I am writer (history and guidebooks), living in self-imposed ;) exile in India, recently I was asked by diplomatic magazine to write an article about Tibetan question.

In Monday's diary, I asked, considering that Tibetan peoplehood, culture, and society are inextricably bound up with Lamaism, and that the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, a constitution guaranteeing the usual democratic rights, also recognizes special roles for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, Can there be a Tibetan democratic state?

Over 60% of those polled answered, yes it can.

Today, I want to focus attention on Greece, which became a state in 1821 after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire. Its constitution and laws give special recognition to the Orthodox Church and specially privilege ethnic Greek non-citizens in becoming Greek citizens. So, today's question is

Is Greece a democratic state?

Tibetan peoplehood, culture, and society are inextricably bound up with Lamaism, as Tibet's distinct form of Buddhism is called. The Dalai Lama is both the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. Imagine, if you can, Israel's head of state being, by law, a descendant of a High Priest from the days when the Temple still stood.

The question sometimes arises in discussions about Israel whether it is possible for a state to be both Jewish and democratic. Tibet and many European democracies provide interesting case studies that uniformly suggest an affirmative answer. Let's continue with Tibet before moving on to Europe.

I want
the Dalai Lama's
               laugh,
that full throat rumble
straight from the Buddha belly
free
       and smooth
as a strong stream
                     moving
                     big rocks
                     inexorably.
I want that laugh
and the wisdom
to let loose with it
                       often.

I, like all of you, am sick and tired of turning on my television to hear that another American soldier has died in Iraq.  I've grown tired of seeing the death toll in Darfur rise, and the suppression of Tibetan monks continue.  It is high time for someone to take a stand, and to end these atrocities.  The time has come for a "Car Wash For Peace"!

I’m a Mandarin speaking European American who has visited China multiple times over the last 25 years. I've seen vast transformations in the socioeconomic system practiced there.

The devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China killed over 80,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands. Entire China was mobilized for disaster relief. Donations from around the world flowed in to help the victims. The Chinese government's quick action probably saved hundreds of lives and generally received positive comments.

Here I want to bring your attention to a fact that few western journalists have picked up on during their reports of the earthquake and the rescue operation, a fact that is also not talked about very much in the Chinese media.

Just before the Chinese nation was to start a 3-day period of national mourning for the  estimated 32,000 dead in Sichuan, the latest in a series of aftershocks has shaken the region and killed three more.

New Tremor Hits China on Eve of Three-Day Mourning

This diary is a series of brief impressions about the effect of this tragedy on the Chinese--and its lack of effect in the US?

I remember when the World Trade center was bombed in New York City. I lived there at the time. It was shocking, but what blew my mind more was the response from all over the world--the photographs from almost every country of people gathering in candlelit ceremonies to grieve with the US, to support the US.
What also kind of blew my mind was how long the situation was "milked" in New York and DC for sympathy. Many people may find this offensive, but there will be more after the fold...

Hey Folks!  this cartoon has been linked to the Sunday NY times (click on Bob McCarty)...

http://topics.nytimes.com/...

http://bobmccarty.com/...

Here's a link to my cartoon blog...
http://politicalgraffiti.wordpress.com/

crossposted from unbossed

A new Congressional Research Service report - Tibet: Problems, Prospects, and U.S. Policy - RL34445 April 10, 2008 - is now available at OpenCRS.

Well-known forensic scientist Henry Lee
wrote to CNN and announced that he will not appear on CNN until CNN apologizes for Cafferty's anti-China remarks,
reported by Taiwan's United Daily News.

While all the community was wringing its collective hands about Dr. Wright and his betrayal of Barack Obama, we have lost sight of the things that matter. Back in the real world:

Obama draws 2,500 to Hickory, NC. This includes a man who was laid off and who lost his health insurance when the plant that he worked for closed.

China jails 30 Tibetians for riots:

A Chinese court in Tibet sentenced 30 people to prison terms ranging from three years to life on Tuesday for what the authorities said were their roles in the deadly rioting last month, the state news media reported.

On campus today I witnessed a very strange thing... a different university's student organization taking over the lawn in front of the Student Union.

This was truly odd.

Well, I went out there to see what was going on, and it turns out it was the Chinese Student Organization, and they wanted people to sign their banner in support of the Olympics.

Well now.  I wasn't really sure what to say, so I went back inside, and I thought, "what would I really have to say?"

    This whole trip has been great fun so far – roaming the country, getting a little work done here and there, pursuing my quest, meeting others who are on the road,  and in general doing no harm except for these damnable carbon dioxide emissions that come whenever I drive. I keep telling myself it’s all for a good purpose – if I can help move Alan Drake’s rail electrification plans forward in some small part by my traveling and writing as I go we’ll count it a success, despite the CO2 emissions.

      If you’ve been following this series you already know how much I like being outside and this time we’re in for a special treat; far too many years have passed since I last visited this particular bit of wilderness ...

With the 2008 Olympic Games just a few months away, I can’t help but find some startling similarities between the events surrounding the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the upcoming Beijing Olympic games.

The 1936 Olympics was meant to be a coming-out party for Germany.

Germany had rebuilt since the disastrous First World War and Adolph Hitler had declared that the games would not only be a showcase for the new Germany, but for the superiority of the Aryans.

Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. I can conceive of George Bush doing one right thing in his presidency--he could boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. Gordon Brown is pledged to do it; in the tradition of Maggie and George Sr., why not? Even John McCain has said its OK:

The Olympic Torch Relay, which has been met with worldwide protests everywhere since it started its journey in Greece earlier this spring, and was met with more on- site protests in France, England, and San Francisco, US, before leaving for Argentina, has finally made it to its last stop near China, before entering Australia, Japan, South and North Koreas, and Vietnam,...   then back to China finally...  which is Jakarta, Indonesia. The Indonesians are taking no chances and are tightly regulating the venue. The flame is being kept in a secret location until the "show."

For security reasons, the original 20km (15-mile) route has been cut to a few laps around the capital's main stadium.

It will be watched by 5,000 people, who had to apply for special identity cards, and 2,500 security officers.

On opposing the anti-China hysteria by western MSM, the population of China and Taiwan are displaying remarkable agreement. Taiwan is a democracy, has no media censorship, and its government has not taken a stand on the Tibet issue. However, this has not stopped Taiwan people from being sympathetic to Chinese, and being supportive of Beijing Olympic.