Free Republic

Democrat Aftab Pureval, Hamilton County clerk of courts, is challenging Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) in Ohio’s 1st district. Aftab Pureval (half American Indian, half Tibetan), a Democratic House candidate in Ohio, reported to police on Monday the “menacing by stalking” of his fiancée, Whitney Whitis, outside her Cincinnati home. Since Jan. 28, two days before Pureval formally announced his run, “unknown suspects” have been “sitting outside the victim’s house at all hours of the day, attempting to photograph victim, and have come onto the victim’s property banging loudly on the door, yelling at the victim and attempting to photograph through...

The Dalai Lama has sent a message of support for Armed Forces Day, which is next Saturday. In it, he writes of his admiration for the military. That is perhaps not so surprising. As he explains, there are many parallels between being a monk and being a soldier – the need for discipline, companionship, and inner strength. But his support will take some of his western admirers by surprise, not least when it comes to his thoughts on non-violence. Attitudes towards violence in Buddhism are enormously complex. There are some traditions that argue aggression, and killing in particular, is always...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A Chinese court has handed a six-year prison term to a Tibetan film-maker who made an internationally watched documentary in which ordinary people aired grievances, his family said Wednesday. Dhondup Wangchen, 35, had trekked across the Himalayan territory for five months asking about topics including Chinese rule, the exiled Dalai Lama and the Olympics which Beijing was preparing to hold in August 2008. The self-taught film-maker was arrested in March that year as major protests erupted in Tibet. He had just completed the film, "Leaving Fear Behind," which has since been screened in more than 30 countries....

BEIJING - China vowed Saturday to ramp up a campaign requiring Tibetan Buddhist monks to denounce the Dalai Lama and declare their loyalty to Beijing. But resentment over "patriotic education" has ignited protests that have left eight people dead in recent days in a southwestern province and could fuel future unrest despite a massive security presence aimed at quelling the demonstrations. The Tibet Daily newspaper reported Saturday that the government pledged to "strengthen patriotic education" especially among young monks to help them "become patriotic, religion-loving and law-abiding." "We should strengthen patriotic education so as to guide the masses of monks...

Ratcheting up its control over Tibetan Buddhism, China Friday claimed the sole right Friday to recognize living Buddhas, reincarnations of famous lamas that form the backbone of the religion's clergy. All future incarnations of living Buddhas related to Tibetan Buddhism “must get government approval,” the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the State Administration for Religious Affairs. China's officially atheistic communist government has increasingly sought to direct Tibetan Buddhism, for centuries the basis of Tibet's civil, religious, cultural and political life. Reincarnate lamas, known as tulkus, often lead religious communities and oversee the training of monks, giving them enormous influence...

Tibetan shepherds welcome climate change By Richard Spencer at the Karo-la Pass in Tibet Last Updated: 1:52am GMT 15/02/2007 Global warming is melting the snows and glaciers — and the peasant farmers of the Tibetan plateau are delighted. Crossing a snowless mountain path by yak near Yamdrok-so Lake While much of the world worries about the impact of climate change, for these hardy Himalayan shepherds, battling the elements in the world's highest mountains, a gentler climate can only be good news. "Yes, it's definitely getting warmer," said Tsawang Dumi, 56, a Tibetan shepherd watching over a flock of 60 sheep...

Video: Chinese soldiers murder Tibetan pilgrims posted at 5:35 pm on October 15, 2006 by Allahpundit The old-fashioned way. Execution buses aren’t well suited to snowy, mountainous terrain. These are the people we’re counting on to rein in Kim Jong-Il. Click the here to watch. http://hotair.com/archives/2006/10/15/video-chinese-soldiers-murder-tibetan-pilgrims/

Tibetan-American Marine Killed in Iraq 2005.04.05 Cpl. Tenzin Choeku Dengkhim, a 19-year-old immigrant has become the first Tibetan-American killed in combat in Iraq. Photo: RFA WASHINGTON—A 19-year-old Tibetan from Virginia has been killed in combat in Iraq, less than one month after deploying there. Cpl. Tenzin Choeku Dengkhim died as a result of “hostile action” April 2, the Pentagon said. He appears to be the first Tibetan-American killed in combat in Iraq. “He was a very good boy, deeply religious, and [he] talked of serving Tibet as a soldier after he completed his military career as U.S. Marine,” his mother,...

LONDON: Europe may be forced into considering a continent-wide ban on the swastika, one of the oldest, most globally recognized but also most reviled Sanskrit symbols in the West, in an anguished response to 'party prince' Harry's choice of Nazi uniform, swastika and SS badge as fancy dress. On Sunday, German politicians mooted discussing a ban at the next meeting of justice ministers from the 25 European Union (EU) member states. But Indophiles said it was a sad commentary on the swastika, which is translated from the Sanskrit to mean "it is well", even though Hitler's hijacking made it a...