Someone is listening

In Brazil, an accusation of illegal wiretapping leads to the President suspending the higher-ups allegedly responsible until a full investigation is completed.

Gosh, I wonder what America would do in such a situation?

Oh, right.

Also, Thailand is having another overthrow-the-government party. Or maybe it's the same one and they just took a break for a while. I can't quite keep it straight at this point. (Dear Thailand: If you've still got a monarchy that upholds lese majeste laws, and you're rioting over attempts to bring down the prime minister...you might want to reconsider your priorities. Just my two cents.)

A bad time for Asia, a good time to do something

The death toll from the earthquake in China is possibly over 50,000.  There's over 43,000 dead in Burma and 28,000 some missing.

From my (admittedly brief) searching, it looks like this might be one of the best ways to make a meaningful donation to aid efforts in Burma.  

Larger aid organizations are of course also trying to help - groups such as Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, the American Friends Service Committee, Oxfam, the American Refugee Committee, of course the Red Cross, and the World Food Program would (as they always are) be worthwhile places to send a small donation.  There's also MercyCorps, which I've only recently become aware of, and seems like one of the better international charities out there: they'll direct your donation to relief in Burma, or aid in China, or a number of other causes you can pick.  

If none of those strike you as a worthy group, I'm sure a minute or two with Google can help you find someplace that will help.  

It takes five minutes to make a donation, and any tiny amount you can give helps.  There are millions who are now homeless, without food or clean water, without any basic sanitation - without anything.  We have the luxury of houses and unlimited clean water and more likely than not more food than you can eat, electricity and DEET insect repellent and nice warm beds.  Millions don't.  Please, do something to help.

How to have a good country

Recently I was reading something about Bhutan.  Bhutan is a very, very isolated place, wedged between India and China.  It's small, landlocked, and up until quite recently, was pretty well cut off from the world.  They have no formal diplomatic relationships with most Western countries, including the US and the UK.  They'd had a ban on television which was finally lifted in 1999.  In short, partly due to governmental planning but also due to the harsh geography of the region, Bhutan is probably one of the most 'intact' cultures in the world.  They've only had a couple years during which they could Westernize at any appreciable rate.  

What's interesting about Bhutan is, perhaps as a product of the increasing westernization, they are in the process of electing a democratic government for the first time, changing from a totalitarian monarchy.  

Now, from what I've read, it seems like a fairly benevolent monarchy.  The current king, worried about the effect that westernization was having on the country, introduced something called "gross national happiness", an idea that I personally find to be wonderful.  In addition to looking at how our economy is doing, we'll also take a look at how happy people are.  Good idea, right?  A little bit inexact and if it's anything more than just a soundbite, it's a bit problematic, but a nice idea.  The Bhutanese people seem to by and large like their king, which I suppose is a good thing.

So here's the really interesting thing about the transition Bhutan is going through.  It was mentioned in the National Geographic article I read about the country.  Here's a quote from it:

Rural peasants aren’t the only ones harboring doubts. At a trendy Thimphu nightclub called P. Wang, a trio of power brokers relaxes after a round of golf, singing karaoke and toasting the monarchy. “I don’t want democracy, because it can lead to chaos, like in Nepal or India,” says Tshering Tobgay, a businessman. “But whatever the king says, we must eat—whether sweet or sour, poisonous or delicious.” Even Bhutan’s chief election commissioner concedes that he would prefer not to have elections. “Given the choice, of course, we’d want to continue to be guided by the monarchy,” Dasho Kunzang Wangdi says. So why change? “It’s a simple thing: The king wants it.”

I don't get it.  I really, really don't get this.  The only way I can possibly get this to make sense is that because their contact with other nations has been so limited, they just don't really understand what democracy means.  Democracy means you're in charge.  It means that you, the voters, get the ultimate say in how your country is run.  Don't like what the government is doing?  Tell them, and in theory they're obligated to listen.  They don't listen when you tell them?  Vote them out of office.  Still not happy?  Run for office yourself.  Democracy means you have the absolute power, not some dude who's sole qualification is he inherited Daddy's job. 

Try to parse this: The people of Bhutan don't necessarily want a democratic government.  The king does.  So the king is forcing the people into the change of needing to think for themselves.  It's like some insane inverted form of a dictatorship: "Instead of telling you what to do, I'll make you tell me what to do!"  It's really incredibly strange.