Democracy - and what we do with it

Ali - Young bedouin, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

This young man, Ali, lives in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, where the King rules, albeit well. He does not have democracy and who knows if he ever will.

The Thai people have democracy, and they have very successfully rid themselves of aPrime Minister they did not want - Mr Thaksin - any more. He is knows as Asia's Berlusconi as he is a populist and owns a good part of the media. Well done to the Thais for doing this.

In South America, they used to have fascistic military dictatorships, supported by the US, and before that western imperialism. They now have democracy and almot every where they are ridding themselves of the old elites as left-of-center governemnts are voted in in Brazil Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela and so on. They vote in Peru this weekend and it looks again that they might vote in a left-winger. One thing that all these countries seem to understand, especially after the financial rape of Argentina by the IMF four eyars ago, is that they do not need to follow the imperialistic neo-liberal dictates of the US. They realise that economic liberalisation means they get poorer while teh rich get richer. They are choosing their own way forwar, right on Uncle Sam's doorstep. Great news.

And closer to home we have the Italian Silvio Berlusconi submitting himself to the democratic will of the people. This is a man who is known to have links to the criminal world, who has spent the bets part fo the last five years getting Parliament to change laws so that he, himself, cannot be indicted, who supported the US in their invasion of Iraq, against the peple's will and a man of such low level that he called anyone who thinks to vote left a 'coglioni'(or arse hole). This is when he is not comparing himself to Napoleon or Jesus and at the same time forbidding anyone to compare him to Mussolini. At least Mussoilini did some good for the country, even though he picked wars in Africa and sided with Germany. It is INCREDIBLE that this man MIGHT even win the election this weekend.

Seems like the Thais and the South Americans know a lot better how to use democracy than some people a lot closer to home.

I wonder what Ali would make of it all.