Momentum for the project is really building. After Sting posted our press release this Wednesday, several major publications and news outlets called. We’ll be talking to them soon…very exciting. We have received amazing emails from all over the world. Many Tibetans and Tibetan groups have sent their support.

And the musicians keep coming!! If everyone delivers a track that wants to, it will be a double album…We’ll keep you posted. The next 2 weeks should very exciting regarding who will deliver what.

Regina Spektor has delivered a delicious acoustic piano version of ‘Better.’ Her beautiful lyrics and wonderful piano abilities accentuate her creative way of singing – with some nice surprises.

I spent the day catching up on news from Tibet. There have been many unpleasant things involving Tibet, China and the Olympics. This story, described by a monk who escaped, tells how Tibetan monks were killed randomly at their monasteries in retaliation for the protests that occurred a few months back in Tibet.
Story Here

The Chinese have jailed 1,000 Tibetan monks until after the Olympics for no reason except to ensure that there will be no ‘unrest.’ The Chinese government expects peace to result from treating a revered potion of the Tibetan population this way. It is a very shortsighted strategy that will backfire in the long-term. Story Here

A major source of unrest between China and Tibet stems from the Chinese government trying to convince its citizens that the Dalai Lama is a “Jackal in monk’s robes.” Of course nobody outside of China believes this, but since there is no freedom of speech and press within China, the government can tell its citizens that the Dalai Lama is evil and the Chinese government is well intentioned and benevolent. Some Chinese actually view the Tibetans as ungrateful for their ‘liberation’ and don’t understand their dissatisfaction. A whole generation of Chinese are being brought up on this view. It is a very tragic situation that will only breed unrest between China and Tibet. Story Here

This past week, Barack Obama said he will not attend the opening of the Olympics. This is the opposite opinion of President Bush, who will attend. President Bush believes that it would be an insult to the Chinese people not to attend. The Dalai Lama agrees with President Bush’s position. The Dalai Lama believes that the Olympics will be a great source of pride for the Chinese people, who have also suffered much under Chinese rule and live without many freedoms. He always distinguishes between his ‘Chinese brothers and sisters’ – the citizens of China – and the Chinese government’s policies, which he opposes. I would not like other people to think that my government’s policies are a direct reflection of my own beliefs. We should afford the Chinese citizens this same courtesy. Boycotting or denying the Chinese citizen their accomplishment of hosting the Olympics will cause the opposite reaction that boycotters hope to achieve. Due to their lack of freedom of press and speech, Chinese citizens have no idea why other countries would shame them by not attending the opening. The average Chinese citizen has very little access to anything true about Tibet. The resulting reaction from a boycott, as was the case with the attacks on the torch, would allow the Chinese government to raise nationalistic fervor and radicalize the Chinese citizens even more against the Dalai Lama and Tibet. We must work to find a Middle Way’ and raise awareness of the lack of freedoms by all those under Chinese rule. But how does one support the Olympics, the athletes, the Chinese citizens while still opposing Chinese policy in Tibet? Let’s have a think….Story Here