Simply add a hot drink to the mug, and the familiar facial hair of our Lord melts away to reveal... an Italian hairdresser!
Simply add a hot drink to the mug, and the familiar facial hair of our Lord melts away to reveal... an Italian hairdresser!
> To: sally
> Subject: blog.co.uk misses you!
> From: info@blog.de
> Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 05:41:52 +0100
>
>
> Dear sally
>
> You have not used your blog.co.uk account for almost a year. Therefore, it seems that you are no longer interested in using our services. We would like to advise you that your account will be deleted and your username will be cleared for other users if you do not log in within the next 30 days.
>
> If you wish to keep your blog.co.uk account and your username, simply go to blog.co.uk and log in http://www.blog.co.uk/login.php with your username and password.
>
> We are looking forward to seeing you again.
>
> Your blog.co.uk-team
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_________________________________________________________________________
Dear blog.co.uk-team
I have no idea why you have sent me this, as not only have I been signing into my blog over the last year but also I just paid you a considerable sum of money for the privilege. Please therefore leave my blog and my username as it is.
Thank you,
Sally
Don't want a fairy on your tree? Why not hang a Bishop instead?
Choose from the Archbishop of York(£6.50) or the inexplicably cheaper Archbishop of Canterbury (£5.50.
]]>
Rest in the lap of the Lord with this chair, a snip at just under $700.
I know you want one.
]]>This month's Godbothering Gadget is the Jesus Pan.
Don't all rush at once.
]]>
It now costs me approximately £20 more to fill up my car with unleaded than it did when I bought the car two years ago.
How long before it really comes to this?
My goat is got. Again. Nuff said.
]]>Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had a country more faithful friends than you
Sir Ralph Turner MC, 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles, 1931
If there was a minute's silence for every Gurkha casualty from World War II alone, we would have to keep quiet for two weeks
Gurkha Welfare Trust
I think this is a simply scandalous way to treat some of the most modest, brave and courageous individuals I have ever met
Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader
Hundreds of retired Gurkhas have demonstrated in Westminster to demand the right to remain in the UK and pension equality with British soldiers. Fifty of the Nepalese soldiers have handed back their Long Service and Good Conduct medals in protest.
Gurkhas who retired after 1997 can automatically stay in the UK, but those who retired earlier must apply.
At prime minister's question time in the House of Commons earlier, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg held up one of the Gurkhas' medals and demanded they be given equal pay and pension rights as well as the right to live in the UK.
Addressing Mr Brown, he asked: "Can you explain to the Gurkhas why on earth you believe that Gurkhas who served in the Army after 1997 are worthy of British citizenship but those who served before that date should be deported?"
Mr Brown responded by saying the Gurkhas did a "tremendous job" for Britain and that the UK government was the first to extend equal pay and pension rights to those serving since 1997. "Now why is the date 1997? It's the date that the Gurkhas - once based in Hong Kong - moved to be based in Britain," he added. "And that's why we are honouring the promises we made for the period after 1997."
Not good enough, Mr Brown.
The history of the Gurkhas is remarkable. Many Nepalese who join up are following a family tradition going back for several generations.
I believe ALL Gurkhas, regardless of their retirement date, should have the option of British or duel citizenship and residency for themselves and their immediate family, and equal pensions to that of other members of the armed forces.
]]>Our petition for restraint and dialogue in Tibet is exploding, with 253,353 signers since yesterday! Add your voice to the outcry now:
SIGN THE PETITION!
In just 36 hours, 253,553 of us have supported the Dalai Lama's call for dialogue and human rights in Tibet. This is an incredible response--if each of us can get 4 more of our friends to SIGN THE PETITION, we'll hit 1 million this week!
After decades of suffering, the Tibetan people have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. The spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games is now on China, and Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner the Dalai Lama is calling to end all violence through restraint and dialogue--he urgently needs the support of the world's people.
China's leaders are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama--but we're told many Chinese officials believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China's leadership is right now considering a crucial choice between crackdown and dialogue that could determine Tibet's--and China's--future.
We can affect this historic choice--China does care about its international reputation, and we can help them choose the right path. China's President Hu Jintao needs to hear that the 'Made in China' brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below now to join 250,000 others and sign the petition--and tell absolutely everyone you can right away--our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/22.php
China's economy is dependent on "Made in China" exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new and respected China. China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability -- some of Tibet's rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and reform.
We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in New York, London and Beijing, but it must be a massive number first. Please forward this email to your address book with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book--it will come up after you sign.
The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak--we must help them be heard.
With hope and respect,
Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paul, Galit, Pascal, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team
Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
Crackdown in Tibet, but protests spreading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/tibet.china
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-protests-widens/2008/03/17/1205602289349.html
Dalai Lama calling for dialogue and restraint, and an end to violence:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.216.htm
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200803191258-pol-ren0032-art.html
Leaders across Europe and Asia starting to back dialogue as the way forward:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7300157.stm
Chinese Prime Minister attacks "Dalai clique", leaves door open for talks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813194.htm
Other Chinese signals:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_looks_at_India_to_talk_to_Dalai_Lama/articleshow/2875142.cms
---------------------------------------------------
ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.
Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace pages!
]]>
]]>15 February 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to License the use of fireworks for public display only on recognised dates."
Details of Petition:
"Every year countless pet and wild animals are killed owing to the random letting off of fireworks. Children, in the main, insist on annoying and terrifying elderly people and pets. There is no end to it and I ask the government to restrict the purchase and use of fireworks to public display only. I am not against fireworks but I am against their random 24/7 abuse."
Read the Government's response:
Although a number of people have called for a ban on the use of fireworks by the public, the Government believes that to do so would be very unwelcome by the population at large as an undue restriction on the freedom to enjoy traditional celebrations and family firework parties (weddings and birthdays etc), the great majority of which are conducted in a safe and sensible manner.
However recognising concerns over the misuse of fireworks and their effects on animals, the Government introduced in 2004 a comprehensive package of measures designed to promote safety and tackle anti-social or inconsiderate use of fireworks.
They include:
banning the possession of fireworks in public places by the under 18 age group;
making retailers responsible for ensuring that they do not sell fireworks to under 18s;
introducing a curfew on the use of fireworks;
placing a maximum decibel limit on the largest fireworks available to consumers; and
developing the licensing system to encourage seasonal-only sales (thereby reducing the frequency of noise in the approach to the November season).
We believe these measures have substantially reduced the effects of misuse of fireworks.
Bollocks they have 
The Mosquito is popular with local councils and police who use them to discourage loitering (and the accompanying antisocial behaviour) by youths in public places. The Mosquito's high-pitched sound is above the normal hearing range of over-25s, so it only causes discomfort to young people.
A recent campaign, with the jazzy name "Buzz Off" (who lay awake all night thinking that one up then?), led by the Children's Commissioner for England, wants the Mosquito to be scrapped, complaining that young people are being treated in an increasingly negative way by society.
Well, hard cheese!
I am sick of the little buggers hanging around the field opposite my parents' house, leaving litter, spent condoms and drug paraphernalia in the path of my dog and small children, spraying not very good graffiti all over local houses, keying local cars at every opportunity and torching trees.
In fact, if I had the wherewithal I would probably buy one myself. But only because I am not allowed to remove the little bastards from the gene pool with an offensive weapon.
However, according to my policeman friend, this Mosquito is a double-edged sword.
Yes, it keeps kids off the streets, but it also makes police officers under 25 feel very uncomfortable too.
So - kids off the streets, or more police on the beat? Which would you rather see?
]]>The average cough comes out of your mouth at 60MPH.
When the Titanic sank there was 7,500 lbs of ham on it. (Not including Leonardo DeCaprio)
Hanukkah can be spelled in 17 different ways: Channuka, Channukah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanuko, Hannuka, Hannukah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukkah, Kanukkah, Khannuka, Khannukah, Khanuka, Khanukah, and Khanukkah, and Chanuccah.
A humpback whale's milk is 54 percent fat.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
On average people fear spiders more than they do death.
The strongest muscle in the body is the TONGUE.
Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day.
Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider?
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.
In ancient Egypt, Priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies,including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
Polar bears are left handed.
The flea can jump 350 times its body length, that is like a human jumping the length of a football field.
A cockroach will live nine days without it's head, before it starves to death.
The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the males head off.
Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
During a lion's mating season, they will mate every 25 minutes for three days straight.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
A cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
Starfishes haven't got any brains.
Average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.
Percentage of Americans who have visited Disneyland/Disney World: 70%
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
When opossums are playing 'possum, they are not "playing." They actually pass out from sheer terror.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne, and Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them would burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.
The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary. When it was built in the 1940s, the state of Virginia still had segregation laws requiring separate toilet facilities for blacks and whites.
The cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth II, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."
Spanish moss is related to the pineapple.
The average mouse pad size is 71\2 inches by 8 inches.
On average, an iceberg weighs 20 million tons.
4 out of 100 American women go pantyless everday.
The white part of your fingernail is called the lunula.
Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head."
The geographical center of North America is near Rugby, North Dakota.
The infinity sign is called a lemniscate.
If you stretch a standard Slinky out flat it measures 87 feet long.
There are only three words in the English language with the letter combination "uu." Muumuu, vacuum and continuum.
The "Calabash" pipe, most often associated with Sherlock Holmes, was not used by him until William Gillette (an American) portrayed Holmes onstage. Gillette needed a pipe he could keep in his mouth while he spoke his lines.
The only word in the English language with all five vowels in reverse order is "subcontinental."
An ostrich's pupil is rectangular.
Most Americans' car horns beep in the key of F.
The shortest French word with all five vowels is "oiseau" meaning bird.
Camel's milk does not curdle.
The ball on top of a flagpole is called the truck.
A person from the country of Nauru is called a Nauruan; this is the only palindromic nationality.
The word "modem" is a contraction of the words "modulate, demodulate." (MOdulateDEModulate)
The nursery rhyme Ring Around the Rosey is a rhyme about the plague Infected people with the plague would get red circular sores ("Ring around the rosey..."), these sores would smell very badly so common folks would put flowers on their bodies somewhere (inconspicuously), so that it would cover the smell of the sores ("...a pocket full of posies..."). People who died from the plague would be burned so as to reduce the possible spread of the disease ("...ashes, ashes, we all fall down!")
The Titanic was running at 22 knots when she hit the iceberg.
The citrus soda, 7-UP, was created in 1929; '7' was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. 'UP' indicated the direction of the bubbles.
Because radio waves travel at 186,000 miles per second and sound waves saunter at 700 miles per hour, a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 13,000 miles away than it can be heard at the back of the room in which it originated.
In the original 101 Dalmatians movie, Pongo has 72 spots, Perdita has 68 and each of the puppies has 32.
More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
You were born with 300 bones, but when you reach adulthood you only have 206 bones.
London is the most universal city for languages. The city has different people who speak 300 different tongues.
AND IF YOU AREN'T PARANOID ENOUGH...
It has been recommended by dentists that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (two meters) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush!
The soft plastic headphones used on airplanes create a warm, moist environment in the ear canal that is ideal for breeding bacteria. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
On a plane, if the passenger in your seat on the incoming flight had serious gas, then you are sitting on a cushion full of disease-causing microbes.
Homely criminals get 50% longer jail sentences on average than good-looking criminals.
Four sunken nuclear submarines sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. One, a Russian sub resting in deep water off of Bermuda, holds 16 live nuclear warheads. Scientists and oceanographers are unsure what the impact of the escaping plutonium will have, but warn that corrosion could create the proper chemical environment for a massive nuclear chain reaction.
In 1994, electromagnetic interference (EMI) from a nearby cellular telephone activated a power wheelchair at a scenic vista in Colorado,sending the passenger over a cliff.
If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for US citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrial or their vehicles?
More people working in advertising died on the job in 1996 than died while working in petroleum refining
]]>2. Lift your eyes from the screen - what's the first thing you see and how did it get there?
Johnny Depp Calender 2007, bequeathed to me by Claire when she left
3. What, if anything, would you like to get rid of in your life and why?
I would like to get rid of all the stuff I don't need on my narrowboat, which can only happen when I am at long last living on the boat
4. If you were building your own house what one room would you include that you don't have now?
A well soundproofed recording studio
5. When you were little people asked "what do you want to be when you up?". Does your answer then match what you do now?
Hardly, I wanted to be a fairy 
We have our own national anthem:
Bloggers of the world unite
and save our common sense
Feed it chocs and lots of wine
And don't sit on the fence
We won't stand for bullshit
And prejudice and hate
We'll climb trees if we want to
And scoff a lot of cake
There will, of course, still be laws:
1. There will be no Godbothering of any sort.
2. There will be no racism, sexism or homophobia.
3. There will be no nambypambying.
4. Solicitors will be banned, or at least not encouraged.
5. There will be no Dido and especially no Bloody Melua Woman.
6. Bananas will be any fucking size and/or shape that nature intended.
I may think up other laws as we go along.
Tree climbing, pancake races and rolling fucking great cheeses down hillsides whilst drunk will be compulsory, and fathers will be permitted to bath their babies without fearing accusations of paedophilia.
And anyone who doesn't like that can just FUCK OFF.
Please form a disorderly queue.
]]>1. Singing on stage with a live band.
2. Bailey's Irish Cream.
3. Being loved.
4. My friends.
5. Blogging.
6. Travelling.
7. Sunshine.
8. Walking my dog.
9. Morrisons Belgian Truffles.
10. Chatting with my new love interest.
There, that wasn't too hard was it?
However, a few more things that irritate me have just cropped up:
1. Patients who turn up in my department and have a go at ME because they are in the wrong department.
2. Junior doctors who are arrogant and rude.
3. Technicians who hang out with junior doctors and think it is cool to be arrogant and rude.
4. Hospital canteens that can't make a decent sandwich.
5. Consultants who take things off my desk then don't bring them back.
I may need to go home a bit early today, I think.
]]>1. People in dark clothing who launch themselves in front of my car in bad light.
2. Cyclists who cycle recklessly on the pavement.
3. Cyclists who cycle recklessly on the road.
4. Cyclists who bump my car then give me the evil eye for driving one.
5. Cyclists, smug bastards.
6. People who stand by the crossing with no intention of actually crossing.
7. Buses that pull out without indicating.
8. People who don't thank you when you let them out of a junction.
9. Having to drive to and from work in the dark.
10. Having to go to work when there is nothing to do there.
]]>BATMAN STRESS IS LINKED TO DEATH
Tragic Heath Ledger was so stressed during the filming of the new Batman film that he needed to take pills to help him get more than two hours sleep a night.
Of course it must be really 
ing stressful being a highly paid movie star, but if you don't like it you could always just STOP and get a proper job.
Well, one good thing has come out of his death anyway - my mum has reopened the 'Grundy Book of the Dead' which was started by my grandmother but closed a year ago due to severe piss taking. In this book is listed the name of the dead celebrity, what they were famous for, and how and when they died. The purpose of this wondrous tome is purely and simply to settle any argument if we were to forget if they were actually dead or not.
We had to explain to her who he was though 
http://www.astrology-numerology.com/numerology.html
I think my Life Path number and Destiny Number were pretty accurate, however my colleague Ula's was spot on!
Have a go, see what you think.
]]>Hundreds of dogs every year are made ill or even killed by their well-meaning owners. Already this year at least 800 calls have been made to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service.
Chocolate is highly toxic to dogs as it contains theobromine which affects the central nervous system and the heart muscles. This is not poisonous to humans or even cats.
Symptoms include hyperactivitiy, breathlessness, vomiting, agitation, peeing a lot, and diarrhoea. The danger depends on the size/weight of the dog and the type of chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the higher the risk. The lethal dose is between 250 and 500mg per kg of body weight.
Remember to keep chocolate tree decorations (even wrapped presents under the tree), chocolate coins and boxes of chocolates out of reach of the dog who, if it's anything like mine, will not think twice about stealing!
And remember, folks - dead puppies are no fun (click on PLAY below to hear the song)!
Please note: theobromine is also poisonous to horses, although I would bet they'd have to eat a feck of a lot of Wispa Bars before it did for 'em.
]]>We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to License the use of fireworks for public display only on recognised dates
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Firework-abuse/
I for one am fed up with having to spend the best part of three months every year trying to comfort my distressed animals.
I don't want to piss on anyone's picnic, but if fireworks were licenced it would not only mean that animals and their owners would have an easier life, but also take a fair bit of pressure off the NHS as there would be far less injuries.
I daresay there is always going to be some idiot who will try to make his own using instructions on the internet, but if he wants to remove himself from the human gene pool then all well and good.
]]>China has continued to support the illegitimate Junta that continues to rule Burma. Recently Burma has seen massive peaceful protests from Monks and ordinary citizens alike, despite this the Junta has cracked down and begun the murder of the peaceful protesters.
When an emergency session of the UNSC was called - China blocked Sanctions against the Junta.
I feel that it is Immoral and unjust that China be able to benefit from western economies and obtain money that would come from the Olympic games they are due to host.
I call on the British government to boycott the '08 Olympic games in response to this disgraceful situation.
Sign HERE if you are a UK citizen or ex pat.
Apologies if you are not eligible to sign, but there is no reason why you should not lobby your own government!
New Delhi(CNSNews.com) - China's plans to construct a 66 mile-long highway near Mount Everest is making environmentalists see red while other critics view the project as an attempt to legitimize Beijing's hold on occupied Tibet.
The road ostensibly is being built to transport the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the base of the world's highest mountain, from where it will be carried to the summit. Everest lies on the border of Tibet and Nepal.
Critics say the road, along with several planned hotels, will endanger the fragile ecosystem of the snowbound area.
Environmental activists say construction will increase pollution through fuel-burning, the felling of trees and the accumulation of waste, and could enhance glacial fracturing. They worry this will add to problems already caused by the increase in numbers of pilgrims and tourists to the area due to the recent opening of Beijing-Lhasa railway track, the highest railway system in the world.
Tibet has been occupied by China since 1950 and human rights groups say it rules the Himalayan territory with an iron hand, prohibiting democracy and free expression. Tibetans maintain a government-in-exile in northern India.
Tenzin Tsultrim, head of the environment and development desk in the exiled government, told Cybercast News Service on Friday that "for last fifty years, especially in Tibet, China has carried out massive development projects with complete negligence of social responsibility."
Tsultrim described the railway system as "environmentally destructive" as it had been planned "without consulting the local population."
Syed Iqbal Hasnain, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, and a renowned glaciologist, said a road like the one planned by the Chinese "can completely change the ecosystem dynamics."
Describing glaciers as super-fragile systems, Hasnain argued that "if indirect impacts of [global] warming can be seen so dramatically, direct human intervention would be even more dangerous."
Everest has long been the subject of environmentalists' concerns. Japanese mountaineer Ken Noguchi, a leading campaigner for cleaning up the peak, has removed nearly 9,000 kilograms of trash over five trips. He believes there could be several tons of garbage still in the area.
Human rights activists also believe the road construction forms part of China's attempts to demolish Tibet's cultural and natural heritage.
Officials of the exiled government stated that the ongoing construction activity was China's way of asserting its "tenuous claims to sovereignty over Tibet."
Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet Autonomous Regional government -- a Chinese authority -- said the road was needed because of foreigners' complaints about poor transportation.
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the occupation, has described the construction projects as a "second invasion" of Tibet, a region that is heavily guarded by the army, and where foreigners' movements are restricted.
Rights activists recall that when it made a bid to host the 2008 Olympics, Beijing's communist government had promised press freedom "all over China" -- which in China's official view includes Tibet. They say the torch relay is an attempt to camouflage the human misery and reality in Tibet with glitzy malls and technological marvels.
Repeatedly accused of human right violations and environmental damage, China has an estimated 150 Tibetan political prisoners in detention. It recently deported five American tourists after they demonstrated for a free Tibet.
Officials at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, including the mission's press coordinator, declined to answer any questions about the planned road or associated concerns.
The Indian government has made no comment on the issue, and the right-wing opposition BJP party has criticized New Delhi, calling it "clueless about the whole development." Yashwant Sinha, a former External Affairs Minister now in opposition, said the Chinese plan "has security implications for India."
The BJP also is unhappy about China's move to build eleven dams on the Brahmaputra river for electricity generation, thus diverting water from India (The river originates in Tibet, flows through the Himalayas, and later merges with the Ganges.)
Tsultrim agreed the dams could have "detrimental impacts on lives of the downstream population."
It's bad enough that Everest (which is a sacred place, remember) is cluttered up with tourists, litter and dead bodies.
How long can the world ignore China's desecration of Tibet? Unfortunately the great majority of Chinese have no idea of the reality that is happening in Tibet, and the western view is that its 'unfortunate' but business is business. Cheap Chinese imports are more important to the world than the Tibetan genocide.
If I were India I would be worried too.
IMHO, it's time governments threatened to boycott the Olympic Games. What if China held a party and nobody came? I don't think they'd want to risk it.
See Woolly's blog for an account much better than I could give of the background to this.
]]>