China Blocking YouTube, CNN, BBC, and Others with Tibet Riots

According to articles in the International Herald Tribune, China has blocked internet access to YouTube, CNN, Yahoo, Google News and BBC during their Tibet riots to prevent its population from viewing information that could result in copy-cat unrest within other parts of China. International reporters are also having email problems.

Around our planet, I wonder how many copy-cat crimes would be eliminated if access to information about the original event was never allowed to be pruned, cloned, gossiped, and regurgitated by people who may decide to commit similar crimes for the purpose of receiving the same wide-spread publicity.

We see copy-cat crimes in America every day; if one school has a shooting, within a very short period of time, other schools have shootings. Back in the 1960's when a racial issue including rioting broke out and was broadcast on the evening news, it wasn't long before other cities were having the same problems.

On one hand, I totally enjoy being able to access the global news available on the internet, but on the other hand, if the silencing of that news could save property, money, resources, and lives, perhaps there is merit to the notion of quashing it before the information causes further damages.

On the other hand, the issues between Tibet and Beijing would serve in offering Tibet a small element of safety if all in China were allowed to monitor the reactions to the riots that the policing element is providing. During past demonstrations in China, the military has not always acted in the same manner as the government released propaganda claims that they acted.

Over the last few days, I have watched a few of the Tibet videos that the news pages have been offering and they don't seem to be extremely horrible, just horrible with the expected fighting in the streets, property destructions, and with unhappy participants trying their best to upset their opponents. But, I have not seen all of the videos available; perhaps things are worse than what I was watching.

With this year being an Olympic year for China, it is entirely possible that this move to block media within the country when problems happen will be looked at as a safety concern to global visitors planning on attending. I would not feel comfortable going to the Olympics in China with my internet access restricted or blocked.

The Chinese government is releasing its own version of events on what is happening in Tibet, with these events slanted into indicating that China is doing everything correctly in this situation while the Tibet religious leader in exile Dalai Lama is the culprit.

The total situation between Tibet and Beijing sounds awfully similar to how Native American Indians were treated when we decided to rule over their homelands. The Tibet people are being asked to give up their religious and cultural traditions so that the Chinese governmental beliefs can be instated instead.

Blocking media to prevent copy-cat crimes may be something that we will have to consider as time goes on, but not today while our globe is so unsure of circumstances associated with rapidly changing world events that can affect any of us at any minute. Today, communications are a main key to comfort among the masses.

The people within the Chinese communities, who are being forbidden information about their neighbors in Tibet, may end up feeling resentful towards their government for denying the internet communications. If this becomes the case, lacking communications may go just as far as seeing riots towards copy-cat feelings resulting in this situation.