Thomas P.M. Barnett

■"Once Footloose, Bangalore Clubs Are Now Dancing-Free: To Rein In Western Influence, Indian City Tightens Rules; DJs Lower the Volume," by Eric Bellman, Wall Street Journal, 7 November 2005, p. A1.
■"Pack up the pants, North Korea tells women: Communist government wants females to reject foreign styles and wear traditional garb," by Associated Press, Indianapolis Star, 5 November 2005, p. A10.

Fascinating story on how Bangalore Hindi leaders are trying to keep the city stuck in the equivalent of America's 1950s (before that Elvis did us all in with his ungodly hip shaking evil!). Good luck with that one. The young people have been Westoxified all right, tainted with that all-work-and-no-play-leaves-Johnny-a-dull-boy mentality that comes with modernization and rising affluence among the young.

"Parents are really strict in India. I'd be hung if mine knew I was here," says Lorraine Pereira, 32, a Taika [dance nightclub] regular and call-center employee who pitches refinancing packages to Americans while most of India sleeps.
The clash is on vivid display in Bangalore. In less than a decade, it has changed from a sleepy college and retirement town to a buzzing city with cafes, clubs and epic traffic jams.

Me, I'm betting on Kevin Bacon. I don't care how many degrees of separation are involved!

Meanwhile, watch North Korea's bizarre regime try to force all women to stay in dresses and avoid the Western plot called "pants."

Hmmm. We fight the commies with pants after they tried to conquer us with fluoride!

The North, which demands unquestioning allegiance of its citizens and controls all media, has stepped up the ideological education of its people to counter outside influences. However, the country's loosely controlled border with China has led recently to increased traffic in smuggled recordings of music and videos from the outside.

G.D'd Chinese: simultaneously propping up the regime and undermining it at the same time.

I'd call it a "Western plot," but . . . you know . . .