Once you put it together with Jennifer Chou's details about the religious crackdown in China in advance of the Olympics, does this mean Beijing is pursuing a 'good cop/bad cop' strategy?

A senior Chinese official has asked whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the Beijing Olympics to ease recent tensions, a Tibet government-in-exile legislator said on Monday.

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, would consider going to Beijing for the Summer Olympics if an invitation were to be extended, according to a Tibetan legislator.

The Dalai Lama would consider going, the lawmaker said.

A leader of Tibet's parliament-in-exile suggests that the overture is probably nothing but a feint on the part of the Chinese government. I fail to see what Beijing gains from the move, however. If the Dalai Lama makes clear that he would attend, then doesn't Beijing look worse if they don't ultimately extend an invite?

And does he know that golf -- one of his favorite sports -- is again not being played at the Olympic games this year.