I really don’t have it in me to be snarky about this, so I’ll let the original material speak for itself - suffice to say that religion and governments make really shitty bedfellows.
Last year the Chinese passed a law that gives Beijing the power to approve the reincarnation of living Buddhas or lamas, of whom the Dalai Lama is the highest in the Tibetan hierarchy.
In turn, the Dalai Lama has raised the possibility to forgo his rebirth, or to be reborn while still alive so that he, not China, can choose his successor.
Reincarnation, the migration of the soul from one body to another in a continuous process of rebirth so that lamas or senior monks can carry on their religious work, is a basic tenet of Tibetan Buddhism.
The current 14th Dalai Lama who is considered a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, was discovered, through various forms of rituals and divination, while still a young boy, more than two years after the death of the previous Dalai Lama.
But while the issues of afterlife and rebirth seem like ones of strictly religious belief, for China’s rulers, they also involve the deadly business of political control over Tibet. The current Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner, has become an international icon and the peaceful face of Tibet’s struggle for autonomy.
There is a fear among some observers that the Dalai Lama’s death could trigger even more violent uprisings than the recent riots that challenged Chinese communist rule last March.
People on professional sports teams are not exactly known for being decent, upstanding citizens. And when it comes to soccer, the fans aren’t known for being classy people either.
But it’s bad when your entire league behaves so badly that Chinese TV refuses to broadcast your games until you all shape up.
I think this might be a good idea. Maybe we should put it into place in America, so leagues will lose cash if their players act like total douchebags. Yeah, I think the Chinese are onto something.
Actually, I think his words were ‘Arrrr, they be fine - matey! Pass the grog and raise the mizzenmast!’…but can you really trust a pirate? I mean, can you ?
All the 24 crewmembers on board the Chinese fishing ship, which has been hijacked by pirates off southern Somalia, are “fine”, a pirate leader told a radio station in the Somali capital Mogadishu Friday.The pirate leader, who did not identify himself, told Shabelle radio that his group abducted the Chinese ship some 48 km off the coast of southern Somali port city of Kismanyu, 500 km south of Mogadishu, late Thursday afternoon.
He claimed that they seized the vessel because it was fishing in Somali territorial waters and said the crew would be “put before the law and punished accordingly”.
I want one! Of course I would then spend half my time sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at the fish. But it would be good entertainment for the cat too. She spends half her time drinking out of the toilet anyway, with the fish tank toilet she could watch the fish while she drank.
I am actually more likely to believe this guy’s claims just because he seems to be working so hard at it. Of course there are many ways he could be hoaxing it, especially considering the items he’s using and the angle at which he’s being shot.
The video is in Chinese without subtitles, so there’s not much more information I can get, not even the man’s name. Anyone have more info?
Tibetan spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama, has apparently given up hope that China will come to some sort of agreement on Tibet. I can’t say I’m surprised. China is supremely recalcitrant, especially with regards to land masses they consider to be their property - and the Dalai Lama is nothing if not a realist.
One wonders if the recent death of his brother has affected his outlook, as well. Either way, it’s sad to see Tibet’s most ardent proponent throwing in the towel.
[...]it appears that after decades of fruitless negotiations with Beijing as part of an attempt to gain some concessions for his homeland, the 15th Dalai Lama may have finally reached the end of his tether. “Mr. Patience has run out of patience,” says Robbie Barnett, a professor of Tibetan studies at Columbia University in New York City. “It’s really very serious indeed and a major disappointment, though not so much of a surprise. The Chinese must have know this was coming — some of the responsible officials in fact must be very pleased that they have managed to provoke this reaction. Now they can say that it was the other side that broke off negotiations, and claim the moral high ground.”
The eighth round of talks between Beijing officials and the Dalai Lama’s representatives was scheduled for late October. It’s not clear how the statements by the Dalai Lama will affect them. On the day after the speech, the Tibetan leader’s spokesman Tenzin Taklha told reporters that the talks were set to go forward as scheduled, stressing the need to “keep the door to dialog open.” Taklha also confirmed that the Dalai Lama had called a consultative meeting of exiled Tibetans for mid-November at which the group’s approach to achieving their goal of a freer Tibet would be completely examined from the ground up. He said “everything will be on the table” for reconsideration except the fundamental principle of non-violence.
25-year old table-tennis champ and Olympic Gold Medalist Wang Hao apparently ‘went for the gold’ on the wall of a karaoke hall and engaged in fisticuffs with an attendant who interfered in his renal recreation. Hao has now been called to stand before his teammates and explain his actions.
“He needs to examine himself in front of the team, talk about his feelings and the lessons he’s learned and sound a warning for his other teammates,” men’s coach Liu Guanglie was quoted as saying in Wednesday’s edition of Xiandai Jinbao, a newspaper published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Wang was taken to a police station after he reportedly kicked the attendant, but was not charged and has denied striking the man or being drunk. However, he has apologized for verbally abusing him and reportedly paid him about $290 to settle the matter.
Good Lord, this sounds awesome. A 50-part Bruce Lee television series called The Legend of Bruce Lee featuring Chan Kwok Kuen (aka Danny Chan, the Bruce Lee lookalike from Shaolin Soccer), starts Sunday on Chinese network CCTV.
Can’t wait til it hits the BitTorrent trackers!
“We’ve only seen the glorious side of Bruce Lee - he comes out all guns blazing, his films are entertaining. But very few people know what injuries he suffered and what grievances he suffered,” Danny Chan said, noting the series even reveals that Lee was afraid of cockroaches.
The 33-year-old actor, whose best known work is Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Shaolin Soccer,” makes up for his lack of star power with his uncanny resemblance to Lee with his thick eyebrows and slender body.
Lee’s message of Chinese strength in movies like “The Chinese Connection” and “Return of the Dragon” also matches that of the Chinese government.
“Lee had strength, agility, pride, intelligence, not to mention charisma to burn, which coupled with the pro-Chinese rhetoric in his films have made him a potent symbol for the powerful new China that is now rising,” said Michael Berry, a professor in contemporary Chinese cultural studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
People on professional sports teams are not exactly known for being decent, upstanding citizens. And when it comes to soccer, the fans aren’t known for being classy people either.
Actually, I think his words were ‘Arrrr, they be fine - matey! Pass the grog and raise the mizzenmast!’…but can you really 
Tibetan spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the Dalai Lama, has apparently 
25-year old table-tennis champ and Olympic Gold Medalist Wang Hao apparently ‘went for the gold’ on the wall of a karaoke hall and engaged in fisticuffs with an attendant who interfered in his renal recreation. Hao has now been 
Good Lord, this sounds awesome. A 50-part Bruce Lee television series called The Legend of Bruce Lee featuring Chan Kwok Kuen (aka Danny Chan, the Bruce Lee lookalike from Shaolin Soccer), 
