4 ms·

Source?

throwaway4good 5y ago
You can google it. The point is; Singapore doesn't toe the US line on China and therefore gets HRW and similar thrown after them. Which is absurd as Singapore is by far the best-governed country in the neighbourhood.
- teh_klev 5y ago
  I don't normally do this but...it's "toe the line". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_the_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_the_line
  - throwaway4good 5y ago
    Thank you.
- pell 5y ago
  >The point is; Singapore doesn't toe the US line on China and therefore gets HRW and similar thrown after them. Human Rights Watch isn't part of the American government. They've criticized the US numerous times. So much so that they are concluding that the US is trying to discredit them.(1) Singapore might simply not have been invited because they're not a real democracy. >Which is absurd as Singapore is by far the best-governed country in the neighbourhood. Best governed (according to you) != democracy. _____ (1) https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/23/us-seeks-discredit-human-rights-groups https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/23/us-seeks-discredit-human...
- InitialLastName 5y ago
  I suspect there's a reasonable argument to be made that under certain circumstances, democracy is a substantial barrier to optimization of governance. Between Soviet/CCP long-term planning capacity and the fascists' making the trains run on time, industrial totalitarianism has a track record of getting the job done. That said, all that job-doing is at the mortal expense of anyone who disagrees, stands in the way, or can be scapegoated for standing in the way. Also, woe be upon you if your leadership selection process picks a dud (compare the damage an incompetent megalomaniac leader in a limited democratic system can do to the same result in an absolutist dictatorship).
  - throwaway4good 5y ago
    Singapore is a democracy, claiming otherwise is just an idiotic insult. You see the pattern of the same group holding power for a very long time in some countries, in particular in times of high growth (rather than oscillating between blocks like the US). For example LDP in Japan or the socialdemocrats in Sweden. It really doesn't mean that they are not democratic.
throwaway2037 5y ago
I found this: https://www.state.gov/participant-list-the-summit-for-democracy/ https://www.state.gov/participant-list-the-summit-for-democr... Wow, I was surprised to see that Sri Lanka was not on the list. Does anyone know the story behind that? Also, Nepal and Bangladesh are missing. That is also strange. All of them are certainly (proud) democracies!
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  It is all about China. They also somehow managed to censor Audrey Tang of Taiwan (another computer scientist turned politician) live on video-link. Just goes to show how carefully orchestrated all this is.
  - throwaway2037 5y ago
    Woah! AT (Audrey Tang) [1] is an amazing person. For those unaware, she is a "minister without portfolio for digital affairs" (a mouthful!) in Taiwan. I tried to Google about this but couldn't find anything. Can you share a link? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang
    - throwaway4good 5y ago
      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/13/us-appears-to-cut-video-feed-audrey-tang-taiwan-summit-for-democracy https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/13/us-appears-to-... US appears to cut video feed of Taiwanese minister at summit
- avgcorrection 5y ago
  Why would a “Summit on Democracy” matter other then to show who the US are pals with and which ones (by omission) would rather be pals with other (opposing) powers?

Source?

You can google it. The point is; Singapore doesn't toe the US line on China and therefore gets HRW and similar thrown after them. Which is absurd as Singapore is by far the best-governed country in the neighbourhood.

teh_klev 5y ago
I don't normally do this but...it's "toe the line". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_the_line https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_the_line
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  Thank you.
pell 5y ago
>The point is; Singapore doesn't toe the US line on China and therefore gets HRW and similar thrown after them. Human Rights Watch isn't part of the American government. They've criticized the US numerous times. So much so that they are concluding that the US is trying to discredit them.(1) Singapore might simply not have been invited because they're not a real democracy. >Which is absurd as Singapore is by far the best-governed country in the neighbourhood. Best governed (according to you) != democracy. _____ (1) https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/23/us-seeks-discredit-human-rights-groups https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/23/us-seeks-discredit-human...
InitialLastName 5y ago
I suspect there's a reasonable argument to be made that under certain circumstances, democracy is a substantial barrier to optimization of governance. Between Soviet/CCP long-term planning capacity and the fascists' making the trains run on time, industrial totalitarianism has a track record of getting the job done. That said, all that job-doing is at the mortal expense of anyone who disagrees, stands in the way, or can be scapegoated for standing in the way. Also, woe be upon you if your leadership selection process picks a dud (compare the damage an incompetent megalomaniac leader in a limited democratic system can do to the same result in an absolutist dictatorship).
- throwaway4good 5y ago
  Singapore is a democracy, claiming otherwise is just an idiotic insult. You see the pattern of the same group holding power for a very long time in some countries, in particular in times of high growth (rather than oscillating between blocks like the US). For example LDP in Japan or the socialdemocrats in Sweden. It really doesn't mean that they are not democratic.

throwaway2037 5y ago

I found this: https://www.state.gov/participant-list-the-summit-for-democracy/ https://www.state.gov/participant-list-the-summit-for-democr... Wow, I was surprised to see that Sri Lanka was not on the list. Does anyone know the story behind that? Also, Nepal and Bangladesh are missing. That is also strange. All of them are certainly (proud) democracies!

throwaway4good 5y ago
It is all about China. They also somehow managed to censor Audrey Tang of Taiwan (another computer scientist turned politician) live on video-link. Just goes to show how carefully orchestrated all this is.
- throwaway2037 5y ago
  Woah! AT (Audrey Tang) [1] is an amazing person. For those unaware, she is a "minister without portfolio for digital affairs" (a mouthful!) in Taiwan. I tried to Google about this but couldn't find anything. Can you share a link? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang
  - throwaway4good 5y ago
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/13/us-appears-to-cut-video-feed-audrey-tang-taiwan-summit-for-democracy https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/13/us-appears-to-... US appears to cut video feed of Taiwanese minister at summit
avgcorrection 5y ago
Why would a “Summit on Democracy” matter other then to show who the US are pals with and which ones (by omission) would rather be pals with other (opposing) powers?