SFT Midwest

We're still here!

2007-02-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

Don't be fooled by the fact that our last post was a year ago...the Midwest SFTs are still extremely active. We are currently planning a huge March 10th demonstration at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago. Come Join Us! Contact the Midwest Coordinator Hilary Edwards hdedwards (at) gmail.com

Also, many people in our region went to the 9th Free Tibet! Action Camp in January. For more info and pictures from that, go here.

Google Protest in Chicago!

2006-02-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

As part of the No Luv 4 Google campaign SFT is organizing protests at Google offices around the world including a protest in Chicago on February 14th. As we are planning the protest we would like to know if any of our activists from outside the Chicago area are interested in traveling to Chicago for the protest. So, if you would like to participate in our Feb. 14th protest, please email me at humanrightsradio@gmail.com.

Google: Don't Be Evil

2006-01-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

As I'm sure many have heard by now the much acclaimed tech company, Google, has agreed to censor search results through it's famous search engine in exchange for greater access to the Chinese market. Terms including Tibet, Dalai Lama, Human Rights, and Democracy among others will be blocked by the company working in conjunction with the Chinese government. Google is just one more high tech company to cave in to the demands of the Chinese government and assist in the repression of the Chinese people as well as ethnic minorities such as the Tibetans. However, for a company that prides itself on it's mission of spreading access to information, and whose company motto is, "Don't Be Evil" this is the height of hypocrisy.

So, it's time to tell Google what we think of it's collaboration with Chinese censorship and repression, and suggest that maybe a new slogan is in order. SFT has been working hard over the past week to develop materials around this new campaign. One is the jammed logo above, which people should disseminate widely.

Second, click here to send a message directly to Google's founders and CEO.

Third, SFT is making a date with Google for February 14th to let them know that they've broken our hearts. Visit www.NoLuv4Google.com to:

Break up with Google - make a pledge now to boycott Google and all its "services" on the 14th and help spread the word.
Join a protest at a Google office near you.
Find an alternative to Google.

Finally, so we don't look like spiteful ex's, click here to give Microsoft, Yahoo, and Cisco a piece of your mind.

You can also keep up-to-date on this campaign at the SFT Blog - Tibet Will Be Free

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche Day of Action

2006-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

Today, January 26th, marks the three year anniversary of Lobsang Dhondup's execution by Chinese authorities. This is also the three year anniversary of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's death sentence being upheld by a Chinese court. Both men were wrongfully convicted by the Chinese government in connection with a serious of bombings in Eastern Tibet. International outcry over the secrecy of the first trial led the Chinese government to conduct a second "public" trial, which was again conducted in secret without any international monitoring. It was after this second trial that Lobsang Dhondup was executed and Tenzin Delek's death sentence was upheld. Independent reports by human rights organizations have shown no link between Tenzin Delek and the bombings, and the Chinese government has provided no credible evidence linking him to the bombings.

After a large and successful international campaign Tenzin Delek's death sentence was commuted to life in prison last year - but the fight is not over. Today we remind the Chinese government that an innocent man was killed, and another innocent man sits in jail, so that they can continue the illegal occupation of Tibet. We also remind them that we will not allow these injustices to stand, and our outrage will continue until justice is done.

To find out what you can do for TDR day of action click here

SFT Midwest Blog Fully Functional (in Mozilla)

2006-01-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

Everything is finally up and running on the blog, well, almost. If you are browsing with the Mozilla Firefox browser everything should be good to go. Unfortuanetly, I just checked the blog with Internet Explorer for the first time, and I've got some layout issues to solve. I'll be working on those over the next couple of weeks, so for those of you using IE, hopefully I'll have the kinks worked out soon. Fortuanetly, the layout problems don't affect the postings or comments only the header and description, so you can still read the blog to see what is happening.

If anyone is running a browser other than Firefox or Internet Explorer and you are experiencing any problems email me at humanrightsradio@gmail.com, and let me know what problems you are having.

Here are the updates you will find.

1.)We now have RSS and ATOM feeds available. If you use the XML button on the sidebar it will take you to our feeburner content feed which should be both RSS and ATOM compatible.

2.) There is now a newsletter available. By clicking on the Subscribe to our newsletter button, you will have the option of recieving the content from the blog in a daily, weekly, or montly dispatch. This is a great way to stay informed about what is happening in the Midwest, so I encourage people to sign up for the newsletter on whatever basis you feel comfortable with.

3.) The blog is now ready for public use, so chapters should choose someone to be the designated blogger for you chapter and then email me at humanrightsradio@gmail.com, and I will help that person get setup so that they can post the news about your chapter to the blog.

More info about the coming semester will be available soon.

Silas

A Quick Update

2005-12-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some work on the site, and soon we will have ATOM feed of the site content as well as a newsletter that people can subscribe to for the news from around the Midwest. If I've done everything correctly then folks should be able to suscribe to daily, weekly, or monthly updates from the blog. So, you'll have the freedom to decide how "in the know you will be" (or how full your inbox will be). Also, by request I will be chaning some of the fonts around soon, so that the site is easier to read.

All this and more coming soon, so stay tuned.

Silas

Official Launce of New SFT Midwest Blog

2005-12-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the official launch of the SFT Midwest Blog. This is a new forum where SFT members from across the Midwest can come together to share successes, discuss strategy, and build a stronger community in Midwest working for a Free Tibet.

I encourage all chapters to post any events or actions they have to the blog so that everyone else in the region can read about and be inspired by your successes. I'll also be posting important information here relating to SFT campaigns, days, and weeks of action. As more people start using the blog this will become the place to be to get the scoop on SFT in the Midwest.

Since the launch of this blog corresponds with the 56th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I urge you to take a moment today and do something for Tibet, and if you're group held another action in honor of Human Rights Day then email me the details at humanrightsradio@gmail.com and I'll post it to the blog. I will take a little while, but soon each chapter will be able to post their own events. Until then, email me and I'll be happy to post for you.

Please take a moment today to contact the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (contact information is included below) and raise the issue of human rights in Tibet. In particular ask for the immediate release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and for Phuntsog Nyidron to be allowed to seek medical treatment outside of China. Our actions will help ensure that one day soon Tibetans inside of Tibet will know what it feels like to enjoy real freedom and human rights.
Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations:
When you call, please say that you would like to leave a message for Ambassador Wang Guangya.
Secretary of Permanent Representative Wang Guangya: (1) 212-655-6191
Secretary of Deputy Permanent Representative Zhang Yishan: (1) 212-655-6123
Political Affairs Section: (1) 212-655-6141
General Affairs Office: (1) 212-655-6109

FREE TIBET
Midwest Regional Coordinator
Silas Allard

New Blog for the Midwest

2005-11-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new SFT Midwest Blog. The site is still under construction, so you may see it change over the next few days, but soon SFT activists from across the Midwest will be able to meet here to share successes, actions, and advice. Look forward to talking to you all.