Bob Dylan...ironic that! Minstrel performs in Communist Vietnam! April 10th!

 

Are issues black & white?



The appeal of a handful of artists across a myriad of foreign landscapes (in spite of the social and political stance) is not only evident - but, a bit mind-boggling - in view of the recent announcement that Bob Dylan (a celebrated anti-war protestor in the sixties) is slated to perform live! in Vietnam on April 10th.

Not the intimate setting of the Warfield (in San Francisco) that legend is used to - but - what the heck!

Say, didn't that shaggy-haired bohemian, lament the horrors of communism in his ballsy upstart-youth?

Oh, yeah!

"The times they are-a-changin', alright!"

The eccentric musically-inspired poet (with roots in both the folk and rock-beat eras) has obviously opted to toss caution to the wind so that he might rustle up a posse of admirers in a breathless (jaded?) foreign generation (in addition to die-hard fans of yesteryear) in a 8,250-seat stadium.

Will Dylan get into the spirit of the moment and  pen a pop tune in honor of Ho Chi Minh, too?

A hypocrite?

No, just maybe, Bob's mellowing (and getting optimistic) with old age.

News at 11!

http://www.thetattler.biz



Bob inspired an anti-war sentiment!

Barack Obama...China furious over proposed meeting with Dalai Lama!

President Hu an International joke!

Once again - Chinese Officials have flown into a nasty child's tantrum on the heels of the news that President Obama is entertaining thoughts of meeting with the exiled spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.

In a terse press statement, Zhu Weiqun (Deputy head of the Communist United Front Works Department) stressed that talks with the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate were stalled with little hope for progress in respect to Tibet's cry for independence (release from the tyranny of the communist regime).

In so many words, China warned Obama that any proposed meeting would upset Sino-U.S. relations.

President Hu Jintao is slated to travel to Washington in April (tentative) and his advance team has cautioned that any audience with the Dalai Lama before that visit might anger the Chinese government and the Hu Jintao in particular.

Since when does the U.S. kow-tow to a foreign nation like China - a country that continually violates human rights and suppresses the will (and spiritual faith) of the people?

I trust that the President will ignore the foot stamping and give His Holiness his due.

Who needs China's toy imports rife with lead poisoning anyway?

Bush showed balls!

http://www.julianayrs.com

Beijing...renews attacks on Dalai Lama! Denounces call for limited sovereignty...

Despite assurances - leading-up-to and during the course of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - that Chinese Officials would make a good-faith effort to resolve pressing issues regarding sovereignty and Tibetan exiles, it appears that the negotiations have failed.

At the heart of the matter is the question of sovereignty.

In view of the ever- diminishing prospects for a total sovereignty, His Holiness - the Dalai Lama - recommended a "middle way" (limited sovereignty) approach as a quick-fix to a thorny dilemma.

As usual, Beijing officials accused the Dalai Lama of colluding with their staunchest enemies.

In a strident statement released to the media, Mr. Zhu Weiqun - Executive Vice Minister of Front Work Department and the Communist Party arm that is overseeing the talks - announced the Government's decision to reject the Dalai Lama's solution.

Zhu accused Tibetan exiles of conspiring with democracy activists, an outlawed spiritual group known as the Falun Gong, and Militant Muslim separatists.

In the final analysis, Zhu argued that the "middle way" solution would only lead to an "ethnic cleansing" of Han Chinese from the region.

Some argue that a rejection of the implementation of a "middle way" may actually strengthen the position of younger radical Tibetan leaders who favor a full-fledged push for freedom.

China holds fast to their position - that all officially recognized religions in China should be controlled by by the Government - including the appointment of its spiritual leaders.

This is a troubling stance for Tibetan Buddhists who believe that their holiest of spiritual leaders are reincarnated from a distinctive lineage traced back throughout the ages.