International

Eccentric singer/music producer/swan-wearer Björk has been banned from China. After the Grammy-nominated Icelandic singer shouted, "Tibet!" several times at the end of the song "Declare Independence" during a concert in Shanghai, discussions of the outburst circulated on the web, until the Ministry of Culture announced it will crack down on all foreign performers.

While even non-crazy-Icelandic-fashion-freespirits consider China's rule over Tibet a symbol of ethnic and religious oppression and a human rights tragedy, the Chinese government insisted, "Any attempt to separate Tibet from China will definitely be opposed by the Chinese people and all righteous men across the world."

Behind the scenes, though, the country's IMs with Björk tell a different story.