Java News from Thursday, April 24, 2008

I'm back from China. As expected this site was blocked by the Great Firewall, likely because the shared host I use also hosts Friends of Tibet, Tibet Writes, and several similar sites. One thing I learned in China is that the government there is very sensitive about Tibet, and is doing everything they can to convince folks that Tibet is a natural part of China. For instance, one of the mascots of the Beijing Olympics is a Tibetan antelope, and many tourist sites emphasized the historical connections between Tibet and China, and the fealty paid by previous Dalai Lamas to the Chinese emperors. Sometimes it felt like every other news story on the English language channel involved Tibet in one way or another. I've been writing about the trip as time permits on Mokka mit Schlag. Regular updates will resume shortly.