May 30th 2008.
Dave's 5th driving test.
Garston, new centre, new area, new roads, shake off all the old demons. That was the plan.
Dave and his instructor Bruce showed up 15min early. They were the only ones around.
"We do have the right day right?"
Finally a lady came along, Bruce knew her, whispered, "She's nice," to Dave. So far, so good. Off to the car.
Eye test, check.
Questions, check.
"Right, I'd like you to turn to the left or the right and reverse into one of these bays."
No one around, start the engine, go.
STOP!
Two cars suddenly came straight into the car park.
"No.."
"I'm sorry to tell you..."
"No, no , no..."
"you have failed..."
"Not AGAIN!"
That's when Dave woke up, went out, did his driving test, PASSED with only 7 minor faults!
Look out world, DAVE CAN DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tibet
Once upon a time there was a land, high in the mountains, filled with peaceful Buddhist monks. They lived in perfect harmony, one with their fellow man and the wonderous nature around them. Lead by their glorious spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, they could do no wrong. There they remained for thousands of years, until, one horrible, fateful day, The Dragon came, destroying culture, killing innocent, conquering all.
FREE TIBET!!!!.... ?
Isn't life simple in fairy tales? It's always so obvious to pick a side. Perhaps it's time to look a little closer. Ask some questions...
Q: Was Tibet independent before China came in the 1950's?
-Far from straightforward to answer. The offical records of China have claimed Tibet as part of their country for hundreds of years. At no point did they ever grant Tibet independence. However, the good old British also tried their hand at claiming Tibet as their own when they took India. China didn't really agree to that for some reason. But who cares, we're British. Of cause, then the British got bored of conquering the world and let India and Tibet go free. They allowed Tibet it's independence. Two days later China granted N.Ireland Independence, no, wait, they can't do that right... ?
Q: Why did China enter Tibet?
-China was at civil war. However, one thing both sides of China could agree on was Tibet belonged to them. Many surporting the old Chinese government had gone to Tibet. The newbies went in to find them. They did not rush in to conquer. They believed it was already theirs. The agreement signed by Tibet and China at the time focused mainly on two points. Tibet should help find those loyal to the old government and China should improve the general living standards of the people of Tibet, including new schools etc. Otherwise, it was agreed, Tibet could continue business as usual.
Q: So why kick out the Dalai Lama?
-Tibet struck first. The nobles planned an uprising, with substancial military aid and guidance from the good old guys in the USA. It failed. They ran to India. Interestingly, the Dalai Lama has always, in all his lives, had a real passion for running away if he felt in danger.
Q: But, if they had America's backing, they must be the good guys, right?
-That doesn't deserve an answer.
Q: Why won't China let Tibet preserve it's tradional way of life?
-It is very true that China does not want the Tibet of old to return. Heartless fiends. What do they object to? The peaceful prayers and meditation? Not really.
Before the new government of China, 5% of Tibet's people DID indeed live very nice lives. Very very nice lives. The remaining 95%? Not so much. A huge proportion of them where slaves. They were bought and sold and swapped for cows and all the usual joys of slavedom. The majority of the rest where serfs. The difference? Although serfs had to do all their masters chores without pay, the master didn't techniquely own them. This meant they could tax them (the list of taxes is huge, including a tax to be put IN prison) and they had no requirement to feed them. Do you want it to go back to that?
Q: But at least their Buddhist masters treated them nicely right?
-Buddhists are not suppose to kill anything. There are rumours of slaves and serfs being killed anyway, but these might not be true. For sake of arguement we'll assume Buddhists didn't kill anyone, ever. However, to quote Aladdin, "You'll be amazed what you can live through."
Punishments included removal of eyes, hands, arms, ears, noses, etc etc etc. These "punishments" were decided completely by the master, no trial needed, and where given for the standard "stealing to feed a starving child" type crimes or for not paying taxes or for any reason really. Another favorite was to almost kill someone then leave them in the cold mountains for God to decide what happened. Skinning alive is also there.
A master could choose any female servant he desired to do with as he wished, even those already married. Objection by either man or woman resulted in punishment, see above. There is also strong evidence that young boys, aged 8-10, taken into monestries for "training", where consistantly raped.
Q: What happened to the Dalai after fleeing Tibet?
-The Dalai Lama set up a new exciled goverment for the 80,000 people he brought with him from Tibet. He then sought aid from the globe to put pressure on China to realise Tibet back into his control. However, he has always been quoted as wanting a peaceful solution to be found. He travels the world, a religous teacher. He is seen as the most open minded of all spiritual leaders. He admits in any conflicts between science and religion people should listen to science. He accepts homosexuality (though doesn't approve of anal, oral or masturbation). He allows other religions. He promotes all the positive aspects of Buddhism. He is generally highly regarded, and recieved alot of awards, including 5 honary docurates and a nobel peace prize.
Q: So why do China hate him?
-He helps to twist the global view of China in a very negative direction. This is something China is very capable of doing all by itself and doesn't require his help. On fleeing Tibet, he created and stands by the fairy tale. In addition, his numbers never add up. He claims 1.2 million people were killed when China took the reigns and "at least as many" became political prisoners. However, all records show only around 2 million people in Tibet at the time TOTAL. So China killed over 50% and imprisoned over 50%? Tibet is around half the size of Europe and made of mountains, did China really round them all up? In addition, it is common knowledge that the uprising failed because the serfs and slaves didn't really join in. For some reason alot of them liked where China was taking them. It is often stated that Tibet couldn't defend itself, so China just decided to kill and imprison more than 100% of the population of any area half the size of Europe, whilst also dealing with a civil war?
The Dalai has always been rather brief on the issue of slavery. He does point out that China also had slaves at the time, and their slaves were treated even worst. Amazingly, he makes this sound like a good thing for him and a bad thing for the current chinese government, the government which abolished slavery in both areas. Think about it.
Mostly, the Chinese government doesn't trust what the Dalai would do if he regained power. He is often quoted as saying he would like a return to
"Tibet's historical role as a peaceful and neutral Buddhist nation "
arguing that
"Tibetans will soon be no more than a tourist attraction and relic of a noble past."
Given the details of this noble past, do you trust him? Would you give him your country?
Q: Isn't it a shame that this ancient civilazation will be replaced by a much more modern one, with all these super highways and trainlines China keeps putting in?
-No. It isn't. Just like it wasn't a shame when England abolished slavery. Nor was it a shame when we stopped burning witches. Nor was it a shame when we stopped conquering the world. Nor was it a shame when we installed indoor flushable toilets. Nor was it a shame when we got medical treatments which didn't involve drilling holes in peoples heads to let out demons.
If you want the return of this noble tradition, why not volunteer to be a slave or serf?
Q: I take it your fond of the Chinese government then?
-No. The Chinese government is corrupt, selfish and quite often wrong. It's views on freedom of speech are just stupid and out of date. It's behavior in events such as Tianamen Square unforgivable, although almost 20 years ago now.
I am fond of looking at both sides of a story though. For example, the next time you see those poor Tibetan RIOTERS being attacked, stop and think 1. Who started the violence and 2.Where do the pictures come from, since China doesn't allow cameras in? In fact all the pictures are from either Nepal or India.
I'm fond of thinking.
FREE TIBET!!!!.... ?
Isn't life simple in fairy tales? It's always so obvious to pick a side. Perhaps it's time to look a little closer. Ask some questions...
Q: Was Tibet independent before China came in the 1950's?
-Far from straightforward to answer. The offical records of China have claimed Tibet as part of their country for hundreds of years. At no point did they ever grant Tibet independence. However, the good old British also tried their hand at claiming Tibet as their own when they took India. China didn't really agree to that for some reason. But who cares, we're British. Of cause, then the British got bored of conquering the world and let India and Tibet go free. They allowed Tibet it's independence. Two days later China granted N.Ireland Independence, no, wait, they can't do that right... ?
Q: Why did China enter Tibet?
-China was at civil war. However, one thing both sides of China could agree on was Tibet belonged to them. Many surporting the old Chinese government had gone to Tibet. The newbies went in to find them. They did not rush in to conquer. They believed it was already theirs. The agreement signed by Tibet and China at the time focused mainly on two points. Tibet should help find those loyal to the old government and China should improve the general living standards of the people of Tibet, including new schools etc. Otherwise, it was agreed, Tibet could continue business as usual.
Q: So why kick out the Dalai Lama?
-Tibet struck first. The nobles planned an uprising, with substancial military aid and guidance from the good old guys in the USA. It failed. They ran to India. Interestingly, the Dalai Lama has always, in all his lives, had a real passion for running away if he felt in danger.
Q: But, if they had America's backing, they must be the good guys, right?
-That doesn't deserve an answer.
Q: Why won't China let Tibet preserve it's tradional way of life?
-It is very true that China does not want the Tibet of old to return. Heartless fiends. What do they object to? The peaceful prayers and meditation? Not really.
Before the new government of China, 5% of Tibet's people DID indeed live very nice lives. Very very nice lives. The remaining 95%? Not so much. A huge proportion of them where slaves. They were bought and sold and swapped for cows and all the usual joys of slavedom. The majority of the rest where serfs. The difference? Although serfs had to do all their masters chores without pay, the master didn't techniquely own them. This meant they could tax them (the list of taxes is huge, including a tax to be put IN prison) and they had no requirement to feed them. Do you want it to go back to that?
Q: But at least their Buddhist masters treated them nicely right?
-Buddhists are not suppose to kill anything. There are rumours of slaves and serfs being killed anyway, but these might not be true. For sake of arguement we'll assume Buddhists didn't kill anyone, ever. However, to quote Aladdin, "You'll be amazed what you can live through."
Punishments included removal of eyes, hands, arms, ears, noses, etc etc etc. These "punishments" were decided completely by the master, no trial needed, and where given for the standard "stealing to feed a starving child" type crimes or for not paying taxes or for any reason really. Another favorite was to almost kill someone then leave them in the cold mountains for God to decide what happened. Skinning alive is also there.
A master could choose any female servant he desired to do with as he wished, even those already married. Objection by either man or woman resulted in punishment, see above. There is also strong evidence that young boys, aged 8-10, taken into monestries for "training", where consistantly raped.
Q: What happened to the Dalai after fleeing Tibet?
-The Dalai Lama set up a new exciled goverment for the 80,000 people he brought with him from Tibet. He then sought aid from the globe to put pressure on China to realise Tibet back into his control. However, he has always been quoted as wanting a peaceful solution to be found. He travels the world, a religous teacher. He is seen as the most open minded of all spiritual leaders. He admits in any conflicts between science and religion people should listen to science. He accepts homosexuality (though doesn't approve of anal, oral or masturbation). He allows other religions. He promotes all the positive aspects of Buddhism. He is generally highly regarded, and recieved alot of awards, including 5 honary docurates and a nobel peace prize.
Q: So why do China hate him?
-He helps to twist the global view of China in a very negative direction. This is something China is very capable of doing all by itself and doesn't require his help. On fleeing Tibet, he created and stands by the fairy tale. In addition, his numbers never add up. He claims 1.2 million people were killed when China took the reigns and "at least as many" became political prisoners. However, all records show only around 2 million people in Tibet at the time TOTAL. So China killed over 50% and imprisoned over 50%? Tibet is around half the size of Europe and made of mountains, did China really round them all up? In addition, it is common knowledge that the uprising failed because the serfs and slaves didn't really join in. For some reason alot of them liked where China was taking them. It is often stated that Tibet couldn't defend itself, so China just decided to kill and imprison more than 100% of the population of any area half the size of Europe, whilst also dealing with a civil war?
The Dalai has always been rather brief on the issue of slavery. He does point out that China also had slaves at the time, and their slaves were treated even worst. Amazingly, he makes this sound like a good thing for him and a bad thing for the current chinese government, the government which abolished slavery in both areas. Think about it.
Mostly, the Chinese government doesn't trust what the Dalai would do if he regained power. He is often quoted as saying he would like a return to
"Tibet's historical role as a peaceful and neutral Buddhist nation "
arguing that
"Tibetans will soon be no more than a tourist attraction and relic of a noble past."
Given the details of this noble past, do you trust him? Would you give him your country?
Q: Isn't it a shame that this ancient civilazation will be replaced by a much more modern one, with all these super highways and trainlines China keeps putting in?
-No. It isn't. Just like it wasn't a shame when England abolished slavery. Nor was it a shame when we stopped burning witches. Nor was it a shame when we stopped conquering the world. Nor was it a shame when we installed indoor flushable toilets. Nor was it a shame when we got medical treatments which didn't involve drilling holes in peoples heads to let out demons.
If you want the return of this noble tradition, why not volunteer to be a slave or serf?
Q: I take it your fond of the Chinese government then?
-No. The Chinese government is corrupt, selfish and quite often wrong. It's views on freedom of speech are just stupid and out of date. It's behavior in events such as Tianamen Square unforgivable, although almost 20 years ago now.
I am fond of looking at both sides of a story though. For example, the next time you see those poor Tibetan RIOTERS being attacked, stop and think 1. Who started the violence and 2.Where do the pictures come from, since China doesn't allow cameras in? In fact all the pictures are from either Nepal or India.
I'm fond of thinking.
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