Madagascar: Far from Vanilla

For all of you who thought that Madagascar was just a peaceful island teeming with lemurs and high quality vanilla, think again. There's been some serious stuff going on there.

I figured if I have time to blog about American Idol, I have time to clue folks in on what has been transpiring under the radar of most Americanos.

Hello, there has been a MILITARY COUP!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so maybe I am living in a cave, but I always get the sense that the U.S. is an incredibly insular place. Certainly introspection is important, and domestic issues must also be a part of consciousness. It's common political science knowledge that in American elections voters never cast their ballot based on candidates' foreign policy. But this is no excuse for ignorance about international affairs. American provincialism is a seriously scary ethos that already has unleashed serious repercussions.

Does anyone remember when General Musharraf seized power in a coup in Pakistan? No one batted an eyelash here, but now it's supposedly a FP priority, given it's a Muslim nation and potential nuclear threat. How could people so easily forget that when a reporter asked W. who the leader of Pakistan was, among other foreign executives, he was stumped? Thank god there is a new administration. In the spirit of this new administration, let's renew our pledge to make an effort to increase our knowledge of happenings outside our immediate sphere.

Don't get me wrong, I still love lemurs too. In fact, I wonder how the political situation is affecting biodiversity policies and research.