Tibetan Youth Congress = Taliban?

Credit to the gentleman from whose post the following has been extracted:How western journalists cover the Tibet riots is a textbook example of biased journalism. Nothing innovative here. Just old tricks recycled.Life expectancy of Tibetan was 35.5 years in 1959 vs. 67 years in 2005.And the infant mortality rate was 43% in 1959 and 3.1 % in 2005 (4.8% inCanada, 2006 data). What happened? Since 1959, 1,326 new medical institutions have been built ,among which, 764 new hospitals or clinics, 79 disease prevention centers and55 health centers dedicated to women and children. How about education? Before 1950, there was almost no decent school inTibet, less than 2% school-age children received education and theilliteracy rate was 95%. In 2003, 91.9% school-age children in Tibetenrolled in primary schools; 82.9% primary schools students continuedstudying in middle schools; and 72.1% middle school graduates continuedhigher education. All are decent numbers even they were from communities in U.S.No matter what kind of religion peeople follow and what kind of life harmony pople pursue: living longer is good; fewer infant deaths is good; more education is good.Tibetans put religion in first place. So does "his holiness", the DaLaiLlama hold that they don't need hospitals, don't need to get education, don't want to live longer, don't want more babies to survive? Are rights to medical care, to education, to have healthy babies not human rights?Denying Tibetans those rights is the biggest human rights abuse!Before 1959, Tibet was under the Lamaist (Buddhist) theocracy. Just like most theocracies in history, it was a very cruel and inhumane form of governing. Tibet before 1959 was close to, if not worse than, the Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.Michael Parenti, a history professor from U.S, (http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html)provides the following finding:"In the Dalai Lama's Tibet, torture and mutilation -- including eye gouging, the pulling out of tongues, hamstringing, and amputation of arms and legs -- were favored punishments inflicted upon thieves, runaway serfs, and other "criminals."Some Western visitors to Old Tibet remarked on the number of amputees to be seen. Since it was against Buddhist teachings to take human life, some offenders were severely lashed and then "left to God" in the freezing night to die. "The parallels between Tibet and medieval Europe are striking," concludes Tom Grunfeld in his book on Tibet.Theocratic despotism had been the rule for generations. An English visitor to Tibet in 1895, Dr. A. L. Waddell, wrote that the Tibetan people were under the "intolerable tyranny of monks" and the devil superstitions they had fashioned to terrorize the people. In 1904 Perceval Landon described the Dalai Lama's rule as "an engine of oppression" and "a barrier to all human improvement." In 1937, another visitor, Spencer Chapman, wrote, "The Lamaist monk does not spend his time in ministering to the people or educating them, nor do laymen take part in or even attend the monastery services. The beggar beside the road is nothing to the monk. Knowledge is the jealously guarded prerogative of the monasteries and is used to increase their influence and wealth."Does the West want to support another Taliban?There are good reasons and tons of books on the separation of church and state.You people on the bandwagon blasting China might want to read those books first.One respects the belief on "incarnation". But it seems that should be reserved for choosing a religion leader rather than choosing a government head. Democracy builds on accountability-government officials are accountable for the voters. The voters can deny their leaders positions through voting. Not sure about DaLaiLLam's thoughts on democracy.And democracy also builds on educated voters. Before 1959, the illiteracy rate was 95% and common Tibetans seldom got chance to be educated. Do you expect people who can't read to understand how a modern government operates and how to hold their leaders