SL operatives step up psy-ops war on Tamil political activists in North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 September 2013, 20:27 GMT]
Following the defeat of Colombo's UPFA in the Northern Provincial Council election, Sri Lankan military intelligence and paramilitary operatives have stepped up a systematic campaign of harassments through threatening telephone calls, diverted and intercepted phone calls and various other forms of harassments on the supporters of Tamil National Alliance, news sources in Jaffna and Vanni said. Reports of similar threats were also on the rise in the Jaffna peninsula on Monday and Tuesday. 

EPDP paramilitary and military operatives were harassing those who had campaigned for the TNA in the islets off Jaffna. 

An armed squad, which was searching for a supporter of the TNA, assaulted an old mother causing cut injuries to her at Koa'ndaavil in Jaffna on Monday. 

Many Tamil activists, who actively engaged in election campaign in Vanni, have relocated themselves temporarily with relatives and friends to avoid getting targeted by violent squads affiliated with the SL military. 

Meanwhile, Thiyagaraja Thuvarakeswaran, the chief candidate of the United National Party (UNP) in Jaffna, who is the brother of the assassinated parliamentarian T. Maheswaran, has also complained in Jaffna Police that he has been receiving threatening phone calls from unknown persons in recent days.

Northerners too, got infected with our disease – Basil

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

An ungrateful northern people have forgotten the past and given a new lease of life to separatist terorism instead of being grateful to the Rajapaksas who had rescued their area from the clutches of terrorism and taken it on the path to massive development through ‘Northern Reawakening’, said Basil Rajapaksa, founder of the programme and economic development minister, at a public rally in Minuwangoda last Sunday (22).

Commenting on this remark, a young MP of the opposition told us that although minister Basil Rajapaksa criticized the northern people for having forgotten the past, Rajapaksas themselves have the worst record in the country of having forgotten the past. The MP noted that minister Basil Rajapaksa should think about how many of those who had supported them to gain power of government are today with them, before jumping to criticize the people of the north.

The ‘Northern Reawakening’ brought a reawakening for the Rajapaksas and their contractor cronies, but not for the common masses of the north, and those people have expressed their opposition to the Rajapaksa regime in a democratic manner through this election result, he said, adding that if the government attempts to take revenge from the northern people, it will result in very dangerous outcomes.

Pictures: Mahinda Violates His Own ‘Chinthanaya’: Thithata Matha With Foreign Minister

September 26, 2013 

For several years the Rajapaksa regime appears to have been politically intoxicated with its ‘Mathata thitha’ campaign, claiming or boasting that it has significantly reduced the number of people who are abusing or addicted to tobacco, alcohol or narcotics, Daily Mirror noted a few weeks ago.

According to a report tabled in Parliament early this month, the Excise Department has renewed the licences of five big liquor companies though they owed more than Rs. 1.6 billion in taxes by the end of last year.

The same Daily Mirror editorial noted; “Pouring more drinks and adding one for the road to the political cocktail and concoctions, is the disclosure that last year 55 new liquor licences were issued, most of them probably to politicians or business patrons of VIPs. This is the highest number of liquor licences in a year issued since 2006. Forty one were issued in 2011, 51 in 2010, 40 in 2009, 36 in 2008, 42 in 2007 and 35 in 2006.

Even a drunken person reading these figures would know that something is going wrong  somewhere and the government needs to tighten the stopper if the high spirited ‘Mathata thitha’ is not to turn into ‘Thithata Matha’.”

Enver Hoxhaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo last night tweets show how the President Mahinda Rajapaksa violates his own election manifesto Mahinda Chinthana with the Minister of foreign affairs G. L Peiris.

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Tamil Verdict: Resilience against genocidal repression and pseudo reconciliation

BY ATHITHAN JAYAPALAN-24 SEPTEMBER 2013

In the midnight of 19.09.2013, a commando team compromising of military and paramilitary members of the EPDP surrounded the house of Mrs. Ananthy Sasitharan, a brave human right activist who is the Convener of the Disappeared Families forum and the only female candidate of Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Upon spotting suspicious movements her supporters who had gathered at her house shifted Mrs,Ananthy and her daughters to safety. They also alerted a independent election monitor, Mr.Sugash Kanagaratnam of the Colombo based People’s Action For Free and Fair election (PAFFREL) who made his way with a colleague ^(1).

Tamil Verdict Resilience Against Genocidal Repression and Pseudo Reconciliation by nelvely

PILLAY TELLS GOVT. TO ADDRESS ITS HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS BY MARCH 2014

September 25, 2013

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay stated today that government of Sri Lanka should use the time from now until March 2014 to address its human rights concerns in the absence of which the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry.

Pillay Tells Govt. to Address Its Human Rights Concerns by March 2014 by nelvely

UN failed during final days of Lankan ethnic war: Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Sep 25, 2013

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-failed-during-final-days-of-lankan-ethnic-war-ban-ki-moon-1133061.html?utm_source=ref_article

United Nations: In a rare admission of "systemic failure" of the UN, its chief has said the world body had failed during the final stages of Sri Lanka's ethnic war in 2009 that saw military defeat of the LTTE.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also blamed member countries for not providing the UN with support to meet the tasks set by themselves.

Ban made the remarks while addressing the UN General Assembly's 68th session on Tuesday where Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was also present.

 ReutersBan said an internal review of UN action in Sri Lanka identified "systemic failure" and that member states did not provide the organisation with support to meet the tasks they themselves had set and the UN system did not "adapt properly or deliver fully".

In 2012, the Secretary-General had set up an Internal Review Panel (IRP) on UN actions in Sri Lanka. The IRP headed by Charles Petrie completed an eight-month study.

The panel was tasked with providing an overview and assessment of UN actions during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka and its aftermath, particularly regarding the implementation of its humanitarian and protection mandates.

It was also tasked with assessing the contribution and effectiveness of the UN system in responding to the escalating fighting and in supporting the Secretary-General's political engagement, identifying institutional and structural strengths and weaknesses, and providing recommendations for the UN and its Member States in dealing with similar situations.

The Petrie panel reviewed about 7,000 documents, including internal UN exchanges with the government of Sri Lanka.

The panel also met with a large group of people, including representatives of civil society and member-states, and its recommendations build on previous reviews of UN action in theatres of escalated conflict.

The Secretary-General said as an immediate first step, he will organise a senior-level team to give "careful consideration" to the report's recommendations and advise him on the way forward. "Other action will follow in short order," he added.

The Petrie panel came to be appointed as the UN operation in Sri Lanka faced criticism that it had failed to protect a large number of civilian deaths in the final battle. Sri Lanka government dismissed the Petrie report as "unsubstantiated, erroneous and replete with conjecture and bias".

Military had eliminated rebel Tamil Tigers in 2009. Nearly three decades of ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka had left over 100,000 dead.

PTI

Sri Lanka urges UN to study global inequality, failure to lift millions out of poverty

President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Sarah Fretwell

24 September 2013 – Citing his efforts to ensure that economic growth benefits all segments of society in his own country, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today called on the United Nations to study the international community’s failure to improve the lot of the impoverished worldwide.

“According to World Bank projections, by 2015, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia will be home to approximately 40 per cent of the developing world's population living in extreme poverty,” he told the General Assembly on the first day of its annual General Debate, noting that commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had brought a real sense of hope.

“[Yet these projections] only diminish the sense of our optimism. It is fitting for the UN system to examine the causes for the failure in improving the lot of the deprived,” he said.

The year 2015 is the target date for achieving the MDGs, which seek to slash extreme hunger and poverty, boost access to health care and education, achieve gender equality and environmental stability, and reduce maternal and child mortality and the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

“Reflecting on the work of the UN, matters of a political nature have overridden the most basic issues, which affect the underprivileged and marginalized, who dominate world society,” Mr. Rajapaksa said, noting that while appreciable progress has been made on the MDGs, the results have been uneven among and within countries.

With regard to Sri Lanka, he said his vision has been to distribute the benefits of growth across all segments of the population and prevent inequalities, social exclusion and adverse environmental effects.

He stressed that the post-2015 development agenda, the theme of this year’s 68th General Assembly, must have poverty eradication and accelerated growth in the developing world as its primary goals, but he pointed to the uneven playing field between developed and developing countries with regard to global warming gas emissions.

“Centuries of growth in advanced economies have left little carbon space for the developing world, challenging their growth,” he said. “The thin lines of balancing economic development and protection of the environment will remain a great challenge in future development policy-setting. “It is therefore critical that developed countries honour their commitments and compensate damage to the environment, on the basis of common but differentiated responsibilities.”

On other issues, Mr. Rajapaksa called for reform of international monetary and financial institutions to express the solid voice of the developing world, decried interference by some in the internal affairs of developing countries, called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and condemned the United States embargo against Cuba.

Meeting earlier with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Mr. Rajapaksa exchanged views on the post-conflict situation in Sri Lanka and the country’s cooperation with the UN.

According to a readout of the meeting, the Secretary-General noted the Government’s latest efforts to conduct the provincial elections and to implement the recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Mr. Ban also addressed the remaining challenges in reconciliation and emphasized the need for a more holistic approach.

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News Tracker: past stories on this issue

Upcoming elections in Sri Lanka an opportunity for reconciliation – UN chief

Brazilian president: US surveillance a 'breach of international law'

Dilma Rousseff's scathing speech to UN general assembly the most serious diplomatic fallout over revelations of US spying

Julian Borger New York-Tuesday 24 September 2013

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff speaks at the United Nations general assembly. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, has launched a blistering attack on US espionage at the UN general assembly, accusing the NSA of violating international law by its indiscriminate collection of personal information of Brazilian citizens and economic espionage targeted on the country's strategic industries.

Brazilian President US Surveillance a 'Breach of International Law' by nelvely

Statement by h. e. Dilma Rousseff, by nelvely

APN Welcomes Obama's Commitment to Middle East Peace and Engagement with Iran

Sep-24-2013 

President Obama recognizes a Palestinian State as integral to peace.

"Mother Palestine" by Carlos Latuff 2009

(Washington, D.C.) - Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes President Barack Obama’s commitment to continue pursuing Arab-Israeli peace and to continue focusing on peacefully preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

In particular, APN endorses President Obama’s focus at the United Nation’s General Assembly on engagement with Iran. APN also joins the President’s call on friends of Israel in the US and worldwide to “recognize that Israel’s security as a Jewish and democratic state depends on the realization of a Palestinian state.”

APN’s President and CEO Debra DeLee commented, “In his UN speech, President Obama said that resolving Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict will be the focus of America’s diplomatic efforts in the near term.

"As an organization that has long advocated for a diplomatic resolution of both the Arab-Israeli conflict and the threat of a nuclear Iran, we welcome the President’s focus on diplomacy, and his renewed commitment to pursue these goals, two chief US national security issues and the two chief items on Israel’s national security agenda.

"We commend the President for urging friends of Israel in the US to support his administration’s peace efforts, and his appeal to members the international community to do their part.

"In the words of president Obama, ‘let’s emerge from the familiar corners of blame and prejudice; let’s support Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are prepared to walk the difficult road to peace.’"

Americans for Peace Now is the sister organization of Shalom Achshav, Israel's preeminent peace movement. APN's mission is to educate and persuade the American public and its leadership to support and adopt policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace, based on a two-state solution, guaranteeing both peoples security, and consistent with U.S. national interests.

200,000 workers set fire to factories

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Systemic Capital.com

By jeffrey dean-September 24, 2013

ANGRY Bangladeshi garment workers have blocked roads, set factories alight and clashed with police for a third day as protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of $US100 spread outside the capital Dhaka.

Abdul Baten, police chief of the Gazipur industrial district near Dhaka, which is home to hundreds of factories, said on Monday “up to 200,000 workers” had joined the latest demonstrations.
His deputy Mustafizur Rahman said about 300 factories, which make clothing for top Western retailers such as Walmart, were shut on Monday to contain the violence as protesting workers attacked plants that stayed open.
“The situation is extremely volatile. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the unruly workers,” he said, adding dozens of workers and several policemen were injured.
Manufacturers said Monday’s protests were some of the worst in the sector since 2010 when months of demonstrations forced the government and factory owners to agree to a minimum monthly wage of 3,000 taka ($A40).
Bangladeshi textile workers are among the worst paid in the sector worldwide, and often toil for 80 hours a week in factories, which are vulnerable to fires and other accidents.
Protests over poor wages, benefits and working conditions are frequent but have gained in intensity since April when a factory complex collapsed, killing more than 1100 people in one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
In Savar, where April’s accident occurred, more than a dozen factories were shut down as protesters clashed with police, leaving around 20 people injured, said the deputy chief of Dhaka police Shyamal Mukherjee.
The impoverished South Asian country is the world’s second-largest garment exporter with apparel shipments accounting for 80 percent of its $A28.95 billion annual exports.
In June this year the government set up a panel to review salaries and unions have demanded an 8,114 taka ($A107) minimum monthly wage.
Factory owners have rejected the demand, saying they can raise wages by only 20 per cent to 3,600 taka due to gloomy global economic conditions.

MORE…

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/bangladesh-garment-workers-police-clash/story-fn3dxix6-1226724836878

Cambodia: Human rights groups condemn excessive use of force

By Clothilde Le Coz Sep 25, 2013

It was 20 years on September 24 since the Cambodian Constitution was first signed, marking the end of the UN transitional authority in the country (Untac). Today’s Constitution was drafted in July and August 1993 by 12 persons. One of them told the local press on Tuesday that, while  the “essentials for democracy” are in the text, its implementation has been “completely diverted from its goal”.

Under the Constitution, the King names a representative of the party gaining the most parliamentary seats to form a government. This is how Hun Sen was appointed by King Norodom Sihamoni to do so. However, the Constitution requires 50% of the votes of the National Assembly to confirm the new government.  On Tuesday, a truncated National Assembly of 68 members re-elected Mr. Hun Sen with a new mandate as Cambodian Prime Minister for the next five years, as 68 does represent more than half the seats. Sam Rainsy, one of the leaders of the CNRP, called the Constitution a “big disappointment”, echoing the opinion of the lawmaker who participated in the drafting process of the Constitution.

Elected members of the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) led by Sam Rainsy and Khem Sokha, have boycotted the National Assembly this week, stating that authorities have not held any inquiry about the massive electoral frauds and calling the meeting “a violation of the Constitution”. From September 7-17, the CNRP held a number of non violent demonstrations in Phnom Penh to ask for further investigations into the results. According to Transparency International, the CPP should have won these elections with 48.9% of the votes and the CNRP with 44.2%, showing that the competition between the two parties is tighter than it actually seems and stating that the official results announced on September 8 might not be reflective of people’s willbecause of widespread irregularities.

A number of incidents have occurred in recent weeks that  highlight the tensions surrounding the election result. On September 15 security forces fired at civilians in Phnom Penh, killing one person and wounding several others. These practices have been denounced by Human Rights Watch.

On September 20, hundreds of armed security forces dispersed a peaceful gathering led by CNRP official Prince Sisowath Thomico, who was on hunger strike and accompanied by a group of Buddhist monks and other supporters. Two days later, at the same place, police and gendarmes armed with guns as well as civilian auxiliaries with tasers and slingshots broke up a peaceful vigil by representatives of people evicted from their homes in Phnom Penh. The participants were reiterating their demand for electoral fairness and calling for the release of imprisoned Boeng Kak housing rights activist Yorm Bopha. At least 10 community members were injured and seven journalists attacked.

These events were condemned on September 24 by a group of five NGOs – including HRW and Amnesty International – denouncing “the authorities’ unnecessary and excessive use of force” and urging “foreign governments and the United Nations [to] speak out and condemn violations of the right to peaceful assembly and related rights”. The Oversees Press Club of Cambodia (OPCC) also condemned the attacks against local and foreign journalists.

Gota's two legged hounding dogs (five) trailing Vigneswaran exposed
(Lanka-e-News-24.Sep.2013, 3.30PM) Defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse is making atrocious arrangements to provide three State intelligence service (SIS) officers ostensibly as security detail to the newly appointed chief Minister to the north C V Vigneswaran , former supreme court judge, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Legally a chief Minister of a province is entitled to the same security detail as that of a Cabinet Minister . Accordingly, Vigneswaran is entitled to a security convoy comprising a police inspector , a sergeant and ten police constables and that police team must be supplied by the MSD (Ministerial security division) .Usually it is the MSD police officers and not the SIS officers who are detailed for such duty relating to a VIP. The MSD had included the aforementioned SIS ‘spies’ in the camouflaged security detail .

Among them are 2 Police constables and a sergeant of the SIS. These three officers are very fluent in Sinhala , Tamil and English. One of them is a resident of Chilaw and his mother is a Tamil. The other two are from Paiyagala and Matara . All three of them had been in the SIS and not the MSD since their recruitment , and have attached to the Tamil desk – for a long time engaged in duties that involved garnering information regarding Tamil Organizations. 

It is significant to note that they have no training in Ministerial security service. Hence these three officers have been sent for emergency training by the defence division. Their duty revolve round spying on Vigneswaran’s activities and reporting them , and not truly providing security to Vigneswaran. They have been provided with all the materials needed to perform this dastardly task..

These three security members have been provided by senior DIG S. M. Wickremesinghe coordinated by Nanda Malawaarachi under Gota’s instructions. Wickremesinghe is a long serving head of the Presidential security division (PSD). From today these three ‘spies’ have been sent for MSD training. The information collected by these ‘spies’ are to be immediately reported to a Colonel of the intelligence division of the forces under the criminal defense secretary Gotabaya.

It is to be noted that throughout the election period , the northern governor Major general Mahinda Hathurusinghe had detailed two army intelligence division officers , namely Upali Bandara and Sisira to collect information regarding Vigneswaran . Bandara is an ordinary soldier while Sisira is a Lance Corporal. It had been impossible to identify which regiment these two ‘spies’ belonged. These two ‘spies’ however belong to the group used by Hathurusinghe for his personal and confidential tasks . During the election period these two ‘spies’ carried out their despicable activities while being at the Omantha old special force camp.

Black July: Further Indirect Evidence Of State Involvement

By Rajan Hoole -September 25, 2013 |

Rajan Hoole

Sri Lanka’s Black July – Part 29

We have found involved in the massacres, on the best testimony available, Rogers Jayasekere of Kelaniya, whose family were strong supporters of Jayewardene. Then we have the inexplicable behaviour of the Army on 25th July. Quite apart from their behaviour when the attack began, what is more disturbing is their preventing Jansz from taking the injured to hospital and then doing nothing while the injured were being attacked. Here we have some jailors leading the attack on injured prisoners, the Army just watching after preventing the Police from coming to the aid of the victims, and the ASPs presumably helpless. The Army HQ was no doubt informed of what was going on.

It would have been better for the ASPs Amarasinghe and Munaweera, and Lt. Hathurusinghe, if the inquest had cleared up this matter rather than leaving all three of them under suspicion of complicity. Everyone concerned at the inquest must have known that this had happened and that even prisoners yet breathing were heaped into the truck to asphyxiate. Jansz would no doubt have told Mervyn Wijesinghe, Secretary, Justice, who arranged for the inquest.                                                                                              Read More

To be continued..

Part one - Sri Lanka’s Black July: Borella, 24th Evening

Part two - Sri Lanka’s Black July: What Really Happened At Kanatte?

Part three - Black July: ‘Api Suddha Kara’ – JR’s Failure To Declare Curfew

Part four - Sri Lanka’s Black July: The Cover Up

Part five -  30th July 1983: The Second Naxalite Plot

Part six  - Black July: The Testimony Of Lionel Bopage, Then General Secretary Of The JVP

Part seven - Black July: Thondaman & Muttetuwegama

Part eight - What Was Behind Tiger Friday – 29th July? -The Significance Of The Pettah

Part nine - Tamil Merchants In The Pettah – Post July 1983

Part ten –  Sri Lanka’s Black July: A Family’s Tragedy In Colombo

Part eleven -  Sri Lanka’s Black July: The Question Of Numbers

Part twelve –  Welikade Prison Massacres: The First Massacre: 25th July 1983

Part thirteen –  Welikade Prison Massacres: Testimonies Given At The Magistrate’s Inquest

Part fourteen -  Circumstances Leading To The Magistrate’s Inquest

Part fifteen - Welikade Prison: The Second Massacre: 27th July 1983

Part sixteen - Welikade Prison Massacres: Chief Jailor Observed Army Commandos Coming In

Part seventeen - Welikade Prison Massacres: Postscript

Part eighteen - July 1983: Planned By The State Or Spontaneous Mob Action?

Part nineteen - July 1983: Ranil Wickremasinghe Followed Cyril Mathew

Part twenty - Events Of 24th July – The Eve Of The Holocaust: Who Wanted A Military Funeral?

Part twenty one –  Events Of 24th July: What Were The Army’s Orders?

Part twenty two - Black July: Further Evidence Of Advance Planning

Part twenty three - Black July: The JSS Goon Squad Regime

Part twenty four - Institutional Implications Of The JSS And Black July

Part twenty five - Black July: Ranil Wickremesinghe, Gonalwela Sunil And The Kelaniya University

Part twenty six - Black July: Army Hathurusinghe Prevented Police From Assisting Prison Victims Under Attack

Part twenty seven - Black July: Justice Of Peace Gonawela Sunil And The Killings In Prison

Part twenty eight - Prison Massacre And The Alitalia Hijacker Sepala Ekanayake

*From Rajan Hoole‘s “Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power  - Myth, Decadence and Murder”. Thanks to Rajan for giving us permission to republish. To be continued..

Sampanthan, Sumanthiran find TNA victory superseding Vaddukkoaddai mandate

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 September 2013, 08:23 GMT]
The obsession of utmost priority for a section of TNA leadership is to satisfy the Sri Lanka saving agenda of New Delhi and Washington, by interpreting the TNA victory as supersession of the Vaddukkoaddai Resolution based mandate of 1977, political observers in Jaffna commented on a statement made by the TNA leader Mr. R. Sampanthan, aided by Mr M.A. Sumanthiran, at a press conference convened in Jaffna on Sunday. Sampanthan talking of united and undivided country described the TNA victory as a clear verdict of Tamils, unprecedented in the political history of the island. Answering a question raised by an Eezham Tamil journalist that how then he views the 1977 verdict, Sampanthan said that there is nothing wrong in stating that the present victory is greater than the 1977 one. Sumanthiran was heard aiding him in answering the question. 

Sampanthan, Sumanthiran Find TNA Victory Superseding Vaddukkoaddai Mandate by nelvely

Sri Lanka: A bombshell in the Northern Province

                                     Dated 23-Sep-2013

Guest Colum by Dr.Kumar David

 Provincial Council (PC) elections were held in three provinces in Lanka on 21 September – the Northern (NP), North Western (NWP) and the Central (CP) Provinces went to the polls and as expected the Rajapakse government won fairly handsomely in the Sinhalese majority NWP and the CP securing about 60% of the vote.

Sri Lanka a Bombshell in the Northern Province by nelvely

Poverty And Impoverishment

By Arjuna Seneviratne -September 24, 2013

Arjuna Seneviratne

A medicant lives on just four requisites. Scraps of discarded cloth dyed in the boiled juices of tree bark to cover his body, scraps of food begged from here and there to feed him, a tree to provide him with shelter from the elements and cow’s urine as medicine. The common denominator for all of these is a) they cost nothing and b) they are abundantly available. They provide him with all his material requisites.

Now, the question that comes to mind is this: Is a medicant poor? On the surface it would seem so. However, if he were asked he would probably respond with the German proverb “A poor person isn’t he who has little but he who needs a lot” Indeed!

The keyword here is “need”. Need, not lack of accumulation or lack of wealth or lack of position or lack of power, determines who is poor and who is not.  So, if one were to minimize need, one would minimize poverty. Eradicate need and one eradicates poverty.

OMG! Is this really true? But of course!  And yet, “come come” I hear you say “…everyone has needs so everyone is poor at some level or other”.  Brilliant. “True. Glad you acknowledge that you are poverty stricken pal” I retort. “No! I didn’t mean to say that. That’s not what I meant!” comes the outraged counter from you. “Ah! Pal, who are we kidding? Regardless of what you wanted to say, what you’d really want is words such as ‘poor’ and ‘poverty’ redacted from any measure of your ‘worth’, right? Having those in there implies a negative balance to your idea of your own wealth, mm?  Rather, you would want a positive spin put on it and instead of counting the things you need, you’d rather count the things you have right?”

Therein lies the problem with the world. You see, what a person has or doesn’t have has not the slightest bearing on how poor that person is. From her dream man, to his dream boat, to her dream home, to his dream position, it is what one dreams of having but cant that truly causes people to suffer that mind bending pain and desperation commonly associated  with paucity.Read More