If you’re at all familiar with Michael Fox (the columnist, not the actor), and you’re trying to decide if the current economic crisis is a recession or a full blown depression, he certainly makes it hard to be optimistic.  Back in November, Mr. Fox reported that the New Depression had already begun.  In February, he reported that it had entered Phase Two, and that it had gone global.

Deniers may or may not have paid Mr. Fox much attention, if any at all.  But now news of just how bad our current economic crisis really is is starting to bleed into the rest of the Blogosphere.  Salon.com’s Andrew Leonard writes:

Most economists are no longer debating whether there will be a recession in 2008. Now, they’re arguing over when the recession started — was it last November, or December? — and how bad it’s likely to get. While they bicker, however, a far more terrifying economic specter from the distant past has sent a chill through the infosphere.

“We have not seen a nationwide decline in housing like this since the Great Depression,” said the CEO of Wells Fargo late last year. “It is now clear that the U.S. and global financial markets are experiencing their worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,” wrote economist Nouriel Roubini last week.

What’s kept things from completely collapsing is the hardcore denial by those in power that anything is even wrong.  The children running the Federal Reserve “reason” that if they can hold off all public acknowledgment that there is a crisis, and that allowing the “free” market to run wild was the cause, then the problem doesn’t exist.  And if the problem doesn’t exist because no one admits there is one, then the “reasoning” goes that when the next administration comes in and has to tell the public the truth, blame can then be shifted to that bunch.  Because, after all, the Depression “didn’t exist” until the new folk in charge began talking about it.

Except it does exist, and it shan’t be long before even the lazy and all-too-often complicit corporate media are forced to admit it.  The independent media has already belatedly come to terms with the fact of the economic crisis.  Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive wrote yesterday about the growing problem of looting other people’s homes for metals such as copper and steel.  People are getting so desperate, they’re ignoring things such as televisions and stereos.  Guard your plumbing jealously, ladies and gentlemen.  That’s what robbers are really after in today’s Great Depression.

What’s that?  You’re still not convinced?  Let’s read more from Mr. Leonard.

In 1933, 24 percent of the workforce was unemployed. In February 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.8 percent (though there are reasons to believe that number significantly underestimates the true picture). Between 1929 and 1933, U.S. GDP growth declined by around 30 percent, the stock market lost almost 90 percent of its value, and a whopping 40 percent of the nation’s banks failed. In the fourth quarter of 2007, GDP growth registered an 0.6 gain. While stocks are down over the last year and a half, there’s still no consensus about whether we’re living through a “correction” or a full-scale bear market. And even though scores of mortgage lenders have declared bankruptcy in the last year, both the real banking system and the so-called shadow banking system of generally unregulated investment banks and hedge funds are still afloat, thanks in large part to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s dogged determination to ensure that if economic disaster does strike, it won’t be because the Fed failed to pump enough liquidity into the system (an error that conservative economists are convinced helped cause the first Great Depression).

Now let’s read some portions of Mike Fox’s report from last November:

The Chinese had begun a sell-off of their US securities. They have dollars held by their government and, separately by their treasury (like the Fed).

Today, that entity has made clear that they will be unloading some $400 billion, which they already began in August (according to the China Daily, they sold off $9 billion – without buying any new debt in that month alone) in an attempt to divest of American Government securities. (They still hold over a trillion dollars of, well, other dollars — stock, corporate paper, etc)

The Japanese, not to be outdone, sold off some $24 billion in US treasuries in August.

Today, GM posted a loss of $40 billion in the 3rd quarter, because they had so much anticipated income from anticipated tax credits that they had opted to show as possible income FOR THREE YEARS in order to minimize the appearances of real losses, that they now had to suck it up and stick it all on the balance sheet for this one quarter, even though, at selling cars, they made a profit in that quarter! Can you wrap your mind around LOSING 40 BILLION DOLLARS IN 3 MONTHS? There are many nations that don’t have that number for a GDP, annually. This is America’s great manufacturing giant. And, as they used to say, what’s good for GM is Good for America.

So, America, let’s just all write-down our losses in the third quarter and move on, shall we?

Today, Washington Mutual (the one hitherto considered clean), got nabbed on CRIMINAL charges by Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of NY for their mortgages (specifically for defrauding Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with bundled mortgages).

Today, the Europeans (as I pointed out in my January 07 letter, not published on SC – everyone else thought they were safe) are suffering too. BMW and LVMH both took large hits on their stock values, as they realize that all that entry-level luxe crap – that foolish Americans were mortgaging the floorboards to buy – will no longer sell (3-series BMWs are where the money is, but that market just slammed shut, similarly Louis Vuitton, which has opened dozens of mall stores to sell items that used to be exclusive, may as well close those doors, because the market will revert to the rarified air it used to breathe, and all those middle class gals who’ve been buying $1200 purses will do so no more, because you can’t mortgage a house after it’s been foreclosed.

Remember, this was back in November, before the bailout of Bear Stearns.  Now let’s take a look at Mr. Fox’s reports from February:

Egg, a British online bank, said it would cancel the credit cards of 161,000 customers it deemed too risky. The cards will stop working in March. The news provoked angry reactions from some credit-card holders who claimed their credit records were spotless. Egg was acquired by Citigroup last year, before the deterioration in money markets. [From The Economist, Feb. 7, 2008]

Citigroup recently found itself short of cash-on-hand, so they sold another 5% of the company to the UAE. That wasn’t enough, evidently, so now they’re tightening up on lending. First was the mortgage sector, now the consumer credit. Dropping 161,000 credit cards in Britain would work out to dropping over 800,000 were they to do likewise in the United States. Only, this is one small subsidiary bank in Great Britain, and this is only the beginning.

Those credit cards they’ve been “pre-approving” and issuing to anyone who’d sign up will soon be gone. Without the credit card – mad consumerism of the last ten years, store closures will be drastic, and accompanying unemployment will go without saying. Meanwhile, the government is printing more money to keep the spending spree going, even if the banks can no longer underwrite the party. Still, the Fed keeps lowering the interest rates to encourage borrowing – if only anyone were lending! Yet as the cost of money drops for the banks, credit card interest rates and fees are skyrocketing.

And:

Okay, people, if the foreclosure rate, the banks closing perfectly good credit card accounts, or the loss of thousands of jobs a month hasn’t convinced you, this is Earthshaking. Because, as depressed as the real estate market has been, and as volatile as the stock market has been, bonds have been the conservative investment of choice for large investment fund managers and long-term individual investors. Secretly, who hasn’t aspired to “retire and clip coupons?” (Note to the young’uns: tax-free municipal bonds used to have perforations like a sheet of stamps, and each coupon represented a monthly or quarterly interest payment that was like tax-free cash, thus the expression amongst the wealthy, “clipping coupons”; it has nothing to do with 20¢ off a box of Tide). Now this:

UBS AG won’t buy auction-rate securities that fail to attract enough bidders, joining a growing number of dealers stepping back from the $300 billion market, said a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The second-biggest underwriter of the securities, whose rates are reset periodically at auctions, notified its 8,200 U.S. brokers of the decision yesterday, said the person, who declined to be identified because the announcement wasn’t publicly disclosed. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Citigroup Inc. allowed auctions to fail…Bank of America Corp. estimated in a report that 80 percent of all auctions of bonds sold by cities, hospitals and student loan agencies were unsuccessful yesterday.

That may mean as much as $20 billion of bonds failed to find buyers, based on the $15 billion to $25 billion of auction-rate bonds scheduled for bidding daily…Auctions are failing as confidence in the creditworthiness of insurers backing the securities wanes, and as loss-plagued banks…[Feb. 14 (Bloomberg)]

Yesterday, Warren Buffett, the billionaire head of Berkshire Hathaway Fund offered to personally shore-up the four companies that insure all bonds, and are at risk of having their own credit-worthiness downgraded (which would send a huge ripple of skittishness throughout the economy – a ripple, in my opinion, just waiting to happen). Mr. Bufett’s offer has been publicly rebuffed, and, yet, such bravado on the part of MBIA and Ambac isn’t making anyone feel the rock solid security they’re trying to convey. Everyone knows that when the defaults begin in bundled mortgage backed securities, they will not be able to come up with the $800 billion, and then, those holding more traditional bonds, those issued by municipalities and states, will be dependent upon the tax income of those entities, which are dwindling as the home foreclosure rate goes up.

And the Swiss are having none of it. So, yesterday, New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corp.’s auction of $64.9 million failed. Likewise, the Port Authority (of New York and New Jersey), saw its auction debt soar to 20 percent on Feb. 12 from 4.3 percent a week ago.

Meanwhile, the CFO of MBIA, Charles Chaplin (no kidding), has taken his show on the road, telling everyone who’ll listen that everything’s okay, nothing to see over here, have faith. Earlier this week he announced that they had enough to cover any degree of failure that may occur, and today, he’ll be testifying before Congress that “A bailout of highly credit-worthy companies, who, at most, are at risk of losing the very highest ratings available, is misplaced.” But no disclosure of details has been made. So far, this roadshow is all talk, and I, for one would prefer to see the balance sheets. As the bonds themselves aren’t selling, the interest rate will have to go up to entice buyers. But that just increases the risk for the insurers. The problem snowballs.

By the way, did anyone notice that platinum hit $2,000./ounce last night? No wonder.

Convinced yet?  If not, don’t worry.  Sooner or later, the corporate media shall have to acknowledge that the New Depression exists.  The only question is whether it will happen under a Democratic or Republican regime.  If it’s the former, look for blame to be laid on the Democrats.  If it’s the latter, it’ll be those pesky regulations that take the blame, and the resulting wave of further deregulation shall inevitably lead to a meltdown that makes the First Great Depression look like a day at the beach by comparison.

By the way, the foreign press — ever ahead of our own — is calling the United States’ economic depression what it is.  How sick is it, that we must go to other countries’ news outlets and bloggers in order to get at anything even remotely resembling the Truth?

This is Part I: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,

IRAQ AFTER THE SURGE: POLITICAL PROSPECTS 4/2/08.

Tomorrow see: Part II: MILITARY PROSPECTS.

Nir Rosen became my favorite guide to the real Iraq, the people and the streets of Iraq since I first read and diaried his comments last year. As one of the very few fearless reporters who have spent time without minders to speak of, with Iraqis out on the streets, talking to various segments of the population. His observations are invaluable and objective. He is no cheerleader.

For those who are unitiated, Rosen comes as a breath of fresh air. He is not out to impress everyone, does not behave like a typical panelist, but reads through his written testimony dispassionately, matter of factly, at a speed seldom seen in Senate hearings.

Today before the Committee on Foreign Relations two panels were heard on Post-Surge Iraq– the first military, then “political prospects.” You will find links to the Senate Committee hearings on Iraq this month here.

Electricity sparks flew for a while this afternoon as Barbara Boxer had the microphone. I love her rage.

~crossposted on the orange, still deluded I guess~

Senators sat with open jaws and then said things like, “I’m shocked to hear that.” “Do I understand you right? That’s just shocking!” They said it so much that the witnesses began to back pedal just a bit, wondering if perhaps they had used a bit of hyperbole, especially one Dr. Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was squirming at one point and one could see the bubble above his head reading perhaps:

“OMG, did I say that? Was I truthful by mistake? I’d better get some cover here.”

On the other hand, Nir Rosen was not flustered. He calmly supplied evidence gathered firsthand from his experience in Iraq. He actually speaks Arabic. Sometimes he is undercover in Iraq because no one expects him to speak Arabic, giving him access to candid remarks that Iraqis assume will not be understood.

Today — fireworks, outrage and incomprehension about how bad things are in Iraq came scattered throughout the hours of testimony –carried live on C-Span.org, and later on C-Span3.

At the end of the day it was Sen. Barbara Boxer who was shocked, and rightly so I might add. This stated fact did it for her:

The National Police act like militia for Malaki not as a national security force.

Senator Boxer heard that and said, “What? Did I hear you correctly? Did you say……?” And they answered, including Mr.Biddle:

“Yes, that’s true.”

Boxer said:

“That’s not what we’ve been hearing from the generals. Everyone is telling us how well they are doing.”

Iraqi forces, the panelists told her, are composed of the militia, security forces and military. The Army is less sectarian, though still divided in loyalty, than the National Police.

If I’m right, Boxer then said: (paraphrase)

“Let me get this straight. After we’ve spent 20 billion dollars training the National Police, now we find out, now we are told that they are a militia acting for Malaki?!”

Boxer became very irate with Mr. Biddle and blasted him, very coherently, after one of his back-peddling-worried-about-my-own-ass, stammering responses. Boxer said, and I tried to transcribe this accurately:

“Are you saying we have made ‘bilateral agreements’ with ‘200 warlords’ –and that’s been called ‘diplomacy?!’ That is a total slap in the face of those of us who are against this war. We care a lot about the outcome. Don’t sat we don’t care about the outcome.”

Then, after reaffirming his statement to Boxer, he “clarified”:

“Well, we’re the only ones who are trusted as peacekeepers.”

In short, he said that the National Police of Iraq, and the Iraqi Army are not the ones trusted by Iraqis to be actual peacekeepers.”

Now, I do not know if that is correct, but it is rather incendiary for an occupation-friendly person to say that Iraqis cannot or are not trusted by Iraqis as being “peacekeepers.” (Of course, we knew that all along, but it’s not the admin. line.) Not when the administration and its current generals in command keep telling us how well the Iraqi Army isdoing.

Boxer quoted from a recent poll of Iraqi feelings about US presence in Iraq, done by abc/bbc:

     70% oppose presence of US forces

     61% say US makes things worse

     46% said security would improve if US forces left

     29% said would get worse if US forces left

On the question of refugees returning home we learned that there is no body with the country charged with adjudicating disputes of property. No  one body decides this and the US military is to be not concerned with this. Ultimately, they said, it’s too dangerous during a civil war to let people go back to their homes which may have been taken over by someone from the other sect.

Rosen told the committee that our troops are fairly brutal in what their mission is in Iraq. Rather than being police or peacekeepers, he said.  This is disturbing but fits with what I heard a general say last year in a passing comment that was never explained. Niren mentioned the 6900 juveniles in prison who can be executed, who live in “horrifying conditions,” adding that women prisoners are routinely raped.

He mentioned that in all the ministry (government) offices he visited they were covered with Shiite banners of all kinds. “Power,” he said, “is really in the hands of the militias. The Mahdi go into police stations and threaten those not sufficiently loyal to the Mahdi army. There is zero reconciliation.

Repeat:

There is zero reconciliation.

Rosen said that a report on humanitarian aspects, which he worked on during his recent trip, will outline some things that can be done.

When asked what should we do, Rosen replied:

“I’m not going to give advice to an imperial nation/government.” Then added, “I don’t think we’re there for the Iraqi people. That’s never been the case.”

Before we leave Nir Rosen, he has a Rolling Stone piece here

you might want to see, from which I give one little quote.

The jobs promised to members of the Awakening have not materialized:

An internal U.S. report concludes that “there is no coherent plan at this time” to employ them, and the U.S. Agency for International Development “is reluctant to accept any responsibility” for the jobs program because it has a “high likelihood of failure.”

Iraq showdown made Sadr stronger, backers say “Have a chocolate,” the thin, bearded man said. “This is for our victory over [Prime Minister Nouri] Maliki.”

What did the military men say in the first panel today? Read tomorrow’s Part Two. Some interesting stuff.

Continuing a long pattern of decline, Fox News once again underperforms its competitors. The first quarter of a presidential election year can generally be expected to boost viewership for news networks. For CNN and MSNBC this has been markedly apparent. For Fox News…not so much.

As a result of the hyper-growth of CNN’s prime time schedule (persons 25-54), they actually finished ahead of Fox News for the first time in six years. Another quarter like this and Fox will finish third behind both CNN and MSNBC.

The stagnation of Fox’s audience can be traced in part to the downward spiral of the Bush presidency. Fox has long tethered its fortunes to a conservative ideology that has fallen out of favor. Now they have trouble attracting either viewers or guests from the more moderate and/or progressive population. They also have an age problem. Fox News has both the oldest skewing audience and the oldest prime time line-up. That combination produces a staleness that is reflected in their ratings. It’s ironic that the Republican candidate for president is also the oldest to ever run for the office. He should be a perfect fit for Fox, if not for America.

In addition to CNN’s win over Fox in the average ratings statistics, Fox has fallen to fourth place (with 24.5 million) in cumulative ratings, behind CNN (33.2), MSNBC (28.4), and Headline News (25.9). Cumes represent the number of the network’s unique viewers and are arguably a more precise measure for news programming (explanation here).

So contrary to the boasting of Fox News narcissists, they are not the ratings juggernaut that they would have you believe. In fact, sooner than many might have predicted, they will be reduced to also-rans. In advance of that you can expect that they will fiddle with their programming to deliver even more sensationalistic, high decibel, conflict-driven fare that virtually drips with steamy melodrama, controversy and a nightmarish dread of Muslims, immigrants and Democrats.

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Please see the update at the end of this diary, with letters to the Chinese people and the world from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

On Monday, March 31, a large group of Tibetans, Americans of Tibetan ancestry, and other American supporters gathered at Lafayette Park outside the White House in Washington, DC to ask President Bush to make a statement for human rights and refused to attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in protest of Chinese government oppression of Tibet.

I have been very moved by the mostly nonviolent struggle of the Tibetans to regain their freedom, and by the strength and compassion shown by the Dalai Lama in urging them to maintain nonviolence at all times. I decided it was important to go and stand in solidarity with them. This is my report on the event.

The plan for the day was to meet at Lafayette Park, hear some speakers, and then march up Connecticut Avenue to the Chinese Embassy, which is just before the bridge that goes over Rock Creek Park. If you’re not familiar with DC, I can tell you this is a fairly long walk. I didn’t take any notes, but I did take a lot of pictures and a few videos, so this will be a very visual report.

When I first arrived at Lafayette Park, the event really hadn’t started, but people were standing facing the White House and chanting slogans like “Free Tibet Now,” “China is a liar,” and “Long live the Dalai Lama!”

As I approached the gathering, a small cluster of Tibetan monks stood together and apart from the crowd with their banners. Maybe they were praying, or maybe they were just planning their involvement in the event. I was happy to see them. Buddhist monks always seem to have such a nice calm energy. I am slightly mystified by why I like them so much. Perhaps it’s because they preach compassion and seem to do an admirable job of practicing it too. I just know that I feel like my heart opens just a little bit more every time I see Tibetan monks. I was saddened to see the messages on the banners they carried.

I stood with the rest of the crowd and chanted the slogans with them as best I could. Sometimes I had a little bit of trouble understanding what they were saying, either because the person leading the chant was shouting a little too loudly for his voice, or because of the accents and the general confusion of crowd noise. I wasn’t there too long before the crowd started a mass movement in one direction, so I followed them, and we gathered around a stage that I hadn’t noticed before.

The crowd around me was very colorful, or perhaps I should say very united in their color choices. Many of them carried or wore the flag of Tibet, often draped around their shoulders like a cape.

The first speaker described the current situation in Tibet, in which the exiled Tibetan government says there have been at least 140 people killed. The Tibetan government has released the names of 40 of them, and many people in the crowd held signs with these names on them.

Several other speakers followed, many of them from various Tibetan organizations in the United States. There was also a speaker from Amnesty International. U.S. Representatives Abercrombie of Hawaii and Kucinich of Ohio also spoke.

Representative Abercrombie had been to Dharamsala, India with the congressional delegation led by Nancy Pelosi to meet with the Dalai Lama. Representative Kucinich had also met with the Dalai Lama when he was in the United States to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he spoke about that meeting and also the great opportunity for the world and for China to learn nonviolence and compassion from the Tibetan people.

I have to apologize for the quality of my videos. I was standing on the side of the stage, and often could not see the speakers. Anyway, here is at least a partial picture of Dennis as he left the stage.

A few times the speakers spoke in Tibetan, and there was some singing in Tibetan, including what I think they called the Tibetan National Uprising Song. There is a portion of the end of that in the first video.

Although I didn’t understand everything that was said, it is very clear that a harsh injustice is being done to these people and their friends and families in Tibet. Several times the speakers brought me to tears.

Some of the speakers mentioned the missing Panchen Lama, who disappeared when he was just a young boy and is believed to be a political prisoner in China.

There is also a serious environmental concern here, because China is doing a lot of mining in Tibet and is dumping nuclear waste in Tibet, according to some of the speakers at the event. If you saw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, then you may remember that 40% of the world’s water comes from the Himalayas. What China is doing in Tibet is polluting the water at the source for many people that live downstream.

One of the speakers was an emissary from the Dalai Lama, who reminded the crowd that Tibet has the world’s sympathy because of their nonviolent approach, and urge them to have patience and maintain nonviolence at all times. He also spoke about encouraging signs in Europe and the United States that the world may be ready to help Tibet. I didn’t catch the man’s name, but the Washington Post says he was Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari.

After the speeches were over, people began to line up for the march up Connecticut Avenue to the Chinese Embassy. The monks led the way.

There was more chanting of slogans as we walked in our long procession. Many people driving by honked at us in support. Some people carried banners that bore photos of recent Chinese atrocities.

We stopped for a rest when we got to Dupont Circle, probably partly because it was a very visible location for people driving by, but also because it was time for lunch. This may be the only big protest I’ve ever been to where the organizers fed everyone. How cool is that? They really took care of us. It was only bread, granola bars, water, and a bit of chocolate, but people need something when they are marching for that long, and it was kind of the event organizers to think of that.

Soon it was time to continue toward the Chinese Embassy.

We arrived at the embassy and gathered on to a little patch of garden in front of it. The big colorful crowd continued to chant slogans as a few people watched us from the embassy windows, and passing cars honked in support.

As the monk’s banner in that last photo points out, there is an issue about the Olympic torch going through Tibet. Right now, China plans to have the Olympic torch go through Tibet, which is a slap in the face of the Tibetan people while they are living under oppression. The Olympics are supposed to be a symbol of international cooperation and friendship. To have it run through Tibet while Tibet is being brutally oppressed by a foreign dictatorship is not in the Olympic spirit, and it is an insult to the Tibetan people because it ignores the fact that they are not free.

Please help by signing this petition to keep the Olympic torch out of Tibet.

UPDATE:

The Dalai Lama has issued letters to the Chinese people all over the world, and to the world and its leaders.

The letter to the Chinese people express is the Dalai Lama’s willingness for Tibet to remain part of China, as long as the grievances of the Tibetan people can be addressed. It shows great compassion to the Chinese people.

Today, I extend heartfelt greetings to my Chinese brothers and sisters around the world, particularly to those in the People’s Republic of China.  In the light of the recent developments in Tibet, I would like to share with you my thoughts concerning relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, and make a personal appeal to all of you.

I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in the recent tragic events in Tibet. I am aware that some Chinese have also died. I feel for the victims and their families and pray for them. The recent unrest has clearly demonstrated the gravity of the situation in Tibet and the urgent need to seek a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution through dialogue. Even at this juncture I have expressed my willingness to the Chinese authorities to work together to bring about peace and stability.

Chinese brothers and sisters, I assure you I have no desire to seek Tibet’s separation. Nor do I have any wish to drive a wedge between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples. On the contrary my commitment has always been to find a genuine solution to the problem of Tibet that ensures the long-term interests of both Chinese and Tibetans. My primary concern, as I have repeated time and again, is to ensure the survival of the Tibetan people’s distinctive culture, language and identity. As a simple monk who strives to live his daily life according to Buddhist precepts, I assure you of the sincerity of my personal motivation.

I have appealed to the leadership of the PRC to clearly understand my position and work to resolve these problems by “seeking truth from facts.” I urge the Chinese leadership to exercise wisdom and to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also appeal to them to make sincere efforts to contribute to the stability and harmony of the PRC and avoid creating rifts between the nationalities. The state media’s portrayal of the recent events in Tibet, using deceit and distorted images, could sow the seeds of racial tension with unpredictable long-term consequences. This is of grave concern to me.  Similarly, despite my repeated support for the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities, with the intention of creating a rift between the Chinese people and myself, the Chinese authorities assert that I am trying to sabotage the games. I am encouraged, however, that several Chinese intellectuals and scholars have also expressed their strong concern about the Chinese leadership’s actions and the potential for adverse long-term consequences, particularly on relations among different nationalities.

This is a very long letter, but it is worth reading in full.

The letter to the world explains what the Dalai Lama is asking of each of us and our leaders.

I therefore appeal for your continued support in calling for an immediate end to the current crackdown, the release of all those who have been arrested and detained, and the provision of proper medical treatment.  We are particularly concerned about the provision of adequate medical facilities, as there are reports of many injured Tibetans being afraid to go to Chinese-run hospitals and clinics.

I would also request you to encourage the sending of an independent international body, to investigate the unrest and its underlying causes, as well as allow the media and international medical teams to visit the affected areas.  Their presence will not only instill a sense of reassurance in the Tibetan people, but will also exercise a restraining influence on the Chinese authorities.

I continue to be inspired by this great man and hope that his kindness and compassion can be an inspiration to the world to solve this problem and create new bonds of friendship. As he says to the Chinese:

However, instead of cultivating enmity towards the Chinese leaders responsible for the ruthless suppression of the Tibetan people, I prayed for them to become friends, which I expressed in the following lines in a prayer I composed in 1960, a year after I arrived in India: “May they attain the wisdom eye discerning right and wrong, And may they abide in the glory of friendship and love.”

Crossposted from EENR Blog