h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Barkhor is a place to meet friends, relax, and enjoy not having to be busy with anything in particular... just a good place to hang out. Those of you who have spent much time riding in trains might think of it as a virtual Bar Car; except that here, if you spill your drink or fall down, it's not the trains fault!

So, relax, take a load off, and post a friendly 'hello'. Who knows who you may meet!

JTG

Have a drink, John.

Ta, mate.

Hi, JtG.

My own computer is still not back from de-bugging, so again I'm availing of Recumbentman's kind services. Just finishing a wonderful book, well worth including in any Tibet-related bibliography, called "Namma" by Kate Karko. She's an English woman who married a Tibetan nomad from Amdo ( now Qinghai province. ) She gives a wonderful, if poignant picture of nomad life, and just how it is being eroded by Chinese incursions, particularly by the fencing off of the nomadic pasture lands, and the restriction on the size of their herds.

This has left the nomadic women with their traditional role within the house and around the home, but the men now have virtually no function, where they used to be herders and protectors of their flocks ( against wolves, yak-rustlers and bandits.) So the men spend much of their time hanging out in the concrete-block Chinese towns, drinking and gambling in karaoke bars.

The Chinese are doing their best to turn the Tibetans into a consumer society, while exploiting the Tibetans, both lamas and nomads, as a tourist attraction.

That looks like an interesting read, though a sad tale. First chance I get I'll add your review to the Library.

Cheers,

JTG

Just came across an interesting reference today (in an Irish Times article regarding the wearing of head-dresses by Muslim girls in French state schools.) Apparently Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "compels states to give minorities the right to enjoy their culture."

For the nomads, their culture is not merely the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and shamanism, but, much more fundamentally, the practice of nomadic pasturalism, the right to rove over large distances, which has the effect of preserving the environment from over-grazing and subsequent soil-erosion ( already a problem resulting from the fencing in of nomadic lands in Amdo.)

I seem to remember that the Chinese have signed the Covenant, but whether or not they have ratified it, I do not know.

In the present climate, it hardly seems to matter whether or not any country is bound by international law or convention. Led by the American example, all bets seem to be off. Governments seem to feel that 9/11 has given them licence to do whatever they want. Canada resisted the US call to arms; yet, even here, there have been alarming cases of government agencies showing their contempt for basic human rights.

There's a quote in Death of Yugoslavia that seems to describe a lot of what we are witnessing quite prophetically:

"... In the Post-Cold-War world, there is no collective security, no international will to protect the weak against the strong; the lesson [is] that to win freedom and security for one's people requires neither a sound argument nor a good cause but a big army."

If nothing else, the timing of the French initiative is appalling. It seems mind boggling to me that they would choose to squander whatever goodwill opposing the Americans over Iraq won them in the Muslim world, and alienate a large section of French society in addition to French Muslims, in such a cavalier fashion. They must have their reasons, I suppose, for taking this stance now. But I can't imagine what they might be.

I've added a Fun and Games section, which includes a link to The Tibet Game. This is a wonderfully immersive thing based on a series of linked panoramic photos. The player has to wander around, as if on holiday in Tibet, interacting with various characters. The objective is to gain merit and become a bodhisattva by doing things which support the Tibetan cause. Occasionally, doing something unwise, such as giving a photo of the Dalai Lama to a Chinese undercover cop, will land you in hot water.

So far, I'm a little disappointed that we haven't had more visitors, but optimistic that things will pick up.

Dear JtG,

What a pity you live all the way over there in Canada, where there is no shortage of Tibetans and Tibet Supporters. We could use your energy and inventiveness here in Ireland. How do I get to the Fun and Games section? In which of the many Tibetan threads does it lurk?

What a pity, indeed. I imagine it's a good deal warmer in Ireland at the moment.

The Fun and Games section is located on the main page (A2170982); there's a link at the top, under the picture of Ngawang Sangdrol.

Have fun!

Well, did you reach Nirvana?

I've just been adding some UN docs to the library, and came across this, which I thought might be useful to your Entry in Peer Review:

http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/0/9dfb4074aa020ab5c1256c0200351b5f?OpenDocument

It's a submission by International League for Human Rights dealing with the impact of corporate investment in the exploitation of Tibet.

Cheers,

JTG

Back again.

I thought you might find this useful, too, at least as something to link to, perhaps:

http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/un/un2.html

Cheers,

JTG

Hi JtG,

At last my computer is up and running again. Thanks for those links. I have not finished editing the latest entry on Tibet "Why the Chinese are there", but I hope to do so in the course of this evening.
I have not yet had time to play the Tibet Game, and I have a heap of digital photos of my new grand-daughter to process, so it'll probably be a while before I do.

Cheers,

Chai

All that stuff will still be there when you have the time for it. Enjoy your new grand-daughters pictures. That's what life's all about!

Cheers, Chai.

JTG

Hi, Chai. How're things with you?

So far, the response to h2g2 Friends of Tibet has fallen slightly short of where, in my wildest dreams, I hoped it might. In fact, the Bon thread seems to have attracted more interest.

I think something needs to be done to encourage people to post comments within the framework of FoT in order to make it easier for any well wishers to find each other and for us to find them.

With that in mind, I've been thinking of taking the Barkhor idea and giving it its own page, specifically aimed at encouraging visitors to post their comments, good or not so good.

In fact, thinking about it now, that should have been obvious at the outset.

Cheers,

JTG

Hello again.

I've added a new Barkhor page, linked from the h2g2 FoT main page, A2170982.

If we can get some of these loose threads tied together, perhaps FoT will become more useful and word of its usefulness will start to get around.

Cheers,

JTG

Yes, it's all a bit scattered. Good idea.

Following the suggestion of my new friend and Friend of Tibet, Kat, I've added a guestbook to the main page and another on the Barkhor page, both linked to the same thread below the Barkhor page.

JTG

I've added a link to your Entry, 'Tibet - Why the Chinese are there' under the header, 'China's Claim Refuted'.

Well done! You've tied a lot of information together in a very persuasive package.

Cheers,

JTG

Hi JtG,

I'm, totally confused. I"ve just added the entire list of links you recommended to my Guide Entry "Tibet-Why the Chinese are There", and now you say you've added a link under the heading,"China's claim refuted," which I certainly can't see. Did you add it to the other entry, on China's claim to Tibet?





Chai

Nope, just been there. So where is the link you've added, JtG? Give us a skin number link.