GRAMMY NOMINATION FOR RUSH'S HOPE - SONGS FOR TIBET

Legendary Canadian rock band RUSH has been nominated for a Grammy Award for the track Hope (Live For The Art OfPeace) on the Songs For Tibet.

The Art of Peace benefit album in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Other nominees for this category include Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Zappa Plays Zappa.

The winner will be announced during the February 8, 2009Grammys.

The album features 20 of the world's top musical artists, including Rush,Sting, Dave Mathews, John Mayer, Alanis Morissette, Moby, Suzanne Vega,Imogen Heap, Garbage, Damien Rice, Underworld, and Duncan Sheik.

This Grammy nomination for this beautiful song called Hope underscoresthe album's message for the Tibetan people, said Michael Wohl, the Art ofPeace Foundation's Executive Director and album Executive Producer.

The songs on the album are a celebration of the philosophy of hope, peace,nonviolence and compassion as championed by the Dalai Lama.

The Grammy nomination comes at a critical time with the Chinese authorities stepped-up suppression of Tibet. March 2009 marks the 50th anniversary ofthe exile of the Dalai Lama, whose path of nonviolence has had little effecton the Chinese government's willingness to grant Tibetan's fundamentalrights and freedoms.

Songs for Tibet was released just days before the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a tribute to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people. It features acoustically driven songs that explore our shared humanity and common search for happiness, peace and freedom. Upon its release, the album immediately rocketed up the charts to become a top-seller throughout the world.

As a subtle form of protest and support, athletes at the Beijing Olympicsdownloaded the album in solidarity with Tibet and the Dalai Lama from www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org <http://www.ArtofPeaceFoundation.org> .

The Chinese authorities reacted by using its censorship apparatus, known as The Great Firewall of China, to block access to major music download sites throughout China.

Songs for Tibet's worldwide success and China sheavy-handed response hit the headlines across the globe to make it one ofthe most significant and controversial protest events during the Beijing Olympics.

After a worldwide outcry, China made the album and sites available again. The album has become a symbol of the power and relevancy that music and individuals have to affect change in the world.

Significantly, the album download includes an exclusive 15 minute video of the Dalai Lama talking about the nature of peace, which, for the first time ever, is now allowed in China where footage of the widely respected spiritual and moral leader has normally been banned.
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/08/report-itunes-s.html

Recently, the Chinese authorities have similarly banned Guns N'Roses new album Chinese Democracy due to its title.

Besides raising awareness and support for Tibet and the Dalai Lama at thiscritical moment in history, proceeds that the foundation receives from the album will support projects important to the Dalai Lama for promoting peace.The album is distributed by Warner ADA and is available through most majorretailers and music download sites.

About The Art of Peace Foundation
The Art of Peace Foundation is a 501(C)(3) non-profit founded on the DalaiLama's belief of 'Universal Responsibility.' The Foundation's mission is to engage the world in a proactive way while remaining grounded in the DalaiLama's vision of non-violence.

Please visit www.ArtOfPeaceFoundation.org


About Meridian Trust
The Art of Peace Foundation also works with their UK partner, MeridianTrust, to preserve Tibetan cultural traditions. Meridian Trust's patron is the Dalai Lama, who has asked them to raise the awareness of Tibetancultural traditions.

www.Meridian-Trust.org

Record Europe - Entrevista a S.S. Dalai Lama

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7768167.stm

Para o programa da BBC "Record Europe", Oana Lungescu entrevista o líder Tibetano quando da sua visita a Bruxelas.

Shirin Wheeler entrevista dois membros do Parlamento Europeu relativamente ao facto da Europa dever, ou não, adoptar políticas mais drásticas no seu relacionamento com a China:

Marco Cappato MP - Partido Radical Italiano from the Italian Radical Party
Markus Ferber MP - Partido Alemão do Centro- Direita

China Lodges Protest Over Dalai Lama-Sarkozy Meeting

China has summoned Herve Ladsous, the French ambassador in Beijing, and called the meeting between Sarkozy and Dalai Lama a "rude intervention" into Chinese affairs."The French side's wrong action grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and also severely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a press release.Sarkozy defied Chinese ire and met the Dalai Lama on Saturday privately in Gdansk, Poland, at the celebrations marking 25 years of Nobel Peace Prize conferment on Lech Walesa, former Polish president and Solidarity leader. Sarkozy said, "There's no need to dramatize things."Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said it was up to France to "fully understand the damage" done to bilateral ties by Sarkozy's meeting with the Tibetan leader."It also severely undermined China's core interest, gravely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and sabotaged the political basis of China-France and China-EU relations," Yafei said. An editorial in the People’s Daily, which acts as the voice of the ruling Communist Party, said, "He (Sarkozy) ignored China's repeated entreaties and stubbornly refused to shift, plainly determined to step over China's red line.""This malicious provocation concerns China's core interest in national unity and inevitably will exact a heavy price."Rama Yade, France’s government minister for human rights said Sunday on France's RTL radio that it wasn't worth turning the tensions into a "psychodrama.""I don't see what there is to debate about," Rama Yade said on France's RTL radio, noting that other world leaders have also met the Dalai Lama. "They should accept the situation."China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking separation from ChinaChina, which sent military troops to occupy Tibet in 1949, reviles the Dalai Lama as a “separatist” trying to split Tibet from it, and regularly protests against countries that agree to visits by him or warns world leaders of diplomatic consequences if they meet him. However, the Tibetan leader has always maintained that his meetings and visits should not cause any obstacle in the ties between his host countries and China.

In
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Dalai Lama addresses European Parliament

The Dalai Lama addressed approximately 600 members of European Parliament today during a Plenary Session in Brussels. The Dalai Lama spoke on human values and the fate of Tibet. Commenting on European countries' relations with China, the Dalai Lama said that while it is important to maintain close ties, "if you are a true friend you will make clear your friend's faults".

A copy of his prepared statement that was distributed to members can be found below.

Link: http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/dalai-lama-addresses-european-parliament

Sarkozy defies China with Dalai Lama talks

French President Nicolas Sarkozy defied China on Saturday by meeting the Dalai Lama and said Europe shared the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's concerns over the situation in his homeland.

China called the meeting an "opportunistic, rash and short-sighted approach to handling the Tibet issue," despite Sarkozy saying he regarded Tibet as part of China and that there was no need to "dramatize" his encounter."

The meeting went very well ... The Chinese authorities knew perfectly well this meeting would take place before the end of the year," Sarkozy told reporters after his talks, which lasted about 30 minutes.

China called off a summit with the European Union last Monday in protest against Sarkozy's plan to meet the Dalai Lama, branded by Beijing as a "splittist" for advocating self-determination for his mountain homeland.

On Saturday, China condemned the meeting. "This development is indeed an unwise move which not only hurts the feelings of the Chinese people, but also undermines Sino-French ties," its official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary.

"The French side ... took an opportunistic, rash and short-sighted approach to handling the Tibet issue."

Sarkozy said the Dalai Lama, who welcomed him by draping a 'kata' or traditional Tibetan white scarf on his shoulder, had said at the meeting that he does not seek independence for Tibet. "I told him how much importance I attach to the pursuit of dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities."

Asked about the situation in Tibet, Sarkozy said: "The Dalai Lama shared with me his worries, worries which are shared in Europe. We have had a wide discussion of this question." The Dalai Lama and other supporters of Tibetan self-rule say China is strangling the mountain region's cultural and religious traditions and subordinating Tibetans to an influx of Han Chinese migrants and investment, charges Beijing rejects.

STAYING CALM

The two met in the Polish port of Gdansk where they joined 25th anniversary celebrations of Polish pro-democracy leader Lech Walesa's winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Playing down any possible negative impact on Sino-French ties, Sarkozy said: "There is no need to dramatize things."

Beijing's unusually vocal criticism of Sarkozy's plan to meet the Dalai Lama is linked to the fact that Paris holds the European Union's rotating presidency, diplomats say.

In Paris, an official said there had been no sign yet of any Chinese boycott of French products. The EU is China's biggest trade partner and supermarket chain Carrefour employs tens of thousands of people in China and is the biggest purchaser of Chinese goods in France.

French companies were subjected to Chinese boycotts and demonstrations earlier this year after the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay was disrupted by anti-China protesters.

Earlier on Saturday, the Dalai Lama called for dialogue and compassion to solve the world's problems.

"Warfare failed to solve our problems in the last century, so this century should be a century of dialogue," he told delegates, including Walesa, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The Dalai Lama, who met Tusk privately on Saturday, praised Polish courage in resisting past oppression.

The 73-year-old monk is a popular figure in Poland, where some see in his struggle with China's communist authorities echoes of their own battles under Walesa against Soviet-backed communist rule that ended in 1989.The Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959 after a failed insurrection against Chinese rule in Tibet, occupied by People's Liberation Army troops from 1950.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23373&article=Sarkozy+defies+China+with+Dalai+Lama+talks

RINZIN DORJE NA UBP LISBOA - 5, 6 E 7 Dezembro

PROGRAMA 2008 – LISBOA

PALESTRA:

A Via Budista

Data e hora:

5 Dez - 19h

Comparticipação:

Donativo (aconselhado entre 1 e 5 eur)

Local: Cç. da Ajuda, 246 – 1ºD, Lisboa

WORKSHOP:

O Treino da Mente

Data e hora:

6 e 7 Dezembro - 10h-18h00

Comparticipação:

Donativo (aconselhado 20 euros)

Local: Cç. da Ajuda, 246 – 1ºD, Lisboa

Autocarros: 732, 729 Eléctrico: 18

UBPTel: 21 363 43 63

http://www.uniaobudista.pt/actividades.php?show=budismo&activ=219

http://artetibetanadacura.blogspot.com/2008/11/rinzin-dorjee-programa-2008.html

China to build six more railway lines into Tibet by 2020

China is planning to build six more main railway lines and several branches to connect Tibet with other parts of China by 2020, a kind of move that usually distresses Tibetans and critics.

“By 2020, six main railway lines and some branches connecting Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai [Tib: Amdo] Province with other parts of China, are expected to be built and put into operation,” Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday.

The report asserted that the construction of the more railway lines would enable a “closer economic and cultural exchange between Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the whole nation”.

Tibetans fear that such kind of development, solely imposed by Chinese Communist authorities in the name of progress, will further accelerate the Han migration into their Himalayan territory and dilute their population and unique Buddhist culture. They also argue China’s extensive railway networking across the Tibetan plateau, the largest and highest one in the world, will cause unprecedented negative impact on its fragile ecosystems.

According to Xinhua’s report, the six forthcoming railways tying with the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, are: Xining to Zhangye of Lanzhou-Urumchi 2nd Double Line Rail, Golmud to Dunhuang, Kuerle and Chengdu and Lhasa to Xigaze and Nyingchi prefectures.

The report said that the construction of the 2nd Line of Xining-Golmud Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was now in full swing and would be finished in 2012.

China’s first launch of the controversial Qinghai-Tibet railway on July 1, 2006 was met with protest demonstrations from Tibetan exiles and supporters calling it a “new instrument” for Beijing’s alleged plan to “Sinicize” the restive Himalayan region and to exploit its rich untamed natural resources.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23346&article=China+to+build+six+more+railway+lines+into+Tibet+by+2020

Artivist Film Festival - Lisboa

A 7ª arte dedicada aos direitos humanos, dos animais, da criança e à preservação do ambiente.

Sob o lema Fundir arte com activismo para uma consciência global, abre ao público dia 4 na FNAC Chiado passando depois toda a programação para o Fórum Lisboa de 5 a 7 de Dezembro.

O Artivist surgiu em 2004 e projectou até hoje mais de 300 filmes internacionais. Conta com o apoio das Nações Unidas e da Organização Internacional Prémio Nobel.

Programação

FNAC Chiado

Quinta-feira, 4 de Dezembro

20:30 ás 22:00h

Direitos da Criança e dos Animais

Destaque: Companions to None / melhor filme Direitos Dos Animais

Sexta-feira, 5 de Dezembro

20:30 ás 22:00h

Preservação Ambiental

Programação Fórum Lisboa

Sábado, 6 de Dezembro

1ª Sessão – 14:30 às 16:00h

Direitos Humanos e da Criança

Destaque: Bomb Harvest / melhor filme Direitos Humanos

2ª Sessão – 17:00 às 19:00h

Preservação Ambiental

Destaque: One Water / melhor filme Preservação Ambiental

19:00 às 19:45h – Conversa com o Realizador Phil Stebbing

3ª Sessão – 21:30 às 23:00h

Direitos dos Animais

Taking the Face – The Portuguese Bullfight / Pega de Cara – Tauromaquia Portuguesa - Estreia

Domingo, 7 de Dezembro

1ª Sessão – 14:30 às 16:15h

Direitos Humanos e Preservação Ambiental

Destaque: Eudaimonia / melhor curta Preservação Ambiental

They Turned our Desert Into Fire / melhor filme Direitos Humanos

2ª Sessão – 17:00 às 18:30

Direitos da Criança e Direitos Humanos

Destaque: Tibet: Beyond Fear / melhor curta Direitos Humanos

18:30 às 19:15h – Conversa com o Presidente da União Budista Prof. Dr. Paulo Borges

3ª Sessão – 21:15 às 23:15

Espírito Artivista Zeitgeist Addendum / Prémio Espírito Artivista

23:15 à 23:45h – Conversa com o Realizador Peter Joseph

In

http://www.geracao-c.com/Default.aspx?ID=818&M=News&PID=11085&NewsID=538

ICT calls for EU Emissary to help resolve Tibet issue

Saying talks with China over Tibet issue has failed to make any progress, a Washington-based pro-Tibet advocacy group has called on the European Union to designate as soon as possible a “high profile European Emissary” to help resolve the issue of Tibet and also put an end to “tensions between China and Europe around Tibetan issues”.

The group’s call comes in the midst of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama’s ongoing tour of three European countries.

“Such an initiative would be welcome in Europe where the Dalai Lama enjoys overwhelming support for his moral leadership and would be an appropriate outcome of the Dalai Lama's current visit to European countries,” the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a statement released Tuesday."

The mandate of an EU Emissary would be to represent the EU Council in engaging with the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama to collect views of both parties, identify the obstacles and suggest concrete recommendations to the EU Council on how to overcome these identified difficulties," ICT’s EU Policy Director Vincent Metten said in the statement.

Metten said that international calls for “results-based dialogue” by the Dalai Lama’s envoys with Chinese leadership had failed to produce progress.

ICT’s statement said Beijing had in fact increased its “anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric” following the latest round of talks between his envoys and the Chinese representatives held last month. The group said that the Chinese government had also “denounced the Sarkozy-Dalai Lama meeting and accused the French of engaging with a 'separatist'.”

“More engaged and substantial assistance is now required, or we will see the failure of an historic effort to achieve a just solution for Tibet through non-violence and dialogue,” Metten said.

Referring to China’s decision to walk away from long-planned Monday summit with the EU towards the last minute due to row over Tibet issue, Mr Metten said such an untoward action by Chinese government only “points to the urgent need to move Tibet from an irritant to a resolvable issue.”

"The people of Europe and their leadership will clearly not abandon the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans, and China feels so strongly about Tibet that it would risk other critical issues scheduled for discussion at the summit,” Metten said, adding “The EU should employ its experience in crisis management and find concrete ways to help the government of China and the Dalai Lama get to a solution."

Lately, the Tibetan leader, now 73, has also said he was losing "faith and trust” in dealing with Chinese leadership on the issue of Tibet. In the absence of any positive response from the Chinese leadership to his “middle-way” policy, the Dalai Lama said Tibetan populace must be prepared to take more active responsibility in deciding the future course of action.

“If the Chinese leadership honestly engages in talks, then I may be in a position to take up this responsibility again. I will, then, sincerely engage with them,” the Dalai Lama said in October at a huge public function in Dharamsala, his exile hometown in northern India.

Called by the Dalai Lama, leading Tibetan exiles from around the world, last month, concluded a first historic summit of its kind to make recommendations on future policy directions for Tibet.

ICT, while mentioning in its statement that the result of the Tibetan exiles’ November meeting has “favored the Dalai Lama's Middle Way approach” of seeking a solution based on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the People's Republic of China, pointed out the there is also a “growing frustration and solidarity between Tibetans in exile and in Tibet” after demonstrations against Chinese misrule broke out across the Tibetan plateau last spring.

The Dalai Lama arrived in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, on Saturday to begin a series of high-profile visits in Europe. This is his first tour of Europe since he had to cancel his planned visits to the region in recent months due to health concerns.

On Sunday the Dalai Lama met with the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and on Tuesday he met with the country’s Foreign Minister Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg at the Foreign Ministry. He is also scheduled to address a plenary of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday. On December 6, at a ceremonial event in Gdansk, Poland, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to meet him.

From Dharamsala the Dalai Lama travels extensively around the world promoting human values, teaching Buddhism and, advocating for Tibetan rights and their struggle for greater freedom. He often meets with world leaders to present the case of Tibet.

The exiled Tibetan leader says he is sincere in his effort to seek a “real and meaningful” autonomy for Tibetan people within China, and opposes the use of violence.

But China, which sent military troops to occupy Tibet in 1949, reviles the Dalai Lama as a “separatist” trying to split Tibet from it, and regularly protests against countries that agree to visits by him or warns world leaders of diplomatic consequences if they meet him.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23331&article=ICT+calls+for+EU+Emissary+to+help+resolve+Tibet+issue

Tibet Supporters Condemn Chinese Propaganda Offensive, Suggest New Strategies

More than 100 Tibet supporters from over 30 countries affirmed their support for the Dalai Lama's emphasis on engagement with China and outreach to the Chinese people, but expressed serious concern about Beijing's propaganda offensive on Tibet and failure to engage with the Tibetan side in the dialogue process.


The activists gathered in Delhi this weekend to discuss strategies for Tibet's future at a time of crisis, responding to a call from the Dalai Lama for suggestions from the movement to the Dharamsala-based exile government, following a meeting for Tibetans from the diaspora between November 17 and 22.


"This meeting was called at a time of crisis in Tibet – there is a major crackdown on the Tibetan plateau following a wave of protests against Chinese rule, and Beijing is taking an increasingly hostile approach to the Dalai Lama," said Dr. N.K. Trikha, Convener of the Indian Core Group for the Tibetan Cause, which organized the meeting. "There is a deep concern that if the issue is not resolved, there may be more unrest and repression in Tibet in the buildup to the 50th anniversary next year of the March uprising which led to Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet in 1959. Representatives from all over the world shared a sense of solidarity and urgency in discussing new approaches to be presented to the Tibetan government in exile," he said.


The meeting observed a one minute silence in memory of those hundreds of Tibetans who lost their lives to Chinese security forces' bullets in uprising this year and also to those who were killed in terrorist violence in Mumbai last week. The communiqué of the group, which met in Gurgaon, stated: "This violent tragedy underlines the urgent need for the international community to take meaningful action in support of those who pursue non-violent struggles, including the Tibetan people."


The TSGs are non-governmental organizations formed voluntarily by individuals to support the Tibetan people's freedom movement through various non-violent actions and means across the globe. This was the first such meeting of TSGs following the Tibetan people's uprising across Tibet during March-April this year.


"The meeting expressed profound concern over the continuing suffering of the Tibetan people living under de facto martial law and solidarity with over a thousand political prisoners and hundreds of those Tibetans who still remain disappeared since the beginning of the Tibetan uprising," said Dr. Trikha.


Delegates took exception to the Chinese government's presentation of the Tibetan uprising in occupied Tibet as 'violent riots in Lhasa' despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of six-month long Tibetan people's expression against Chinese rule across the entire Tibetan plateau. There was general agreement that despite lack of progress in the current dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and Beijing, the strategy of engagement needed to continue.


Delegates' suggestions will be presented in full to the Tibetan government in exile. Some comments made during the meeting were as follows:


1. "We understand there are many different perspectives among Chinese people and we need to create alliances with those who are also suffering under Communist Party policies."


2. "Focus advocacy work on stake-holder governments in Asia such as India, where Tibet is of particular geopolitical importance, and draw attention to the critical significance of Tibet's environment as a watershed for Asia's great rivers and as the earth's 'third pole'"


3. "Explore fresh strategies for supporting the institution of the Dalai Lama, and recognize that the Dalai Lama's leadership extends to peoples of many different countries in the Himalayas, Mongolia, and beyond"

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23315&article=Tibet+Supporters+Condemn+Chinese+Propaganda+Offensive%2c+Suggest+New+Strategies