Towards a global perspective . . .

I think that the dark powers  have succeeded.   I have been watching the situation in Georgia closely, watching how a brazen illegal act by a small, weak client of the US on Russia’s border has tempted Putin to cross the line and retaliate.  Having received millions of dollars worth of US and Israeli weapons, and intensive training by US and Israeli experts, Saakashvili, Georgia’s increasingly autocratic president felt emboldened to strike the bear sharply on the nose and bloody one of her cubs.

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First Hassan Nasrallah secures an agreement that Israel will trade the remains of 150 soldiers, and 3 live prisoners, one of whom they judge a notorious criminal (though the Lebanese disagree with their facts as well as their evaluation of the situation) for the remains of 2 dead soldiers and information about an incident where a pilot was lost over Lebanon in the 80′s. Read the rest of this entry »

A Tibetan parent sees his eldest son off to school in mainland China.  As he sees the boy off on the  train, he says “Keep your cell phone safe”.  This is world culture.  It is the same thing I say to my son.

A woman has 3 brothers as her husbands.   The eldest is developmentally disabled, and the youngest a shaman.  The middle brother is a working partner for her.  She says that she treats them all the same, and seems quite happy with her situation.

A young girl wails bitterly as her parents cheerfully ship her off to her new husband.    Her mother seems undisturbed, and happily points out that she herself had the same feelings, but she got over them.  This is the way of life, she says.

The above remarks were based on the LinkTV documentary series called “A Year in Tibet”.   It is very interesting.  The Link is as close to free press as you will find in the US.
I have long been a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, and  an advocate for a ‘Free Tibet’.   It seems that, though this is portrayed as a healing, and it probably is, I have a heavy heart for the history that China has worked so hard to erase, for the suffering of the people through this difficult transition, and for the lost opportunity of the Tibetans to find their own way.  I might note that China did not overthrow Tibet by committing, or finding proxies to commit genocide.  For this, I suppose, we can be grateful.

Tibet is no longer on the map.   Afghanistan now has a border with China.   The people in these films are still beautiful and they appear to live between their traditions and the opportunities presented by the Chinese.  There are other stories to tell.  Many of the Lamas and Rinpoches deposed by the Chinese have spent years trying to rebuild their monasteries in Tibet and bring medical, educational and subsistence support to the people they were forced to abandon about 50 years ago.   I would like to see their story told as well.