Tibetan Self-Immolates at UN: Will the World Stop China's ‘Erasure’ of Tibet?

Just an urgent reminder that China has annexed/occupied Tibet since 1950! Independence of Tibet!

The Dalai Lama is now 91 years old and his succession is uncertain.

Caveat: I did not watch the entire video.

(1055) Tibetan Self-Immolates at UN: Will the World Stop China's ‘Erasure’ of Tibet? | Taiwan Talks EP888 - YouTube

Traces of ancient seafloor cataclysms turn up in the Himalayas

Amazing stuff!

"High on the Tibetan Plateau, geologists have identified slivers of twisted and folded lava they say are the relics of immense volcanic eruptions more than 200 million years ago, on the floor of a vanished sea. The discovery provides a culprit for previously unexplained marine extinctions.

Such supereruptions, which can spew millions of cubic kilometers of magma and last for millions of years, have been linked with some of the largest mass extinctions in Earth’s history. Called large igneous provinces, they are easy to recognize when they occur on land because the lava plateaus they leave behind stick around for eons. However, because oceanic crust gets recycled relatively quickly back into the mantle, the evidence for marine supereruptions has mostly vanished. By identifying the landlocked traces of two vanished supereruptions, the new study ... fills out the history of these cataclysms—and adds to the evidence that oceanic supereruptions have shaped the history of life more than once thought. ..."

From the abstract:

"The trigger for frequent extinctions during the Phanerozoic remains a persistent and unresolved frontier issue in Earth sciences.

We present a detailed analysis of oceanic island, seamount, and plateau remnants in the Tibetan Plateau that trace the evolution of the Meso- and Neo-Tethys oceans, incorporating new and published data.

During the Triassic, three major episodes of marine large igneous provinces (LIPs) formed at 250−248 Ma, 233−231 Ma, and 210−208 Ma. By integrating geological records of these LIP episodes with Triassic geological data sets, we demonstrate a correlation between marine LIPs and at least four extinctions in marine biota, driven by the resultant anoxic-euxinic events.

Consequently, marine LIPs emerge as a primary driver of recurrent mass extinctions. Numerous previously unexplained extinctions throughout Earth’s history may potentially result from currently unidentified components of marine LIPs occurring as fragments within orogenic belts."

Traces of ancient seafloor cataclysms turn up in the Himalayas | Science | AAAS "Vast undersea eruptions may be undercounted source of extinctions through Earth’s history"

Key Drivers of Recurrent Extinction in the Triassic "New study in Geology links massive undersea volcanism to repeated marine extinctions"

Marine large igneous provinces: Key drivers of Triassic recurrent extinction (open access)

Chinese Team Restores Legendary Tang Dynasty Golden Armour in Tibet

Amazing stuff!

Supermoon over Tibet

Amazing! (Source)

Tibetan Buddhist nuns are getting advanced degrees − and the Dalai Lama played a major role in that shift

Good news! Will the next Dalai Lama be a woman?

Caveat: I did not read the article!

"In August 2025, 161 Tibetan Buddhist nuns from religious institutions across India and Nepal – a record number – gathered at the Dolma Ling Nunnery in northern India to take various levels of the “geshema” examination. These exams are in preparation for one day receiving the geshema degree, comparable with a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. The nearly four-week gathering was especially notable because until 13 years ago it was completely unavailable to women. ...

the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso [age 90].

He encouraged nuns to become advanced degree holders as part of his broader goal to increase gender parity. ..."

Tibetan Buddhist nuns are getting advanced degrees − and the Dalai Lama played a major role in that shift

Source

Indian Lawmakers Demand Bharat Ratna for the Dalai Lama with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

Dalai Lama Cuts China Off From Succession Plan with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Free Tibet!

The Communist Party of China abducted the last, 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 and the boy was never seen again.

Why do the atheist communists care so much about the Dalai Lama?

Dalai Lama Turns 90: How His Successor Will Be Chosen And Why It Matters

Very recommendable! When will Tibet be a free country again?

Dalai Lama Says his Successor Will be Born Outside China with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

China’s plans to build about 20 New Megadams along the Yangtze River near Tibet

Very concerning if not insane! In an earthquake prone zone! Communists could not care less about the environment or ethnic minorities like the Tibetans.

US Delegation in India to Meet the Dalai Lama with Palki Sharma

Good news! Free Tibet!

Dalai Lama clashes with Chinese government over future successor

Recommendable! The succession of the very old Dalai Lama is a very serious matter! Atheist communists should better not interfere!

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 88th Birthday Message

Will the succession of the Dalai Lama be accomplished without the interference of the Communist Party of China?

​Tibet's Dark Chapter | Unmasking China's Brutal Invasion with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! A stark reminder of the crimes against humanity committed by the Communist Party of China!

The peace treaty between China and Tibet of 821/823 AD

Who Is The 8-Year-Old Touted to Be the Next Dalai Lama? with Palki Sharma

Palki provides a little bit more background on this momentous event!

Has the Dalai Lama chosen his successor?

Very recommendable!

8-Year-Old Mongolian Boy Touted As The New Buddhist Lama

Good news! Is this a coincidence that he was born in the U.S. with dual citizenship? This is quite a political statement! Mongolian boy born in the U.S.! What a smart move!

Just blogged here yesterday about Tibet!

Talk on Significance of Tibet in the Context of the India-China Relationship

Those of us who are older may well remember that the Uyghurs are not the only ethnic minority persecuted by the Communist Party of China!

In decades past, the Tibetans and the destiny of their Dalai Lama used to be a human rights cause long before the Uyghurs!

"Tibet is the silent battleground where India and China intersect. It is through Tibet that China manages its relations with India, using the boundary dispute to keep New Delhi off-balance. India is also where the most revered Tibetan, the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile. There is now a two-pronged effort by China to deal with the consequences of the Dalai Lama’s passing and his possible reincarnation outside Tibet: To manage the succession in its own favour, and to Sinicise Tibetan Buddhism. In the “new era” of Xi Jinping, Chinese policy continues to combine repression and development activities. Dr. Lobsang Sangay talks about the significance of Tibet in India-China relations."

"Speaker

Lobsang Sangay

Former Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration (government-in-exile) and Lecturer on Law, Senior Visiting Fellow at East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School."

Talk on Significance of Tibet in the Context of the India-China Relationship | ORF

1 Million Tibetan children separated from their families by Chinese communist party

The severe oppression of the people of Tibet has been going on for several decades! It is a shame!

Fossilized pollen provides a glimpse at the end of the Permian extinction

Amazing stuff!

"Chemical clues in fossilized pollen grains suggest the world’s greatest mass extinction was a sunny affair ... As the Permian period gave way to the Triassic period about 250 million years ago, massive volcanic eruptions in present-day Siberia triggered a cataclysmic combination of greenhouse gas emissions, widespread mercury pollution, and a host of other atmospheric disturbances. Yet the full picture remains murky, including the possibility that damage to the ozone layer may have cooked many of the species already struggling to survive concurrent calamities ...

To investigate, Fraser and his colleagues turned their attention to tiny grains of fossilized pollen from southern Tibet. This collection contains around 800 pollen grains that come from the ancient relatives of ferns and conifers—plant types which survived the extinction event—and date back to time points spanning the Permian-Triassic boundary period. The tough outer coating of the pollen grains not only helped them stand the test of time in the fossil record, but also preserved traces of para-coumaric acid and ferulic acid. These phenolic compounds absorb ultraviolet B light, which helped shield the pollen from harmful solar radiation. Using Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy, the researchers found that the abundance of UVB-absorbing compounds in their pollen-based chronology spiked around the same time as mercury and other signs of violent volcanic activity did. ..."

From the abstract:

"Land plants can adjust the concentration of protective ultraviolet B (UV-B)–absorbing compounds (UACs) in the outer wall of their reproductive propagules in response to ambient UV-B flux. To infer changes in UV-B radiation flux at Earth’s surface during the end-Permian mass extinction, we analyze UAC abundances in ca. 800 pollen grains from an independently dated Permian-Triassic boundary section in Tibet. Our data reveal an excursion in UACs that coincide with a spike in mercury concentration and a negative carbon-isotope excursion in the latest Permian deposits, suggesting a close temporal link between large-scale volcanic eruptions, global carbon and mercury cycle perturbations, and ozone layer disruption. Because enhanced UV-B radiation can exacerbate the environmental deterioration induced by massive magmatism, ozone depletion is considered a compelling ecological driver for the terrestrial mass extinction."

Fossilized pollen provides a glimpse of Earth’s broiling past UV-absorbing phenolic compounds preserved in pollen grains point to powerful radiation during the Permian extinction

Dying in the Sun: Direct evidence for elevated UV-B radiation at the end-Permian mass extinction (open access)

Phenolic compounds preserved in the tough outer coating of Alisporites tenuicorpus pollen grains provide a glimpse of scorching solar radiation during Earth’s largest mass extinction.