...e poi le chiamano olimpiadi?
http://www.k2climb.net/news.php?id=17238
ExplorersWeb Week in Review
Check in this week on the next ExWeb China special, from where this image originates, and a story by far the worst we have researched yet.
01:46 am EDT Apr 28, 2008
Chinese soldiers patrolling Everest south side BC, Nepalese soldiers authorized to shoot mountaineers, one climber sent home already for carrying a Tibetan banner in his backpack in Nepal (!), international mountaineers and media censored and subject to either hairy airlifts or suicidal trips to Everest north side BC. It's a mad, mad Himalaya season guys. Here goes some of last week's headlines.
The situation with comms in Everest BC is sketchy at the very least. Sat-phone calls are permitted on certain days, under soldiers’ surveillance. The phones are stored in a tent by the army, and climbers must ask their permission to call home plus use the phone in front of them.
The flag affair Silvio Mondinelli reported that his team was instructed to avoid hanging (Italian) flags on top of their tents.
Beyond the Olympics: Nepal authorizes deadly force against Everest climbers Nepalese soldiers and police on Mount Everest were authorized last week to shoot human rights sympathizers during China's Olympic torch run to the summit. This was shocking for several reasons, including the fact that the torch is not scheduled anywhere near Nepal. The Nepalese soldiers and climbers are on the lower elevations of the south side of the peak - with the steep and technical Lho La pass only one of the obstacles to the far away slopes of China.
Chinese security guards and plain clothes police in Everest south side BC Reports confirmed by several sources stated that the Chinese have sent Chinese security guards to be posted at camp 2 on the Nepal side of Everest and also sent plain clothes Chinese police to patrol base camp. Only this weekend, a helicopter reportedly landed in Everest BC carrying four Chinese officials accompanied by a couple of Nepalese. The crew, breathing supplementary oxygen, surveyed the camp and then left again.
First Everest climber down for Tibet A young, unguided American climber was kicked off the peak last week after police searched his backpack and found a Tibetan banner in it. The climber had little funds and bicycled around the area. He will now probably also lose the ten thousand US dollars in Nepali royalty fee he paid for the ascent.
Nepal repeatedly breaking its own Constitution at Everest Base Camp On Everest as well as in KTM right how, the government of Nepal is repeatedly breaking its own Constitution established as late as last year. The constitution states that every citizen shall have freedom of opinion and expression; and freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms. No censorship is allowed, and no communication media (incl electronic broadcasting and telephone) shall be closed, seized or obstructed.
Everest north side Olympic torch ascent made off limits to media After hanging out in Beijing, international journalists were ready to leave for Everest last Wednesday. The entire trip would take 3 weeks, and cover the Olympic torch on its departure from BC to the summit. Only hours before the trip, reporters were told that it was postponed. Instead reporters were to leave Beijing and go straight to Everest via Lhasa in three days. A group of (mostly TV journalists) reportedly left for BC Friday; however prevented from reporting on anything other than the flame and told that no media will be allowed when the torch leaves BC. Some international news organizations opted out of the trip due to the crazy time schedule and restrictions on their reporting.
Could be the torch mountaineers don't want witnesses to their climb, wrote ExplorersWeb. No Chinese climber is found among the top high altitude mountaineers who have completed the list of 14, 8000ers, and the presumed torch team has already been involved in at least one summit controversy.
News from the north side Chinese reached 7500m on the north side of Everest on April 17 but high winds that day reportedly held them back, said unconfirmed news.
Lhotse “This expedition was the one that almost did not happen,” reported DCXP’s chief Duncan Chessell. “After some team members starting on an Everest north side trip to the North Col and some climbing higher, we switched to Cho Oyu; then when the Chinese closed that, and we shifted to Shisha Pangma, but then that closed also... Now finally with permits in hand we are on our way to Lhotse.” Team leader is DCXP’s guide Paul Rogers, holder of the “CMC New Zealand Mountaineer of the Year” award - but also the one who reportedly did a "Judas" on Luis Benitez in the Nangpa La murders. Another guide in the team, Mal Haskins, hopes to wing fly off the summit of Lhotse.
The men who built the Olympic village: ExWeb special on China's migrant workers "I want to die. When I am dead, nobody can exploit me anymore." Shortly after Wang Binyu had uttered these words he was executed, at age 28. One year later, Zhang - a frantic 26-year-old female migrant worker in Northeast China sat down naked outside the furniture factory she claimed owed her back wages of up to 8,000 yuan. In Guangzhou, two men stood on the edge of a high building and threatened to jump if they were not paid. Check ExWeb's special report on the 100 million people serving to make China's selected urban population and western investors rich. They are beaten, extorted, paid at the whim of their employers, barred from access to public services including hospitals and enjoy almost no legal rights. About 1 million of them now make up nearly 90 percent of the construction workforce building the "New Beijing" and Olympic Games-related infrastructure.
Tibetan torch on Switzerland's Everest highlights skeletons The Olympic committee (based in Switzerland) is sticking to its strategy (unveiled by Reporters without Borders recently in a secret IOC memo) to down play international outrage and China's abuse of world citizens by blaming pro-Tibet groups. Matterhorn is to Switzerland what Everest is to Tibetans, and last week a group of Tibetan exiles lit a "freedom torch" on the peak. It's a futile protest against a highly political game that is swiftly marching into an all time hall of Olympic shame - worse even that Hitler's 1936 Summer Olympics. To some, the alternative torch highlights less Tibet's fate and more the Olympic organizers indifference to human rights, including Switzerland’s role in the World War II.
China controlling Nepal’s air space? An increasing number of climbers report sketchy air flight situations. One who tried to rent a helicopter said that the Chinese are now in control of all of Nepali air space and only officially Chinese sanctioned flights are permitted. Another team reported, “we were supposed to fly to [Makalu] BC today, but we can’t get green light from Nepal’s government. Apparently, the Chinese are pressuring to avoid helicopters to charter foreigners to and from Everest and Makalu, located just 22 km, away.”
http://www.k2climb.net/news.php?id=17238
ExplorersWeb Week in Review
Check in this week on the next ExWeb China special, from where this image originates, and a story by far the worst we have researched yet.
01:46 am EDT Apr 28, 2008
Chinese soldiers patrolling Everest south side BC, Nepalese soldiers authorized to shoot mountaineers, one climber sent home already for carrying a Tibetan banner in his backpack in Nepal (!), international mountaineers and media censored and subject to either hairy airlifts or suicidal trips to Everest north side BC. It's a mad, mad Himalaya season guys. Here goes some of last week's headlines.
The situation with comms in Everest BC is sketchy at the very least. Sat-phone calls are permitted on certain days, under soldiers’ surveillance. The phones are stored in a tent by the army, and climbers must ask their permission to call home plus use the phone in front of them.
The flag affair Silvio Mondinelli reported that his team was instructed to avoid hanging (Italian) flags on top of their tents.
Beyond the Olympics: Nepal authorizes deadly force against Everest climbers Nepalese soldiers and police on Mount Everest were authorized last week to shoot human rights sympathizers during China's Olympic torch run to the summit. This was shocking for several reasons, including the fact that the torch is not scheduled anywhere near Nepal. The Nepalese soldiers and climbers are on the lower elevations of the south side of the peak - with the steep and technical Lho La pass only one of the obstacles to the far away slopes of China.
Chinese security guards and plain clothes police in Everest south side BC Reports confirmed by several sources stated that the Chinese have sent Chinese security guards to be posted at camp 2 on the Nepal side of Everest and also sent plain clothes Chinese police to patrol base camp. Only this weekend, a helicopter reportedly landed in Everest BC carrying four Chinese officials accompanied by a couple of Nepalese. The crew, breathing supplementary oxygen, surveyed the camp and then left again.
First Everest climber down for Tibet A young, unguided American climber was kicked off the peak last week after police searched his backpack and found a Tibetan banner in it. The climber had little funds and bicycled around the area. He will now probably also lose the ten thousand US dollars in Nepali royalty fee he paid for the ascent.
Nepal repeatedly breaking its own Constitution at Everest Base Camp On Everest as well as in KTM right how, the government of Nepal is repeatedly breaking its own Constitution established as late as last year. The constitution states that every citizen shall have freedom of opinion and expression; and freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms. No censorship is allowed, and no communication media (incl electronic broadcasting and telephone) shall be closed, seized or obstructed.
Everest north side Olympic torch ascent made off limits to media After hanging out in Beijing, international journalists were ready to leave for Everest last Wednesday. The entire trip would take 3 weeks, and cover the Olympic torch on its departure from BC to the summit. Only hours before the trip, reporters were told that it was postponed. Instead reporters were to leave Beijing and go straight to Everest via Lhasa in three days. A group of (mostly TV journalists) reportedly left for BC Friday; however prevented from reporting on anything other than the flame and told that no media will be allowed when the torch leaves BC. Some international news organizations opted out of the trip due to the crazy time schedule and restrictions on their reporting.
Could be the torch mountaineers don't want witnesses to their climb, wrote ExplorersWeb. No Chinese climber is found among the top high altitude mountaineers who have completed the list of 14, 8000ers, and the presumed torch team has already been involved in at least one summit controversy.
News from the north side Chinese reached 7500m on the north side of Everest on April 17 but high winds that day reportedly held them back, said unconfirmed news.
Lhotse “This expedition was the one that almost did not happen,” reported DCXP’s chief Duncan Chessell. “After some team members starting on an Everest north side trip to the North Col and some climbing higher, we switched to Cho Oyu; then when the Chinese closed that, and we shifted to Shisha Pangma, but then that closed also... Now finally with permits in hand we are on our way to Lhotse.” Team leader is DCXP’s guide Paul Rogers, holder of the “CMC New Zealand Mountaineer of the Year” award - but also the one who reportedly did a "Judas" on Luis Benitez in the Nangpa La murders. Another guide in the team, Mal Haskins, hopes to wing fly off the summit of Lhotse.
The men who built the Olympic village: ExWeb special on China's migrant workers "I want to die. When I am dead, nobody can exploit me anymore." Shortly after Wang Binyu had uttered these words he was executed, at age 28. One year later, Zhang - a frantic 26-year-old female migrant worker in Northeast China sat down naked outside the furniture factory she claimed owed her back wages of up to 8,000 yuan. In Guangzhou, two men stood on the edge of a high building and threatened to jump if they were not paid. Check ExWeb's special report on the 100 million people serving to make China's selected urban population and western investors rich. They are beaten, extorted, paid at the whim of their employers, barred from access to public services including hospitals and enjoy almost no legal rights. About 1 million of them now make up nearly 90 percent of the construction workforce building the "New Beijing" and Olympic Games-related infrastructure.
Tibetan torch on Switzerland's Everest highlights skeletons The Olympic committee (based in Switzerland) is sticking to its strategy (unveiled by Reporters without Borders recently in a secret IOC memo) to down play international outrage and China's abuse of world citizens by blaming pro-Tibet groups. Matterhorn is to Switzerland what Everest is to Tibetans, and last week a group of Tibetan exiles lit a "freedom torch" on the peak. It's a futile protest against a highly political game that is swiftly marching into an all time hall of Olympic shame - worse even that Hitler's 1936 Summer Olympics. To some, the alternative torch highlights less Tibet's fate and more the Olympic organizers indifference to human rights, including Switzerland’s role in the World War II.
China controlling Nepal’s air space? An increasing number of climbers report sketchy air flight situations. One who tried to rent a helicopter said that the Chinese are now in control of all of Nepali air space and only officially Chinese sanctioned flights are permitted. Another team reported, “we were supposed to fly to [Makalu] BC today, but we can’t get green light from Nepal’s government. Apparently, the Chinese are pressuring to avoid helicopters to charter foreigners to and from Everest and Makalu, located just 22 km, away.”
DD