Too Many Tourists in Tibet?

I will be linking here to some of the information I find and read as we prepare to visit China in March 2008.

The relationship of the Chinese government and people to Tibet and Tibetans is ambiguous. Many people consider Tibet to be a separate country, while China insists and the world officially accepts that Tobet is merely a region of China. With the completion of a railroad connecting Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, with the rest of China, there are new concerns that the specific cultural distinctiveness of Tibet may be diluted; This USA Today article addresses some of that change and those issues.

The Pendulum Swings on Accreditation

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water . . . a rift is opened between accrediting agencies and individual colleges and universities: "What they did was to reopen the entire topic (accreditation) to anything and everyone, including the entry of the department (of Education)."

Here's Inside Higher Ed's Doug Lederman's take - lots of interesting comments at the bottom, including: "This is truly outstanding reporting by Doug, about very important events unfolding on Capitol Hill. All the important players are here: Senate, House, accreditors, and the colleges and universities, and even the Secretary of Education; and we see all them in action. And the action is complicated, filled with cross-cutting tensions."

Committed to China Trip

Well, Sheila and I paid the deposit and committed to our China trip: February 28-March 24, 2008: http://www.oattravel.com/gcc/general/default.aspx?oid=175849.