Yesterday in Tibet, A One Act Play

Chinese Official: The world’s media is here, and they are going to be looking around. I need you to make sure that these Tibetan monks are locked up and don’t disrupt anything.

Guard: Make sure that these locked-up Tibetan monks disrupt everything.

Official: No, don’t disrupt anything.

Guard: Okay, don’t disrupt anything.

Official: The monks.

Guard: The monks.

Official: Correct. [starts to leave]

Guard: Sorry, just to recap, lock everyone up with no disruption...or wait, I'm sorry, I'm lost.

Official: Lock them up, and make sure there are no disruptions...Got it?

Guard: Ummmm....

Official: GOT IT!?!

Guard: Uh, yeah, sorry, no that's what I thought you said.

LATER THAT SAME DAY: (NYT) — Weeping and yelling, "Tibet is not free," a group of red-robed monks on Thursday disrupted a carefully scripted tour for foreign journalists in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, as Chinese officials tried to portray the recent Tibetan riots as the work of thugs and separatists.