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March 10 : Some Pretty Successful Movements

As you know March 10 is Tibet Uprising Day. This year marks the 49th anniversary of Tibetan people rise up against Chinese Government invasion of Tibet.

Here are some of the March 10 Movements that was able to grab media’s attention:

A reminder to China that the world has not forgotten Tibet - By Clifford Coonan in Beijing; The Independent

Red-robed Tibetan Buddhist monks have taken to the streets of the capital Lhasa to mark the 49th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army crushing an uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which forced the Dalai Lama into exile. It appears to be the largest open protest in Lhasa since demonstrations in the late 1980s led to imposition of martial law in Tibet in 1989, when China’s current president, Hu Jintao, was Communist Party chief there.

Tibetans Keeping Marching, Defing Ban: Tibetan Exiles Press Ahead With March, Defying Indian Ban - By Ashwini Bhatia Associated Press Writer

Tibetan protesters shout slogans at a foot march in Dharmsala, India, Monday, March 10, 2008. Hundreds of Tibetan exiles began a six-month march from India to Tibet on Monday to protest Beijing’s hold on the Himalayan region and China’s hosting of the Olympic Games. The march, which started Monday, was expected to take six months, reaching Tibet during the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games in a bid to turn the Olympic spotlight onto China’s often harsh 57-year rule over the Himalayan region.

Pop Star Bjork Stands Up for Tibet

Bjork is a pop star from Iceland and her performance in front of the Shanghai audience will be cherished by Tibetan people world wide. She declared “Tibet, Tibet” in her popular song “Declare Independence” during her concert in Shanghai, China.

Bjork’s message have been widely covered in the media, and she has included the following message in a statement on her website: “i am first and last a musician and as such i feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one”. Click here to read her full statement.

This brave action by Bjork for Tibetan people has ignited both the controversy and discussion. “Chinese government officials are afraid of the inspiration and courage that she represents to thousands of young Tibetans, their supporters, and Chinese dissidents who believe in justice and freedom for all - and who will ultimately be a force for change in Tibet and in China,” says Students for A Free Tibet organization.
And here is what Bjork has to say, “”I would like to put importance on that I am not a politician, I am first and last a musician and, as such, I feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions.” “The urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. This song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure.” And she adds that she would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.
Her website is located @ www.bjork.com/unity

Year 2007: Tibet Faced the Second Highest temperature in 37 Years

In year 2007, Tibet recorded its second-highest temperature in 37 years. The average temperature of Tibet that year was 4.7 degrees Celsius (about 11.6 degrees Fahrenheit), was only second to the record of 4.9 degrees Celsius in 2006, according to statistics released by the Tibet Regional Meteorological Bureau.

A study by the bureau showed that the temperature in Tibet had risen by 0.3 degrees Celsius every 10 years, or about 10 times as fast as the average of China, which is 0.4 degrees per century.

Decluttering My Desk

Why is it important to get rid of all the clutters laying on the desk? Simple answer would be that it lessens the stress. I personally use my desk to put all the stuff that needs to be done within a day to few weeks. Such tasks include bills, assignments, projects, readings, and some other small things. But rather than having all these to-be-done tasks laying right in front of me while working on a thing, I realized it is better if I take care of one thing at a time with none of these clutters staring at me. It really helps and makes myself feel more reliable and not like a person who likes to procrastinate a lot.

For some reason, I feel like this post fits under Buddhism category.

iPod is Cheap - Now Selling at $49

Save 240 songs on any of the iPod remixed colors. The new iPod shuffle is out selling at $49. It comes with iPod shuffle, earphones, USB dock and a quick start guide.

Here are some of the features:

Clip on the world’s most wearable music player and take up to 240 songs with you anywhere.1 Choose from five colors — including four new hues — to make your musical fashion statement.

With iTunes autofill, iPod shuffle can deliver a new musical experience every time you sync. For more randomness, you can shuffle songs during playback with the slide of a switch.

Charge and sync with the included USB dock. Operate the iPod shuffle controls with one hand. Enjoy up to 12 hours straight of skip-free music playback.

Here are the requirements for your iPod shuffle:

for Mac: # • USB 2.0 port • Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later • iTunes 7.4 or later • Internet connection
for PC: # • USB 2.0 port • Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2 or later) • iTunes 7.4 or later • Internet connection

A Letter From Tenzin Tsundue

2008 the year of ACTION for Tibet!

Dear Friends,

The time has come for me to go to Tibet again. Last time when I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - I was arrested by the Chinese authorities, beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari. I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from the Ladakh.

Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission. I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but also is running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for fifty years.

The Year 2008 is a huge opportunity for the Tibet movement to present the injustices the Tibetans have been subjected to, when China is going to attract international media attention. I am taking part in the return march from Dharamsala to Tibet, that is being organized as a part of the “Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement”, a united effort put together by five major Tibetan NGOs: Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet (an association of former political prisoners), National Democratic Party of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, India.

The march will start on 10 March 2008, from Dharamsala, the capital of Tibetan exiles and will pass through Delhi and then head towards Tibet. Walking for six months, we might reach the Tibet border around the time China opens the Beijing 2008 Olympics (August 14-25). Presently it’s too early to approximate at which border point we would be crossing; Tibet and India share a border that runs 4,075 Km along the length of the Himalayas. We might choose any point, or even multiple points. We’ll see the situation.

I know there had been similar attempts in the past, but this is 2008, and I have seen the organizers working extra hard with strategic planning, taking care of every minute detail, and the best thing is that we have all the NGOs working unitedly for the common goal. This unity is our strength! I do not know where we would end up, that’s why I am giving away the little collection of books (my only possession in life) to a library at is being setup in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. My friends: Lobsang and Nyingje (who served in the Indian army as part of the Tibetan battalion) are also giving away their personal belongings; committing themselves for the march.

Of course the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authority or Chinese - would impose themselves on us. Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?

In the past I have climbed buildings to shout for freedom, thrown myself at the Chinese embassy gate in New Delhi, spent months in jails, got beaten up police, fought court cases, but I never lost the dignity of the struggle: my believe in Non-violence. The March to Tibet will be non-violent; it is a sadhana, a spiritual tribute to the truth and justice that we are fighting for. This is our Long March to freedom.

And on our journey home, we will cook and camp in tents on the roadside, there will be the marchers and the support marchers, the kitchen team, logistics, media and the medical team. There will be dancing and singing, and theatre and film shows on the road as we take this long journey home.

Dear friend,

Here is an opportunity to join a historic non-violent freedom struggle, a people’s effort to win freedom for a country that remains subjugated even in 2008. I request you to join us, support us in whatever ways possible. We need people to know about it, so spread the word. You can walk with us, as we walk for six months, maybe you can join us for a day along the path, even one hour, or for a week, months as a supporter. Schools, colleges and even whole town can walk with us. We need volunteers, media people, writers, photographers, bloggers can help us. We need nurses, cooks, technicians and your prayers.

Ever since the march was announced on 4th January 2008, Tibetans have been talking about it; it’s a major discussion in the refugee camps. Recently the organizers launched the entry form. And I heard people are slowly getting themselves registered. You too can register your volunteer online. For more information please visit: www.TibetanUprising.org For enquiries email the coordinators: Lobsang yeshi or sherab woser

Join us.

Tenzin Tsundue
Dharamsala

Paying Homage to the Buddha and Extracts from the Sutras

Abandon evildoing;
Practice virtue well;
Subdue your mind:
This is the Buddha’s teaching.
Like a star, an optical illusion, or a flame,
A magical illusion, a dewdrop, or a bubble,
Like a dream, a flash of lightning, or a cloud—
So should one consider all compounded things.

While reciting these words, we should reflect on impermanence
and the lack of reality in phenomena and conclude with a prayer of
dedication:

By this merit may we attain omniscience
And overcome our enemy, our harmful deeds,
And may beings, buffeted by the waves of birth, old age,
sickness, and death,
Be liberated from the ocean of existence.

Source: A FLASH OF LIGHTNING IN THE DARK OF NIGHT: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life

Tenzin Tsundue’s Intention to Walk into Tibet

Tenzin Tsundue is a restless young Tibetan, who after graduating from Madras, South India, braved snowstorms and treacherous mountains, broke all rules and restrictions, crossed the Himalayas on foot and went into forbidden Tibet!

Tenzin Tsundue has made his intentions clear to walk right into Tibet without any documents to bring the Tibetan struggle for independence from Chinese occupation back into international focus.

Tsundue’s march into Tibet is to begin March 10 from this hill station - the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile led by Tibetan spiritual and temporal head the Dalai Lama. The town is nestled at the feet of the towering snow-clad Dhauladhar range of the mighty Himalayas.

Tsundue sports a red bandana on his head at all times and says he will remove it only when Tibet is free from Chinese occupation. He has termed his march to Tibet as being comparable to the famous salt march initiated by Mahatma Gandhi to break British laws in 1930.

The march will move, along with other Tibetan independence struggle volunteers, from here to New Delhi before moving onward to a border point with Tibet-China. The entry of Tsundue into Tibet is planned to coincide with the start of the Beijing Olympics beginning in China in August.

Getting into Tibet illegally is not new for Tsundue. He did it in 1997 and was promptly arrested by Chinese security forces.

“I went to Tibet in 1997 - after my graduation - and was arrested by the Chinese authorities. I was beaten up, interrogated, starved and finally thrown out of Tibet after keeping me in their jails for three months in Lhasa and Ngari,” Tsundue said.

“I walked to Tibet, on my own, alone, across the Himalayan Mountains from Ladakh. Eleven years later, I am walking to Tibet again; this time too, without permission.

“I am returning home; why should I bother about papers from (the) Chinese colonial regime who have not only occupied Tibet, but is also running a military rule there; making our people in Tibet live in tyranny and brutal suppression day after day, everyday for 50,” he said after his latest announcement to go to Tibet.

“I don’t know how long the march will last and from where it will enter Tibet. But we are determined to complete it,” Tsundue told IANS.

Several Tibetan organisations like Tsundue’s Friends of Tibet, Students for Free Tibet, Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association and Gu-Chu-Sum Movement (an association of former Tibetan political prisoners living here in exile) are planning various activities this year to draw maximum international media attention in a year when China hosts the biggest sporting event - the Olympics - for the first time.

Apart from his 1997 walk, Tsundue, born to Tibetan refugee parents in India, waved the flag of independent Tibet at Mumbai and Bangalore before the visiting Chinese prime minister and president in January 2002 and April 2005.

His action, for which he hid himself at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore for two days before coming out from a rooftop to fly the Tibetan flag at the venue where the Chinese president was present, embarrassed the Indian and Chinese authorities.

Now his movements within India are closely watched by security agencies. But Tsundue is not worried.

“Of course, the Indian police will do their duty; the Chinese army at the Tibet border would be overtly enthusiastic. Since we are leading a peaceful march, with absolute commitment to non-violence, I do not think anyone - either from Indian authorities or Chinese - would impose themselves on us.

“Inspired by Gandhi’s Salt March, even if they did try to stop us, we are not stopping. For how many days can they jail us for just walking peacefully? And why should the Indian government stop Tibetan refugees voluntarily returning home on foot?” Tsundue said.

FaceBook To Punish Bad Applications and Reward Good Ones

The day MySpace Application Platform was released to developers, Facebook announced that it would start pruning FaceBook apps - the bad ones.
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Facebook apps that get good user responses from Newsfeed messages ( such as clickthroughs and app installs) will be allowed to send more notifications and apps that get fewer user responses to their notices will have the number of notices they can send cut down. ﾠ

Explaning Internet BlackOut In MiddleEast and Asia

Internet blackout is now getting some explanation. If you don’t know what I am talking about, here is the story: severe Internet and phone service outages hit Egypt and India Wednesday after two submarine cable communication lines were severed. Many people thought it was sabotage. But it turns outs, a ship’s anchor was abandoned and it cut down one of the undersea Internet cables causing disruptions across the Middle East and parts of Asia.

The company who owned this Internet cables is FLAG Telecom. Their repair crew discovered the anchor near where the fiber-optic cable was severed Feb. 1 in the Persian Gulf, 35 miles north of Dubai, between the Emirates and Oman.

Before it was discovered, there speculations that the U.S. government was behind the cable cuts to create an information blackout for un announced reason. Others thought the Internet sabotage is from Islamic terrorists.