chtorran: Why does China want to keep Tibet so badly anyway? The entire economy of Tibet is based on subsistence farming.

In fact, the only truly marketable thing about Tibet is tourism based on it's unique Buddhist history, and that's the one thing China wants to destroy.

Tibet has some significant mineral deposits (including uranium, if I recall), and occupies a strategic position controlling several crossings between Chinese and Indian territory. Given that China and India have fought several wars over border issues in the area, China really likes the idea of having that territory under its personal control, rather than in the hands of a government that will have significant ties to India after 50 years of operating in exile there. The Chinese have also been looking into using Tibet as a staging area for lobbing missiles into South and Central Asia as a way of projecting their military force beyond their borders.

kisdm001: I'll be back (when I am reincarnated)

That picture was kind of freaking me out, until I realized Arnie was just wearing a flesh-toned tie instead of exposing his smooth, naked chest to the Dalai Lama.