The Train to Lhasa, TIBET: Engineering Destruction; a reprint of article in WIRED Magazine

BACKGROUND:

In the July 2006 issue of WIRED magazine, there was a featured article on the new train/railway to Lhasa Tibet.  The train is an engineering marvel, being built on semi-frozen ground, and running at an altitude of over 14,000 ft above sea level (the low point of the Tibetan Plateau, which lies indeed "At the top of the World," requiring readably accessible oxygen to all passengers, and costing billions to build.  The railway has been under construction since Chairman Mao was in charge in the 1960's.  But the current Govt. in China pushed for its completion so it would be ready for the 2008 Olympics.  This was done for image, and control.  With the railway, much could be shipped into Lhasa; where before, the city was still very inaccessible.  Combustion engines don't work so well at low oxygen levels, and the dirt roads in Tibet are constantly washed out and destroyed.  So building concrete monstrosities in Lhasa, & bringing in equipment and people, has always been difficult.  Purposely so.  That is why it remained untouched for so many centuries.

That all was set to change, with the advent of the new railway.  WIRED Magazine sent someone to cover the story, and he wrote a glowing article about the train.  He had been sadly misinformed, and led along to deliver the propaganda message the Chinese Govt wanted the world to hear; illustrating the power of a coordinated approach to information management.  As a result, his article praised the very harbinger of Lhasa's destruction. 

Lhasa is the spiritual center of Tibet.  Lhasa is home to the Potola Palace, the winter residence  of the Dalai Lamas and reliquary to their remains. Lhasa is home to the most mystically & spiritually powerful temple in the world, the Jokhang Temple.   Lhasa is the Buddhist equivalent of the Vatican in Rome to Catholics, Mecca to Muslims, and Israel to the Jewish peoples.

So, I wrote an article countering the unintentional misrepresentation of facts.  To their credit, WIRED recognized the error, and published my response; doing a great job of capturing the essence of my article, without all the words (The editorial staff told me I need to edit my writing down a bit; can you imagine? ;-)

Here is my complete response to that article, it was published (in abbreviated form) in the Sept 2006 issue of WIRED Magazine. 

This is a great example of crafty propaganda at work.  Smart people are often tricked by a communist controlled information engine.  Don't let yourself be, work towards Freeing Tibet.  Boycott all Chinese imports. 

  Below Is my Complete Article,  IN RESPONSE TO WIRED MAG. ARTICLE IN JULY 2006 ISSUE, PUBLISHED IN PART IN THE SEPTEMBER 2006 ISSUE OF WIRED MAGAZINE:

"In my dreams, I see trains running off the tracks," Mr. Ziwang is quoted in your Train to Tibet article.

     Not sure I could have said it better; although, it wouldn't be a nightmare to me, rather a hopeful dream. Aside from the fact that people could be hurt when this happened, I can't think of a better outcome for the 'Lhassa Express'........to end up in a pile beneath some collapsed bridge.....the sooner, the better.

     It was with amazed shock that I read the well crafted piece of propaganda written about the Tibet Railway.  At the risk of sounding like a tree-hugger or new-age spiritualist flake; then summarily dismissed as such, and thereby discounted as someone who isn't worth considering (whose opinions can therefore be summarily considered 'fringe' and therefore unfounded twattle), I will give you my informed objective 'opinion' of Mr. Wolmans's article.  After 8 years at Georgia Tech, 5 at Kruppe,  and having worked with engineers most of my life  (even having two sons studying to be engineers, one at West Point!)  I am still amazed when the thrill of an engineering accomplishment is perceived as an marvel regardless of the human and environmental costs. 

     The Chinese always do their homework, and in picking a self described 'train-iac' who clearly "declare(s) my(his) unbridled love for trains," they picked well their pawn for this gambit.  If the Chinese government didn't want Mr. Woman to ride their train, he never would have even seen it.  World experts in the word they defined, sedition; they must've enjoyed the juvenile intrigue of letting Mr. Wolman think he got away with something in riding the train.  He did exactly what was expected. He wrote a glowing article that edifies one of the most damaging things to ever be made by man.

   "This railroad could, and likely will, have negative effects on traditional Tibetan(s) culture" Mr. Wolman says.  Yeah, it will....leveling a deadly blow on one of the last untouched areas of this planet....and for what? To: "bring desperately needed economic development - especially tourism - to the hinterlands."  Tibetans don't want or need 'development' that will destroy the natural environment, or bring in another  6 million Han Chinese for cultural absorption.  The railroad was so important to Mao because it would deliver one of the final nails in the coffin of an entire race & culture....."Religion is Poison" is one of his best quotes on Tibetan Buddhism.

  "The sight of these stretches of raised railway in the otherwise untouched vastness of the plateau is surreal,"  because it isn't meant to be there!!!.....duh!  What happened to the native Indian culture and the buffalo herds when the trans-Atlantic railroad went through the plains?  Have we learned nothing from that?

  The half truths presented in this article are almost too numerous to address, but I will highlight a few:

     1) The Potala Palace isn't a curious fixture of Lhassa....or simply:  "once home to the exiled Dalai Lama," it was built by a succession of 14 Dalai Lamas....as their summer home and reliquary. That, and the Jokhang temple, are the reasons the spiritual center of Lhasa even exists. Think of Rome, Mecca, and Jerusalem; and then add Lhasa to that list. Then, think how you'd feel if someone built numerous whorehouses across the street from the Vatican and named LSD "Mohammed's home brew." (hint: The Chinese govt-sponsored whorehouses adjacent to the Potala, and 'Lhasa beer;' both intended insults). The ruling line of Dalai Lamas was officially  installed by Genghis Khan's Son to provide a lamplight of spiritualism and order, in a remote enough place to insure its safety and perpetuation.  This train is not a necessary transport for millions of urban New York or Parisian commuters to save fuel and make a city efficient; its a railroad that will create hell on earth for millions....by destroying the last real environmental/natural and spiritual treasure on the planet.

     2) Its interesting that "Mao confided" in King Birendra of Nepal in 1973 that he was sleepless over the Lhasa train.  In 2001 the Chinese government 'confided' to Birendra that he'd better allow a 'tourist highway' (also capable of handling tanks into India) down the middle of the Annapurna mountain range....through a beautiful mountain nature preserve ....."or else."  Birendra ran them out of his palace, and was brutally murdered.....along with most of his family....weeks later.  Those of us there at the time know the real details of that failed coup, which the Chinese Govt. keeps trying to accomplish to this day.

     3) Non-development is the only way for the Tibetan peoples to survive  the 'cultural cleansing' the Chinese Govt. has attempted.  Isolation is their only remaining defense, and has been the thing that makes a visit to Lhasa special.  Did they Chinese govt. also tell Mr. Wolman how they are destroying a mountain to provide road access to Everest base camp for the Olympics?  This is all part of a bigger plan to present a harmonious "Tibetland"..... a Disney-esque view of 'resistance is futile, you will be assimilated'..... during the Olympics.  Meanwhile, the Chinese Govt is doing to the Tibetans what Hitler wanted to do to the Jews, & using the Olympics as propaganda.  The difference?  We know better, but are allowing it happen....due to having our hands in Chinese pockets, and visa versa.....its about money.  Some places need to remain remote and less accessible in order to avoid harmful 'development.' Ask the National Park service.

     I was intrigued by Mr. Wolman's vision of a Tibetan man where:  "I imagine our eyes meeting, and him thinking: 'What the hell are you doing here?'"  In this case, the article was accurate...implying the harbinger's of the destruction.  You've fulfilled your role quite well.  Weather Mr. Wolman 'got it' or not isn't the issue; WIRED editors should have, and if they did and went on with the article anyway, then they are culpable for the demise of a race. By acting like one dimensional hormone driven young men.... glorifying engineering 'accomplishments' due to their intrinsically fascinating nature; WIRED forgets the real question: "why do it?"  Any accomplishment of man, science, engineering, needs to be evaluated first on its contribution.....or worse, incredibly destructive consequences.... before doing it.  If its 'accomplishment'  means a diminishment of humanity, or the irreversible destruction of our natural home then why would a truly thinking species even do it?  If ignorant people want to do destructive things, then its our responsibility to "just say no," like so many companies did on building that train line (A big point missed, BTW. The consortium identified was hard to forge, many declined and many protested)

     Additionally, in the article preceding the "T" word train article, WIRED describes how Mr. Brilliant plans to spend $1billion on world changing projects.  Good news, yet Google has agreed to allow the Chinese government to censor their search engine results to exclude the  word Tibet, so that Chinese people won't even know that it ever existed.....among other 'seditious topics' requiring censorship.   If Americans want to ever re-establish our society's stated values of freedom of speech, real democracy, and honor/integrity; everyone has to start 'walking the talk,' and stop acting as tools and pawns of an infinitely more patient, long-term oriented, and highly deceptive culture as the Chinese. "Don't be evil," implies don't do evil....or support those who do.  Once the Chinese  get a firm grip on our cultures use of marketing and 'spin control'.....which organizations like WIRED are giving them by default.....then we too are doomed.  Because no one can beat the Chinese culture on pragmatism; and their use of societal control through consumerism will trump anyone on the planet.  There are no Judeo-Christian values, nor will there be any Tibetan Buddhist's principles of compassion left, to impede their full deployment.

     There is one thing Mr. Wolman communicated effectively.....something which is very hard for Westerners to even conceive...its when the: "state security officials knock on someone's door, or make a few quiet phone calls that lead to the loss of a job, or worse."  The next step he neglects to mention is arrest as a political prisoner for "sedition."  Then, if the person is physically desirable, they might even get selected for 'donation' to the next exhibit of "Bodies!" Mr. Ziwang better hope they don't need a 70 year old example of musculature.

   This is the reality of China.  This is the 'reality' that we support and promote when we 'buy Chinese,' and thereby are financial accomplices to genocide.  Ignorance can be a defense at first; but continually  selling out to low-cost Chinese imports for the purposes of attaining wealth or control, constitutes complicity.   As does glorifying 'accomplishments' that come at horrendous human and environmental costs....to the average Chinese person, as much as the Tibetans.  This is the thing we must be clear on, or we will suffer the same fate we so blithely assume the Tibetan people's 'must endure' for 'progress' and a shiny, sexy, new train.  Remember, even still the Dalai Lama would forgive  all; and then provide instruction if we are open to listening.  His 'mission' is  to help eliminate ignorance, and thereby lessen the pain that is generated from anger, mistakes, and greed......helping people break the cycle that only begets more suffering.  He would say  that we do these things because we make little attempt to manage our egos, or unhealthy desires.....causing great harm as a consequence.  The entire Tibetan question is a world wide lesson in karma that won't be pretty, if allowed to occur.  For what goes around, really does come around....eventually.  We abandon the Tibetan people, and their  world, at our own risk. 

     I doubt very much that you will print this, even if you take the time to read it or consider the ramifications.  I was told today, as I read and responded to your article on the fourth of July, that I was "wasting my time."  Maybe so.  Maybe not. And then just maybe, there is hope for something other than trite, sound-byte delimited, 'news to amuse.'  These are the principles that our founding fathers and immigrant fore-fathers suffered and died for; why now do we treat them so lightly?  Do people forget that quickly? 

Sincerely,

Patrick J Mahoney

Author of  "Tibet: Lamplight Unto a Darkened World"

                  Part I "Kathmandu Karma"

                  Part II "Messengers of the Gods"