More on the corruption busting in China. The organization doing the investigation is called "the central commission for discipline inspection." You gotta hand it to the Chinese for thinking up awesome names for their ministries.

But see, one of those basic aspects of democratic society is missing here: independent bodies holding people and organizations accountable. It's also one of the ways to design a good financial controls system, and how to prevent corruption; make the watchdog as objective as possible. But really, I am still intrigued by where politics end and real purging and change begin in China these days.

And there is purging. In the last two and half years, 50,000 people have been arrested for corruption. And this article sums it up very nicely.

But even such vigilante anti-corruption measures won't give China a substitute for democratic society, as it wantonly chases after capitalism while remaining a closed society. Some people think this will be the reason for an imminent slowdown of the Chinese economy. China is just not yet open enough to create the efficient and fair regulatory environment that business needs, or for new ideas and innovation, which are the by-products of an open and pluralist society.

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Flew from Amsterdam to JFK today. Word to the wise, AVOID HEATHROW AT ALL COSTS! In any case, it was nice that United held a plane full of seething passengers for me to board. How nice, throwing me into the lion's den.

Well, but I made it, and even saw a bit of Greenland on the way over (very blue lakes!). And little green monkeys too!