Will the homes of the brave and lands of the free boycott the Beijing Olympics over the so called transgression of human rights in Tibet?

How far back in history is the line in the sand drawn. When does a country become a sovereign state of another and which page of history should be drawn upon to make the decision.
Tibet’s importance is not that of economic might, far from it. Tibet is a very poor country and it can be said that without a lending hand from China it would be far worse off. Tibet’s value to China is its strategic geographic position.

It is a little known fact outside the domain of historians that the Tibetan Empire in the 7th century was larger in area than the sub-continent, almost as big as the Chinese Empire in the T’ang Dynasty and was bordered by the Khmer Empire, Thai People’s Empire, The Chinese Empire in the East and Abbadis Khalifat in the West. It was truly the crossroads for Asian trade and pivotal military strength. It is little wonder then that Tibet in those days was the invader and not the invaded.

Until modern times Tibet has been ruled concurrently by Mongolia (13th Century), Manchuria (17th Century), China (18th century) and Great Britain in the early 20th century.

At the end of the Great War 1914-1918, the Simla conference attended by Britain, Tibet and the Republic of China, sought to divide Tibet by the drawing of lines in the sand (the McMahon Line drawn on a map which illegitimately bestowed much of Tibet to India which was part of the British Empire. This was cause of much disagreement until 1950 when the People’s Liberation Army under the leadership of Mao Zedong invaded and occupied Tibet on the basis of never having renounced its sovereignty. The Lhasa Uprising of 1959 led to the Dalai Lama being forced to flee to India aided by USA’s CIA.

The upheavals of this religious/political state are no where near resolved as the Community of Tibetans in Exile continue to fight for independence.

There is talk among certain Western nations of boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as a protest against what many think as China’s illegal occupation of Tibet. Meanwhile the Chinese military is engaged in the suppression a popular uprising and the defence of its citizens in Tibet.

Once more politics enters the realm of this ancient athletic event. Should world governments use such an international sporting contest as a lever to ply their political ambitions? Go to our Blog and let us hear your opinion.

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Until USA authorities banned Internet gambling which included online wagering through virtual gaming rooms within 2nd Life, there were great profits to be made. Gambling revenues fuelled virtual house, land and commercial establishment sales paid for with $Linden Dollars obtained by earning them within the virtual world or by real world credit card.

Without gambling to fuel the growth there remains an environment where members can create an avatar in their own liking or otherwise. Males can create female avatars and vice versa and experience life through the eyes of the opposite gender. By purchasing peripherals such as genitalia, breasts and exotic or erotic clothing the avatars find it much easier to entice others to engage in virtual orgies.

The peripherals, known inside Second Life as “Prims” are made for Second Life by Eros LLC of Tampa, Florida and are so realistic and popular that the first case of cloning the technology for re-sale was heard last year by a US Federal Judge who ruled against a 19 year old youth who received a slap on the wrist after an admission of wrongdoing.

Second Life can be downloaded at www.secondlife.com. Visit our Blog and let us know of your Second Life experiences.