Is China doing well? Very well Madam! Even Zimbabwe has resources!

He is not a ”national” citizen.
He is an ”international” citizen.

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=33304
Youth abducted, Sri Lanka colonial commander denies knowledge, 31 December 2010
Unidentified persons coming in a white van abducted a youth in Urumpiraay, Jaffna, in broad daylight and in public, while he was riding a bicycle Thursday. When contacted by media over the incident, Sri Lanka’s colonial commander in Jaffna, Maj. Gen Hathurusinghe not only denied any knowledge of it, but also said that there are no chances for such abductions since the LTTE doesn’t exist now. When it was pointed out that public had witnessed the abduction and that the bicycle and slippers of the victim had been remaining on the street, the ‘Asian Nobel laureate’ General replied that the police would investigate into that matter. However, the police that picked up the evidence also denied any abduction. Meanwhile, irresponsible reporting of the happenings in Jaffna by some in the diaspora affects the credibility of even bona fide news, commented media circles in Jaffna.

Goes the white van,

Belching fumes, of a nation’s spite,

Disappear in air, unseen, like the lone man,

It’s silent occupant. To where it goes,

Nibbana or hell, I know not,

But, its occupant shall surely rot.

Wow, Dr DJ, I am impressed! You could be a better poet than an academic!

Longus,
I didn’t mention a secret. Singapore’s critique of human rights at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (sorry, 1993, not 1994) is well documented in academic scholarship. At any rate, LKY did not use the cultural relativity alibi to kill dissenters. We have no white vans here or paramilitary organizations. His authoritarianism moreover included a firm commitment to racial equality.

Actually, I can’t think of any country that thrived because of human rights violations. Singapore’s success is due to its economic policies, avoidance of corruption and fair access to opportunities, not its take on human rights. Is Libya doing well? Sudan? Burma? North Korea? Somalia? Tibet? Turkmenistan? Zimbabwe? Iran? Ethiopia? Where would China be without its huge national market? Where is Malaysia despite its natural resources? How did Hongkong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan succeed while building on their democratic institutions? The notion that human rights abuse is necessary for economic development of Third World countries is hogwash. Sound economic policies and a citizenry that is given free and fair access to opportunities is what does the trick.

I will tell you about my solutions
To any problem I am having

Whenever there is a problem
A little tree I am growing

In the backside of my humble home
I have problem solving trees

Sometimes a bush sometimes a shrub
But always something green

This is very much like Our Majesty’s wish
To be having home-grown things

Appointing a little Commission
For any problem need solving

And just like Our Majesty
Who is soon forgetting commission

I am also forgetting my little trees
As soon as they are in position

And now if you are coming to my home
You will see what it is like

My problems I am still having
They are not going for hike

But the backside is like jungle
Trees growing left and right

Cannot be walking about
Even stepping outside

A jungle full of messy leaves
Scary like the night

Not a place to solve a puzzle
Only good to hide

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=33302
Pigs of HSZ harm crops, youth electrocuted in Jaffna, 30 December 2010
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=33298
Abductions escalate in Jaffna, 30 December 2010