Bang on, Amos.

The money is what's at stake here. oil in particular, as the western powers look for other suppliers for this finite natural resource.

Going back to my original post, if the Tibetans were sitting on vast reserves of hydrocarbons then perhaps Tone and Dubbya would be more interested in what's going on there.

As it happens, US and UK business already have access to the Chinese market (the fact a Grand Prix is being held in Shanghai was due to sponsor pressure) so as far as the western world is concerned, the oppressed people of Tibet can take a hike - they can't make money from them so their plight isn't worth fighting for.

I met the Dalai Lama's sister, Jetsun Pema once. The tale she told of what she saw when she went back as part of the Tibet Government-in-exile's fact finding mission was one of the most truly heart-rending things I've ever heard in my life.