Tibet

The story in Tibet flared for a brief time, and left the news when the pictures stopped coming out. A precis of the events can be obtained from John McCreary's Nightwatch newsletter. A key section:

As in Burma and Cameroon, Chinese authorities tolerated the initial marches commemorating the anniversary of the uprising. This was the underreaction period. Unlike the Burmese and Cameroonian security authorities, the Chinese escalated to the over reaction phase at the first sign of disorder. The initial escalation by committing riot police failed to restore order. This is interesting because it indicates local analysts misjudged the gravity of the outrage.

The callout of the army including military convoys driving through the cities compensated for the earlier error of judgment. The situation is in solidly in overreaction and the protests will be suppressed because the Han Chinese have the monopoly of weapons and no outside help is coming for the Tibetans, from anywhere.

The brief Tibetan uprising is a world class loss of face for the commissars in Beijing who have worked mightily to craft China’s benign face to the world in the run up to the summer Olympics. Just when the Chinese want to show how modern, tolerant and civilized they have become, they fall back on the tools for population control prescribed by communist orthodoxy.

Some more photos: