(NOTE FROM JOHN: Chris wrote about this overnight, and I was going to write a separate post so folks saw it. It's important. And illustrative of the worst of human nature. South Africa, a country of people who were up until recently brutally oppressed by others, is turning its back on Tibet, a country of people who are brutally oppressed by others. Why? Because of money. It's absolutely sickening. It also shows how quickly even the best of us can forget where we came from. The struggle really never ends.)
The gutless wonders in the ANC have botched it yet again. They've chosen cash over human rights. If ever there was a country that should appreciate standing up for human rights it is South Africa.
An international peace conference in Johannesburg has been postponed after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event....
South Africa thinks that, if the Dalai Lama attended the conference, the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup — the global soccer championship it will host next year.
“We cannot allow focus to shift to China and Tibet,” said presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe, adding that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China.
