So…a win/win, right?
Is Obama going to make him leave through the back door next to the garbage again? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEuN2la4YI&noredirect=1
Meh! China is always pissed off about something. Its intransigence on Tibet will ensure that continues until the retrograde old fogeys in “party leadership” get out of the way,
To be fair, the DL is a bit of a reactionary. But that hardly justifies the annexation of an entire state by a bigger one with more guns. You wouldn’t see Western Democracies taking over a sovereign state just because … the … top … guy …
You should change the headline to “China is furious that Obama did this…” and then change the picture to a hot chick. You’ll get more clicks that way.
The sad thing is, Tibetans know they can’t turn back the clocks to how things used to be - too much time has passed, too much of their old culture has been obliterated.
At this point they’d settle for regional autonomy and religious freedom. They just want to be subject to their own laws and to hold their own beliefs, as any distinct cultural grouping might.
Tough Tibet.
I love how the party line in China (and elsewhere) is “well, we’ll just make sure that nobody can effectively spread this information”. yeah… because that always works so well, and never eventually backfires on you… Um, “information age” much?
I’d suspect that taking the “sure, put that pic of that random old guy up wherever” and “who cares what some religious crackpot has to say” approach would work a little bit better. (note to everyone, I’m not endorsing this view of the DL, just making a point).
The funny thing is, pictures of the Dalai Lama are secretly everywhere in China - even among non-Tibetans.
Underground religiosity is the order of the day. The government’s anti-religion measures make it something of a tabboo to openly practice, but large swaths of the population are very quietly and privately devout to any of the half dozen or so religions thriving in the shadows.
Hello,
NBC News had the best headline: China Threatens Drama if Obama Meets the Daiai Lama.
I think Dr. Seuss would approve.
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As much as I love a good bashing of the dictatorial mistakes made by the US in the 2000s, I don’t get the comparison. Tibet is actively claimed to be part of China and have virtually no autonomy and is actively taxed, etc. Afghanistan isn’t exactly the 51st US state.
My point exactly. Making something forbidden always gives it some degree of power.
Just look at the bans on porn, alcohol, and western music in some middle eastern countries.
Look at marijuana use here in the states.
Not that these things wouldn’t have a following or power without the bans, but their following/use wouldn’t be a “fuck you” to the powers that be.
On an unrelated note, I absolutely love that the Dalai Lama is fascinated by machinery. I have to wonder if he hadn’t been selected as the Lama, if he’d be a mechanic or something like that…
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