So the Olympic Torch Passed Through India...

The torch passed through India, and what a victory for China - the torchbearers there traversed streets even more barricaded and empty and isolated than the ones here in San Francisco were. In neighboring Nepal there were Tibetan protests but in China's shadow, Nepal is not eager to appear sympathetic to them, and its government doesn't have a great understanding of democracy either.

Perhaps the most troubling thing is the virtual-pogrom-like reaction of pro-China thugs on the internet against Grace Wang, a woman who's studying right here in the U.S. and who doesn't even support Tibetan independence, but who committed the unpardonable sin of encouraging dialogue between pro-Tibet and pro-China demonstrators. Chinese citizens are behaving shamefully on the world stage and unfortunately just reinforcing stereotypes. IF IT'S BAD FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT, IT'S GOOD FOR EVERYONE ELSE.