…and I think it’s stupid that, of the few who do realize, many will nevertheless pooh pooh it as being “only a minor matter”, and fail to see that it’s NOT minor; or will keep silent among people whom they can influence (for the better) because they don’t wanna ‘rock the boat’.

Following from that, I also think it’s stupid and SAD that the root of most of our problems is that a large number of fairly well meaning people are just too naive in their understanding of various issues: they turn a blind eye to what they (for whatever reason) perceive as “only a minor matter” and they don’t see how in the big picture it is a major problem which can contribute to larger problems in the very fabric of society. E.g., some of us Stereotypical Colombo Elite just don’t understand that the purpose behind the IDP camps is quite possibly not what our leaders make out, but worse. Or, e.g., they don’t see that – as Sophist rightly points out – the killing of that one fellow was any really victory (because they don’t understand that terrorism wasn’t the root problem to begin with – they don’t see the seemingly minor things like Osu Sala not having signs in Tamil, at least when I last went there many months ago, is not a minor matter.) They don’t see that flying the Lion Flag and celebrating in the streets to rejoice that one terrorist was incapacitated, is, in the big picture, a mistake, because too many other people are rejoicing in the wrong way (E.g, as Sophist correctly points about one religion’s flag) and they don’t see that our publicly joining such a ‘celebration’ can perhaps just cause unfair fear among innocent minorities.

And, in the same vein – and I assume Sophist will take this criticism “without getting [annoyed]” – I think it’s stupid that Sophist himself appears to admit to taking ganja, and thus apparently does not see that use of even this soft drug IS, in the big picture, something bad for the well being of society as a whole. I think it’s stupid that even highly intelligent people all too often have their Achilles’ Heel in this sense and treat such matters lightly, and just do not understand the moral and ethical reasons why even such “minor” drug use and other intoxication is bad for society AS A WHOLE even if some specific individuals might be able to handle it without harm to themselves. (The individual are not stupid; but their FAILING to see this big picture, is stupid.)

I think it’s stupid that there are only a very few people who think like this AND who CAN convey their thoughts succinctly — my clumsy rambling writing herein clearly exemplifying my inability to; and i think it’s stupid that some of the people who CAN do so, just don’t wanna rock the boat and don’t speak out.

(I didn’t understand about being clapped into jail: maybe I’m stupid, but I sure don’t know of anyone who willfully or even unwillfully broke any (valid) law and then expected sympathy for being clapped into jail.)

I think I’m stupid to bother writing this 🙁
Who’s gonna care, after all. Just a lone voice in wilderness.

You contradict your whole argument when you say that the Vietnamese government sponsors Vietnamese students to study overseas. What that implies is that these students do not have the means to pay for their own studies. Which shows that Vietnam is POOR… exactly as I have pointed out in this thread. The Japanese government does not need to support Japanese students to study abroad because the Japanese can easily afford the cost. Do you know what living standards refer to? Japan has much higher living standards than Vietnam. This is because Japan is much more developed than Vietnam.

I stick to my earlier argument that Japanese study business in much greater numbers than all other Asians. I am not bothered to look up your so-called “statistics.” You can post them links to them yourself, which is what you should do be doing if you know how to argue properly anyways.

Same applies for Tiger terrorists.

At the university, I see many, many Japanese exchange students. I hardly see a Vietnamese, Iranian, or Iraqi student. What is even more interesting is that the majority of these Japanese students study business, unlike the majority of Indians or Chinese who clamor for engineering and medicine, to the extent of even outperforming the native population.

Is technology in Japan so good that Japanese exchange students choose business as their primary field of study? How many other Asian nations will send their best and brightest overseas just to study business? Perhaps one of these days I just might run into a Iraqi business studies major…

Now we get to the point… why is Japan so successful, despite Americans dropping nuclear bombs on them and occupying the place? I will leave it “Observer” and Co. to provide the answers. Although it might be tough going – none of that anti-Western dribble says much about “constitution” or “education.”

Vietnam is a failure because of Vietnamese.

Iraq is a failure because of Iraqis. ”

Only a bigot would say such things! Americans are the best rest are idiots.. what a load of horse crap. Through the sands of time, they will fade into the abyss of past like many other empires did and new world orders would rise up. We will be mere dust by then, satisfactorily blowing in the wind knowing we laid a foundation for the generations to follow having fought for freedom and peace!

I don’t even belong to those racial groups and I find those statements utterly offensive. SomeWhatDisgusted is exactly right about Heshan. In fact I understood that after few discussions and decided to put my time to better use. In Internet terms a troll with too much spare time.

I don’t hate Tamil people unlike heshan hates the Sinhala Buddhists. If I did I’d celebrate people like heshan and hope for more. They are the reason we “won” the “battle”. In any battle you only have to fear the logically reasoning, moderate and sensible.

You can lie all you want but you won’t fool the sharp. And repetition doesn’t render false into the truth. People blinded by racial hatred becomes easy puppets for manipulation.

Yes, democracy is coming to Tiger areas… barbed-wire democracy! In what kind of election do people vote from behind barbed wire – what an original idea that only Mahinda Chinthanaya could come up. Next up – soldiers will escort all the children back and forth to school.

Iran is a failure because of Iranians.

Vietnam is a failure because of Vietnamese.

Iraq is a failure because of Iraqis.

It’s as simple as that. Of course the failure is by relative standards. All I can say is that these nations would be far more prosperous if they accepted Western-style democracy, which the USA was willing to help implement, free of charge. Look at Israel, the only real democracy in the Mid-East & good friend of the USA.