It's Too Early for Halloween...

So what are these Chinese soldiers doing walking around with Tibetan monk robes? Not that I'm a conspiracy theorists, but do you think they could be getting dressed up to look like monks, monks who would be wielding something more dangerous than symbolic ceremonial weapons. But wait a minute, now Chinese police have found 30 firearms in the monastery in Aba prefecture of Sichuan province. Chinese police also detained five air passengers, possibly Tibetans, whose "suspicious remarks" prompted the return of their flight half an hour after take-off from the southern city of Shenzhen. And don't forget the terror plot that China said it cracked, Muslim Uighurs were said to have been behind a plan to kidnap athletes, journalists and tourists at August's Beijing Olympics.

All of these victories for the anti-terror forces coming amidst the backdrop of the Olympic torch relay protests. And what's this? A US resolution to end the crackdown in Tibet is met with a Chinese story linking al Qaeda to claimed plots to attack the Beijing Olympics? Don't the y realize that only a fool wouldn't see the connection between these stories. Coincidence or not, the torch relay story has really fascinated me for some reason. The world has known that the Olympics are to be held in China for the past seven years or so and it hasn't been a secret that China has been asserting it's autonomy over Tibet for more than the past fifty years. So what gives? With only a few moments to devote to each story and a population constantly craving a bigger bang for their buck, there's no bigger stage on which to focus the world's attention than the Olympics. The real winner won't be who wins the most medals, but who screams the loudest. The next few months could be fun as long as you have enough aspirin.