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The Last Dalai Lama?
- nkurz 11y ago"The Dalai Lama’s second-oldest brother, Gyalo Thondup, helped the C.I.A. train Tibetan guerrillas in Colorado, among other places, and parachute them back into Tibet." I had no idea the US had done this. This link has more details: http://www.historynet.com/cias-secret-war-in-tibet.htm http://www.historynet.com/cias-secret-war-in-tibet.htm As does Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_Tibetan_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_Tibetan_program
- Alex3917 11y agoThere are a couple books about it. The other place they trained them was in Ithaca, which is why there is still a big tibetan community there and that's where the Dalai Lama's summer home is. It's a pretty crazy story though; iirc after China found out about the program the CIA just disowned them rather than helping to further support or extract them, and just left them all over there to die.
- baldfat 11y agoJust like the Bay of Pigs.
- firstworldman 11y agoAny books you'd recommend?
- Alex3917 11y agoI haven't read any of them, but there are a few with good reviews on Amazon.
- Mikeb85 11y agoThe whole history of Tibet and the Sino-Tibetan war is quite interesting. Of course, its not in the interest of the 'free Tibet' crowd to actually learn that Tibet was a feudal kingdom with a history of warfare (more Dalai Lamas were murdered than died from natural causes), and that the Lamas were highly oppressive of the serfs...
- ivoras 11y agoSome sources hold that the US hasn't ever stopped doing such shenanigans. I wonder what will be thought of articles such as https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqis-think-the-us-is-in-cahoots-with-isis-and-it-is-hurting-the-war/2015/12/01/d00968ec-9243-11e5-befa-99ceebcbb272_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqis-thin... a decade or two in the future.
- fapjacks 11y agoI will make you a guarantee that these types of shenanigans have not stopped. And especially these days. If anything, it's been accelerated.
- kelukelugames 11y agoMy grandparents were generals in the Chinese military. When my parents and their siblings came to the US for grad school, they were all approached by the CIA.
- hellbanner 11y agoRelevant: http://news.yahoo.com/china-tells-dalai-lama-again-respect-reincarnation-093117967.html http://news.yahoo.com/china-tells-dalai-lama-again-respect-r...
- vinceguidry 11y agoLink goes nowhere.
- lallysingh 11y agoLoads fine over here.
- joshuacc 11y agoIt 404s for me. (In the Southern US.)
- hellbanner 11y agoWeird.. it does for me too now.
- jeanlucas 11y agoIt's ok here in Brazil
- jeanlucas 11y agoFor who can't open the link it basically says: "China tells Dalai Lama again to respect reincarnation, but the next Dalai Lama has to be born in China"
- ceph_ 11y agoThat's a much different headline without the question mark.
- awl130 11y agoWestern meddling in Sino-Tibetan affairs by the US government is understandable and is just international politics. But meddling by so-called 'anti-establishment' celebrities is the height of irony. The equivalent of Russell Brandt yelling "Free Tibet" at Glastonbury would be Al Wei Wei (famous Chinese social activist / artist) holding a concert in Shenzhen with proceeds going to some Singapore-based non-profit called "Free Cherokee Nation". The odds of the Cherokee Nation miraculously gaining sovereignty from the USA, and Al Wei Wei's ultimate benefit, if any, are so large and so remote, respectively, that we couldn't help but view such an act as self-serving. And so are all these western celebrities viewed by those in Asia (if at all). It is, in a sense, an self-aggrandizing gesture for a purely Western audience with little effect on China. It is, therefore, a circle-jerk.
- guard-of-terra 11y agoWell, I can imagine things like what you describe (regarding Cherokee Nation) and I won't find that especially odd. But Tibetians are much more numerous and they've lost their independence much more recently, making their case incomparable to that of Cherokee. Your parable is shaky. You seem to think that Dalai Lama issue is either solely about annoying China, or solely about self-presentation. It is not. People are genuinely interested in Buddhism because it looks elegant and less stained than other major religions.
- awl130 11y agoWould it help you if it were "Free Hawai'i"? That timeline is comparable. Your last statement confuses me. What does Dalai Lama have to do with Buddhism? The Dalai Lama is not the head of Buddhism but the head of Tibet, which is a tribe seeking a political state. Tibetan Buddhism is a sect of Buddhism practiced beyond Tibetan borders. Much like a great many Shia Muslims live in Iran, but we would not confound Iranian political independence with Shia Islam. Let's not forget Buddha was "born" in present-day Nepal. Certainly, the Dalai Lama is no fool and uses his religion for his political agenda, seeking to perhaps to conflate the two. By your post it seems he is succeeding.
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- guard-of-terra 11y agoThe Chinese stance on Dalai Lama is kind of weird: They kind of recognise him, he is free to travel, nontheless they pressure other people to not see him. Seems like they can't explain what they're trying to do to themself.
- guard-of-terra 11y agoThe rest of the world stance on Dalai Lama is counterproductive too. Chinese tell you: Do as we wish; or else. If you do as we tell you, nothing changes; otherwise, Things May Happen To You. (In this case, "don't meet Dalai Lama") And the world is happy to oblige. I mean, what will they demand next? As a person, I would never tolerate things like this from third party. You want me to behave how you like? Pay. Countries are just happy to give Chinese something for nothing. If barter will be in place, stakes will eventually rise, but as long as they get free service, no inflation for them! Pope taking orders from communist party on the other side of the globe under "Or Else" threats is an especial pity. Where's your realm, Pope, in this world or in another one?
- justicezyx 11y agoPope does not go to another country to lead a rebellion? If he does... hmm...
- xiaq 11y agoObviously they are trying to marginalize him...
- amyjess 11y agoIt's simple: they don't like him and wish he'd go away, but anything they could do to force him to go away would make him into a martyr, and he'd be even more a pain to them as a martyr than not.
- ttflee 11y agoRumors say that Dalai Lama has been bargaining with Beijing for his returning home, but has not reached a deal yet, apparently.
- padobson 11y agoRequired viewing: https://youtu.be/X48G7Y0VWW4 https://youtu.be/X48G7Y0VWW4