Tibet

[Dvivid]

Saw the DL in Boston last week. So great.

Please view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW9OZ6LUHgA

[Dvivid]

Tibet from space:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/v ... c=eoa-iotd

[joeblast]

Saw the DL in Boston last week. So great.

Please view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW9OZ6LUHgA

did ya give him tha fist bump?

[Dvivid]

We high-fived.

I was joking that he was twittering on his iPhone under his robe:

"Im totally on stage right now!"

[joeblast]

hahaha nice! awesome that you got to meet him I hope he is doing well.

[pizwatc]

I find the Western fascination with Tibetan politics interesting. Tibet and China have been intertwined for centuries before the Western notion of a nation-state existed. Under the predecessors of the current Dalai Llama Tibet was quite possibly the most primitive place on Earth. All of the modern concepts of a government role in promoting civilization (health care, transportation, education, infra-structure) were non-existant. The spiritual heritage of Tibetan Buddhism was preserved and practiced at the expense of, and without regard for the well-being of the mass of the population.

Now the "holy man" Dalai Llama is traveling the world as a politician trying to resurrect the past. Imagine a Native American chief advocating "liberation" of the Great Plains and a return to the migratory hunter/gatherer experience of the buffalo hunters. Perhaps the romanticism of this "Free Tibet" fantasy which has been sold in the West could benefit from a little reality. Fatasy helps nothing, distracts from growth, and avoids the work and practice in the reality of the moment which is the essence of both Buddhism and Qigong.

[joeblast]

Promoting civilization aside, there was no real reason for China to have done so other than it felt entitled to, whether the people of Tibet wished it or not. Apples and oranges do not a congruent correlation make


So, in obama's overly conciliatory fashion, he snubs the dalai lama because he doesnt want to piss off china. Is he scared of the world or what? Talk about no nuts...everywhere he goes, he's on his back

[Dvivid]

I think Obama had to snub the DL in order for the meeting to go smoothly. I DO hope he will meet with the DL sometime as well, but I do understand relations with China right now are crucial for "world order." The elephant is beginning to move.

In other news:

"An incredible thing happened yesterday! Google, the largest Internet search engine and arguably one the world's most influential corporations, announced that it would stop censoring search results in China. This decision came after Google discovered 'highly sophisticated and targeted attacks' on its corporate infrastructure from China. Dozens of Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China were also targeted by the cyber attacks.

The statement on Google's official blog declared: "We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all."

Remarkably, just hours after this statement was issued, journalists in Beijing were reporting that the censors had been lifted, a move that may result in Google.cn being shut down by the Chinese government and Google withdrawing from China altogether.

Four years ago, when Google created Google.cn, a custom-built search platform that adhered to Beijing's cyber restrictions, SFT publicly opposed the move. SFT members organized protests at Google offices worldwide, including at their headquarters in Mountainview, California. We also launched the 'No Luv for Google Campaign' and initiated an online boycott of the search engine. More than 12,000 people agreed to "break up" with Google on Valentine's Day. Watch an entertaining video of the Google "break up" in New York.

Thank you to everyone who took action opposing Google.cn in 2006 - your emails, phone calls, and faxes made a difference.

Google's decision to stand up to Beijing is a landmark victory for freedom of expression, freedom of information, human rights, and the Tibet movement and is likely to have implications for other western companies operating in China.

Let this be a wake-up call to corporations and political leaders everywhere: colluding with Beijing's repressive policies does not bring about positive change or greater freedoms in China and Tibet. As we applaud Google's breakup with Beijing, we call on other companies and governments to also stand up to the Chinese government's tyranny."

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/01/ ... china.html

[Dvivid]

Proceeds from this 2010 calendar benefit Tibet;
http://www.ymaa.com/publishing/calendar ... l-calendar

[Dvivid]

Google announcement:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/ ... china.html

[yeniseri]

Now that I think more about this, it seems that China realized that the ownership of Tibet would be under dubious contention so if they never invaded Tibet, it was not part of China. So they invaded, and as occupied territory, it was under Chinese control!

[Dvivid]

Correct. Because Tibet is its own culture, its own language, and was its own sovereign nation, until China invaded.

[Dvivid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF9F5E4gRpo on Larry King recently after Obama meeting

[Dvivid]

Tibetan earthquake!

tibetanvillageproject.org

BBC has reported that a massive dam at the headwaters of three rivers in the area has been damaged and that people have fled to the mountains in fear that the dam might burst. A crack in the dam wall has reportedly prompted Chinese officials to drain the reservoir. The Chinese government has plans to build over a dozen more dams in this earthquake prone area. Read more on the Tibetan Plateau blog: http://tibetanplateau.blogspot.com/2010 ... ekong.html


85% of the buildings in the town have collapsed and the Red Cross is reporting that 70% of schools have been destroyed. The area is home to Tibetan nomads and farmers who have traditionally lived on the grasslands of the plateau. A Newsweek blog post from today documents the Chinese government's massive push to forcibly settle Tibetan nomads into concrete housing blocks like the kind we see lining the streets of Kyegundo. China plans to settle all the nomads in eastern Tibet within five years.

The Tibetan Village Project is a non-profit and non-political organization dedicated to alleviating poverty in Tibet through healthcare, education and other sustainable development projects that empower Tibetans to live self-sufficient lives.

[Dvivid]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/no ... -next-year

Dalai Lama hints at full retirement within a year

[nitsuj]

"Tibet and China have been intertwined for centuries before the Western notion of a nation-state existed."
Early/Mid-20th Century, China became a Communist country. This was certainly a game changer, particularly for areas with rich cultural identity.

"Imagine a Native American chief advocating "liberation" of the Great Plains and a return to the migratory hunter/gatherer experience of the buffalo hunters."
Had European expansion of the Americas happened within the last 100 years, this analogy would bear more weight.

Perhaps a better comparison would be to fanatical islamic groups (or any other group for that matter) that seek to impose their ideas, concepts, and culture upon the rest of the world at the cost of innocent (or even not-so-innocent) lives. Thankfully, the world has stood up to this dangerous imposition.

Suppression of cultural/religious expression/identity is not a good thing- not matter how you look at it.

[Dvivid]

How ludicrous that it is illegal to have a photo of the Dalai Lama or to speak Tibetan in Tibet ? !

[Dvivid]

Some great old footage in this 1959 documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPMSFn_T ... re=channel

[runestone0]

It takes balls to boycott China--we don't have them because half our economy and debt is controlled by it. We should emulate Germany--which still has manufacturing jobs and pays its workers damn good wages/benefits. Of course, Germany's corporations aren't solely concerned by profits at any cost. Wouldn't that be refreshing!

[Dvivid]

Live Webcast - 52nd Anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day

Ceremonies commemorating the 52nd Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day will be held on March 10th, 2011 from the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, India. The event will start at approximately 9:00am Indian Standard time and will include His Holiness the Dalai Lama's annual March 10th Statement. Most of the speeches will be in Tibetan language. Watch the event live at http://dalailama.com/liveweb

For timings in your region, 9:00am March 10th Indian Standard Time in India is the same as 7:30pm March 9th Pacific Standard Time in Los Angeles, USA.

DL usually has a translator on hand, so it should translated in real-time.