Public Health and Tibetian Truths

As you can see..
its been ages since ive written a thing
tho at this hour.. 11:49pm
what am i up to?
why... youtubing..

tho no im not watching anime nor tv dramas..
so what is it?
its the recent uprise in news of the tibetian protests..
so what is it about this thing that has got me
watching youtube of all places for information?

well first of all.. its normal yeah?
that most people will take a greater interest
in that which has some or any impact on themselves
or anything that may be related to themselves
or even anything that involves people around them
we all like to be 'in the know'
we want to know what's happening around us
what potential social situations that may arise due to occurences
we wanna be informed
there's the thirst for knowledge
and well.. its MAJOR news.. supposedly..
its media.. the news companies wanna sell it

ok. so some how it has some relation to me?
well.. lets look:
(a) i'm chinese.
(b) i'm an overseas chinese.
(c) exposure to tibetian buddhism last year (i have an interest)
(d) im currently studying public health
(huh? well im studying socioeconomic determinants of health..
but yeah to do with income and social standing and influence..
and how it affects health..
but still.. socioeconomics :P)

ok.. still.
why am i watching youtube then?
coz of wow.. i love watching all these video claims of THE "truth"

where they range from:
- "Western Media Feeding Propoganda"
- "Truth of Tibet"
- "The Dalai Lama: does he have ulterior motives?"
- "Tibet is better under Chinese Rule: Tibet Prior 1950"
- "Tibet has always been and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of China"
- "Free Tibet from what?"


the statement that the average life expectancy
of tibetians was 35
and infant mortality was 43%
prior to chinese communist rule..
wow! well hello prior to chinese rule
it was NINETEEN FIFTIES
the conditions were much more different
its incomparable to the data nowadays
and please.. talking about data?
methodology? accuracy?

and below the poverty line?
think again how many other countries
were above it at that time?
was there even a poverty line that existed?

mm and the claim of "preservation" of tibetian culture
that i love a lot... the fact that...
buddhism is a very deep part of the culture
but due to communist atheism it seems to be trying to stamp it out
what with the destruction of many temples in the past
and with modernisation, social and economic development
through mining in the sacred mountain to the Tibetians

in the provision of infrastructure?
the 2006 completion of railway line to Lhasa
brought an influx of Chinese
and increased tension leading to greater protest
as living costs increased
due to higher demand in basic commodities
how do these improvements improve the livelihood of the Tibetian
where they are now a minority in their own country
feeling as second class citizens..
and for propoganda..?
why would protests occur unless a group of people
feel that they are being treated unfairly?

on the religious front..
the 2007 legislation deeming the reincarnation
of lamas to become "living buddhas"
as illegal unless with government permission
that is something that sounds completely RIDICULOUS
what right do they have in dabbling in another's religion...
let alone one they dont believe in..

education? that of "patriotic education"
where the people learn chinese..
but not their own language..
so where is the maintenance of traditions and beliefs?
if they cant learn their own language
isnt that an integral part of their culture and beliefs?
and religion? isnt that where
traditions and beliefs may also stem from?
where is the "maintenance" when
there are allegations that even lamas are
coerced to denounce the Dalai Lama
their own religious leader?

and last of all mixing politics with sport?
when you arent even allowed to choose
which country you wish to represent..
when they arent allowed to participate
under their own country
true.. the indiginous of Australia
dont participate as another country
but.. at the same time
what of the controversy when Cathay Freeman
ran her victory lap with the Aboriginal Flag?
it was an expression of her patriotism to her own country
(my point for this point?
i have not really any idea..
not that much interest in sport personally
tho i loved how the protesters
attempted to stage their own torch lighting
and their own relay..
that was cool.. too bad they didnt get to finish it
damnit.. i wanna see them have their own relay
just coz they cant participate!!)

and the comments?
oh i love reading them..
seeing how eagerly people then either extrememly agree
or strongly disagree
(but then again..
looking at what ive written..
its pretty much similar..?)
then a heated discussion errupts over a video
and how people state the video
they just watch "proved" something
and that they are the absoulte "truths"
by these "facts" presented to them
in a 3 or 4 minute video clip which edit
by cutting parts of speeches by political leaders
and pasting them together at particular times
to create juxtapositions to suit the claim

but yes..
after much reading...
that's about the belief ive taken..
after watching MANY of those clips..
and before that..
read up on a large number of news articles

hmmm..
now come to think of it...
where are those avian influenza notes?
oops..was meant to read them instead
got presentation on that coming up actually
for public health T.T
so yep..
till later
*hugs*