Today Nepal officially ended its 240 year old monarchy. Although I am no fan of monarchies in principle, I fear this might be the beginning of the end for Nepal's democracy, such as it is.
I visited Nepal for a month in 1999, trekking in the Himalayas, lounging in Kathmandu, hiking through rhino and tiger country in Royal Chitwan National Park.
Nepal was (is) a desperately poor place with a corrupt and unresponsive government, both on the elected and monarchic sides. I talked to several people who openly expressed sympathy with the Maoist revolutionaries.
Communist revolutionary movements can only take root in places where a significant number of people are so desperately alienated from the economy and political power that there seems to be no alternative. Democracy has done little for the majority of the people, and the country that attracts billions of dollars of tourist income sees it vanish into the hands of corrupt officials.
Most Communist revolutions have occurred because the powers in charge made life so intolerable that anything was better. Thus I believe that the revolutions in Russia, China, Vietnam, Cuba and Nicaragua were all justified by local events.
Unfortunately in all these cases the problem became that the revoultionaries stayed in power. Communists are great at mobilizing revolutions to overthrow corrupt regimes, but they are horrible at running societies and economies.
I think the Maoists in Nepal are playing a crafty game of temporarily sharing power, orchestrating the ouster of the monarchs, and then they will try to use the electoral process to seize complete power. Then they will left to run things, which they will do badly. Tourism will collapse, India will fear China's influence over the local Maoists, and the people will be repressed.
You heard it here first, folks....
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Gas Prices...
continue to hit new highs. Makes me wonder how much can be absorbed before people really start to make major lifestyle changes based on fuel costs.
It hasn't happened yet, as far as I can see. Just as many cars on the highway, almost all carrying one person. Most city busses are almost completely empty, and most bus stops are uninhabited.
I drive a small car, so gas prices are not huring me so much. I really notice the increase in food prices though. I shop pretty carefully and I have just been unable to keep my grocery budget in line lately. I used to be able to buy most of what we needed for about $300 every two weeks, but I am now spending closer to $400 for the same stuff. We only have 2 adults and one child in our family, I would hate to see how much people with 2 or 3 teenagers are spending.
The increase in grocery prices is definitely hurting more than gas costs, for me anyway.
It hasn't happened yet, as far as I can see. Just as many cars on the highway, almost all carrying one person. Most city busses are almost completely empty, and most bus stops are uninhabited.
I drive a small car, so gas prices are not huring me so much. I really notice the increase in food prices though. I shop pretty carefully and I have just been unable to keep my grocery budget in line lately. I used to be able to buy most of what we needed for about $300 every two weeks, but I am now spending closer to $400 for the same stuff. We only have 2 adults and one child in our family, I would hate to see how much people with 2 or 3 teenagers are spending.
The increase in grocery prices is definitely hurting more than gas costs, for me anyway.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Latest Book
I just finished reading "Fortress of Solitude" by Johnathan Lethem.
I read this author's previous book "Motherless Brooklyn" about 5 years ago, and I was not overly impressed. "Fortress" has won several national book awards and received very good reviews when it came out.
The story is about a white kid growing up in early 70's Brooklyn, at the early stages of the gentrification of the city's brownstone neighborhoods. The boy, Dylan, suffers with being the only white kid around, a distant artistic father and a mother who abandons them both when he is about 10. Dylan is at the mercy of tough black kids and develops his own persona through friendships with a black neighbor and another white kid who shows up later.
The story takes a turn into magical realism, which greatly affects the plot towards the end of the book. The second half of the book jumps several years into the future, after Dylan has moved to Berkeley and become a freelance music journalist. Dylan is still coming to grips with his past, and the mystery of his mother's abandonment by the end of the book.
Ultimately I found this book to be unsatisfying. Although Lethem is a very good writer, the real point (or plot?) of the book escaped me. The story entertained and saddened alternately, but I could not ever comprehend the significance of Aeroman or the nature of the internal conflict Dylan was struggling with.
Maybe it was just too deep for me...
I read this author's previous book "Motherless Brooklyn" about 5 years ago, and I was not overly impressed. "Fortress" has won several national book awards and received very good reviews when it came out.
The story is about a white kid growing up in early 70's Brooklyn, at the early stages of the gentrification of the city's brownstone neighborhoods. The boy, Dylan, suffers with being the only white kid around, a distant artistic father and a mother who abandons them both when he is about 10. Dylan is at the mercy of tough black kids and develops his own persona through friendships with a black neighbor and another white kid who shows up later.
The story takes a turn into magical realism, which greatly affects the plot towards the end of the book. The second half of the book jumps several years into the future, after Dylan has moved to Berkeley and become a freelance music journalist. Dylan is still coming to grips with his past, and the mystery of his mother's abandonment by the end of the book.
Ultimately I found this book to be unsatisfying. Although Lethem is a very good writer, the real point (or plot?) of the book escaped me. The story entertained and saddened alternately, but I could not ever comprehend the significance of Aeroman or the nature of the internal conflict Dylan was struggling with.
Maybe it was just too deep for me...
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