China blinks on Tibet. Jacques Rogge the timid lion roars

China blinked on Tibet. Now Beijing says, it is willing to meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. The bad publicity its brutual occupation earned it worldwide is the cause. Global public outrage has shaken the leaders of countries where the carrying of the Olympic torch has provoked massive protests. They've urged Beijing to meet the Dalai Lama. And so commonsense has come at long last to the Communist rulers of mainland China. China's reputation has suffered much. Its 'I don't give a damn' attitude has dredged up other issues: its repression of the Ugyhurs in Xinjiang, its support of Sudan's genocide in Dafur, its arms shipment to the repressive Mugabe government in Zimbabwe, its own denial of rights to its own people, and the list goes on and on. China's but itself to blame, and what's more it's torn up the agreement it signed with International Olympic Committee's Jacques Rogge of respecting the spirit of the Olympic Games. Now it looks as though Beijing's imperial disdain has cast a large black spot on the IOC's reputation. This has prompted feckless Rogge to call upon world leaders not to let the summer games in Beijing fail. They won't, but what's certain's they're damanged goods, and that's the truth. China has much to answer for at home and beofre the court of world opinion.