don't want to goto war not because they are high, but because they are not war mongering goosestepping morons. War is horrible, if you'd ever seen war first hand you'd agree. Your ranting about all the wrong things and being nothing more then part of the problem. This world is going to **** fast because people aren't open minded enough to care about theyre fellow man, and I for one am not going to sit silent and let it happen.

Perhaps if you spent a few days digging mass graves for millions of women and children who have been starved raped and murdered, you'd feel differantly. Or perhaps your just another of the new mindless robots we seem to produce.

Look, I'm very moderate (fiscally conservative, but athiest and liberal socially) so don't stick me in a little box because you don't know me! I'm not for war or any political party (and calling me Rush is out of line!), but I just don't think that movie makers are the right ones to speak for people, especially those in other countries. They'll talk all day long about political issues, but they have no problem filling their bank accounts with foriegn dollars from screenings of their films (hence removing the US flag from the Indy 4 trailer...don't want to offend so we can get all that $$$$).

Take a movie like Blood Diamond for exapmle. It's all about how bad the conflict diamond situation is in Africa. It's a Hollywood "message" film telling us what to think. It was even nominated for Oscars. So the actors and producers show up to the awards show wearing MILLIONS of dollars worth of diamond jewelery. I think a lot of them are very hypocritical!

I used to work in LA and worked on film and video sets. Actors and producers are not that bright (as a whole, not necessaritly each individual) and only do what they're told by their agents. Plus, as much as I respect Speilberg, I don't know what this proves (and to be clear my earlier post was addressing Mia Farrow's remarks towards Speilberg that he was like Reifensthal - she has no right to say that given his effort towards holocost recognition, but I guess looking at it I typed it wrong and the thread was also merged). It's not like what he does will change the situation. He has more influence with the politicians here since he gives them a lot of money! He could request they use our US political muscle to force China to respond. The US wouldn't do that because we like to buy cheap stuff at Wal Mart (made by 10 year olds often) and we have a huge national defecit, most of which is money owed to China.

[Travis85]

I think Spielberg's decision to pull out of the Olympics was a good one. The Chinese government backs the genocide in Darfur so they can turn a profit from it, but say it is western governments responsibility to settle the issue....Just like they are listed as the number one green house gas emitter, but don't curb their emissions while calling on western governments to do so.... Even though i'm not a huge believer in global warming, I think this stance by the Chinese, and their stance on Darfur is pretty hypocritical. There is no reason why Spielberg should contribute to their Olympics which will probably be used by the Chinese government for propaganda while their people starve and are kicked out of their homes so they can build their stadiums and so foreigners won't be able to see just how bad conditions are there. Spielberg has also been demonized in Chinas government controlled press, which he should wear as a badge of honor.