Dalai Lama assassination bid foiled? Chinese 'spies' nabbed

New Delhi: The Himachal Pradesh police have arrested 8 alleged Chinese spies who were working as carpenters and painter from Mandi District here.    According to media reports, the police seized credit cards and fake currencies. They recovered cash worth Rs 30 lakh, $3000, mobile phones and Chinese SIM cards from them. DGP HP, DS Manhas said that they received intelligence input about suspicious activities.  He said that the investigation is under way and that they cannot compromise Dalai Lama’s security. Reports state that all of them were living in a small rented accommodation in Chotara area of Mandi district. The Chinese nationals, who were here on tourists visa, are being questioned and a case has been registered against them for violation of visa norms and not informing FRRO.  The arrests come in wake of renewed assassination threat to Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought a report from the Himachal Pradesh police on the issue. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said that the presence of Chinese nationals in Mandi is a matter of concern. He said that the 8 people arrested were staying with expired visa.    He said that in the garb of Tibetans and tourists, these Chinese spies are sneaking into the country. Dhumal said that he had informed the Centre of Chinese design in Himachal. Source Credit: Dailybaskhar.com

Eating the food cart street in a New York afternoon

* Tours offer taste of diverse Queens neighborhood

* Mexican, Indian, Tibetan food on offer

By Barbara Goldberg

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - This round-the-world trip can be completed in an afternoon, costs less than $100 and comes with hot sauce.

From Tibetan momos (dumplings) to Uruguayan alfajors (cookies), the food consumed on New York's Eat The Street tours offers a taste of immigrant life in the world's most ethnically diverse neighborhood - the borough of Queens, where more than 160 languages are spoken.

"You could find a nibble of anything here," said Andrew Silverstein, who guides the food cart-noshing tours in conjunction with Feet in Two Worlds, a non-profit organization focused on immigrants in America.

A quick subway ride from the glitz of Manhattan, the bustling thoroughfare of Roosevelt Avenue in the Jackson Heights section of Queens provides a gritty mix of Indian groceries, South American travel agencies and immigration lawyers' offices under a lacelike canopy of elevated train tracks.

Sidewalks are dotted with coppery stains left by South Asian men who chew betel nut and are crammed with a virtual United Nations of food carts run by immigrants cooking up a taste of home.

First stop on a recent tour was the momo cart run by Kunchock "Rodney" Rebgee, 32, who emigrated from Tibet four years ago.

"This is what is eaten by the nomadic people because they have animals," said Rebgee of the meat dumplings that were a staple of his childhood.

Silverstein put the role of the food cart into perspective. "One of the first steps for an immigrant community to take hold is to be able to get their native food," he said to his four followers as they chewed their momos.

Most food carts along Roosevelt Avenue are only large enough to hold two workers but can create more than a dozen jobs, as the food is typically prepared by a crew in an apartment or garage and then flash-cooked on the street, said Silverstein.

One Mexican cart, Silverstein pointed out, brought in enough money to send the owner's daughter to college to become an accountant and to buy a house.

As he spoke, the group devoured Mexican tacos carnitas, filled with fried pork, although the cart's owner had recommended the tacos legua y oreja - pig ears and cow tongue.

At a quesadilla cart run by several generations of the Gonzalez family, Monica Gonzalez, 34, said her three sons had other interests that would spare them from the tough life of facing the public from inside an aluminum cart.

"It's the street. You're not protected. It's not easy," said Gonzalez, who was born in Colombia. The cart has been lucrative enough to send her oldest son to New York University to study science in hopes of becoming a veterinarian.

"For now, it's a good business," Gonzalez said.

One of the most eye-opening parts of the tour was what the group didn't see - unlicensed carts that are regularly part of the tour when police are not patrolling.

The city issues just 3,100 year-round permits for food carts, and more than 2,000 people are on a waitlist to get one, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Demand is so high that vendors run a black market where permits are resold for as much as $20,000 by people now living as far away as Arizona, the newspaper reported.

Even legitimate license holders engage in subterfuge just to hold on to prized locations. A purple truck that sells Ecuadorian coastal treats such as fresh tuna with plantain and peanuts leaves its spot only when a van pulls up nightly to illegally hold its parking space until the vendor returns in the morning.

Eat The Street tours, which opened to the public in May, leave from Grand Central Station at 11:30 a.m., lasts three hours and cost $79. They can be booked at streetwisenewyork.com. (Editing by Jill Serjeant and David Brunnstrom)

Source Credit:Reuters.com

Dalai Lama's Envoys Resign

Dharamsala: Two envoys of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who had been talking to Chinese officials on granting autonomy to Tibet for nearly a decade, have resigned, an official said here Sunday.

Resignation of special envoy Lodi Gyari and envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen had been accepted by Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay, said Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) spokesperson Thubten Samphel.

He said the resignation came to effect from June 1.

“The Tibetan political and spiritual leadership will make new appointments,” he said.
Before the Dalai Lama shed political and administrative powers in May last year, he only had powers to appoint envoys.

“Now Sangay will make appointments after consulting cabinet colleagues. But before taking any call on the issue, he will consult the Dalai Lama,” a CTA official said.

The Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese officials had held nine rounds of talks since 2002 to resolve the Tibetan issue, without achieving any major breakthrough.

The last meeting took place in January 2010.

A CTA statement said that at the Tibetan task force meeting from May 30-31 in Dharamsala, the envoys expressed their frustration over the lack of positive response from the Chinese side and submitted their resignations to
Sangay.

“Given the deteriorating situation inside Tibet since 2008 leading to increasing cases of self-immolations by Tibetans, we are compelled to submit our resignations,” said the envoys in their resignation letter.

“Furthermore, the United Front Work Department did not respond positively to the memorandum on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people presented in 2008 and its note in 2010,” they said in the letter.

After their resignations, Sangay said: “They have worked extremely hard in challenging circumstances and made earnest efforts to move the dialogue process forward and resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully. They will remain senior members of the task force”.
The task force was set up in 1999 to assist the envoys in holding talks with the Chinese.

“The task force will be expanded and will meet again in December to discuss the Chinese leadership transition with the hope of continuing to dialogue with the new Chinese leaders to resolve the issue of Tibet peacefully,” the CTA statement added.

Source Credit: Hill Post

Loyola Academy Junior Meets Dalai Lama

While most Loyola Academy juniors spent their afternoon in late April studying for tests, worrying about their prom groups, and generally being concerned with themselves, junior Gavin Sullivan had the opportunity to live through an experience very few get the chance to experience – a meeting with the Dalai Lama.

The chance to meet the Dalai Lama, only the 14th leader of the Tibetan branch of Buddhism in more than 600 years and considered by his followers to be reincarnated to embody the spirit of an ancient Enlightened being, enticed Sullivan as he served as an icon of non-violence in the face of adversity. 

Check back Friday for Sullivan's personal experience on meeting the Dalai Lama.

Sullivan earned his chance to meet this holy figure by entering an essay on the topic of non-violence through Loyola’s own branch of Amnesty International. Sullivan began his essay, “Seven Billion Little Steps,” a little “after Christmas and … would revise it every now and then” until he submitted it January 31. 

The junior at the Wilmette high school explained that he had always enjoyed writing and because he had learned much about what it means to bring about peace through theology class and Amnesty International, he decided to take a stab at the contest.

Reading before the Dalai Lama

Sullivan along with three others were selected out of more than 100 entrants, to meet the Dalai Lama and to read their essays before him. In addition, Sullivan asked the Dalai Lama one question after his speech.

On arriving at Loyola University for the occasion, Sullivan was not only among some of the biggest theological figures in Chicago, but also world figures and movie stars like Sean Penn. Not too overwhelmed, Sullivan presented his essay with all these worldly and theological figures giving him his full attention.

In Seven Billion Little Steps, Sullivan explored the importance of both trying to listen to one’s conscience rather than to give into vice, as well as delving into the principles of Catholic Social Teaching by explaining that people should work towards the goal of subsidiarity.

“Subsidiarity,” as Sullivan explains it is “a calling for action on the most personal and local level possible.”

This means that as a high school student, Sullivan hopes to make small strides towards nonviolence by doing simple acts like “inviting a lonely peer to the lunch table.”

The Deerfield resident ended his speech by stating that, “With seven billion small steps across the globe, we can surge towards universal peace and prosperity.”

Sullivan stumps the Dalai Lama

After his speech, Sullivan asked the Dalai Lama, “What do you know now that which you wished you knew when you were my age?”  

Sullivan says the Dalai Lama first responded that “he did not know.” The Dalai Lama had never been asked that question before.

As Sullivan put it, “I stumped him!”

The Dalai Lama did find an explanation, saying that information, experiences, and memories one gains because one has a passion for them will stay with that person much longer. He also said he wished he had exposed himself to more diverging viewpoints as a young person and advised everyone should research diverging viewpoints and form their opinions based on all the information they can find.

Later in the event, the Dalai Lama himself gave a speech and, much to the surprise of Sullivan, discussed Sullivan’s speech in his own.

Sullivan described the Dalai Lama as being very personable and approachable; he even unexpectedly attended a lunch reception with the contest winners. The Dalai Lama spoke wise words and gave sage advice according to Sullivan, as well as connecting well with the audience and telling jokes.

The holy figure shares words of wisdom

One thing the Dalai Lama said in particular struck Sullivan. When asked if non-violence is always possible, the Dalai Lama responded that, “Sometimes you … have to use force, but you always need to have non-violent intentions …  important to go in with non-violent intentions,” Sullivan explained.

One should never be pro-actively violent, but the Dalai Lama advised that sometimes one cannot look at the world in an entirely idealistic fashion but that one must take a level-headed look at what is going on in the world.

After meeting the Dalai Lama, Sullivan hopes to continue to live out the principles set forth by both himself and the Dalai Lama. While others stress out about prom and AP Exams, Sullivan hopes to make small strides throughout the school community and keep a peaceful environment present.

Source Credit: The Patch.com