So ya unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Free Tibet protests are getting wild, and China is not liknig it, hell it looks like they're close to starting a civil war over it.

Today it got worse. The Olympic Torch relay in Paris was cancelled after protesters tried to get the Torch (it had to be snuffed out and re-lit 3 TIMES!!), and FOX just reported that Protesters are scaling the Golden Gate Bridge to spread the message, and Hillary Clinton may be calling for a boycott of the games.

Soo agian I ask the question: How did this happen, and who is to blame?

There's a little too much history for me, but what I can gather is that Tibet, a region in China, was a soverign state between the rise and fall of empires, and was incorporated into China when the Communist "People's Republic" took over. According to the movement, Tibet is independant, and PRC rule is illegal.

So is the PRC really to hold all the blame here? Most, but not all IMO.

There's 2 good quotes, one is from one of my favorite songs: For what it's worth, by Buffalo Springfield:

"Nobody's right, if everybody's wrong"

Also a quote from "Lord of War" starring Nicholas Cage:

"Every faction in Africa calls themselves by these noble names - Liberation this, Patriotic that, Democratic Republic of something-or-other... I guess they can't own up to what they usually are: a federation of worse oppressors than the last bunch of oppressors. Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves freedom-fighters"

So let's take a look at who's to blame for what:

China:

This country, one of the fastest developing in the world, is also one of the sloppiest IMO.

The Communist PRC has had an iron grip on China for the last 50 years, everything in the country is state-controlled. The TV, the Press, even the Internet. Heck, they only import like 3 American movies a year.

The PRC clearly is making this mess worse by punishing anyone who differs from the ideas of their supreme leaders.

This restriction on human rights has always kept the PRC on a sour note with me. See here in America, we have the freedom to speak and think as we see fit.

I mean really, if you want to accuse Bush of being a terrorist, or demand that the US convert to Islam with Sharia law, go ahead and do so. I might not like it, hell I might want to kick you down several flights of stairs, but it's your right to do so, so go on.

The PRC is behaving like INGSOC from 1984. They are demanding that it's citizens belive that 2+2=5 because a growing number of them are saying that 2+2=4.

Also, China has alot at stake here. They won the vote to host the Olympics 51% to 49%, so they BARLEY won. They don't have something to prove persay, but alot is on the line.

And by punishing IT'S OWN CITIZENS because they do not agree with the ideals of the old men in the Government, they are just digging themselfs into a bigger and bigger hole.

Oh, and their spaceships are copies of the Russian ones ^v^

Now for the other side:

Free Tibet:

More sympathetic with their cause, I could not be.

But it's PAINFULLY obvious that they're exploiting the international attention on China to spread their message.

And it's working too well.

Protests are spreading up all around the world, including the US. I like seeing that actually, I mean it's a refreshing sight to see, as opposed to the fact that alot of Americans don't seem to care about what happens to Iraq, as long as it dosen't involve us.

But what I don't like, is that the Free Tibet movement is trying to disrupt the Olympics.

Countries are considering boycotts already.

I mean c'mon, THIS IS THE OLYMPICS FFS!

The Olympics are a time of peace and brotherhood, a time when opposing armies lay down their arms and compete in events of sportsmanship and fellowship (and go back to chopping off each other's heads afterwards of course :P).

Agian, I support their cause, but I don't support a disruption of a Global event.

I mean, the Olympic Flame had to be snuffed and relit 3 TIMES today during the Paris relay, and then it was cancelled all together, and demonstraters are planning to do this agian. That's just redicoulous.

All I ask is that the movement try to leave the games alone, the Olympics were already cancelled twice, no need to go for #3.

And so that's it. I honeslty don't know who to root for in this whole mess, but I hope that it ends soon, and the Olympics of 2008 won't go down as a "never was."

How about you? What do you think of this mess? Sound off!

Helios