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...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Merck
Apparently the drug maker Merck has gotten busted for writing "research studies" and paying prominent doctors to publish them under their own names.
I am no basher of big pharma, I think they are important companies, and it is not fair to hang the dismal state of health care costs in America at their doorsteps.
I do think however that this is just another in a very long line of the consequences we are suffering from the Reagan revolution. Reagan told us that big government needed to "get out of the way" and let the marketplace and free enterprise thrive.
Well, this is what we get: a culture of corruption in business, cozy relationships between regulators and the industries they are supposed to oversee, no sense of responsibility for doing the people's business on the part of the people running governments agencies.
I fear America is heading in the direction of 3rd world countries: where greed, fear and corruption become the guiding principles.
I recently heard a report from an American living in China. The feeling there is of unrestricted optimism, that anything is possible, and that government is moving in the direction of being a force for the benefit of society.
Doesn't that sound like where we were fifty years ago?
Another report I heard from an American living in Thailand talked about how much people in Asia dislike travelling by air in America. They think it is uncomfortable, inconvenient and plagued by delays
Isn't that what we used to think about airplane travel outside the US?
What the hell has happened to us?
I am no basher of big pharma, I think they are important companies, and it is not fair to hang the dismal state of health care costs in America at their doorsteps.
I do think however that this is just another in a very long line of the consequences we are suffering from the Reagan revolution. Reagan told us that big government needed to "get out of the way" and let the marketplace and free enterprise thrive.
Well, this is what we get: a culture of corruption in business, cozy relationships between regulators and the industries they are supposed to oversee, no sense of responsibility for doing the people's business on the part of the people running governments agencies.
I fear America is heading in the direction of 3rd world countries: where greed, fear and corruption become the guiding principles.
I recently heard a report from an American living in China. The feeling there is of unrestricted optimism, that anything is possible, and that government is moving in the direction of being a force for the benefit of society.
Doesn't that sound like where we were fifty years ago?
Another report I heard from an American living in Thailand talked about how much people in Asia dislike travelling by air in America. They think it is uncomfortable, inconvenient and plagued by delays
Isn't that what we used to think about airplane travel outside the US?
What the hell has happened to us?
Monday, April 7, 2008
Spring
The weather finally got a little better this last weekend. Temperatures in the 60's. I got out our bicycles and my daughter and I went for a ride. She just learned to ride her 2-wheeler last summer so had to get used to it again. It only took about 10 minutes to remember all about steering and brakes and we were off.
She really did great and I can foresee a lot of bike riding this summer. I remember when I was a kid how much the world opened up for me when I learned how to ride my bike around the neighborhood.
She really did great and I can foresee a lot of bike riding this summer. I remember when I was a kid how much the world opened up for me when I learned how to ride my bike around the neighborhood.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Jobs and more
80,000 jobs lost in the US economy in the last reported month.
Almost 80% of the US population thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Is there any real doubt as to which party is going to win the White House this year?
It is so painful to see the economy reeling this way. I had hoped to never see bad days like the 70's again, and it is especially unnerving to see widespread job losses.
Almost 80% of the US population thinks the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Is there any real doubt as to which party is going to win the White House this year?
It is so painful to see the economy reeling this way. I had hoped to never see bad days like the 70's again, and it is especially unnerving to see widespread job losses.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Taxes
I did my taxes this weekend using TaxCut software. I have been using it for a few years and I like it. I think all of the major tax packages are equivalent functionally. I just use this one because it imports last years information easily and costs $39.95.
This is the first year I e-filed. It burns me that it costs $19.95 to file elctronically. I mean it actually saves the government money to have the information delivered in electronic form instead of having to pay for data entry. I did it because I have a pretty good refund coming and I would like to get it as early as I can. No way was I going to pay another $19.95 to e-file my state return though!
I don't get all worked up about taxes like a lot of people do. Republicans want to cut taxes, but not spending, so they end up with big deficits and user fees for stuff that used to be free, like entrance fees to National Parks, fees for airline security, more sin taxes to pay for public works projects.
This is the first year I e-filed. It burns me that it costs $19.95 to file elctronically. I mean it actually saves the government money to have the information delivered in electronic form instead of having to pay for data entry. I did it because I have a pretty good refund coming and I would like to get it as early as I can. No way was I going to pay another $19.95 to e-file my state return though!
I don't get all worked up about taxes like a lot of people do. Republicans want to cut taxes, but not spending, so they end up with big deficits and user fees for stuff that used to be free, like entrance fees to National Parks, fees for airline security, more sin taxes to pay for public works projects.
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