"Right" Thinking 9

[Episode 9 of 12, running here on Saturdays from January 16th through April 3rd.]

Believe what you want, as long as it's legal...?!

From the New York Times:

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama gave a speech in India on the 51st anniversary of his flight from Lhasa. He urged Tibetans everywhere to make contact with Chinese people and said a shift in attitude among ordinary Chinese might one day sway Chinese government policy toward Tibet.

“There will be a time when truth will prevail,” he said. “Therefore, it is important that everyone be patient and not give up.”

Doesn't sound like a power-obsessed, would-be Dragon Warrior to me...


This statement is scary, however:

"In Tibet, people can believe whatever they want as long as it is legal. The government won't interfere. Instead it will help people solve problems along the way," said the vice mayor of Lhasa, Jigme Namgyal, according to the China Daily.

I mean, wow. Really, just wow.

Snow Leopard Uprising Day

March 10, 1959 was the day of the Tibetan National Uprising against chinese occupation. The 2008 attempt to commemorate this event turned violent.


Although there was apparently some reaction in China along the lines of "why didn't we do this?" to the movie Kung Fu Panda (released that Summer), I actually felt the movie rather pandered to the Chinese (it is a giant market after all) by making the evil villian that Chinese nationalist symbol Po the Panda was pitted against a snow leopard, an animal as associated with Tibet as the panda is with China. Of course, as this blogger writes "Sometimes a Panda is just a Panda", so of course, sometimes a snow leopard is just a snow leopard. (and I did love the movie ;) The themes of the movie actually support the value of a passionate and kind heart over extraordinary skill and discipline, so I've no quibbles with that of course, but I can't help that feel this scene, in which the Snow Leopard Tai Lung escapes extreme bondage using only a feather, speaks to the deep fear demonstrated by the chinese government towards Tibet (or the Dalai Lama):




So what do my imaginary readers think? How whack am I? And didja like the movie? The full movie can be viewed here (alas the embedding code doesn't work & I don't feel like figuring out how to fix it).

Witch Hazel

Another fav associate of my illustrious hero Bugs Bunny is Witch Hazel:


1954:




1956:




1959: