Violence is the tragedy that has befallen Tibet. The region whose name evoked images of peace and calm, reflection and introspection, simplicity and wisdom, philosophical depth and intellectual intensity; has been reduced to acts of brutality and mayhem. A wave of violence, whose deadly gas pervades the air and can explode with a single spark, has spread throughout the region. The once serene culture that nestled oneness with nature and the surrounding environment has been replaced with rage, racial hatred, and absence of reason.
What the world has been allowed to see are the images of Tibetans burning shops, destroying houses, stoning vehicles, clashing with police and the Military, and sporadic beatings of Han Chinese that they encounter. What the world hasn't been allowed to see are the retaliatory acts committed by the police and military to quash dissent in terms of beatings, arrests, torture, use of live ammunition, disappearances, and summary killings; all of which are unsubstantiated and unverified reports coming from inside Tibet.
For fifty years, the Communists have ruled Tibet, imposing its will on a people long used to freedom and self rule, feelings that are embedded in their psyche and blood running through their veins - assisted by the boundaries of the unreachable sky and the far reaching horizon - in their small spot on top of the world. Unfortunately, their location has also alienated them from the rest of the world.
How long can people suffer the shame of being disallowed to speak their language and have this banned in schools to prevent their children from learning it? How much pain can be brought to bear on a people denied the practice of their religion and cultural
traditions and where having a picture of the Dalai Lama will mean imprisonment? How far can patience of a people withstand the sight of traditionally common lands being migrated into by tens of thousands of Han Chinese supported by your invader, which limits use and enjoyment only to those designated "caretakers"? How much insult can a people take when icons of cultural and religious heritage are produced in commercial quantities and sold as meaningless souvenir items for profit? How many years of condescending treatment and discriminatory behavior will a people have to go through to realize they are slowly decaying as a race and being obliterated right before their eyes?
Violence is the tragedy that has befallen Tibet. Greater than this is the tragedy that caused 
this explosive condition to reach this far, and that is because no serious attention was paid to the plight of the Tibetans. The greatest tragedy of all is about to come, and that is if the free world and the community of nations sit idly by as China, imposes is vast military and economic might on a hapless race, whose only weapons are their rights and freedoms. Once China unleashes this power and the world merely shrugs, there is no end to what it will attempt next.
Haaarrrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
For almost 500 years, the powerful Empire of Tibet ruled the Himalayas, parts of central Asia, China and India; as far south as Bengal and as far up north in Mongolia during the 7th to the 11th centuries. The snow capped mountain ranges and narrow paths made Tibet impenetrable, and gave the empire an attacking advantage of the high ground when invading neighboring countries and territories. This however turned into a distinct disadvantage, since its isolation denied the empire of the emerging technologies and strategies in war, economics, and politics.
The cultural and religious traditions deepened, and way of life of Tibetans 
flourished; but its growth and defensive capabilities weakened. From the 12th century's occupation of Tibet by the Mongols followed by a succession of China's dynasties, Tibet was integrated with the Chinese Empire. The European "contact" blurred the status of Tibet beginning with the Portugese Missionaries who began encroaching on the domain of the Tibetan lamas, until they were expelled in 1745. The British Empire also raised its interest in Tibet to secure trade concessions. The British invasion of 1904 took out all resistance even from the Nepalese Gurkha government which occupied Tibet in 1855. Knowing the difficulty of governing the Tibetan terrain, the British agreed to sign the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty in 1904 which provides non-annexation of 
Tibet by Britain in exchange for fees from the Qing dynasty, and free trade zones for Britain; and the British empire would recognize China's suzerainty over Tibet.
In 1911, the 13th Dalai Lama declared independence from China, but no country ever recognized it as a sovereign nation and not a single western power had come out to grant it diplomatic recognition, much less favor its declared sovereignty. The turmoil in China from 1912 to 1948 allowed Tibet room for self rule, until the Communists controlled China and subsequently occupied and took control of Tibet in 1950. The Agreement signed in 1951 by Tibetan representatives affirming China's sovereignty over Tibet was obtained under pressure after resistance to China's occupation was crushed. America suddenly appeared in Tibet through the provision of massive funding and military support for Tibetan Guerrillas in 1959 via the CIA. The agency was also responsible for taking the Dalai Lama to exile in India. The support was discontinued in 1970 when then President Richard Nixon opted for rapprochement with China.
In 1980, protests erupted anew in Tibet pre-dating the Tienanmen incident. The Chinese government decided to push
for rapid modernization and development of Tibet to improve incomes and standards of living; to placate the region's ethnic population. They also encouraged the massive migration of Han Chinese into the regions of Tibet. The Tibetan language and religion were disallowed in the schools in Tibet, which was viewed by the ethnic Tibetans as a systematic means of wiping out their culture, traditions, and way of existence.
The latest round of violent protest clashes is a result of a continuing resentment made more intense by the perception that development and modernization favored the Han Chinese rather than the Tibetans. The cry for independence stems from their desire for self-rule, economic growth and empowerment, and the preservation of their culture, traditions and religion. The idealism of the Tibetan youth, fired up by years of frustration and disappointments, has been a smoldering cauldron that finally 
burst into a raging avalanche of burning lava not even the Dalai Lama's appeals could cool down.
The Chinese government has accused the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile of masterminding the unrest, to embarrass China in its task of hosting the 2008 Olympics. It has also accused the western press of biased reporting in favor of the protesters. It has confirmed, however, that the violence has spread to other parts of the region. The Dalai Lama has denied masterminding the violence and has stated that talks be held between his government and China. He added that he would be satisfied with autonomy, not independence. Media has had to rely on unsubstantiated reports from the clash areas since China has banned all foreigners and media in these locations. Reports being released by China from statements of citizens point to support for the government in its campaign to contain the demonstrations. The news blackout in China itself and lack of knowledge about the Tibetan situation may cloud perception and judgment of the Chinese in these protest incidents. Or, the supportive statements for the government 's response are merely self-serving.
There are those who argue that independence would not be an economically viable option for Tibet, plus the fact that it will put them in direct conflict with China. Others argue that some sort of autonomy like that of Hong Kong or Taiwan, or at least what Tibet had between 1950-59 where the Dalai Lama was involved in governance, would be a workable solution. China is likely to agree to negotiations only if independence is removed from discussions as a pre-condition, since it is afraid that other ethnic groups would demand the same opportunity. China has poured billions into Tibetan development, which Tibetans feel benefited only the Han Chinese, and focused on urban business rather than rural social programs that would 
empower the ethnic populations. The current literacy rates of Tibetans cannot compete with those of the Han Chinese. All these have not helped in diffusing the anger of Tibetans with China, and the long standing resentment over Chinese rule.
The Chinese perspective is that Tibet is what borders the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) occupied by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1912. The Tibetan perspective is that it is an integrated region that does not have a politically unified history, but definitely a socially integrated history. The disadvantage of Tibet is that it faces a powerful country that controls its claimed territory, and any hope of settling the issue in its favor rests with the magnanimity of its invader and the support of the free world, both of which are too much to expect. Development will eventually overtake them, and whatever seditious sentiments remain in "Shangri-la" will be 
defeated by compromise and capitulation, unless all ethnic groups rise up at the same time and declare their respective sovereignty. Until then, this idyllic horizon at the roof of the world will slowly vanish from the sight of man, and forever be lost even from his memory.
Haaarrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
Never in the history of a Presidential campaign in America has a candidate so boldly expressed what its greater majority chooses to dismiss, ignore, pay lip service to, or disregard as one of the major root causes of divisiveness, race. Unsettling as it may have been for the conservatives, Barack Obama's speech last Tuesday openly challenged Americans of all races, classes and beliefs to confront the issues that affect the nation; in a call for the creation of a Perfect Union.
His words were incisive, his delivery unemotional, his tone conciliatory, his manner was gentle, and his attitude was open. He spoke about all sides of the issue, all disadvantages experienced by all segments comprising America, all resentments emanating from events that affect racial issues, and the basis for these resentments from the perspective of each and every segment of the nation's social structure. Barack Obama has walked the path candidates before him have avoided, preferring instead to compel a resolution of working towards the direction all Americans desire; but where the choice of methods are divided by blocs in a political spectrum influenced in large part by the extreme ends of either side.
Undoubtedly, there will be those who will nit pick certain words, phrases, or thoughts, and magnify these into major contradictions or demands and proceed to condemn the man. There will be those who would raise hypothetical questions about his background, family, bloodlines, and religion; and from these speculative queries make allegations then draw conclusions. Such is the action of the cowardly, who are experts at name calling and labeling without logical foundation; or the selfish who would not want to sacrifice for a broader unity; or the blindly partisan who would deny the truth on the basis of purely ideological and propagandistic bias and prejudice.
Obama was enviably Presidential, respectable and dignified in expressing his message
for a better America. Whether the specific issue that brought him to this point will make or break him in his campaign would depend on the maturity of the American people, and the genuine desire to rebuild a country that is in deep economic trouble, social inequality, and political malaise. And, as far as friendship goes, it does not cease from a mistake committed, because everyone makes mistakes, but never makes them a mistake. Two people may get the same information, knowledge, or influence, but their application would differ. Even Jesus never condemned Judas. This is the point where this should be taken.
Haaarrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
In a solemn moment of quiet anticipation, a bereaved family finally receives the ashes of their loved one in a specially selected urn. Friends and relatives gather around and offer condolences, amidst controlled sobs that would express the painful loss of someone who has been a part of their lives. The struggle to be lucid and emotionally balanced is difficult to achieve, and the realization of the need to move on has not settled in the minds of the bereaved as yet. The immediate family is in a subconscious state of mourning and weeping at the demise of the deceased. Holding the urn close to their hearts and caressing it to simulate touching the departed eases the ache they feel so deeply. The only problem is, it is not their loved one's ashes, or not all of it; but they don't know it yet. 
A thriving business has emerged, driven by market forces of supply and demand that parallels taking specially packed choice cuts of chicken in a supermarket; but this time, the choice cuts are body parts. Carefully wrapped and preserved in freezers are several heads, torsos, legs, arms, or whole bodies. The demand from research organizations, medical schools, and other like institutions has made it a lucrative enterprise. The UK, seeking to expose their medical students and surgeons to human tissue before licensing, has joined its American counterparts in working with cadavers, which has increased orders beyond what providers can sell or supply.
The demand-supply gap has expanded the trade into a whole new industry that makes a living off the dead. It has also spawned black marketing in body parts where funeral homes and crematoriums are syndicated to stabilize supply; with the expectation of making a killing from these dead bodies. Rather than cremate the body, ashes are scraped from the bottom of the ovens or elsewhere, placed in the urn, and very consolingly offered to the relatives, while the real body is being disarticulated (chopped -up), wrapped and preserved for waiting high paying customers. A macabre and morbid discovery in California is a small tip on the iceberg of a potentially widespread ghoulish enterprise.
It is illegal to buy and sell human bodies, but due to the difficult nature of detecting this crime, fortunes are made by those who have lost feelings of shame, remorse, or horror at the way food is made available in their household tables. A science outfit, Anatomy Gifts Registry is one of the few who are on the legitimate side of the body supply business. This company "persuades" the dying to donate their bodies for scientific study. In return, they pay for all expenses, and costs of cutting this down to manageable study sizes. They claim that people's desire to help creates an altruistic motivation to donate. However, this may not always be the case since the lure of picking up expense costs of the patient may be the real motivation to sacrifice one's body for mutilation without burial, to alleviate the surviving relatives from paying huge hospital and medical bills.
The legal method is still a trade made legitimate by a consent to donate, but could be tied down to their inability to afford hospital expenses. Altruism is the facade for this choice. In the case of syndicates in funeral homes, it is thievery of the most contemptuous and heartless nature done only by the lowest form of maggots who feast on the remains of unfortunate humans. Saving more lives using dead ones has always been a process people choose to ignore, but trading in it as a business or industry for profit should engender karmic repercussions of the deadliest variety.
Haaaarrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
They were both battle tested. Gladiators who train long and hard for one of the most brutal sports of man, where packed audiences in the arena and in their respective countries delight is seeing their choice smash the face of the opponent. The bloodier the event, the happier they are, like Romans during the time of the Caesars when gore and mutilation were considered entertainment. Today, it remains the same as Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez did their utmost to beat the other to a bloody pulp.
One can only marvel at the conditioning of both fighters and the tremendous endurance to take 36 minutes of beating and banging while spending energy throwing punches and doing damage of their own to the other. The power and the force of each blow, capable of ripping muscle and tissue, splashing blood all over and damaging internal organs; was not sufficient to put either one away for good. One solid blow from either fighter to an ordinary man can break the neck and speed up the appointment with his Maker. But not Pacquiao nor Marquez. These are no ordinary men. These are prize fighters who risk life and limb to win fame, fortune and glory; to rise above the anguish of their past to enjoy the fruits of their excruciating suffering in the short future of their careers.
The fight was a very close one that could have been won by either boxer. Manny Pacquiao was himself surprised to hear that he had won. While being more bankable than the retirement bound Marquez is being used as an argument for being favored, this is easily quashed by the fact that Pacquiao received the best of Marquez but was unable to put him down. Pacquiao dished his best to Marquez and he fell flat on his back once, and was staggered twice. Both had a lot of heart, both had overwhelming talent, both were pained and hurt, but only one was on his feet throughout.
Marquez may be feeling the ignominy of defeat but there is no dishonor nor disrepute in his effort. He fought an honorable fight and fought creditably, but it wasn't enough to rise above his 3rd round fall. Pacquiao's countrymen are in celebration since a victory has brought honor to the country and its people, after being dishonored by its leaders in corruption and power grabbing. The troubling issue with Pacquiao is his intent to move to a higher division where punishment is even greater. While many will marvel at this choice, they know very little of what a boxer feels after a fight - win or lose.
The pain of urinating alone is agony, where the body punches received will cause blood to come out with the urine. The wounds that are rubbed with gloves during a fight that may contain chemicals could add to the pain. The stitches for cuts and blood clots all over, damage to kidneys, pancreas and stomach; all these contribute to the short healthy life of a fighter. A long life may be lived but the suffering will dominate it. The irony is that they leave the pangs of poverty to enter into more suffering after. And these are the few who enjoy fame. Most get only up to the hospital, then to a cemetery. 
Cheer on to victory and honor for the country. But never forget the hero when he has become a shell of his old self - either because of health or because of psychological maladies. When boxers go wrong, they are rendered as beasts or monsters. In reality, it is those who enjoy watching the physical deformation of another human being, who are the real monsters and beasts.
Haarrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
An exhibition in Brussels features a beautiful 1967 Ferrari P4 of which only three were ever made. Everything about it looks authentic, but open the hood and you'll find a Subaru engine installed in it. This car is a counterfeit vehicle made in Thailand, one of countless items of pirated goods that now flood the global market, and are brazenly sold in commercial quantities in urban and suburban outlets. Years ago, such items were sold clandestinely in secret locations accessed only by word of mouth. Today, these are competing and succeeding against their original progenitor. 
All sorts of items are cloned and none are spared, from electronics, garments, DVD's, wines and liquors, cigarettes, wrist watches and anything branded that is widely patronized by consumers. The most dangerous of these are the fake medicines and food that could put the consumers health and life at risk. Decades ago, fakes were limited to art work, jewelry of historical significance, which were sold to private collectors hoodwinked into the purchase for a fortune. These collectors could not openly complain since it would open their reputations to ridicule. Plagiarism is also a form of piracy, as with fake biographies of famous or infamous people that were 
painstakingly pieced with old paper and ink. Counterfeit currency is also a favorite among the underworld's talented artists.
There are those who are totally unaware that they are buying fake products. However, there are many who patronize such clones for varied reasons. One, the original creator is overpricing its products making volumes of profit, patronizing the clone is a way of getting even. Two, the budget hunter who feels he has won over those who bought the more pricey original where he has obtained his item at a much lower price. Three, those who don't care about violating the law as long as their need is satisfied. Four, those who want to project a status but do not have sufficient funds to sustain it. The worse part is that these patrons lead themselves to believe that the clones are as good as the original. Those who warn the public of the proliferation of fakes eventually see their sales decline, because buyers of original items are afraid that the product they used to buy could be counterfeit.
The popularity of pirated goods is largely due to price. Consumers who patronize clones question the value of the genuine items, and wonder why the fakes can be bought at less than half the price for almost equal quality and craftsmanship. Most consumers would not be able to comprehend the costs of research, development, testing, quality control, branding, marketing, and warranties. To them, it's the function, the comfort, and the price. Manufacturers and designers have tremendous tasks ahead in terms of educating the global market's perceptions regarding the concepts of corporate accountability and responsibility.
Meanwhile, billions of dollars are lost to pirates every day, putting jobs at risk and people's careers in jeopardy. In the future, it may be wise for global manufacturers and marketers to clone their own products, in order to beat the counterfeiters at their own game. That would level the playing field. In the end however, it's not really what brand is worn or used and whether it's an original or a fake, but how the user looks in it. For many, genuine or clone, they force its use on themselves even if they look so utterly disgusting and ridiculous.
Haaarrrrwwwwk... Twoooooph...Ting!
Beneath the beauty of its surface, the grandeur of its history, and the romance of its surroundings, lies an ugly and demeaning reality of the image of Paris. The victims are fresh faced students, single parents, and poor young career professionals starting out, who cannot afford exorbitant accommodations due to a festering housing crisis; whose income shortfalls cannot sustain roofs over their heads, and are forced to rent in exchange for sex.
The predators are men who are seeking sex for housing, taking advantage of the vulnerability of their prey's situation to satisfy their lustful intentions. 
Liberation journalist Ondine Millot's six month investigation into this perverse side of Frenchmen also describes a book, Mes Cheres Estudes (My Dear Studies) about Laura's (not her real name) slide from being an undergraduate into a poverty stricken student forced to surrender her body to pay the rent. The contrasting environments of the academe and the reality of her conditions is enough to create permanent distortions in her perceptions of social values, honor, respect, dignity, justice, governance, citizens safety and protection, human rights, among many others that define responsible citizenship, love of country and fellowmen.
There are about 1 million homeless people in France, one hundred thousand of whom sleep in the streets. The students have waged protests by camping in tents at Canal Saint Martin and occupying an abandoned building in front of the Bank of France, calling it the Ministry of Housing Crisis. They have also invited students and other homeless people to squat with them in the building. The protests have forced legislators to introduce a law making housing a legal right, putting it in the same category as education and health.
The landlords at times demand that occupants show salaries that's 3 times the cost of rent, making it impossible for the less privileged to have a place to stay. This has emboldened predators who advertise on websites and periodicals for "flats in exchange for services", or the more bluntly stated "Open in Spirit and Elsewhere" or "For Libertine Services" and outright degrading "Sex Twice a Month". The flats are squalid
and unhealthy, but the fees are the worst part of this distasteful state of affairs.
The most fitting punishment for such perverted "landlords" is a revival of the guillotine and public mutilation that will make eunuchs of these despicable breed of mammals who can hardly be called men.
Haaarrrrwwwwwk...Twooooooph...Ting!
For fifty years, the Communists have ruled Tibet, imposing its will on a people long used to freedom and self rule, feelings that are embedded in their psyche and blood running through their veins - assisted by the boundaries of the unreachable sky and the far reaching horizon - in their small spot on top of the world. Unfortunately, their location has also alienated them from the rest of the world.
traditions and where having a picture of the Dalai Lama will mean imprisonment? How far can patience of a people withstand the sight of traditionally common lands being migrated into by tens of thousands of Han Chinese supported by your invader, which limits use and enjoyment only to those designated "caretakers"? How much insult can a people take when icons of cultural and religious heritage are produced in commercial quantities and sold as meaningless souvenir items for profit? How many years of condescending treatment and discriminatory behavior will a people have to go through to realize they are slowly decaying as a race and being obliterated right before their eyes?
this explosive condition to reach this far, and that is because no serious attention was paid to the plight of the Tibetans. The greatest tragedy of all is about to come, and that is if the free world and the community of nations sit idly by as China, imposes is vast military and economic might on a hapless race, whose only weapons are their rights and freedoms. Once China unleashes this power and the world merely shrugs, there is no end to what it will attempt next.
