Get a glimpse into one of the few real remaining monarchies in the world, Swaziland, here. Swaziland, not Switzerland, is a little round country that is nestled snugly between the Northeast of South Africa and Mozambique. The article nicely describes this country ruled by a king and a charming little place that is actually a bit better off than much of South Africa, especially crime-wise, but it also has the highest AIDS rate in the world. It's also a place where media and political freedoms are seriously curtailed and there have been protests and detention of opposition figures in past months. As people become more modernized and economic problems become more pronounced, the monarchy will need to modernize and one wonders how long it can last.

Economist Amartya Sen compares India to China, showing how India seriously lags China, and even poorer neighbor Bangladesh, in health, education and poverty. It's hard to see that other than democracy, and even then this is dubious, India has nothing over China. On the other hand, it's also a good example of why democracy is useless without other factors like economic growth, stability and low corruption.