Boo You, Indian Bureaucracy!

Looks like I'm going to be in Egypt for another week. Despite the fact that it says on the Indian visa application that it has next-day pickup, apparently foreigners also have to wait an additiona 72 hours as the embassy faxes your application to Delhi and then waits for...nothing. If there is no reply, they then process the visa the next day.

Which is just fantastic, because my flight leaves Luxor in 72 hours.

So today I'll have to head over to Air Arabia and pay $27 to delay my flight a week or so.

All things considered, I don't mind being in Egypt for another week, because I can continue to gorge myself on cheap food. I've lost a lot of weight travelling in the past month and half, and now is my chance to gain it back.

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On a completely different note, I've been reading the complete works of Shakespeare during my travels, and am currently making my way through Othello. By coincidence, the New York Times has this excellent review of a new production going up in the city.

The review analyzes the play (set in modern-day, Blackberry-infested DC) as it tackles the issues of transparency vs. secrecy.

Going against the grain, the review notes that Shakespeare argues transparency is not necessarily a cure-all. "Take note, take note, O world: To be direct and honest is not safe." (The famous line is quoted ironically by the play's villian, Iago.)

In my own experience inside the Beltway of DC, I can say that there is some truth to this. Transparency is definately the current fad, but like anything, it can be taken too far. Most noticeably, transparency has ignited DC's biggest growth industry: lobbying.

As Fareed Zakaria argues [summary here], sometimes increased transparency and democracy can (counter-intuitively) work to concentrate power into the hands of the most wealthy/powerful/good-looking/etc.

Anyway, just something to think about. And if you're in New York, be sure to check it out and let me know what you think!