Jonah, on Scott Brown’s advance against the awful Martha Coakley:

It’s a bit like Tibet holding its own against China in a land war.

Yo Jonah: Not only was Tibet once able to hold its own against China, they actually defeated Chinese armies in the field and sacked the Chinese capital:

During the reign of King Trisong Detsen (755-97) the Tibetan Empire was at its peak and its armies invaded China and several Central Asian countries. In 763 the Tibetans seized the then Chinese capital at Ch’ang-an (present day Xi’an). As the Chinese Emperor had fled, the Tibetans appointed a new Emperor.

This event is not mentioned in mainland-Chinese school history books. The Tibetans erected a commemorative stele in front of the Potala Palace, describing the achievements of their armies. The stele stood there for 1,200 years. Following the ChiCom invasion and occupation of Tibet, however, the stele was fenced off to make it hard to read the much-eroded inscription. Some reports say it was also moved to a less conspicuous location, but I don’t know if this is so. Lonely Planet has some notes here.

[Party in the grotto after work? I’ll bring my waterproof backgammon set and Johnny Mathis CDs.]