Frenchy68

Do you have kids, Billy? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Referring to the Western world? Surely not China. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

That's a negative, dear... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

There we disagree. It has everything to do with the Chinese leadership and Tibet (including Tibetans), however, some of those protesting I do not believe understand why. The Economist had a crew in Lhasa when thing began to flame up. Any of these pics look familiar? There aren't enough of them unfortunately... I didn't express myself properly: there IS a Chinese/Tibet internal issue. But it seems to me it is far removed from the China/Tibet issue as perceived in Western countries. Yes, parts of Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan looked like war zones. When pressed to comment on it, the Chinese regime posts photos of Sadr City during battles or of the Paris suburbs during the riots. It's easy for them to depict it as "an internal issue", much like the LA riots in the 60's and 90's. Propaganda works wonders when the other side doesn't have that much of a moral higher ground. The West is creating a symbol (the Torch) and thinks that by fighting this symbol it will win a battle. I say that's as useful as pissing into the wind. Want to hit China where it hurts? Hurt the economy. But no one can, as no one dares... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Tough shit. Sacrifices have to be made. Besides, of all people, the Chinese should understand that it's a dog-eat-dog world. (Or is that the Vietnamese? I forget.) All I'm saying is that people should grow balls and put their money where their mouth is. Stop buying Chinese goods. Make a statement with your wallet, showing you are willing to make the sacrifice. But that won't happen. instead, we'll shout at some bloke running with a torch, and head right back to the bar to mouth off to the friends on how rad we are in our political involvement. Talk, talk, talk... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Wow! Let's like, throw rocks at a guy carrying a stick on fire. That's show them goons we mean business! The whole Olympic Flame/Tibet thing has turned into a purely Western Democracies internal issue, which now has little to nothing to do with the Chinese regime or Tibet. I find it myself quite entertaining. Now, you'll excuse me, but I have to go and help fix the pollution issue by spitting on an SUV.

Uh? I think it's an amazing piece of architecture. In the shape of a bird nest. And next to it is the "Water bubble", which will host all the swimming and diving events. These 2 are some serious pieces of creative design IMO. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Max, I believe the issue is much more complex than it appears in the West. It is true that China is NOT a democracy. But personal freedom have greatly evolved in the past several years, and I can feel the difference since I moved here. The Chinese government is weary not to do what Russia did, and I think the world should be thankful they are following this path. Iraq would seem like a paradise if China were to break up, and that is the real issue at stake with Tibet. Much more pressing than Tibet is the issue of Xinjiang. A huge province just North of Tibet, originally populated by Muslim nomad tribes. There is a very strong separatist movement in Xinjiang, calling for the creation of a greater Turkestan (which would encompass other central Asia territories). As you can imagine, this movement is strongly supported by groups such as AQ. One of the main fear of the Chinese regime is should Tibet be granted independence, more provinces would follow, especially Xinjiang. In both Xinjiang and Tibet, you will find a majority of Hans (which have been sent by the communist in the 60's, 70's and 80's to dilute the local population). Unfortunately, you know find yourself with a situation where there are 2nd and 3rd generation of Hans who are Tibetans and XinJiang"ese". And they represent the majority of the population. Should there be indeed a free referendum in these provinces, the (Han) majority would probably vote to stay within China. Now, the question is how do you address this problem? - a Mugabe style of policy, where you essentially take away from the Hans and give to the local ethnic groups? - support the creation of countries out of what was the Chinese empire Max, would you support independence for the Kurds in Iraq? The Basques in Spain? The Chechnyans? Would you support a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Hans in order to return the land to the original local tribes? Unless you answer YES to all of the above, then you can start grasping the complexity of the situation in China. I myself have major issues with the way the situation is handled by the Chinese authorities. But I also believe that most calling for a "Free Tibet" (unlike the Dalai Lama himself) do it without having a clue of what the situation is in Tibet and China. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I find the whole torch/Tibet protest thinggie utterly ludicrous. Other than the fact than most of the time, it is done by people with little or no knowledge of the situation in China and Tibet, it serves absolutely no purpose other than making rich boys feel like they are doing their part to save the world. Much like going to Mickey D and ordering a DIET Coke to chase 5 big Macs... The only thing it achieves is to make the overall Chinese population, which overall sees the West as friendly, feel like it is being attacked and insulted. If the West really wants to put its money where its mouth is, and want to hurt China as a whole, then stop being Chinese made goods. That will have some effects. But no one will have the balls to do so, so instead we'll gather on the side of the road and throw glass bottles at some bloke holding a torch, padding ourselves on the back for having made a half-ass statement (including the Tibetans in Paris who were shouting "Free Corsica!!!)... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Taken by a friend of mine from what will soon be the tallest building in the world... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I can't believe that Turtle and Livendive Dave have the same birthday!!! Having a birthday today is so gay, Clint. Enjoy.

News had just come over, It's just a jump to the left... (slight redirection!) "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Anxiety there is from the regime, with the Games coming up and many trying to use it as a soap box. However, reports I get from the US Consulate (which is so on top of it, it's amazing; I get updated emails from the consulate before events hit the news!) is that the peaceful protest, mostly lead by monks, degenerated into an anti Han (biggest Chinese ethnic group) protest, and mobs attacked Han owned businesses, cars, etc... That gave the regime the excuse it needed, to package what is essentially repression into "protection of citizens from hoodlums" intervention. I am afraid things will get uglier before they get any better... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Indeed the Chinese authorities were aware of her statement. But their reaction was to the foreign press reaction much more to a domestic reaction. That it was, as it allowed me to see what I had missed at the concert. But again, I doubt the people who watch it on the internet are the ones taking to the streets. As much as I would like to give Bjork credit starting a Tibetan Tea Party, I think she had very, very little influence on the events. Rather, I would look at anniversary dates and events in India having played a much, much bigger role in the timing of the recent events. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I wonder how she feels about recent events. Was it just a coincidence or did her statement have an effect on the psychology of the Tibetans on one hand and of the Chinese authorities on the other? I doubt she had any incidence on the events. Almost no one among the people at the concert noticed her bit, and the few who did were expats (Tibet = Xizang in Chinese, so Chinese people have no clue what TIbet means). I reckon the events in Tibet and Gansu had their own, internal trigger. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Uploading free software because it's free doesn't make sense. Identify what your needs are, and go fishing. versiontracker.com is a very useful site when searching for software (free or not) "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I may be mistaken, but I believe that there is no such thing as an official language in the US. Neither is there an official religion, race, etc... Funny country that way. I would therefore recommend you press 1, and not wait for the other options. That should take care of that energy problem of yours

The "Women's cut"? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

I was at the concert in Shanghai last week end. Other than the fact that over 50% of the crowd were expats, I reckon her stance went past most people's heads (as not only did the acoustic suck, but most Chinese don't really give a crap about Tibet one way or the other, especially in Shanghai). The foreign press talks about it much more than people who were actually at the concert do. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

If this forum wasn't moderated, its economic value would skyrocket, and I'd bet you Sangiro would crack the top 10. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Damn! Now that I can't post just anything I want on the Bonfire, I have to find something else to do. Maybe I'll go free Tibet or something! Is Tibet moderated? "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

If you miss the West Coast Skyofframp and find yourself across the Pacific, do drop by, I have a couple of wicked local liquors which would make it worth your trip! Have a blast... "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

Indeed. "For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."