Freedom Road Socialist Organization is an odd duck in the cesspool of myriad revisionist parties currently residing comfortably in the US, what with its awkward name, logo worthy of some sort of Marxist Dr. Seuss parody and opportunist zigzagging line worthy of the CP-USA. FRSO has a long history of being left-refoundationist and finding political struggles far too complex and sectarian to consider. Take, for example, this excerpt from a blog of theirs:

“Why was the movement divided into so many different organizations and why were there so many splits? [….] The movement considered “anti-revisionist” Marxism-Leninism to be the only genuine revolutionary framework. It insisted upon a controversial [!] interpretation of communist history which considered the Soviet CP (and allied parties) revolutionary under Stalin but ‘revisionist’ since the time of Khrushchev. It embraced an ‘orthodox’ model of the ‘party of a new type’ in which there could be only a single vanguard in any given country and the writings of Stalin and Mao were looked to for guidance about how to practice democratic centralism, handle inner-party differences, determine relations with ‘non-party’ groups and individuals, etc. A significant section of the movement (including all of FRSO’s predecessor organizations) adopted even more specific views: They [...] argued that the post-Stalin USSR had restored capitalism and become a ’social imperialist’ superpower.”

The language here doesn’t really say what is WRONG with that view, but it pretty obviously says that the FRSO doesn’t hold that (correct) view, since this paragraph goes to great lengths to show that their “predecessors” did. It seems Marxism-Leninism of the non-revisionist type is utterly bewildering to Freedom Road—perhaps that is why they endorsed Obama and promote Chavez’s reformist “21^st Century Socialism” program. The fact that they felt the need to put sarcastic quotation marks around words like “revisionism” and “social-imperialism,” as if these words meant nothing doesn’t say much for their theoretical chops either.

FRSO is a pathetic sect that can be described as belonging to the new “pan-socialist” movement that is sadly gaining strength with the recent decline of Maoism. Other parties in this pan-socialist movement include the Party For Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and Workers’ World Party (WWP).

First off, let me say I really have no idea what separates these three groups. All of them seem to have about the exact same political line on most issues: they support ANYONE who has ever called themselves “socialist,” from Trotsky, to Gorbachev, to Luxemburg to Ho Chi Minh.

Among other very alarming positions, they:

1. Support Soviet social-imperialism, or outright deny the existence of revisionism.

2. Are pro-USSR even up to Gorby.

3. Are apologists for Khrushchev and Brezhnev, and their invasions of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and (yes) Afghanistan.

4. Claim that modern China is a socialist nation.

5. Support Cuba and the DPRK models of Marxism-Leninism and as fully socialist (and not revisionist) nations.

6. Support the Chinese military against the protesters at Tienanmen Square.

7. Support the reactionary government of Milosevic and claim the Kosovo independence movement was “social-fascist” and backed by the NATO bloc.

8. Support the Janjaweed militia in Sudan.

9. Support Obama for president. (The PSL did not take this position, since they had a candidate running for president. One wonders what they would’ve done had they not.)

The list of opportunist positions just goes on and on. These movements are simply obsessed with choosing one corrupt force against another in every situation, and always allying with the “better” of two opposing bourgeois or reactionary forces. This is not to say such positions are always wrong. Some compromise with the bourgeoisie is necessary even in revolutionary situation and even under socialism itself. But the point is that these parties almost never do it in a correct way.

The PSL, FRSO and WWP refuse to draw any theoretical lines as to correct practice, and thus end up on the side of the bourgeoisie in almost every case. This can be seen literally, in their calls for communists and workers to unite with the ruling cliques of certain countries they label as “anti-imperialist,” even if a social revolution is imminent. This is not even done in the name of the national right to self-determination, but in the name of it being better for the working class.

As a perfect example, look at their article on the anniversary of Tienanmen:

http://www.frso.org/about/statements/2009/looking-back-at-tiananmen-square.htm

Why exactly would a so-called “Marxist-Leninist” party support and ally with a capitalist ruling clique and their military junta against the masses of people? Your guess is as good as mine. The author argues that it was right for the Chinese government to suppress the movement, as it “aimed at overthrowing socialism and restoring capitalism.” It is simply absurd to claim that China was socialist in 1989. Anyone who does has no idea what socialism is.

There are those so-called “socialists” out there who will always defend a revisionist country when it comes time to defend Marxism-Leninism. These types usually side with the revisionist government, claiming that they are “preserving what is left of the revolution.” This is essentially a Trotskyite argument that has a lot in common with the concept of “deformed workers’ state.” Trotsky too, didn’t believe in revisionism nor social-imperialism. He held the metaphysical world outlook that revisionist nations could magically go back to being Marxist-Leninist any day now.

Indeed, it seems the FRSO and Mick Kelly’s analysis just shows the absolute stupidity in “defending socialism” when China was never a Marxist-Leninist nation, even under Mao.

When faced with the doubtless fact that many of the protesters were, in fact, bourgeois liberals, and pro-US, and pro-imperialist, and were in fact agitating for capitalism, it is important to keep Lenin’s words regarding the Easter Rebellion in mind. At the time of the revolt, many of the “socialist” papers were doing the same thing the FRSO and PSL are doing now with the Iranian uprising. The Zimmerwald group called the Irish rebellion a “purely urban, petty-bourgeois movement, which, notwithstanding the sensation it caused, had not much social backing.”

In response, Lenin wrote:

“The centuries-old Irish national movement [...] manifested itself in street fighting conducted by a section of the urban petty bourgeoisie and a section of the workers after a long period of mass agitation, demonstrations, suppression of newspapers, etc. Whoever calls such a rebellion a ‘putsch’ is either a hardened reactionary, or a doctrinaire hopelessly incapable of envisaging a social revolution as a living phenomenon

To imagine that social revolution is conceivable without revolts by small nations in the colonies and in Europe, without revolutionary outbursts by a section of the petty bourgeoisie with all its prejudices, without a movement of the politically non-conscious proletarian and semi-proletarian masses against oppression by the landowners, the church, and the monarchy, against national oppression, etc.-to imagine all this is to repudiate social revolution. So one army lines up in one place and says, ‘We are for socialism,’ and another, somewhere else and says, ‘We are for imperialism,’ and that will he a social revolution! […] Whoever expects a ‘pure’ social revolution will never live to see it. Such a person pays lip-service to revolution without understanding what revolution is.”

No doubt there are other revisionist apologists out here who would ask me, “Well, what should the Chinese government have done?” How’s this for an answer: they should have died. Why do I, as a Marxist-Leninist, care what happens to a bunch of capitalist rulers? This is essentially the same as asking, “what should the US do in Afghanistan?” Simple answer: they should go to hell.

It is unfortunate that Fight Back! News, as well as the PSL and others, have chosen to finally and completely abandon Marxism and the revolution in order to protect a revisionist party defending capitalism in the sweatshop of the world. To imagine that the die-hard capitalist Deng Xiaoping was saving anything worth saving by rolling over the protesters with tanks is hopelessly idiotic.

I ask you dear reader: what is China? The magically harmonious society in which the Communist Party and the bourgeoisie join hands? Is that socialism? According to the FRSO, it looks like it.

Lotus Ground Incense is one of the finest offerings to be imported from China in the modern age, a truly spectacular, refined incense of an uncommonly high class. Sold in single or double rolls, this is a world class incense, not only among the best Tibetan China has to offer, but quite arguably the most sophisticated and Japanese-worthy scent to be offered. Not only is the stick slightly thinner than most Tibetan sticks, but it’s also redolent of extracts and perfumes directly on the stick.

When I first opened the box I knew this one would be special as it gives off a strong, spicy aroma like a combination of cinnamon, saffron and musk. And strangely enough, cinnamon isn’t even listed in its primary group of 17 ingredients, which also include red and white sandalwood, titepati, ganden grass, jattamasi, sunpati, aggur, kushum flower, surchandan and saldhoop. I would expect some of these ingredients show up as extracts as this is as redolent a Tibetan incense off the stick as you’ll find.

Aromatically this is also fairly unusual in that the smoke content’s a bit lower than it normally is for a Chinese Tibetan incense and the remaining ash tends to a brick red color, which is fairly unusual for any incense. The scent is both mellow and striking in its intensity, a rare balance, that puts the saffron, cinnamon and musk up front as the base aroma, but also implies a much greater complexity than these three afford in their own right. There’s definitely an unsual floral element at work that winds its way through the burn almost like it’s playing hide and seek, in fact the nature of this incense is almost like a sine curve in the way that it’ll play subtly in the background and then whip out to stun you with its pristine and regal bouquet. Like most excellent monastery incense it has loads of juju or spiritual potency at work and it seems difficult to not call this incense a product of the fire element, like kundalini at its very base, indeed its playfulness is very much like watching the flickering of a flame.

Overall it’s difficult not to see this one close to the apex of incense art, along with Tibetan Medical College, Samye Monastery, Medicine King and Highland incenses, but even with that said there’s even a greater refinement on this one, as it’s not quite as wild and untamed as the rest of these. Ultimately it’s a brilliant, classic incense that gets the highest marks I can give it. Tis a really prescient find via Essence of the Ages and the bonus is it’s also quite affordable, running about $13 a roll.

Published on Saturday, February 21, 2009 by Agence France Presse

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China.

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

“But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing.

T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA said the global rights lobby was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by Clinton’s remarks.

“The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues,” he said.

“But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future US initiatives to protect those rights in China,” he said.

Students for a Free Tibet said Clinton’s remarks sent the wrong signal to China at a sensitive time.

“The US government cannot afford to let Beijing set the agenda,” said Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of the New York-based advocacy group.

China has been pouring troops into the Himalayan territory ahead of next month’s 50th anniversary of the uprising that sent Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama into exile in India.

“Leaders really need to step up and pressure China. It’s often easy to wonder whether pressure makes a difference. It may not make a difference in one day or one month, but it would be visible after some years,” Dorjee said.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had sent a letter to Clinton before her maiden Asia visit urging her to raise human rights concerns with Chinese leaders.

Before she left, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said human rights would be “an important issue” for Clinton and that she would “raise the issue when appropriate.”

China has greeted President Barack Obama’s administration nervously, believing he would press Beijing harder on human rights and trade issues than former president George W. Bush.

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Nehru’s Policy Determinants

There is much that Nehru has to answer for and much that he can be faulted for. In hindsight. Today’s India, boosted by 10 years of economic growth, now finds fault with Nehru, but misses the historical context.

Three events, shaped Nehru’s policies significantly. The answer to Nehru’s socialist policy choice lies is in these three events – which has not been pointed out, much less understood.

Lees-Mody Pact

October 28th 1933.

Much of India’s (in Raj Krishna’s memorable words) ‘Hindu growth rate’ can be traced back to this date. On that day, the Bombay Mill Owners Association signed the Lees-Mody Pact. This earned all Indian industrialists Nehru’s distrust. The British had succeeded once again in divide-and-rule.

While the whole country was on a boycott of British goods (specially Lancashire), 21 businessmen led by Homi Mody (father of Russi Mody, Piloo Mody) agreed to a system of ‘imperial preferences’ – which furthered India’s impoverishment. Earlier, Homi Mody had warned Gandhiji against the renewing the swaraj movement. Homi Mody had his own political ambitions. After Independence, Nehru did try and make up with Homi Mody. Homi Mody was also included in to India’s Constituent Assembly – even though he had served the British well.

Cut back to 1931. Japan had become the largest buyer of Indian cotton – in spite of imperial preferences. Japanese textiles were increasing market shares in India dramatically. Lancashire was hurting. Duty on Japanese textiles was raised from 31.5% to 75%. Japan stopped buying Indian cotton in retaliation. Indian mills and the Indian farmer paid the price. Cotton prices crashed.

Montagu Norman was already wreaking havoc with his economic policies in India. Demand had collapsed. USA and Europe were being ravaged by the Great Depression. The “money famine” had collapsed demand in India.

Britain agreed to “help”. Customs duty was lowered for British goods only to 20%. Britain agreed to buy Indian stock piled cotton at lower prices. GD Birla said “They have lost their nerve …”. Churchill made life difficult in Britain as this pact did not deliver as much as Churchill wanted and expected. The Indian population was still breathing – though just about.

Ike & Nehru

On March 5, 1953, the Soviet media announced Stalin’s death. The Soviet juggernaut seemed unstoppable. Communism was scoring victories everywhere. China had become communist. Mao emerged truimphant – and Chiang Kai Shaik retreated to Formosa.

In 1954, Eisenhower laid out his infamous ‘domino theory’. It was during Ike’s his presidency that both America and India were on the same side regarding the Anglo-French-Israeli Suez invasion and the Hungarian crackdown by the Soviets. Nehru regarded Eisenhower highly. His overtures to Stalin were met with hesitation.

Tibet went into the Chinese maws. Wars in Vietnam, the Cambodia, insurgency in Burma, the Iron curtain in Eastern Europe, made Eisenhower sound like a prophet. Communism seemed real – and a clear danger. While Nehru was not averse to democratic socialism, authoritarian Communism was anathema.

1956 Elections – Socialist Gains

Eisenhower’s Domino story seemed to resonate in Nehru’s mind after the 1956 election. What shocked and stampeded Nehru was 19.33% of the combined vote won by Leftist parties (CPI and the Praja Socialist Party – a party formed in 1952, whose founder members were Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, JB Kripalani) – versus Nehru’s Congress which got 47.78% of popular vote. This challenge to Nehru within 10 years of Independence from a non-Congress platform made these socialist leaders legends in their own lifetime.

The Communists went ahead and formed the world’s first elected Communist government (the State Government in Kerala). Suddenly, communism looked a lot closer.

Socialist US and Europe

These 2 events and the pre-Independence Lees-Mody pact gave Nehru little choice but to be a Socialist. Possibly, India with its post-colonial grinding poverty of the 1950-70, under a cloud of propaganda, needed state directed freedom.

Between the two world wars, Europe and USA were socialist, in all, but name. The Welfare State took care of everything – food stamps, health insurance, unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, old age benefits and pension plans. Everything that a socialist state was supposed to deliver. Industrial licensing, State directed investments, Research and Development subsidies – to make the national economy deliver ‘better’.

With such a huge international bias towards state intervention, for Nehru to go down the socialistic path was a natural corollary.

India’s post-colonial choices were a mix of pragmatism, necessity and accepted wisdom of the times – and Western pressures and influences that are responsible for more than a fair share of guilt in these wrong choices.

Most analysts conveniently forget that ‘reputed’ economists like JK Gailbraith, Western institutions like World Bank, IMF, stampeded India (and Nehru), into some of these bad choices – which the West now claims were India’s own choices in the first place.

For instance, one of the worst choices made by India, tied to World Bank, IMF and US aid, was to follow the infamous population control policy.

The Social Contract

To those who complain about the ‘speed’ with which India moves, need to understand that abrupt change would have also broken the ‘social contract’ that the Indian Government has built up over the decades. There cannot be a change in the terms of contract before re-negotiation of this social contract. After all India created the value of the spoken word – ‘raghu kul reet sada chali ayee, pran jaye par vachan na jaye’

China & The Asian Tigers

Nehru’s major supposed fault was the leftist (socialist) path that India took in the 1950’s – while the Asian Tigers went down the rightist path. The apparent success of the Asian Tigers made the average (especially the NRI and Westernized types) Indian look at these countries and wonder where India had gone wrong. The 1997 Asian currency crisis brought out the fault lines in the open – and the resilience of the Indian economy became obvious.

The Chinese Paper Dragon

The Chinese success is similar story. Much like USSR’s break-up, the Chinese monolith is more fragile than apparent. Apart from the usual suspects of democracy, economic disparities, social upheavals, etc, there are 3 factors, which most Chinese analysts miss.

One, the Tibetan’s are held together by force – and no one imagines that this holding them together by force, can be in perpetuity. The Muslim provinces of Xinjiang (another one-third of China) is usually ignored. But possibly, the biggest issue is the share of revenues of the Chinese central governments.

Chinese seem to love smoking

Secondly, the Chinese Central Government commands less than 25% of the total tax revenues - and the 75% goes to provinces. This, possibly is why the Chinese Government cannot reduce cigarette usage in China. (On Monday, May 04, 2009, it was reported that the

Gong’an county government in Hubei province has ordered its staff to puff their way through 230,000 packs of Hubei-produced cigarette brands a year, the ‘Global Times’ said.

Most expenditures on health, education, pension, unemployment, housing etc. are borne by the local government – and hence there is patchwork of systems which run across China. Most of executions and imprisonments of bureaucrats (including the Mao’s Cultural Revolution) is to demonstrate central authority. The PLA is the only factor that keeps China together. A Chinese Lech Walesa or a Nelson Mandela could unwind China very quickly.

Significantly, and thirdly, the Chinese diaspora and Western MNCs are biggest investors in China – and also the main beneficiaries. This currently keeps resentments of the local Chinese under control – as the neighbour is not getting much richer. But at one stage the domestic Chinese will want to greater say and control over the Chinese economy. He may not be happy with just a well paying job and abundant, low quality goods.

India vs China

On these three counts India scores significantly better than China. India’s problems with Kashmir are a British legacy, an external creation – as is the North East problem, to a degree. India’s significant issue (probably temporary) is the Naxalite problem. India’s central Government has greater control and share over total revenues – than the Chinese. India’s recent economic and political successes are entireley home bred – with the exception of remittances from the expat workers in the Middle East.

WAR IN IRAK (GUERRE EN IRAK) – ATTACKS AGAINST ISLAM (ATTAQUES REPETEES CONTRE L’ISLAM) – ISRAEL & PALESTINE CONFLICT (CONFLIT ISRAELO-PALESTINIEN) – FRANCE POLICY IN AFRICA (POLITIQUE FRANCAISE EN AFRIQUE) – CHINA & TIBET CRISIS (CRISE CHINE-TIBET) – RUSSIA, etc…

ENGLISH
For Peace, Justice, Human Rights and more International Solidarity “Mister Kpakpato” is the opponent N°1 of imperialist and dictatorial regimes.
www.misterkpakpato.com

FRANCAIS:
Pour la Paix,la Solidarité internationale, la Justice et les Droits de l’Homme dans le monde, Mister Kpakpato est l’Oppasant N°1 aux régimes impérialistes et dictatoriaux dans le monde.
www.misterkpakpato.com

A letter to NY Times.
================
March 31st, 2008 3:48 am

Mr. Kristof:

I am a 3^rd generation ethnic-Chinese overseas, an American lawyer based in San Francisco, with my own private law firm engaged in transactional work between China/HKG/Taiwan and California.

I am not known for being an apologist for the Chinese government, but as an ethnic Chinese in the overseas Diaspora, I am outraged at the “piling” and orchestrated China demonization and bashing on this lead-up to the ‘08 Olympics.

That the West, from Europe, and the U.S., have exploited this year’s Olympics to machinate, scheme, and execute this “Mau Mau” against China and its peoples, at this time, at this juncture, using the Dalai Lama and his secessionist movement, smacks of western powers “overreaching” and will be met with resistance and outrage from the ethnic Chinese Diaspora communities scattered throughout 135 countries around the world.  In San Francisco, the only Olympics torch relay stop in the U.S., we ethnic Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area have been completely muffled by your news media in America, and the biased reporting tilting towards the “Shangri-la” Lamaism farce of a pacifist Dalai Lama is outrageous and will not be allowed to pass without the appropriate response, in our own “asymmetric” ways.

China and its peoples are no longer the “sick men of Asia.” Over a century and a half ago, opium was used by the Western imperialists to subjugate China and the Chinese people. Today, the drugs and drug addiction are reversed, with Western Europe and the U.S. sapped by its own domestic erosion of fundamental civility, economic decline, and implosion within its inner cities.

Your financial systems are in chaos, characterized by greed, rampant looting and plundering in Wall Street. You are stuck in a quagmire in the Middle East which sees no end in sight.

But for China, and its cheap imports, the U.S. economy will be in an even worse shape than it is today. As to Europe, who cares? Sarkozy and Merkel presides over two countries and economies which we Chinese really don’t care much about, especially among the growing ethnic Chinese overseas Diaspora not just in Asia-Pacific, but now spreading onto Latin America and Africa.  Big deal. The Europeans and Americans can boycott the Beijing Olympics come August, 2008.

My family and I will proudly attend and participate in the Olympics “coming out” party in Beijing, willingly, with pride, and with our pocketbooks.

In the meantime, let my white liberal/regressive neo-fascist San Franciscans wallow in their own perverted, constricted, narrow-minded little world.

The world has passed San Francisco by.

As a matter of fact, we ethnic Chinese in San Francisco are mobilizing and hoping that we can secede from white San Francisco. Why not ? Since it appears that you white Americans are so hyped up over “Shangri-La” Tibet as an Independent State, and support secession as a universalist right.

Why now allow us Chinese in San Francisco to secede and form our own city, with our own governance. After all, we constitute 1/3 of your damn white supremacist city where the power is reposed in white people, and our city hall is controlled by white people.

Free San Francisco. A free San Francisco East.

Free Quebec. Free Louisiana.

Free Hawaii.

Free El Norte Aztlan, and return America’s Southwest, a huge swath of Texas, California back to Mexico.

Didn’t the U.S. illegally seize what used to be Mexican land and territory?

As an ethnic Chinese in the overseas Diaspora, I and others will mobilize and we will fight back, as we mobilized in response to all the anti-Chinese pogroms in our overseas Diaspora experience.

- Posted by Edward Liu
———————————

Top – News von Dieter Raedel : Wie ich aus geheimer politischer Quelle erfahren habe, wird Tibet die Olympischen Spiele in China boykottieren ! Ich hoffe, dass diese Schlagzeile um die Welt geht und China dadurch zum Umdenken angeregt wird.

Free Tibet !!!

LG Prenzlmaler.

In the past few days, the issue of Tibet has gained momentum in the press and the media. Tibet has finally roused from its partly self and partly China imposed hibernation. The timing, purely strategically speaking, could not have been better, with the Beijing Olympics coming up. The Dalai Lama has also succeeded in absolving himself of all blame by saying that the revolt and rebellion have nothing to do with the Olympics and that the Tibetans do not wish to impede the game! Tibet has finally found place on the world map and media and how!

I, for one empathise with and believe in the cause of the Tibetans. The brutal and imperial Chinese regime has unjustifiably laid claims to the land that was once an independent nation. However, when i think about my own stance on this issue, i feel that I am divided from within. From a purely political perspective, I feel it is better if we as a nation do not intervene in the domestic affairs of another nation and therefore leave the Tibetans to fight their own battle. Any undue interference on the part of India might affect Indo-China ties and considering our history, I feel we do not need a real or a cold war with China right now. However, from a humanistic perspective, I feel it is sacrilege to evict someone from their own homes!! There is nothing in this world that would justify something like that, least of all material or political gains! People have the right to their own land, their own religion and their own beliefs, not to mention a host of other factors which lend identity to an individual or people or a nation. The people in question here are Tibetans, who follow the Buddhist and Gandhian principles of non-violence, peace and dialogue. It is a shame for the rest of the world, who just stand and stare with fear, or worse, indifference when an armed battle is waged against poor and peace-loving people. For a number of the so called “developed” nations, the phrase “rest of the world” doesnt exist and means nothing, unless it refers to oil-rich countries!

Inspite of having these two diametrically opposing views in my mind, i still believe that it is high time the Tibetans get what is long overdue to them- their own land. However, considering more than half of the world in engaged in a territorial battle, whose land is it anyway? If educated and sensitive people also have second thoughts about expressing their opinions on what is right and fighting for it, is there any hope?

Nach einer aktuellen Studie “Beschaffungslogistik im China-Geschäft: Kosten – Prozesse – Strategien“ von PricewaterhouseCoopers und dem Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e.V. (BME) sparen deutsche Unternehmen, die in China produzieren lassen durchschnittlich nur 10%. Während jedes dritte Unternehmen sogar mehr zahlt, als es bei einer Produktion in Deutschland investieren müsste.

Dazu lassen sich ja ahufenweise Firmen, über den Tisch ziehen, Ideen und Technologie wird geklaut und man unterstützt eine Diktatur, die Umwelt verschmutzt, Pressefreiheit unterdrückt und .

More nice sceneries.. there is nothing much in Lingzhi actually… it’s all the beautiful sceneries along the way from lhasa to lingzhi that makes it such a wonderful place to visit… that’s why lingzhi is also known as the Jiangnan of Tibet…

I am so proud of myself and my tour members… despite the fact that almost half of them were more than 50 years old… none of us suffered from high altitude sickness…. WE MADE IT to the Mila Pass! Located at a high altitude of 5013.25m!

Bought a Tibetan prayer flag, wrote down our blessings and hung it up!

Yes… i know that I have posted 101 pictures of Tibet… and I have to post more! Coz all the pictures are so nice… and I want to share it with all of U!!! Go Tibet!! before it gets all too touristy!!!

A really unforgettable memory of Tibet would be going to toilet! Yes! “Natural” toilets in the mountains are definitely much better than those temporary ones at the attractions… you know… just a hole and heaps of brownslimyyouknowwhat …. and the smell is…. definitely good..

Our bus driver is pro! He is good at stopping at ideal locations for us to do our “business”… just like the one above… we are all going to hide behind the small hill… equipped with our umbrellas!

Our tourbus in the midst of winding mountains!

Visit to a traditional Tibetan family! Outside their house…

Their living room…

Look at the picture of the family in their traditional costumes!

In their kitchen… they made something for us to eat.. some snack… that taste like the Indian Nan… yummy! and this 8 yr old girl told me that she made it!

I am not truly convinced that the house of a typical Tibetan really looked like that… afterall… this village is a tourist attraction… we have to pay to visit their house and to take pictures with them…at least it gave me an idea how a Tibetan house look like…

Paid 1 RMB to take a picture with the old lady… she was really nice… after taking a picture with her.. i said Tashi Delek … a typical Tibetan greeting…wishing her well…out of what i expected… she held my hand and put it on her cheeks… it was just a simple gesture from her… but i suddenly felt a sense of warmth…think it was her way of saying thank you… the Tibetans are really kind-hearted and nice people… really…

One thing not to be missed in Tibet would be the yak butter tea… a drink of the Tibetans… made of tea leaves, yak butter and salt…

So what is a yak? it is a long haired bovine found in the Tibetan region….something similar to a cow i think… at least it looks like one… will show you the pics later….

Was talking about the yak butter tea… my adventurous cousin and I decided to enter one of the 茶馆 to try the yak butter tea or 酥油茶… there is the salted one and the sweet one… the sweet one tastes like milk tea, with a strong buttery taste… i tried the salted one in the teahouse… hmmm…. the taste was really unusual… very buttery…very salty…tasted like soup to me…and a bit of an acquired taste.. i surrended after 2 sips…

In the teahouse… it was a old, small, dimly lit teahouse… with a few wooden benches and tables… there were many locals in there having their cup of yak butter tea…

Tada! the yak butter tea…. cost only 5 yuan for a flask… but we could not even finish 2 bowls… gave the rest to the locals after our very brave attempt to drink it!

Along the streets of Lhasa.. there were more than 5 teahouses along this stretch of street!

After Lhasa.. we headed to Shigatse… pictures taken from the tour bus..

The tour bus was actually circling around this mountain…

At the peak at of the mountain… think these tents were put up by the Tibetan who stay at the top of the mountain…they were mostly vendors selling stuff to tourists…

It was freezing colddddd….was a bit foggy that morning.. think on a clear day.. the view would be even nicer…

Was talking about the yak just now…. yes… the yak and me… doesn’t the yak look like a hairy cow? We were high on seeing the yaks!

Some lamas chanting prayers outside the temple…

Was explaining to my friends what prayer wheels were just now… A prayer wheel is a wheel on a spindle made from metal, wood or leather. On the wheel are written or encapsulated prayers or mantras. According to the Tibetan Buddhism belief, spinning such a wheel will have much the same effect as orally reciting the prayers.

The square in front of Johkang Palace… Everywhere near the temple.. you could see many Tibetan pilgrims in their traditional costumes spinning a prayer wheel in one hand and walking a circuit around the temple… pilgrims either walk or prostrate themselves along Barkhor street clockwise every day into deep night…

Barkhor Street – a circular street at the center of Old Lhasa…

As you can see… Barkhor Street is lined by stalls selling Tibetan jewellery, knives and other Tibetan relics… and that’s also where I bought all my souvenirs from!

Happy buys from a Tibetan lady! I had a hard time bargaining with her!

First attraction that I visited in Lhasa – Potala Palace

This is one of the most popular and must-go attractions in Tibet… especially so when only 2300 tourists and pilgrims are allowed to enter each day and for each visit…they are limited to only an hour in the Palace…

Although the visit in the palace was quite a brief affair… but it left me with a deep impression…Originally built by King Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century, Potala Palace is located on the Red Hill of Lhasa. Destroyed by lightning and war, Potala Palace had been rebuilt by the Fifth Dalai Lama and since then, it has become the seat of Dalai Lamas and also the political center of Tibet.

The climb up Potala palace was rather tiring…

View from the Palace…

View of Potala Palace in the afternoon… against the clear blue skies… Spectacular!

Love the skies in Tibet! They make every picture look good!

Obsessed with Potala Palace…must be the scorching sun that made the pictures look so nice…I look cool and nice in the picture but it was super hot in the afternoon in Lhasa… I was hiding here, there, everywhere away from the sun! I don’t want to become tanned!

Road along Potala Palace…

Saw some young volunteers carrying out some levelling work in the Palace… look how much they are enjoying their work… singing and levelling the ground at the same time!

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